MISD152 Management Information Systems Lecture Notes

Key vocabulary and concepts for review.

Management Information Systems (MIS)

An integral and critical partner of an organisation that encompasses people, systems, business- and system processes, as well as the related tools used to handle the collection, storage, management and analysis of data. It supports informed decision-making by managers by addressing business solutions and challenges.

Efficiency

Doing things with minimum waste.

Effectiveness

Doing the right things to achieve defined outcomes.

Information Systems (IS)

Collect, retrieve, and store processed data, making it available to managers to analyze problems and come to purposeful solutions to help them achieve their business objectives.

Operational Excellence

Improved efficiency and higher profitability through the use of information systems.

Customer and Supplier Intimacy

Focusing on obtaining returning customers and having an integrated supply chain process.

Competitive Advantage

Doing things faster and cheaper than your competitors.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) leadership

Information systems used to achieve ESG goals, such as lessening the carbon footprint, good corporate citizenship, and governance.

Globalisation

The introduction of products and services that were not available to consumers in the past, and the ability of consumers to acquire products and services using e-commerce.

Sweatshop Labor

Labor options for desperately poor workers who want to improve their own lives and those of their families, characterized by low wages, dangerous conditions, and long hours.

Interrelatedness of Organisation, People, and Technology

Three key dimensions of information systems where integration and alignment are crucial for the effective implementation of information systems that can be beneficial to the organisation.

Business Processes

Capture what the organisation does and how it is done, standardising activities and how work is being done. Supported by formal controls or rules documented in policies and procedures.

Four-Step Method for Problem-Solving

A structured process providing structure to people, organisations, and technology, enabling a systematic approach for the disciplined analysis of problems and the development of effective solutions.

Problem Identification

Essential for defining the problem and its possible causes, limiting confusion and misunderstanding, and enabling solving the real, agreed-upon problem.

Functional Opportunities

Relate to how MIS supports different functions or departments (e.g., Finance, HR, Supply Chain) to be effective and efficient.

Operational Opportunities

Represent the day-to-day operations executed by the organisation to achieve its goals and objectives, where MIS assists in improving effectiveness and efficiency, linked to a decrease in costs.

E-business

Strongly related to the execution of internal business processes, such as the faster processing of sales orders.

Collaboration

The sharing of ideas, resources and tasks using the skills, knowledge and abilities of team members; achieving better results together than working separately.

Core Business

An organisation's strategic decisions regarding the products or services it will produce or provide, uniquely distinguishing it from its competitors.

Supply Chain Management Systems (SCM)

Used to manage supplier relationships by sharing information about the supply chain process, aiming for effective production and delivery of goods and services in the shortest possible time.

Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM)

Used to support interaction with customers, building healthy relationships and customer satisfaction.

Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP)

Integrates the business processes of the four functions (production, sales, finance, HR) into a single, unified system with information stored in a single repository.

Business Processes

Sequenced, related steps that together provide the output of a product or service, stipulating the business role, technology used, and information artifacts generated.

Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

Provide income statements.

Decision Support Systems (DSS)

Provide schedules.

Executive Support Systems (ESS)

Provide projections with graphs.

Knowledge Management Systems (KMS)

Support the “creation, sharing, and distribution of knowledge.”

E-business

Refers to the execution and coordination of major business processes.

E-commerce

Links globalization with the buying and selling of products and services using the internet.

Collaboration

Working with others to achieve shared and explicit goals; an essential part of organisations conducting business globally, involving sharing information using different platforms.

Social Business

Conducted with the use of social platforms, such as Facebook, X (previously Twitter) and WhatsApp, making communication inside and outside the organisation possible.

Porter's Competitive Forces Model

A model commonly used by organisations to analyse and understand their overall business environment and to assist them in making informed decisions.

Traditional Competitors

Compete with similar products.

New Market Entrants

Relate to how easy or difficult it is to enter an existing market.

Substitute Products and Services

Relate to the likelihood of customers switching to a substitute product or service that fulfils the same need, especially when the price tag is too high.

Customers

A business needs to attract and retain its customers better than its competitors by offering more value and quality for their money.

Suppliers

Can have a huge impact on an organisation’s profitability as they can influence the price, quality, and availability of the products it provides to businesses.

Low-Cost Leadership

Use information networks and systems to produce goods and provide services at lower production costs than competitors; charge cheaper prices than competitors.

Product Differentiation

Use information systems to develop and provide unique, personalised products and services that stand out from your rivals.

Focus on Market Niche

Use information systems to focus on a specific, narrow, and targeted market segment.

Strengthening Customer and Supplier Intimacy

Use information systems to provide suppliers with access to production schedules for in-time delivery of supplies; provide customers with access to product delivery information; provide product recommendations.

Business Value Chain Model

A tool managers can use to analyse their internal activities to improve operational efficiency, viewing a firm as a series of basic activities that add value to its products and services.

Primary Activities

Directly impact the production and delivery of goods or services and the value created for the customer (e.g., inbound logistics, operations, sales and marketing, service, outbound logistics).

Support Activities

Offer the tools and resources needed to make the primary activities possible (e.g., organisational structures, human resource management, technology, procurement).

Synergy

Business unit performance improves through the sharing of resources, capabilities and information; output of one business unit becomes the input for the next business unit.

Core Competencies

The unique skills and expertise that distinguish an organisation from its competitors; support specialised product development.

Network-Based Strategies

Virtual companies create and use networks of people, partners, and suppliers to create and distribute products; business ecosystems refer to interdependent networks of suppliers, outsourcing firms, transportation networks and manufacturing.

Competitive Advantage

Attained through the successful execution of the defined strategy, utilising unique capabilities that distinguish it from competitors.

Global Business Strategies

Domestic Exporter, Multinational, Franchise or Transnational.

System Configurations

Centralised, Decentralised, Duplicated and Networked.

Quality

An essential part of a company's products or services, enabling differentiation, a form of competitive advantage; viewed from customer (physical, service, psychological aspects) and producer (conformance to standards) perspectives.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Deliver quality work, products, and services is everybody’s responsibility.

Business Process Management (BPM)

An essential, structured practice that governs the business process environment using tools, methods, policies, metrics, and management practices for continuous improvement, support and development of business processes.

Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

The “radical rethinking and redesign of business processes.”

Enterprise Applications

Provide integrated, real-time data insights and automation capabilities across an organisation's activities, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).

Enterprise Systems

Large-scale, integrated software platforms that connect the different functional units, improving management’s communication and coordination.

Enterprise Software

Incorporated into the enterprise system and broadly relates to the specific programs that are utilized.

ERP solutions

Integrate core business processes across departments into a unified system, automating internal business processes and helping businesses cut costs, increase operational efficiency, and establish better regulatory compliance by centralising data.

SCM systems

Facilitate smoother operations and reduce costs by assisting organisations in reacting quickly to changes in supply and demand conditions and maximizing the movement of information, products, and services from suppliers to consumers.

CRM systems

Mainly used by management to manage an organization’s business relations with current and potential new clients.