Question 3 : Describe the Functions That Mis Supports in an Organization. What Are the Various Ways of Assessing the Value of Information? Explain Each Method Briefly.

MIS is defined as an integrated system of man and machine for providing information to support operations, the management, and the decision making function in the organization. An MIS deals with information that is systematically and routinely collected in accordance with a well defined set of rules. In other words, data collection is a planned activity for which resources are allocated and rules are defined. An MIS is concerned with Planning and Control and it has large amount of data as its integral part that is stored and managed by a data base management system.

MIS supports almost all functional areas and operating divisions of business. In finance and accounting, it is used to forecast revenue and business activity, determine the best sources and uses of funds, managing cash and other financial resources, analyzing investment and financial health of an organization. In sales and marketing it is used to develop new goods and services (product analysis), determine the best location for production and distribution facilities (site analysis), determining the best advertising and sales approaches ( promotion analysis) and set product prices to get the highest total revenues ( price analysis). In manufacturing it is used to process customer orders, develop production schedules, control inventory lends and monitor product quality. It is also used in service industries such as airline industry and railways to serve customers better. In banks and other investment firms it is used to make good investments and sanction sound loans. In HR function it is used in deciding the changes to be made in the organization structure, succession planning and alignment of roles and responsibilities of each position with organizational objectives.

The value of information is measured in terms of benefits to the organization. The benefits may be tangible and quantifiable like increase in sales in terms of percentage or revenue. Benefits may in intangible like establishing a better...