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Types of information systems; decision support

Short answer

MIS is an organized system of people, computers, data, and procedures providing information for planning and control. Types include TPS for routine transactions, MIS for summary reports, DSS for what-if analysis, EIS for executive dashboards, expert systems for advice, office automation, and knowledge management. Each supports managers at operational, middle, and strategic levels.

Define Management Information System (MIS). Describe briefly different types of information systems and their support to managers in decision making.

Management Information System (MIS)

MIS is an organized system of people, computers, data and procedures that collects, processes and provides information to managers for planning, control and decision making.

Types of information systems and support to managers

  1. Transaction Processing System (TPS): Records and processes daily routine transactions such as billing, payroll, bank deposits and ticket sales. Used by operational staff. Support: provides accurate base data and reduces clerical work; example: electricity bill payment system of NEA.
  2. Management Information System (MIS): Takes TPS data and produces summary, periodic and exception reports for middle managers. Support: monitoring and control, comparing performance with plans (monthly sales report).
  3. Decision Support System (DSS): Interactive system with models and databases for semi-structured problems. Support: "what-if" analysis, forecasting and optimisation, for example choosing the best location for a new substation.
  4. Executive Information System (EIS)/Executive Support System: Provides top managers with summary, graphical and external information (dashboards, trends). Support: strategic decisions and monitoring key indicators.
  5. Expert System / AI-based systems: Capture the knowledge of experts to advise on specific problems, e.g. fault diagnosis.
  6. Office Automation System (OAS): Email, word processing, scheduling and video-conferencing. Support: communication and document handling.
  7. Knowledge Management System: Stores and shares knowledge.
Strategic  : EIS
Management : MIS, DSS
Operational: TPS

Together these systems give managers at all levels reliable information for faster and better decisions.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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