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IS classification by management level

Short answer

At the operational level, TPS handles routine transactions like payroll; at the knowledge level, OAS and KWS support office and design work; at the management level, MIS provides summary reports and DSS offers decision models; at the strategic level, ESS presents aggregated dashboards for top executives.

Discuss different classification of information system with regard to different level of management. Provide suitable examples to support your answer.

Organizations have three management levels, and information systems are classified by the level they mainly serve.

 Strategic level    -> ESS
 Management level   -> MIS, DSS
 Operational level  -> TPS
 (Knowledge level   -> KWS, OAS)
LevelManagersSystemNature of decisionsExample
OperationalSupervisors, clerksTPSStructured, routine, dailyPayroll, order entry, ATM, ticket booking
KnowledgeEngineers, analysts, office staffKWS, OASSupport creation and sharing of knowledgeCAD, word processing, email, scheduling
Management (middle)Department headsMISStructured/semi-structured, periodicMonthly sales report, inventory status
Management (middle)Department headsDSSSemi-structured, analytical, "what-if"Production planning, pricing model
Strategic (top)CEO, directorsESSUnstructured, long termExecutive dashboard, market trend analysis
  • TPS supplies data to all higher systems.
  • MIS summarises TPS data into reports.
  • DSS adds models and analysis tools.
  • ESS presents highly summarised internal and external information.

Information detail decreases and its scope and time horizon increase as we move from operational to strategic level.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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