ABSTRACT
The discussion of communications leads naturally to the consideration of management information systems (MIS). The flow of information for planning, analysis, and control comes from the inputs to the leadership through an MIS. Management must play a very important role in the establishment and maintenance of an MIS. Most MIS will also include systems for measuring quality control, sampling output as compared to standards, and producing orders and reports. Once these decisions are made, the hardware (electronic data processing) can be addressed. The same process is used regardless of the type of equipment or its complexity. Every data processing problem addresses input, arithmetic, logic, storage, output, and control, regardless of whether these are accomplished by a computer or an accountant. The organization for a feasibility study for MIS is very much like any other feasibility study. The manager must participate in feasibility studies, system requirements, and organizational changes and evaluation if the system is to be a success.
