ABSTRACT
A management information system (MIS) is “the structure and process through which an organization identifies, obtains, evaluates, transfers, and utilizes information, both internally and externally, so that the organization may operate and advance toward fulfilling its objective.” A MIS entails hardware, software, people, and procedures; it can rely heavily on a data base management system or on key personnel; it may be a manual, a computer-based, or a computer-communication-based information management system. Two primary tasks of MIS are to provide information of value to decision makers and to reduce paperwork/information burdens. Frequently management information systems can be criticized for complexity and/or inaccuracy. In concentrating on the production of information instead of problem solving, MIS has added to information complexity and overload. Information is power. The existing pattern of information flow and usage is a vital part of the power structure of an organization. Management information systems originated and matured around new, automated information-handling technologies, most noticeably the computer.
