2.4 - Information Management
Exam Board:
OCR
Specification:
2016 - Unit 2
Management Information System (MIS)
An MIS is used to collect, store, analyse and present data for an organisation.
The system processes a large amount of data and organises it (such as in databases) so that it can be used for decision making and general data analysis.
An efficient MIS can be used to display the financial status of an organisation, highlight areas of improvement and generate sales forecasts based on current data.
Specifically, a bank could use an MIS for:
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Looking at the number of customers that visit each branch.
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Forecasting takings based on historical data.
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Profiling customers.
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Identifying customers who haven’t saved recently to target them for email.
Benefits of an MIS:
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Integrated system:
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​A Management Information System shares a large amount of data from multiple departments within an organisation to produce accurate reports. For example, financial data can be used to generate accurate pay slips.
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Decision Making:
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An MIS can be used to inform an organisation's decision making by highlighting areas that need improvement within the company.
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Powerful analysis:
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​An MIS will use large data sets to provide accurate data analysis that can be used in many different ways by an organisation. Trends and patterns can be identified easily.
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Backup capabilities:
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​Data can be stored centrally and backed up easily if a disaster occurs.
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Limitations of an MIS:
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Cost and installation:
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​An MIS is an expensive tool that needs to be professionally set up and requires technical knowledge to maintain.
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Requires accurate data:
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​If any data is incorrect or out of date then the analysis will consequently be inaccurate. Potentially disastrous decisions could be made as a result of incorrect data.
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Training:
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Employees will need to be trained to use the software accurately for maximum efficiency.
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Managing Information
Data Collection
Information can be collected in different ways e.g. paper forms, surveys, stock taking and data capture forms in databases.
Example: A tennis club can create a form on their website that allows users to apply for membership and fill in key data such as their name, address and telephone number.
Storage
Collected data must be stored in a secure and easily-retrievable medium. This could be paper, magnetic, optical and cloud storage. Data is most conveniently stored in a database so that information can be added, removed or updated when necessary.
Data must be stored securely to ensure it is protected against loss, accidental or via hacking / corruption. Sensitive data should be encrypted so that others cannot view / alter it without authorised access. Information should also be backed up in case the data is lost.
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Example: The tennis club can store data in a database using cloud storage as soon as a new member enters their information. Using cloud storage allows the tennis club to access that information from multiple access points and they will only pay for the amount of storage that they need and use.
Retrieval
Using a database to store information allows users to easily access data so that it can be updated or removed.
Searches and queries can be easily performed on all tables in a database to show specific values using certain criteria.
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Example: The tennis club can submit a query in their member database to display all members whose membership will expire in the next month. They can then use that information to email a reminder to those members.
Manipulating & Processing
After collection and storage, data must be processed so that it is ready for the final stage: analysis. Data can be exported to other software, such as from a database and into a spreadsheet so that it can be manipulated, sorted and visualised. Graphs and charts can be created on data in a spreadsheet so that patterns and trends are easier to identify.
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Example: Member information in the tennis club can be exported to spreadsheet software that then allows for graph / chart creation using specific values, such as membership expiry date or membership type.
Analysis
To analyse the data is to see what can be learned from it, so important decisions can be made.
Example: Analysing the charts made in the processing stage will allow the tennis club to identify key patterns. For example, they could see when most members sign up during the year and where the members travel in from.
Using these patterns the club can then inform future practice. For example, if not many members sign up in August, a sale on membership can be created at this time to entice new members. Or if most members travel in from a certain area of town a bus system might be set up to help those members travel in more often.
Questo's Questions
2.4 - Information Management:
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1a. What is the purpose of an MIS? [2]
1b. Describe 3 ways a bank could use an MIS. [3]
1c. Describe the benefits and limitations of an MIS. [10]
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2. A charity for endangered birds (Bird Rescue UK) is creating a survey to send to scientists to find out which birds need protection status and are endangered in the UK.
Describe how Bird Rescue UK can use each stage of data management:
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Data Collection​
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Storage
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Retrieval
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Manipulation & Processing
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Analysis [3 each]