Part 1 - The Managerial Level of Information Systems: Management Information Systems (MIS)

As there are two types of systems in the managerial level of information systems, this particular entry will review the more common of the two systems, the Management Information System or (MIS).  MIS systems are typically utilized by middle-managers in the facilitation of less intensive projects.  The information is reviewed to determine how well the organization is performing as compared to previous reports.

In addition to data pulled from standard organizational data, the final data is built from information that has been input into TPS systems as discussed in a previous blog.  All of this information is pulled together and sorted, depending on what type of information is needed, and then summarized into different types of output reports.  These reports can be informational or directional depending on the request.  Some examples of MIS systems might be systems to do with sales, inventory control, budgeting and even personnel systems.

Even though MIS systems have a fairly wide variety of areas in which they deal with, they can be inflexible and are not able to analyze like the DSS systems which we will review next.  The information handled by MIS systems is from past and current performance based on information retrieved from within the company.  Basically, MIS systems are great at telling you where you are and where you have been, but not necessarily where you are going.
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