TOPIC 3 - MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS)

Question 1

1. Describe the four aspects of the MIS ecosystem.

Answer 1

The four aspects of a business organization, when put together, become the ecosystem in which the MIS operates. The four aspects are as follows:

(a) Hardware and software suppliers who are also known as the technologists;
(b) Business owners who invest in such technology to gain value
(c) Human capital, encompassing the managers and those working with the aim of helping the organization reach its goals and add value to the business; and
(d) The environment where the organization operates including the legal framework as well as the contemporary social and cultural structure of the region.

Question 2

Based on what was discussed, define MIS in your own words.

Answer 2

(MIS is) an organisational method of providing past, present and projected information related to internal operations and external intelligence. It supports the planning, control and operational functions of an organisation by furnishing uniform information in the proper time frame to assist the decision makers.

Question 3

Explain the reasons for using mathematical models

Answer 3

To Facilitate Understanding
– A simple model can be presented in order for a new system to be more easily understood. Once that is achieved, the system can be made more complex so that it can more closely reflect the actual system.

(b) To Predict Outcomes
– Managers use good judgment and intuition, backed by sound information to make decisions. In order to evaluate the possible outcome (output), mathematical models can generate predictions efficiently and accurately.

Question 4

List six categories of mathematical models.

Answer 4

(a) Static Model
– This model only addresses a certain point in time and is not sensitive to the passage of time. Examples: Organisational structure and customer satisfaction ratings from July to December 2016.

(b) Dynamic Model
– This is a model that can depict the behavior of the entity (the thing it is modelled after) over a certain period of time. Thus, the model changes in accordance with the variable(s) that affects its behaviour. Examples: Weather patterns and downtown traffic flow.

(c) Probabilistic Model
– This model describes the distribution of all the possible outcomes of a simulation and the measure of how likely each is to occur. Example:What will shoppers foot traffic look like with the opening of a new wings

(d) Deterministic Model
– This type of model yields a single solution when given appropriate inputs. Example: How much sales must we achieve in order to turn a profit.

(e) Optimizing Model
– This is a model in which the best solution among those presented by the probabilistic model is selected.

(f) Suboptimising Model
– This model, which is also known as the satisfying model, leaves the task of producing the best outcome to the user (manager) and as such does not identify any decisions at all.