Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Suppliers
and other
stakeholders
Corporate
extranet
Employees
Corporate
databases
of internal
data
Corporate
intranet
Databases
of
external
data
Decision
support systems
Management
information
systems
Supply chain and
business transactions
ERP systems
and TPSs
Application
databases
Executive
support systems
Databases
of valid
transactions
Specialized
information
systems
Input and
error list
Operational
databases
Drill-down reports
Exception reports
Demand reports
Key-indicator reports
Scheduled
reports
Figure 10.4
Inputs to a Management Information System
As shown in Figure 10.4, data that enters an MIS originates from both internal and external
sources, including a company's supply chain, first discussed in Chapter 2. The most signif-
icant internal data sources for an MIS are the organization's various TPS and ERP systems
and related databases. As discussed in Chapter 5, companies also use data warehouses and
data marts to store valuable business information. Business intelligence, also discussed in
Chapter 5, can be used to turn a database into useful information throughout the organiza-
tion. Other internal data comes from specific functional areas throughout the firm.
External sources of data can include customers, suppliers, competitors, and stockholders,
whose data is not already captured by the TPS, as well as other sources, such as the Internet.
In addition, many companies have implemented extranets to link with selected suppliers and
other business partners to exchange data and information.
The MIS uses the data obtained from these sources and processes it into information that
is more readily usable by managers, primarily in the form of predetermined reports. For
example, rather than simply obtaining a chronological list of sales activity over the past week,
a national sales manager might obtain her organization's weekly sales data in a format that
allows her to see sales activity by region, by local sales representative, by product, and even
in comparison with last year's sales.
Sources of Managerial
Information
The MIS is just one of many
sources of managerial
information. Decision support
systems, executive support
systems, and expert systems
also assist in decision making.
