Business Information Systems Management Reflective Essay
Introduction
The reflective essay in this write up will illustrate information on three chapters that have been
covered which are: Managing Information Systems; Making decision on information systems;
and Knowledge Management. In this three chapters, I will be demonstrating the relevant
knowledge and application of Business Information System theories/functions & concepts which
have been studied from the course of Business Information Systems Management. Business
Information Systems Management in simple terms is simply managing of information systems
that are practical in delivering efficient process in an organizational system. As identified by the
course description for the unit studied, Business Information Systems Management stresses on
the methodological importance of accurate, relevant, timely and complete data for effective and
“evidence-based” decision making for business and industry (Course: BS419 Business
Information Management , 2021)
Managing Information Systems (MIS)
With this first chapter in the unit studied, I will be illustrating on the theoretical significance of
some of the concepts I have learnt which I believe are of vital importance in this section of
managing information systems. Initially, the traditional approach of MIS was for the use of
applications in providing managers with information on sales, inventories and other data for the
purpose of running an enterprise. Hence, the chapter studied have identified MIS today as an
integrated system of both man and machine in the functional operations of a business that
delivers information for production support, management and decision making in an
organization (Ananias, 2021c). It is a subset of overall operational, planning and control
activities that differs from regular information systems as it deals with human integration with
technologies and procedures of decision making in an organization. It allows efficient
movement of information to and fro within the organizational system thus, providing a
responsive organizational environment.
In this chapter, I have learnt six (6) types of management information systems. Although there
are many other types of information out there, the chapter have identified only 6 distinct types
of information that are used by MIS arena. This includes; Transaction Processing Systems,
Decision Support Systems (DSS), Executive Information System (EIS), Marketing Information
Systems, Office Automation Systems, and School Management Information Systems. Identified
below are the 6 types of MIS concepts.
Transaction Processing System; this type of MIS is used by workers for basic reporting.
Reports from the transactional processing systems are then used by the middle and
operational managers for decision making to identify and inform on structured and semi-
structured decision problems.
Decision Support System (DSS); where information from DSS is used by senior managers.
Middle-managers in the DSS use computerized program applications to compile wide range
of information from the business operations report. This information is then submitted to
senior managers to assess in problem solving and decision making.
Executive Information System (EIS); is used by executives for making strategic business
decisions. It is a reporting tool or application such as the Attaché software that provides
executives with summarized reports on all operational activities and departmental functions
of the organization.
Marketing Information Systems; as the name suggest it is used by managers in the
marketing segment to manage information to formulate, implement, and evaluate
information in order to strategize marketing aspects.
Office Automation Systems (OAS); is used by all levels of management in the organization.
This are simply computerized system programs or applications such as word processing,
desktop publishing, voice mail, e-mail, videoconferencing, and multimedia systems designed
to support communication in the organization in order to transfer information and eliminate
bottlenecks.
School Management Information Systems; used in a school administration or teaching and
learning material. It includes applications in performing relative communication function to
assist in a school or an institution to enable efficient information is being shared in the
school.
The types of management information systems provide an advantage for business or
organizations formulate, implement and evaluate on their business strategies. Thus, help the
organization to improve their business processes and operations. As identified in the chapter,
information is considered vitally important for an organization. It is considered as an asset of
the company. Having information about the company’s internal strengths and weakness and
external threats and opportunities makes it easier for the company to procure improvements in
their business processes and improve planning and control in decision making.
Making decision on information systems
This section will demonstrate various insights to lessons learned through the chapter on making
decision on information systems. As I have identified throughout the chapter and also from life
lessons, making decisions involves having a good comprehensive knowledge in planning and
controlling of information. Where information is meaningless, unless one has the ability to
organize, understand and make use of the information. As quoted by an American physicist
William Pollard wrote, "Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed,
and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit.".
Thus, as a manager in a business scenario, one must be able to have a good understanding of
accounting information as well as being well versed in accounting systems in order to generate
information to both internal and external stakeholders (Ananias, 2021b).
The study in this chapter have identified accounting to be a link that enables managers to make
decisions about economic activities and generate results. All in all, the accounting process
involved identification of transaction or economic event, then recording to classify and
summarize, and communication to prepare accounting reports for analyzing and interpreting to
end users. The chapter basically enabled the use of financial accounting tools and
methodological approaches in reporting the financial result of a company's operations. Financial
ratios were used to elaborate on the findings and discussions. The ratios used made it easier to
identify a company’s financial performance indicators to measure and monitor the company’s
strategic objectives performance. Assessment of financial statements involved the use of liquid
ratios and profitability ratios. The approaches used in managing accounting information systems
is essential as they obviously generate a proper understanding of a company’s financial position
in the market.
Moreover, I have learnt a significance in having a decision making model to help with the
business decisions. The model involves respective steps in ascending order that follows
identifying objectives, searching for alternative course of action, gathering data about
alternatives, selecting alternative course of action, implementing the decision, comparing
results, and responding to divergence from plan. Thus having a business plan needs controlling
and therefore controlling enables for the business plan to be carried out successfully by aligning
organizational strategies to achieve business objectives.
Knowledge Management
Defined on a lecture slide in this last chapter, “Knowledge Management is the process of
creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It
refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieve organizational objectives by making the best
use of knowledge”(Ananias, 2021a). As per findings in this last chapter, demonstrations will be
made on the differences between Information Management Systems and Knowledge
Management Systems. Where in the study, the difference derives from the definitions of
“information’ and “knowledge” itself. The difference is rather simple, that explains information
as just ordinary data that deals with facts and figures and does not on its own express relevant
information unless knowledge is used to interpret and make use of the information. The main
difference which was identified in the study is that knowledge cannot be managed because it is
in the minds of people who possess it.
As identified in the chapter, knowledge management is based on using another person’s
information and experiences in order to create ideal conditions for individuals to learn and
manage information more accurately. It depends on someone’s shared experiences that is used
for the benefit of the organization. Where Information Management System (IMS) is more of
conversion of data to information whilst Knowledge Management System (KMS) on the other
hand is concerned in the conversion of the information into knowledge. Both the IMS and the
KMS are important in an organization’s operations in this modern society. They represent an
opportunity for an organization to extract additional benefits from the organization’s existing
investment in computers, databases, and networks. Traditionally, companies relied on
computer-stored data for information to solve problems. Hence, KM in this era puts focus on
discovering knowledge that responds to the changing environment.
Thus with the right KM software and applications, organizations are able to gain access to
information and knowledge more quickly. They are able to improve the efficiency of their
organization’s operating units and business processes, and increase employee and customer
satisfaction share on. Knowledge is power, and the driven key towards benefitting an
organization. As suggested by some of the characteristics of good knowledge management
system; a good KM system should empower its staffs and should allow them to extend their
employee contribution to work faster and smarter, it should be focused on core business
objectives and should be needs driven and not technology driven. Moreover, it was identified
the chapter that companies who have failed to share knowledge pay an enormous price for
doing so. Thus, the chances for the organization’s success is lesser when it does not actively
manage its knowledge. (Ananias, 2021a).
Conclusion
To conclude, the three (3) chapters in the study emphasized has given quite a lot of insight into
the unit of Management Information Systems. The first chapter was very conceptual in
demonstrating mostly all of the main ideas into studying management information systems. I
have learnt in this chapter that MIS allows an organization to efficiently share information to
and fro within the organizational system thus, providing a responsive organizational
environment. Moreover, the types of management information systems in its context provide an
advantage for business or organizations formulate, implement and evaluate on their business
strategies. The second and the final chapters again stressed more on the importance of making
decision on information systems and having the relevant knowledge in MIS helps improve
process in an organization. All things considered, a fair idea of the general concepts of
Managing Information Systems was conveyed in the unit studied. As revealed, knowledge is
power and managing information with the right knowledge will be very much beneficial to an
organization.
Reference:
Ananias, C. (2021a). BS419- Knowledge Management.
Ananias, C. (2021b). BS424- Decision Making On Information System - A.
Ananias, C. (2021c). Managing Information System Analysis & Design .
Course: BS419 Business Information Management . (2021).
https://learninghub.dwu.ac.pg/course/view.php?id=53
Pollard, W. (n.d.). Information is a source of learning. Retrieved August 29, 2021, from
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/william_pollard_125776
