Management Information System MIS : Definition , objectives and characteristics

According to the managers of an entreprise or an organization, Management Information System is an implementation of the organizational systems and procedures.
Today, it’s relying largely on technology to compile and present data, but the concept is older than modern computing technologies .
We will share with you in this article the definition of Management Information System its objectives and characteristics .

Definition of Management Information System :

Management Information System, often referred to simply as MIS , is  a planned system of collecting , storing , and disseminating data in the form of information needed to carry out the functions of management .

As you notice , it’s composed from three terms : Management , Information and System .

1. Management :
   Management covers the planning, control, and administration of the operations of a concern.
2. Information :
   Information means the processed data that helps the management in planning, controlling and operations.
3. System :
   A system is made up of inputs, processing, output and feedback or control .

Thus Management Information System means a system for processing data in order to give proper information to the management for performing its functions .

Objectives of Management Information System :

The main goals of an MIS are to help executives of an organization make decisions that advance the organization’s strategy and to implement the organizational structure and dynamics of the enterprise  for the purpose of managing the organization in a better way for a competitive advantage .

These are some goals of  an MIS :

1. Capturing Data .
2. Processing Data .
3. Information Storage .
4. Information Retrieval .
5. Information Propagation .

Characteristics of Management Information System :

The most important characteristics of an MIS are those that give decision-makers confidence that their actions will have the desired consequences , and among this characteristics we can mention :

•  It should be based on a long-term planning .
• It should provide a holistic view of the dynamics and the structure of the organization .
• It should be planned in a top-down way .
• It should be based on need of strategic, operational and tactical information of managers of an entreprise .
• It should be able to make forecasts and estimates, and generate advanced information .
• It should create linkage between all sub-systems within the organization .
• It should have a central database .