Management%20Information%20Systems%20By%20Effy%20Oz%20

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Management Information SystemsBy Effy Oz Andy
Jones
Chapter 9 Managers and Their Information Needs
www.cengage.co.uk/oz
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Learning Objectives

• Explain the link between an organizations
  structure and information flow
• List the main functions and information needs at
  different managerial levels
• Identify the characteristics of information
  needed by different managerial levels
• Recognize the influence of politics on the design
  of, and accessibility to, information systems

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Learning Objectives (continued)

• Describe the ways in which IT personnel are
  deployed in organizations
• List and explain the advantages and disadvantages
  of various personnel deployments
• Explain the importance of collaboration between
  IS managers and business managers and describe
  the relationship between the two groups

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Managers and Information

• Different levels of managers need different types
  of information for different types of decisions
• Increased flexibility of IS allows for changes in
  organizational structure
• Politics of information is an issue

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The Traditional Organizational Pyramid

• Many organizations follow pyramid model
• CEO at top
• Small group of senior managers
• Many more lower-level managers
• Clerical and Shop Floor Workers
• No management-level decisions required
• Operational Management
• Comply with general policies handed down

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The Traditional Organizational Pyramid (Cont.)

• Tactical Management
• Wide-ranging decisions within general directions
  handed down how to do it decisions
• Strategic Management
• Decisions affect entire or large parts of the
  organization what to do decisions

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The Traditional Organizational Pyramid (Cont.)
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Characteristics of Information at Different
Managerial Levels

• Data Scope
• Amount of data from which information is
  extracted
• Time Span
• How long a period the data covers
• Level of Detail
• Degree to which information is specific

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Characteristics of Information at Different
Managerial Levels (Cont.)

• Source Internal vs. External
• Internal data collected within the organization
• External data collected from outside sources
• Media, newsletters, government agencies, Internet

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Characteristics of Information at Different
Managerial Levels (Cont.)

• Structured and Unstructured Data
• Structured data numbers and facts easily stored
  and retrieved
• Unstructured data drawn from meetings,
  conversations, documents, presentations, etc.
• Valuable in managerial decision making

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Characteristics of Information at Different
Managerial Levels (Cont.)
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The Nature of Managerial Work
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Planning

• Planning at different levels
• Long-term mission and vision
• Strategic goals
• Tactical objectives
• Most important planning activities
• Scheduling
• Budgeting
• Resource allocation

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Planning (Cont.)
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Planning (Cont.)
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Controlling

• Control activities by comparing plans to results

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Decision Making

• Both planning and control call for decision
  making
• The higher the level of management
• The less routine the managers activities
• The more open the options
• The more decision-making involved

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Management by Exception

• Review only exceptions from expected results that
  are of a certain size or type to save time

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Leading Managers Require these Skills and
Abilities

• Vision and creating confidence in others
• Encouraging and inspiring subordinates
• Initiating activities for efficient and effective
  work
• Creating new techniques to achieve corporate
  goals
• Presenting a role model for desired behavior
• Taking responsibility for undesired consequences
• Delegating authority

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Organizational Structure

• IT Flattens the Organization
• Eliminates middle managers

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The Matrix Structure

• People report to different supervisors, depending
  on project, product, or location of work
• More successful for smaller, entrepreneurial
  firms
• IT supports matrix structure
• Easier access to cross-functional information

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The Matrix Structure
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Managers and TheirInformation Systems
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Transaction-Processing Systems (TPS)

• Capture and process raw materials for information
• Interfaced with applications to provide
  up-to-date information
• Clerical workers use TPS for routine
  responsibilities
• Operation managers use TPS for ad-hoc reports

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Decision Support Systems (DSS) and Expert Systems
(ES)

• DSS and ES support more complex and nonroutine
  decision-making and problem-solving activities
• Used by middle managers as well as senior managers

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Executive Information Systems (EIS)

• Provide timely, concise information about
  organization to top managers
• Provide internal as well as external information
• Economic indices
• Stock and commodity prices
• Industry trends

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Information, Politics, and Power

• Politics
• Development and control of ISs often involves
  problematic politics
• Power
• Information affords power which can be
  problematic
• Who owns the system?
• Who pays for developing the system?
• Who accesses what information?
• Who has update privileges?
• The Not-Invented-Here Phenomenon

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Ethical and Societal IssuesElectronic Monitoring
of Employees

• The Microchips Are Watching
• Video cameras
• Software to count keystrokes
• Artificial intelligence to monitor cash
  disbursement and detect fraud
• Monitoring e-mail and Web access

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Ethical and Societal IssuesElectronic Monitoring
of Employees

• The Employers Position
• Entitled to know how employees spend time
• Believe monitoring is an objective,
  nondiscriminatory method to gauge output
• The Employees Position
• Deprives them of autonomy and dignity
• Increases stress and stress-related illness and
  injury

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Management of Information Technology Resources

• Centralized Management
• Staff positions and departments in strict
  vertical hierarchy
• Control of organization in few hands
• Decentralized Management
• Delegates authority to lower-level managers
• IS often follows management pattern

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Centralized vs. Decentralized Management

• Advantages of Centralized IS Management
• Standardized hardware and software
• Efficient administration of resources
• Effective staffing
• Easier training
• Common reporting systems
• Effective planning of shared systems
• Easier strategic planning
• Efficient use of IS personnel
• Tighter control by top management

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Centralized vs. Decentralized Management (Cont.)
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Centralized vs. Decentralized Management (Cont.)

• Advantages of Decentralized IS Management
• Better fit of ISs to business needs
• Timely response of IS units to business demands
• Encouragement of end-user development of
  applications
• Innovative use of ISs
• Support for delegation of authority
• Less competition for resources

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Centralized vs. Decentralized Management (Cont.)
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Centralized vs. Decentralized Management (Cont.)
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Organizing the IS Staff

• Central IS Organization A corporate IS team over
  all units
• IS Director oversees several departments
• Usually involved in every aspect of IT
• Often includes a steering committee
• Often easier to integrate an IS plan in a
  centralized IS organization

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Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)
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Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)

• Dispersed IS Organization
• Each unit fulfills its IS needs individually
• Each business unit has one or several IS
  professionals
• Funds for development and maintenance of units
  IS own budget
• Decisions made independently

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Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)
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Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)

• A Hybrid Approach
• Small companies use the central approach
• Midsize and large use elements of central and
  decentralized approaches
• Handled according to the position of the highest
  IS officer in the organizational structure

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Business Managers Expectations of an IS Unit

• Broad understanding of business activities
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Prompt response to the information needs of the
  business unit
• Clear, jargon-free explanation of what technology
  can and cannot do for the unit

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Business Managers Expectations of an IS Unit
(Cont.)

• Candid explanations of what information systems
  can and cannot do
• Honest budgeting
• Single point of contact

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IS Manager Expectations of Business Managers

• Business planning
• Systems planning
• Systems selection or development
• Participation and partnership

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Summary

• Organizations are run by managers
• Senior managers make decisions that affect the
  entire organization
• Middle managers receive strategic decisions as
  general directives within which they develop
  tactics to achieve specific objectives
• Operational managers are responsible for daily
  operations

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Summary (continued)

• Operational managers use transaction processing
  systems to generate reports
• Clerical and other workers typically carry out
  their supervisors' orders
• A major task of middle managers in the past was
  to screen information and pass it on to
  higher-level managers

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Summary (continued)

• Because information is power, occasionally
  managers try to obtain power by controlling ISs
  beyond their real business needs
• Information technology provides very effective
  and inexpensive means of monitoring employees on
  the job
• There are many ways to organise IS staff

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Summary (continued)

• Successful use of IS technology depends on an
  understanding and collaboration between managers
  of business units and IT managers
• IS managers expect business managers to project
  their future information needs, clearly explain
  the business processes that ISs should support
  and thoroughly detail features they desire in a
  new IS