Introduction to MIS
Chapter 1
Introduction
Jerry Post
Technology Toolbox: Search Engines
Technology Toolbox: Searching
Cases: Fast Food
Outline









How can MIS help you in your job?
What is MIS?
Why is information technology important? Why do all business
majors need to study it?
What are e-commerce and e-business? Is e-business increasing or
decreasing?
Do you know what a manager does? Do you know what a
successful manager will do in the future?
How is business changing? What will managers need to know in the
future?
Does technology alone improve a business?
How do you break businesses into smaller pieces to analyze them?
Why are strategic decisions so difficult? How do you begin
searching for competitive advantage?
What is MIS?

Information
◦ Data that has been put into a meaningful and
useful context. Usually to help make a decision.

Management Information System
◦ A combination of computers and people that is
used to provide information to aid in making
decisions and managing a firm.

Information Technology (IT)
MIS Components
Hardware
Software
Backup data
Restart job
Virus scan
People
Procedures
Data
Goal of This Course

How can MIS help you do your job?
Understand the technology.
 Analyze business problems.
 An introduction to systems analysis.
 Identify types of problems that MIS can
help solve through cases.
 Ability to classify problems.
 Know when to call for help.

Why is MIS Important?

MIS affects all areas of business
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Manufacturing
Accounting & Finance
Human resources
Marketing
Top management
Performance evaluations—expectations
Chapters/Topics
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Introduction
Technology Foundations
Networks
Databases
Security
Transactions and ERP
eCommerce
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Teamwork
Decisions
Strategy
Entrepreneurship
Systems
MIS Organization
Society
Productivity Growth: Output per Worker
Output per Person
120
100
80
60
40
20
1994-Q1
1994-Q3
1995-Q1
1995-Q3
1996-Q1
1996-Q3
1997-Q1
1997-Q3
1998-Q1
1998-Q3
1999-Q1
1999-Q3
2000-Q1
2000-Q3
2001-Q1
2001-Q3
2002-Q1
2002-Q3
2003-Q1
2003-Q3
2004-Q1
2004-Q3
2005-Q1
2005-Q3
2006-Q1
2006-Q3
2007-Q1
2007-Q3
2008-Q1
2008-Q3
2009-Q1
2009-Q3
2010-Q1
2010-Q3
0
1.
Managers need to use technology to increase productivity to be competitive.
2.
With a 2.9% growth rate, in a decade, productivity increases 34%.
Companies can produce the same output with half the workers. Will you be
one of the workers replaced?
http://data.bls.gov:8080/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=pr
What are e-Commerce and e-Business?

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
◦ Selling retail products to consumers

Business-to-Business (B2B)
◦ Selling at the wholesale level to other businesses

E-Business
◦ Using Internet technologies to conduct any level
of business
◦ E-Commerce
◦ Intranets
◦ Most areas of MIS
Retail E-Commerce Statistics
Retail Billtion $
U.S. Retail and E-Commerce Sales
Retail
Ecommerce
1200
60
1000
50
800
40
600
30
400
20
200
10
0
In 2010 EC was about 5 percent of total.
Remove autos and auto parts and EC is about 6 percent.
Notice the seasonal peak in the fourth quarter.
Notice the EC is growing faster than total retail sales.
http://www.census.gov/retail/index.html#ecommerce
0
Technology Excesses?
Typical Price Declines
800
700
price
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1
3
5
7
9
time
11
13
15
17
• You can buy a new
model item when it is
released or wait for the
price to drop.
• You can keep buying
new releases or
continue to use an “old”
model.
• Answers depend on
your needs, the
features offered, and
the reliability of the old
items.
• Plus the bling factor.
What do Managers do?

Traditional
◦ Organizing
◦ Planning
◦ Control

Mintzberg
◦ Interpersonal
◦ Informational
◦ Decisional

Luthans
◦ Traditional
50%
◦ Formal Communication 30%
◦ Networking
20%
Meetings
Managers and professionals spend considerable time in meetings. Providing
support for teamwork and group decisions is an important issues in MIS.
Making Decisions
Methodology v Ad Hoc Decisions
 Decision Process

◦ Collect Data
◦ Identify Problems & Opportunities
◦ Make Choices
1
2
3
Traditional Management
CEO
Commands
VP
Finance
VP
Marketing
VP
Accounting
Condensed reports
VP
HRM
VP
MIS
Analyze data
Layers of middle managers
Collect
data
Customers
Decentralization
Management Team
CEO
VP
Fin
VP
Mrkt
VP
Acct
VP
HRM
VP
MIS
Strategy
Finance
Team
Marketing
Team
Sales
Team
Accounting
Team
Methodology/Rules
Customers
HRM
Team
Franchise
Corporate
Database
&
Network
Business Trends

Changing business environment
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Specialization
Management by Methodology and Franchises
Mergers
Decentralization and Small Business
Temporary Workers
Internationalization
Service-Oriented Business
Re-engineering
Need for faster responses and flexibility
Business Trends & Implications

Specialization
◦
◦
◦
◦

Methodology & Franchises
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Increased demand for technical skills
Specialized MIS tools
Increased communication
Emphasis on Teamwork
Reduction of middle management
Increased data sharing
Increased analysis by top management
Computer support for rules
Re-engineering
Mergers
◦ Larger companies
◦ Need for control and information
◦ Economies of scale

Decentralization & Small Business
◦ Communication needs
◦ Lower cost of management tasks
◦ Low maintenance technology
Business Trend Summary
Business Trend
Implications for Technology
Specialization
1.Increased demand for technical skills
2.Specialized MIS tools
3.Increased communication
Methodology & Franchises
1.Reduction of middle management
2.Increased data sharing
3.Increased analysis by top management
4.Computer support for rules
5.Re-engineering
Mergers
1.Four or five big firms dominate most industries
2.Need for communication
3.Strategic ties to customers and suppliers
Decentralization & Small
Business
1.Communication needs
2.Lower cost of management tasks
3.Low maintenance technology
Temporary Workers
1.Managing through rules
2.Finding and evaluating workers
3.Coordination and control
4.Personal advancement through technology
5.Security
Internationalization
1.Communication
2.Product design
3.System development and programming
4.Sales and marketing
Service Orientation
1.Management jobs are information jobs
2.Customer service requires better information
3.Speed
Business Trends & Implications

Temporary Workers
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Internationalization
◦
◦
◦
◦

Managing through rules
Finding and evaluating workers
Coordination and control
Personal advancement through technology
Security
Communication
Product design
System development and programming
Sales and marketing
Service Orientation
◦ Management jobs are information jobs
◦ Customer service requires better information
◦ Speed
Internationalization
U.S. Trade
Imports/GDP
Exports/GDP
0.2
0.18
0.16
Percent
0.14
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
Year
http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/Index.asp
International Web Browsers
Web Users (Language)
Korean, 2
Russian, 3
Other, 17.8
English, 27.3
French, 3
Arabic, 3.3
German, 3.8
Portuguese,
4.2
Japanese, 5
Chinese, 22.6
Spanish, 7.8
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm
Web Users (Counts)
Middle East, Oceania/
Latin
63.2
Australia,
Africa,
110.9
America/
21.3
Caribbean,
204.7
North
America,
266.2
Million
Users
Asia, 825.1
Europe,
475.1
Asia: 30 percent of population
North America: 75 percent
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
US Employment Patterns
U.S. Employment Patterns
140
120
Million Workers
100
Service
80
Management
60
Manufacturing
Farm
40
20
0
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Categories and definitions have changed over time.
Management includes professional, sales, and administrative.
The key point is that most jobs are information-processing jobs.
But the numbers measure number of workers, not the value or sales.
http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab4.htm
Changing Business Environment

US History: Farmer Laborer Management
Year
Farm
Mfg
Mgt
Service
1920
29%
44%
22%
6%
1940
23
38
30
8
1960
9
36
43
12
1980
3
32
52
13
2000
1
16
66
17
2010
1
11
68
20
MIS Organization
Strategic
Mgt.
Tactical
Management
Business Operations
Operations, Tactics,Strategy
Sector
Operations
Production
• Machine settings
• Worker schedules
• Maintenance sch.
• Categorize assets
• Assign expenses
• Produce reports
• Reward salespeople
• Survey customers
• Monitor promotions
Accounting
Marketing
Tactics
• Rearrange work area
• Schedule new products
• Change inventory method
• Inventory valuation
• Depreciation method
• Finance short/long term
• Determine pricing
• Promotional campaigns
• Select marketing media
Strategy
• New factory
• New products
• New industry
• New GL system
• Debt vs. equity
• International taxes
• Monitor competitors
• New products
• New markets
Decision Levels
Decision
Level
Description
Example
Type of Information
Strategic
Competitive advantage,
become a market leader.
Long-term outlook.
New product that
will change the
industry.
External events, rivals,
sales, costs quality,
trends.
Tactical
Improving operations
without restructuring the
company.
New tools to cut
costs or improve
efficiency.
Expenses, schedules,
sales, models,
forecasts.
Operations
Day-to-day actions to
keep the company
functioning.
Scheduling
Transactions,
employees,
accounting, human
ordering supplies. resource management,
inventory.
Introduction to Strategy
Risk & Reward
 Creativity
 Porter’s External Agents

◦
◦
◦
◦
Customers
Suppliers
Competitors
Government
Strategy/Porter
Threat of
New Entrants
Bargaining Power
of Suppliers
Rivalry Among
Existing Competitors
Threat of Substitute
Products or Services
Bargaining Power
of Buyers
Baxter/Strategy
Typical Supply Relationship
Hospital
Supply
Closets
American Hospital
Supply
Supplier
Warehouse
Supplier
Supply storeroom
Supplier
Baxter/Strategy
AHS/Baxter Computer Link
Supplier
Hospital
Monitor
Usage data
Supply Closets
Deliver
Supplies as
needed
Free space
American Hospital
Supply
Computer
Baxter
Warehouse
Supplier
Accurate usage data
Supplier
An Internet Approach for Hospital Supply
Daily Auction
Hospital
Bid1
Bid2
Bid3 <<purchase
Supplier
Baxter
Supply Closets
Internet
Supplier
Johnson
Winning bidder
delivers supplies
Supplier
Strategy/Organization

Strength

Weaknesses
◦ Source of strength
◦ Effect on company
◦ Value of strength
◦ Possible solutions
◦ How can it be developed?
◦ Cost of solution
◦ What could undermine it?
◦ Result and cost of leaving as-is
(do nothing)
◦ Development costs
◦ Additional benefits
(opportunities)
Cloud Computing

As consumers and students, you are familiar with Web-based
services.
◦
◦
◦
◦

E-commerce, sales
News, entertainment
Communications
Social networks and interaction
Businesses can use the same approaches and run software
and data on Web servers with applications on laptops, tablets,
and cell phones to access this data.
◦ Cloud computing consists of running the main servers, data, and
business logic on Web-based servers in the Internet cloud.
◦ Each chapter explores impacts and implications for business of
moving more operations into a Web-based system.
Technology Toolbox: Choosing a Search Engine
General purpose search engines
Consider using multiple
Google, Bing, Yahoo
search engines because
Meta-searches across multiple engines
some of them filter
Dogpile
responses based on your
Encyclopedia
prior queries.
Wikipedia.org
Dictionary
Wiktionary.org (or click the research button in IE)
Phone book
Switchboard, Superpages
Products
Mysimon, Cnet
Government data
CIA.gov (World Factbook)
Fedstats.gov (main data source)
SEC.gov (EDGAR corporate filings)
Math and Science and some Data
Wolframalpha
Other (and often better)
Your library databases
Quick Quiz: Search Engines
Where would you begin your search to answer the following
questions?
1. Under the proposed IAU definition, which planetoid falls between
Mars and Jupiter?
2.
By revenue, which was the largest company in the world in 2010?
3.
Find the best price on a 512 GB SSD.
4. Which U.S. professional basketball team had the fewest wins in
the 2010-2011 season?
5. Which celebrities are still alive? Sophia Loren, Harman Killebrew,
Phyllis Diller, Nancy Reagan, I.M. Pei.
Advanced Searches
Boolean searches: And/Or/Not
Phrases: “white knight”
“white knight”
126,000
“white knight” corporate
12,000
“white knight” corporate
–hackers –groups –Australia –resources
5,080
“white knight” corporate merger
–hackers –groups –resources
701
“white knight” corporate merger
–hackers –groups –resources –history –Australia
655
You can also search by date, domain (company), linked
pages, and even reading level (with Google).
Wolfram Alpha (Mathematica)
http://www.wolframalpha.com/
Search:
derivative of 5*x^4 - 13*x^3
Other searches:
A date
A town
Two stocks
Bing (Microsoft)
http://www.bing.com
Organizing the
results to help find
answers and
knowledge.
http://www.yippy.com
Was: http://www.clusty.com
(Vivisimo)
Technology Toolbox: Government Data
Agency
Labor (BLS)
Census
Economic Analysis (BEA)
Transportation Statistics
Justice Statistics
Economic Research (Ag)
Health (CDC)
Securities and Exchange
(SEC)
http://www.fedstats.gov
Main Types of Data
Employment and prices
Demographic and maps
Economic summaries
Airline, rail, and road
Crime and courts
Food and farm economics
Health and Healthcare
Business filings
Site
www.bls.gov/data
www.census.gov
www.bea.gov
www.bts.gov
bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov
www.ers.usda.gov
www.cdc.gov/nchs
www.sec.gov
(EDGAR)
Google: Public Data (2009)
WolframAlpha
Search:
CA unemployment rate
Can use other
standard statistics
from government
databases,
including
demographics.
Quick Quiz: Government Data
1. What was the U.S. monthly unemployment rate for
the last year?
2. What is the current population of the U.S.?
3. What was the value of the U.S. trade deficit for the
last year?
Cases: Fast Food Industry
Annual Revenue
30
25
McDonald's
Billion $
20
Burger King
15
Yum
Starbucks
10
Wendys
5
0
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Net Income / Revenue
0.25
0.20
0.15
McDonald's
Ratio
0.10
Burger King
0.05
Yum
Starbucks
0.00
-0.05
-0.10
-0.15
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Wendys