Introduction


            Management information system gives emphasis to the collection, organization, analysis and distribution of information for the planning and control of business and organizational operations. Within every organization, management is required to bring together the data gathered through its functional activities and to analyze that data to help management decision making. The data obtained can come from a range of resources (Mccall and Stone 2004, p. 84).


Different Management Information Systems


1. Electronic Data Interchange Systems (EDI)


            Electronic data interchange systems represents the exchange of documents and transactions by a computer in one company with the computer(s) of one or more other companies in an open-system environment. The application of EDI involves the conversion of a written document into a machine-readable form so that a computer in one company can communicate directly with the computer of the other company (Thierauf 1999, pp. 19-20).


2. Decision Support Systems (DSS)


            Essentially, an individually oriented decision support system is designed to satisfy the needs of a manager at any level in a distributed data processing environment. The system is designed to support the problem-finding and problem-solving decisions of the manager. Such a system emphasizes direct support for the manager in order to enhance the professional judgment required to make decisions, especially when the problem structures tend to be semi structured and unstructured (Thierauf 1999, p.21).


3. Executive Information Systems (EIS)


            EIS is used mostly for highly structured reporting, sometimes referred to as status access. DSS has become almost synonymous with modeling and unstructured, ad hoc querying. Executive information systems are aimed at senior executives who currently have few, if any, computer-based systems to assist them in their day-to-day responsibilities. EIS brings together relevant data from various internal and external sources, delivering important information quickly and in a useful way. More important, it filters, compresses, and tracks critical data as determined by each executive end user. EIS performs the conceptually simple task of informing senior executives on matters relevant to their organizational responsibilities. Unlike traditional MIS functions that focus on the storage of large amounts of information, EIS focuses on the retrieval of specific information and on status access. The emphasis is on reducing the time and effort that the executive user must expend to obtain useful information for making the organization more competitive and its employees more productive.


An executive information system can be defined in its broadest sense as one that deals with all of the information that helps an executive make strategic and competitive decisions, keeps track of the overall business and its functional units, and cuts down on the time spent on routine tasks performed by an executive. As such, an EIS is capable of providing an executive with the right information in the right format, fast enough to enable the individual to make the right decisions (Thierauf 1999, p.22).


4. Idea Processing Systems


            Idea Processing Systems are systems designed to capture, evaluate, and synthesize individual ideas into large context that has real meaning for decision makers. The basic stages of an idea processing system center on inputs in the form of a problem statement and an observation about the problem. Processing involves idea generation and evaluation of ideas for solving the problem (Thierauf 1999, pp.22-23).


 


            In the Logistics industry, management information system is being used in tracking, warehousing and distribution


           


Literature Review


Management information system is a centralized and usually computerized information system used by the managers of an organization in making decisions (Statt 2004, p. 91). According to Hussey (1999), a management information system is an information system designed to provide financial and quantitative information to all the levels of a management in an organization. Most modern management information systems provide the data from an integrated computer database, which is constantly updated from all areas of the organization in a structural way. Access to the data is usually restricted to the areas regarded as useful to particular managers; access to confidential information is limited to top management (p.229).


According to Miller (2000), in evaluating the management information system, attention is typically directed to the integration of


1. Planning and scheduling


2. Quality control


3. Materials management


4. Production processes


5. Inspection and test


6. Inventory control


7. Level of purchased material (pp.37 – 38)


Integrated information system is a system designed to evaluate the activities of the organization. it is designed within a framework that emphasizes profit planning, performance planning, and control at all levels. It contemplates the ultimate integration of required business information subsystems, both financial and non-financial, within the organization. Formerly the primary interest of business information systems was developing financial statements. When an integrated management information system is installed, its major purpose is the production of reports that will assist management. A management information system involves more than a mechanical linking together of various organizational functions. Going one-step further, it aids management by taking over routine decision-making. A management information system is a network of related subsystems, integrated to perform the functional activities of an organization (Thierauf 1978, p. 17). In modern logistics, information technology plays a vital role. Highly integrated systems across internal and external supply chains are vital (Neumann et al, 2000). The logistics industry services range along a continuum – through general haulage, storage, inventory management, integrated distribution and logistics management – associated with increasing profitability (Mccall and Stone 2004, p. 38). While the past has seen a great accent on managing data, information, and knowledge, today the accent has moved to helping a typical company be more effective by optimizing its operations through a better understanding of what is happening on a day-to-day basis. More specifically, this takes the form of interconnected E-commerce with customers and suppliers that stretch beyond the boundaries of the organization. with the click of a mouse, various types of agents, including smart agents, are capable of accessing critical, timely information, knowledge, and intelligence needed for optimizing a company’s operations. Tapping into data services provided by logistics partners, decision makers are able to realize optimum supply chain strategies. And linked to collaborative computing platforms, a smart business systems approach enables decision makers to search for others within and outside the organization who are engaged in related activities (Hoctor and Thierauf 2003 p. 89).


Barcode Technologies


            New technologies are now being used to efficiently track physical assets, inventory and personnel. Automated systems can save more money and improve the operation. Barcode readers and RFID readers are used to collect essential data at the point of activity speedily and precisely. Bar code technology is used in the management of the supply chain. It assists in the management of the inventory flow and information from dock to stock and out the door. The barcode system helps in inventory control and merchandise movement.


            According to Eric Cohen (1994), Barcodes are irregular sequences of stripes printed on most products. It is used in keeping track of almost anything – from raw material to finish goods (p.1). They are commonly used at supermarket checkout counters to enter products’ retail prices in cash registers. Because of the barcode technology’s adaptability, it is now widely used in the front office, the back office, the factory and the warehouse. Bar coding is basically an encoding system. It is used on products that need to be tracked or counted. Bar coding is perfect for tracking products, once an item has been encoded, it can be counted, sorted and located. The printed lines encode data such as the products price, warehouse location, manufacturing date or any other specific information. According to Robert Lowson (2002), Barcode is now an essential technology for supply systems no matter what the product and service combination. Bar coding enables the unique identification and tracking of all components and finished goods/services throughout a supply network (p.96). Barcodes can be read by optical scanners called barcode readers. It can also be scanned by special software from an image. Barcodes are generally used in the supply chain and logistics. It helps in tracking large numbers of items. Compared to other technologies, barcodes are much cheaper. Compared to RFID barcode technology is a very mature technology but it has proven benefits across a range of industries. Barcodes are embedded in all facets of business.


Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a method of automatic identification. It uses RFID tags of transponders to store and remotely retrieve data. Today RFID is used as a replacement for bar codes. RFID tags are widely used in product tracking. The tags are used in library book or bookstore tracking, pallet tracking, airline baggage tracking, and apparel and pharmaceutical item tracking. RFID tags are often seen as a potential barcode replacement. It has a number of important advantages over the older barcode technology.


 


            The standard way to identify and follow a product on its path through factories and down the supply chain has long been the familiar bar code. Used for many years on everything from cans of beans to car bodies, it is a passive identification marker like a license plate. Each of its stripes stands for a coded number, but the stripes are as unchangeable as one’s thumbprint. If the contents or the destination of an industrial part or product change, a new barcode label must be printed and attached. As such, the use of bar codes requires a lot of labor. According to industry experts, as many as 60 percent of the workers in warehouses spend time validating bar codes. Items have to be lined up individually for scanning, even in highly automated identification systems such as those at major package-handling companies. Increasingly, industry is turning to a better method, called radio-frequency identification (RFID). “Radio frequency” stands for electromagnetic waves of a wavelength suitable for wireless communication. In place of a bar code, an RFID system uses a plastic tag, sometimes as small as two matches laid side by side. Embedded in it is a digital memory chip the size of a pinhead.


 


            For the most part, the tag contains more information than a bar code. Because radio is used, tagged products do not have to be aligned carefully for scanning. In its more sophisticated “read-write” version, RFID has an even more stunning advantage. Without touching or removing the tag, a user can alter the information on it. The user can change the itinerary of a component on the factory floor, for example, or the destination of a shipment or break it up into smaller segments headed for various cities. Compared with the RFID, the bar code is somewhat dumb. RFID is one of the important items in supply chain management. In a typical read-write application, a product with an RFID tag moves down a conveyor or through a warehouse door aboard a forklift truck. The tagged product passes a “gate” or checkpoint, with a stationary antenna the size and shape of a small dinner plate. A transmitter sends a burst of radio waves through the antenna to the chip inside the tag to read the information stored in it, to change the information, or to impart a new message. The tiny RFID tag has an antenna of its own, a loop of copper plating.


 


            By using RFID tags throughout the supply chain, configure-to-order assemblers could closely coordinate the arrival of components for final assembly. A report from the Gartner Group cites a hypothetical example. A customer orders a computer, specifying the type of keyboard, monitor, and central processing unit. The individual wants it assembled and delivered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The keyboard comes from Puerto Rico, the monitor from Malaysia, and the central processing unit from Cork, Ireland. At present, the assembler cannot easily and inexpensively track components in transit. As a result, the scheduling of assembly is put off until all the components have arrived from their far-flung points of origin. Because the manufacturer often does not get paid until the computer is assembled and delivered, this kind of delay costs money. But if the movement of incoming components could be closely monitored with the help of RFID tags, the Gartner report says, no time would be lost. The assembler could schedule the job for the day the components are expected to arrive. RFID systems work very much like the barcode system. However, in RFID a clear line-of-sight between the scanner and the tag is not necessary. RFID uses radio waves that travel through many materials. RFID technology is replacing the barcode system and developing rapidly. RFID tags can be updated with new data. It offers the ability to change data records of the object. Barcodes on the other hand, are “read only” media. Barcode uses an optical media therefore; it requires a clear line of sight. RFID tags emit radio waves to communicate their data. A clear line of sight is not necessary.


 


            Barcode and RFID, in reality are two complementary technologies. Bar code is cheaper while RFID can store more data. Bar code can be used hand in hand with RFID. Bar code can be a useful backup to RFID. RFID technology allows tracking of pallet, lot and unit long after it has left the factory warehouse. Manufactures can track product genealogy and can understand better the creation of successes and defects. Using RFID companies will have better data about the product’s post-production performance. Within the warehouse, the tags can help improve logistics. It can help the manufacturer use the oldest components first. One of the major differences between RFID and bar code technology is the elimination of the need for line-of-sight reading that bar coding depends on. RFID scanning can be done at a greater distance than bar code scanning. One of the barcode’s disadvantage is there is no way to scan the item once the label has been ripped, soiled or fell off. In addition, a standard bar code identifies only the manufacturer and the product not the unique item. The bar code of a product is the same with the barcodes of the other products. It is impossible to identify which one is older.


 Critical Analysis


            Management information systems used the computer as a means of providing information to solve recurring operational problems. There is a need for a better approach that will position the decision makers at the center of the decision- making process. Management information systems have been studied for over thirty years. Yet the subject still lacks a coherent conceptual framework, a pervasive paradigm or even clear boundaries. The topics within the field are diverse (Currie and Galliers 1999, p. 393). Predominantly, contributions to our knowledge about management information system teaching and research have been based on western scholarship – on an academic tradition rooted in the conventions of classical philosophy of science, dominated by the English language, reflecting Western values. In the United States, most academics who identify themselves with management information systems are located in business schools. Business interest in computers expanded beyond clerical cost reduction to the use of data for managerial decision-making. Transaction processing systems generated volumes of data about business operations and resource use. Teaching and research began to focus on the information requirements of individual managers, reporting formats, data modeling and analysis techniques, the principles of decision support, decision-making effectiveness, and related areas. When failures remained high despite improved system building practices, interest in implementation and user involvement in software development grew. Since then, many additional business uses for computing, known as applications have been developed and named, including expert systems, executive information systems, and personal productivity and group support tools. Several basic assumptions and beliefs that continue to characterize the management information system field today can be identified in its early history (Currie and Galliers 1999, pp. 177-178).



Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com


0 comments:

Post a Comment

 
Top