ert data from internal and external sources into information and to communicate that information, in an appropriate form, to managers at all levels in all functions to enable them to make timely and effective decisions for planning, directing and controlling the activities for which they are responsible. Problems with MIS There is abundant evidence from numerous surveys both in the UK and the USA that existing MIS, often using advanced computer equipment, have had relatively little success in providing management with the information it needs. The typical reasons discovered for this include the following: Lack of management involvement with the design of the MIS; Narrow and I or inappropriate emphasis of the computer system; Undue concentration on low-level data processing applications particularly in the accounting area; Lack of management knowledge of computers; Poor appreciation by information specialists of management's true information requirements and of organizational problems; Lack of top management support To be successful a MIS must be designed and operated with due regard to organization and behavioral principles as well as technical factors. Management must be informed enough to make an effective contribution to systems design and information specialists (systems analysts, accountants, operations researchers and others) must become more aware of managerial functions and needs so that, jointly, more effective MIS are developed. Management do not always know what information they need and information specialists often do not know enough about management to be able to produce relevant information for the managers they serve. An example given by Professor Kaplan graphically illustrates this point. He reported that a group of American industrialists visiting Japan found that their counterparts were regularly supplied with information on the proportion of products, which pass through the factory without re-working or rectifi...
