rea entitled 'Behavioral Factors'. This attempts to show in a diagrammatic form the all-pervasive influence and importance of behavioral considerations in the design and operation of MIS. Even within areas which are conventionally deemed to be' purely quantitative, the reactions, motivations, aspirations and capabilities of the people involved must be considered. Figure 1.2 Knowledge requirements for the development and operation of MIS An example is the accounting technique of Budgetary Control which is often regarded by accountants as a neutral, technical process but which is viewed by the personnel affected as anything but neutral. Properly designed, such systems may have beneficial motivating effects but all too often are seen by the managers and staff as unwanted impositions which cause resentment and dysfunctional behavior, i.e. behavior which does not contribute to organizational objectives. Because of the overall importance of behavioral considerations they are dealt with throughout the Article in context with the topic under consideration. Each of the knowledge areas shown on Figure 1.2 is introduced in the following paragraphs. The Nature of Data, Information and Communications The processing of data into information and communicating the resulting information to the user is the very essence of MIS. Data is the term for collections of facts and figures; hours worked, invoice values, part numbers, usage rates, items received etc. These basic facts are stored, analyzed, compared, calculated and generally worked on to produce messages in the form required by the user, i.e. the manager. This outline of the process is simple and readily understandable but further study will show that information is a more complex and ambiguous concept than so far indicated. From the viewpoint of developing relevant MIS, rather than the routine production of standardized reports, consideration must be given to the source of the information, the mean...
