Management Information Systems By Effy Oz & Andy Jones

1. Management Information SystemsByEffy Oz & Andy Jones Chapter 9: Managers and Their Information Needs www.cengage.co.uk/oz

2. Learning Objectives • Explain the link between an organization’s 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. The Traditional Organizational Pyramid (Cont.)

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Characteristics of Information at Different Managerial Levels (Cont.)

12. The Nature of Managerial Work

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

14. Planning (Cont.)

15. Planning (Cont.)

16. Controlling • Control activities by comparing plans to results

17. Decision Making • Both planning and control call for decision making • The higher the level of management: • The less routine the manager’s activities • The more open the options • The more decision-making involved

18. Management by Exception • Review only exceptions from expected results that are of a certain size or type to save time

19. 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

20. Organizational Structure • IT Flattens the Organization • Eliminates middle managers

21. 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

22. The Matrix Structure

23. Managers and TheirInformation Systems

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. Centralized vs. Decentralized Management • Advantagesof 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

32. Centralized vs. Decentralized Management (Cont.)

33. 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

34. Centralized vs. Decentralized Management (Cont.)

35. Centralized vs. Decentralized Management (Cont.)

36. 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

37. Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)

38. 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 unit’s IS own budget • Decisions made independently

39. Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)

40. 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

41. 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

42. Business Managers’ Expectations of an IS Unit (Cont.) • Candid explanations of what information systems can and cannot do • Honest budgeting • Single point of contact

43. IS Manager Expectations of Business Managers • Business planning • Systems planning • Systems selection or development • Participation and partnership

44. 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

45. 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

46. 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

47. 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