Strategies to Formulate Mis Design

Question :

What are the strategies to formulate the appropriate MIS design?

Answer :

A company can consider various strategies to formulate the appropriate MIS design (O'brien and Marakas, 2011). Given below are few of the strategies that can be used:

Organization-chart approach

As for this approach, the company can design MIS as per the existing functional areas. As for example, marketing, human resource, production, administration, finance, and R&D. These functions are already defined in most of the organization and indicate where one department ends and other begins. 

Total-system approach

In this approach, the entire activities related to data such as collecting, storing, and processing of data are done under single system. The system architect first identifies the relationship between all the data and then does the implementation. This method is most appropriate for the organizations that are still developing. 

Integrate-later approach

In this approach, the MIS is left to evolve on its own as per need basis. No conscious effort is made in this approach to define the overall design of the MIS. However, this approach creates not only confusion but also slows down activities as well. Managers who may need information from all sub-systems may never get what they want for quick decision making. This approach is less popular in contemporary business environment. 

Top-down approach

In this approach, the need of the information for various management layers are defined and then MIS is built as per it. If in an organization, the information need of the top management is somewhat stable whether it is in content, details, or frequency, then the need can be filled by MIS. However, this approach is less useful for the organization where the management need instant access to the required information. 

Data-collection approach

In this approach, all forms of data are collected that might be useful as per the design of the MIS. After that, the data are classified. The exploitation of the data in the future by the organization depends on its classification. Major focus of this approach stays on classification at the initial stage, thus there exists some risk of confusion if done carefully.

Database approach

In this approach, all the data are collected in a huge database and continuously maintained. This is the most acceptable strategy to design MIS because in this system can be made and maintained conveniently. Also, the company has to build complete MIS from start and the management can also get instant access to needed information.