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I. THE ANALYTICAL EXPOSITION ......................... 1
Introduction ...................................... 1
Computer Systems .................................. 1
Information Processing ............................ 2
II. THE CRITICAL CONTEXT ............................. 5
Introduction ..................................... 5
Information Quality .............................. 6
Computers and Decision Making .................... 6
III. THE INTEGRATIVE CONCLUSION ....................... 7
IV. REFERENCES ....................................... 8
THE CONTRIBUTION OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATIONSYSTEMS AND COMPUTER SUPPORTTO ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
Introduction This paper presents a discussion of the contribution of management information systems (MIS) and computer support to engineering management. An MIS is considered to be a computer based system which processes data into a meaningful form, so that they may be used by managers, engineering and otherwise, in the organizational decision making process (Senn, 1990). Contemporary organizations find themselves in the midst of the information environment. The information environment is highly dependent upon the application of computer technology to all facets of management and organization particularly to the decision making processes.
As the underlying secret of the success of contemporary information systems is the computer, it is wise to understand how this machine performs its tasks in the processing of information for management. "Computer architecture embraces the art and science of assembling logical elements into a com puting device" (Foster, 1989, p. 65). Computer architecture meshes the requirements and problems of computer hardware and
computer software in the development of computing devices and syst...