The rise of the Management Information Systems

The rise of the Management Information Systems (MIS) department in corporations has not been a smooth one. In many cases, the department grew without a coordinated plan to integrate its functions into the overall organization, and many "old-fashioned" managers were put off by having to rely on an entirely separate department for information they felt could be generated faster, more accurately and by their own people. This is the situation that this department now faces. Because one employee in this department has considerable computer experience, the manager relied on him to produce reports within the department that eliminated the need to depend or rely on corporate information. The result is that the reports differ in content (sometimes significantly) from the corporate reports, and there is a duplication of computer resource in the parallel databases and reports that are produced.

At first glance, the reports produced within the department appear to be more accurate than the reports produced by the corporate mainframe, but this may be misleading. While the departmental reports use the same data that the mainframe reporting system uses, obviously, that data is being manipulated in different ways. While it is possible that the departmental reports are, in fact, more accurate, it is also possible (and even likely) that the corporate reports adhere to a company-wide standard with regard to assumptions, time periods involved and units with which the departmental computer

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yee's ability to gain access to the corporate mainframe computer. While the information that has been downloaded from that system has not, to anyone's knowledge, been used for any illicit purposes, the danger obviously exists. As a result, a security audit should be made of the company's computer system as a whole and guidelines for access changed in order to protect not only internal access, but external access, as well. There is the danger that the departmental computer expert is not the only employee who has gained unauthorized access to the corporate computer, which calls into question the overall integrity of the computer system. In order to remedy the situation as it currently exists, the department must begin to convert its reporting system to that of the company as a whole. This means that the internal reporting which has taken place in the past needs to be eliminated in favor of centralized reporting in accordance with company standards and guidelines. However, since there is a question as to which reporting system yields more accurate information, careful investigation should be undertaken with the departmental computer expert and MIS personnel to determine why the discrepancies exist. Once these discrepancies are

Category: Business - T