Types of Information

System
Levels of the Organization
 Executive
ExecutiveLevel
Level
Strategic
Strategicplanning
planningand
andresponses
responsesto
tostrategic
strategicissues
issuesoccur
occur
here.
here.Executive
Executivedecisions
decisionsare
areusually
usuallyunstructured
unstructuredandandare
are
made
madeusing
usinginformation
informationconsolidated
consolidatedinternal
internaland
and
external
externalinformation
information
Managerial
ManagerialLevel
Level
Monitoring
Monitoringand
andcontrolling
controllingofofoperational
operationalactivities
activities
and
andexecutive
executiveinformation
informationsupport
supportoccur
occurhere.
here.
Managerial
Managerialdecisions
decisionsare
areusually
usuallysemistructured
semistructuredand and
are
aremade
madeusing
usingprocedures
proceduresand
andad adhoc
hoctools
tools
Operational
OperationalLevel
Level
Day-to-day
Day-to-daybusiness
businessprocesses
processesand
andinteractions
interactionswith
with
customers
customersoccur
occurhere.
here.Operational
Operationaldecisions
decisionsareare
usually
usuallystructured
structuredand
andare
aremade
madeusing
usingestablished
established
policies
policiesand
andprocedures
procedures
Management Functions
Who, What, Why: Organizational Level
Who, What, Why: Managerial Level
Who, What, Why: Executive Level
Basic Systems Model
System Example: Payroll System (TPS)
System Type: Transaction Processing Systems
System Description: Transaction Processing Systems
TPSs are a special class of information systems designed to
process business events and transactions
Architecture Components
• Source Documents – these contain the event or transaction
information to be processed by system
• Data Entry Methods
• Manual – a person entering a source document by hand
• Semiautomated – using a capture device to enter the source
document (e.g. a barcode scanner)
• Fully Automated – no human intervention, one computer
talks or feeds another computer (e.g. automatic orders from
inventory systems)
• Processing – transactions can be either:
• Online – processed individually in real-time
• Batch – grouped and processed together at a later time
 Examples of real-time transaction
processing

• Reservation systems: set aside

service/product for future use
• Point-of-sale (POS) terminals: sells
goods/services
• Library loan systems: keeps track of items
borrowed from library
 System flowchart for a POS system

Customer
receipt

Inventory MIS
quantity database

Server POS system

quantity
Purchase
Price database Inventory
report

Product Database
 Examples of batch transaction processing

• Cheque clearance: written order asking

bank to pay money to a person
• Bill generation: an invoice for
goods/services supplied to a customer.
• Credit card sales transaction: takes
impression of customer’s card
System Architecture: Transaction Processing System
System Type: Management Information System
System Description: Management Information Systems
MISs are used by managerial employees to support recurring
decision making in managing a function or the entire business
Supported Activities
• Scheduled Reporting - the system produces automatically
based on a predetermined schedule. Some include:
• Key Indicator – High-level summaries to monitor performance
(e.g. Monthly Sales Report)
• Exception – Highlights situations where data is out of normal
range (e.g. Monthly Late Shipments)
• Drill Down – Provides lower level detail aggregated in a
summary report (printed only if needed)
• Ad Hoc Reporting – unscheduled reports that are usually
custom built to answer a specific question (e.g. sales data by
person report to identify issues)
System Architecture: Management Information System
System Type: Executive Information System (EIS)
System Description: Executive Information Systems
EISs, also called Executive Support Systems (ESS), are special
purpose information systems to support executive decision-
making
System Details
These systems use graphical user interfaces to display
consolidated information and can deliver both:
• Soft Data - textual news stories or non-analytical data
• Hard Data – facts, numbers, calculations, etc.

Supported Activities
The activities supported by these kinds of systems include:
• Executive Decision Making
• Long-range Strategic Planning
• Monitoring of Internal and External Events
• Crisis Management
• Staffing and Labor Relations

6-25
System Architecture: Executive Information Systems
System Example: Executive Reporting Drill-down
(EIS)

Second Level
Data Drill Down

First Level
Graphical Summary
Systems That Span Organizational Boundaries
System Description: Functional Area Info Systems
Financial MIS
Provides financial information to all financial
managers within an organization
System Examples: Functional Area Info Systems