Management Programme
ASSIGNMENT
FIRST SEMESTER
2013
MS - 54: Management Information Systems
School of Management Studies
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY
MAIDAN GARHI, NEW DELHI 110 068
MS-54
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 54
Course Title : Management Information Systems
Assignment Code : MS-54/TMA/SEM - I /2013
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 30th April,
2013 to the coordinator of your study center.
1) Define Management Information Systems (MIS) and discuss various characteristics
expected of a good MIS.
2) Evaluate critical success factor method for the purpose of Information Requirement
Analysis.
3) What are the various system analysis tools and why do we need more than one tool at a
time?
4) Discuss the main function of data communication software.
5) Define DBMS and outline the basic sequence of steps for acquiring of DBMS.
6) Computer virus is a major threat to computer security Justify the statement.
Q1.Define Management Information Systems (MIS) and discuss various characteristics
expected of a good MIS.
Ans: A management information system has been defined by Davis & Olson as " a n
integrated user-machine system designed for providing information to support
operational control, management control and decision making functions in an
organisation. The information systems make use of resources such as hardware,
software. men, procedures as well as supplies." As the above given definition
indicates, the Information systems are meant for supplying, and not generating, the
information to various managers involved in the decision making process. The
information systems are expected to provide processed information to the decision
makers at various management levels in different functional areas throughout the
organisation. To understand the management information systems, it is possible to
define it into three constituent components:
Management: Management has been defined as a process, a function, a profession
dealing with the activity of getting the work done with and through people. The
various functions of managers include directing, controlling, staffing, leading and
motivating.
Information: Information could be defined as sets of facts, figures and symbols
processed for the current decision making situation. The information is considered to
be of significance in a particular situation.
System: A system is defined as a set of related components, activities, processes,
and human beings interacting together so as to accomplish some common
objective.
Putting all these three components together, it could be seen that Management
Information Systems are sets of related processes, activities, individuals or entities
interacting together to provide processed data to the individual managers at various
levels in different functional areas.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD MIS
a) The Management Information Systems are primarily meant for providing
information from the data after processing them, The information systems do not
generate data. The data is generated, collected, recorded, stored, processed and retrieved
after it has been generated by business operations in an organisation. The information
systems follow the procedures designed for processing this data which has been
generated within the organisation,
b) The information systems are designed for the job positions rather than for
individuals. Regardless of who is the individual holding the job position, the information
systems are designed keeping in mind the job responsibilities that the individual is
supposed to perform and depends upon the information needs of the individual in the
organisational hierarchy.
c) The information systems are designed for different levels of management they are
supposed to cater to the information needs of decision makers at top, middle and
junior.levels of management.
d) The information systems are designed. for supplying information to managers
in different functional areas. The information is supplied to managers in the areas of
marketing, finance, production, personnel, materials, logistics, etc.
e) The information systems should be integrated by way of database's. The redundancy in
storage of data, processing of data and generation of reports is avoided by way of
integration of information systems. Single point data entry and updation of master data
files should be ensured to minimise chances of discrepancies in the data integrity.
f) The information systems are facilitated with electronic equipment such as computers.
Q2.Evaluate critical success factor method for the purpose of Information Requirement
Analysis.
Ans: John F. Rockart, while advocating the "CSF" approach, evaluated. the existing four-
methods of determining executive information needs, viz., the by-product technique,
the null approach; the key indicator system and the total study process..
These four techniques have their relative merits and demerits, and to overcome the-
disadvantages, the Research Team at Sloan School of Management, suggested a
creative approach termed as CSF approach for information requirement_ analysis. Its
application was found effective and response-provoking amongst the executives. As a
part of the exercise, the executive goals and the CSFs are identified and reviewed to
the satisfaction of both the executives and the system analysts.
The CSFs for any business are the limited number of areas in which results, if they.
are satisfactory, will ensure successful competitive performance for the organisation.
These are a few areas where the things "must go right", for the business to flourish.
The CSFs must receive constant and consistent attention from the management as
well as individual managers. CSFs differ from company to company and from
manager to manager and like organisations may have differing CSFs. There are four
prime sources for identifying the CS' Fs as listed below:
- Structure of the particular industry,- Competitive strategy, industry
position and geographical location of the company,
- Environmental factors,
- Temporal organisational factors needing immediate attention.
The CSFs, are generally not meant for strategic planning, since the data requirements
are impossible to pre-plan. The CSF method centres around information needs for
management control where data requirements could be defined and pre-planned.
Most executives have four to eight CSFs.
Q3.What are the various system analysis tools and why do we need more than one tool at a
time?
Ans: The fundamental activities involved in the system analysis are :
--- definition of the overall system
--- separation of the system into smaller and manageable parts
--- understanding the nature, function and interrelationships of various
subsystems.
The analysis of the information systems could be done with the help of various tools
of system analysis.
Some of the tools which are available with the system analysts-are :
Review of Documentation : Documentation on the existing system could be' reviewed
and analysed to study the objectives, reports, procedures being followed and
equipment being used. The only limitation with this technique is that the
documentation on any existing system is never complete and up-to-date,
Observation of the Situation : The system under study can always be observed by
getting involved in the system. The system analyst can work in the system or can be a
mere observer. The exercise is time consuming and costly. Also it has an inherent
limitation of the fact that the analyst may never be able to observe the intricacies of
the system.
Conducting Interviews The system analyst can conduct interviews with the user
managers and ask questions related to their job responsibilities. The interviews could
be formal or informal ones and may span over a period of time. The limitation of this
tool is that the user manager may not be able to explain the problem in detail.
Questionnaire Administration: A printed structured or unstructured questionnaire
may be administered to find out the_, information needs of individual managers. The
questionnaire survey does help In,sttving time os compared to interviews as well as
gets more committed data, but It is impossible to Osign an exhaustive questionnaire to
cover varfuus aspects of the system under study.
The analysts use a'combination of all these tools to analyse an existing system. The
analysis phase is a time consuming phase and yet a very crucial phase. The final
output of this phase i s ' a functional specification report of the existing system.
Q4) Discuss the main function of data communication software.
Ans: Data communication software is the software that is required on the tern equipment
(computer) to bridge the gaps and interpret the bits/bytes that a transmitted via the
communication media through the interface. This is illustrated Coneep a by the
following example:
When people use a telephone they follow a particular procedure or a protocol. First,
the desired telephone number is dialled,rThen the establishment of the physical link
to the desired number is confirmed with telephone bell sound. The receiver
acknowledges the call by saying `Hello', This is confirmed with a return `Hello'
from the speaker. Subsequently, the parties identify each other. Only after this
identification process, the information is exchanged, During the conversation,
whenever the information is not audible, the listeners request repetition of
information by a series of `Hellos'. Then the speaker on the other side repeats the
information and this process is continued till the end of the conversation. At the end
of the conversation the terminating process is initiated by saying `bye'; and it is
terminated only after the receipt of the acknowledgement from the other, side by a
reciprocating `bye', otherwise the conversation is continued.
This procedure, the telephone protocol, is used irrespective of the language
communication. Similarly, the computers which have to exchange information with
each other have to follow similar procedures. This collection of rules for physical
establishment of the calls, identification, and transmission of the data, no
acknowledgement and termination is called communication protocol. The
communication protocol covers a ,wide spectrum and range from single character
by character transmission with no error checking to complex rules about moving of
large amount of data involving many devices.
The requirements of the software will very much depend upon the piece of
equipment that would be connected. It would depend upon whether the terminating
equipment is a terminal controller, concentrator, a switch or a host computer. The
main functions of the software are:
--- transmission initiation and termination,
--- establishment of logical connections over physical line;
--- message assembly and deassembly,
--- data transmission and receipt,
--- code- conversion,
--- error detection, - data editing,
--- control character recognition,
--- data delivery, - data output,
--- transmi.ion monitoring and maintenance.
In addition to these the system also has to schedule and monitor the resources.
The software that fulfils these functions may completely reside on the central
computer or part of it may be located on the front end communication computers, a
concentrator or remote concentrators or in the intelligent terminals.
The designer of data-communication software faces some unique problems. The
most. basic of these is time dimension. In a normal batch processing system the
software may be designed so as not to` accept any inputs until all the
stipulations/conditions are met. Whereas, in a data-communication environment
data/users arrives in time and sequence beyond the control of the designer. It also
has to face the errors that may be caused by the''media or' the equipment connected
to it, for example, major breakdowns like line failures, or interruptions lasting as
long as one or more message. Because of these and other reasons the
communication software is different from other software.
For this reason while developing the communication software the principles of
software design and development namely: modularity, hierarchy and generality-are
comprehensively and completely followed.
The software of advanced computers is always developed in layers. Different layers
perform different functions and provide services. This applies to any major
software like operating system or database. Similar technique is also applied to,
data-communication software. These layers of software have to ensure that the data
is physically transmitted and the user receives it with no errors. Whatever...
necessary storage, error correction, monitoring and security that have to be
provided will have to' be embedded between various layers of communication
software. For advanced computer systems separate computers are made to
perform these tasks, By these processes the activities are made transparent to
the user while accessing or delivering the services, It is evident that computers of
different vendors, having different operating systems, should have a common
communication protocol to facilitate their communication with each other. Towards
establishment of standards the International Standard Organisation (ISO) has defined a
seven layer architecture called Reference Model of Open System International (OSI).
Q5)Define DBMS and outline the basic sequence of steps for acquiring of DBMS.
Ans:
A database collectively refers to one or more files that are maintained, accessed and manipulated
by one or more users. A database management system (DBMS) is a set of software programs
that control the relationship, storage and retrieval of data (fields, records and files) in a
database. It enables individuals to define, manipulate and extract information from database.
What is Database Management System(DBMS)?
A database system involves four major components:
o Data (facts, figures & statistics)
o Hardware (circuits, memory, devices etc.)
o Software (application programs)
o Users (programmers, end-users & DBA)
Aim of Database Management System
The main aim behind a database management system is to handle data collectively. This enables
us to access information easily, quickly, economically and accurately.
Various drawbacks of the conventional data file processing environment are discussed in the
next few slides.
Data Redundancy
Data elements like employee_name, employee_code, address, etc. are used in various
applications. Since data is required by multiple applications, it is stored in different data files
resulting in repetition of data. This may lead to inconsistency across different files. In DBMS,
data is stored only at one place practically eliminating redundancy and resulting in improvement
of the system performance.
Interactive Data Entry and Updating
DBMS provides a way to interactively update (modify) data in a database, as well as interrogate
it. This capability allows even a beginner to work with a database very effectively.
Ease of Learning and Use
A major feature of a database management software package is its user friendliness. In other
words documentation is adequate and clearly presented. Structural Query language and Report
Writers allow users to interactively interrogate the database and analyze it.
Data Independence
Data independence is a primary concept of database management. In DBMS package, data is
stored in a such a way so as to allow changes to the database structure without affecting the
programs that access data. Data independence in DBMS separates data entry from data
processing.
Data Security and Integrity
Data security is provided by using passwords. This prevents unauthorized users from accessing
the database. Users are allowed access to the whole of database or subsets of database, called
Subchema.
Increased Productivity
In organizations when the same database is used by several departments, DBMS provides an
easy-to-use query language that enables users to get instant answers to their questions. This
reduces the requirement of specially written programs and their frequent modifications
according to the changing needs.
Recovery from Failure
DBMS have a provision to recover database in the event of hardware / software failure. A
backup utility of database is used to obtain backup at regular intervals. Such a utility forms an
integral part of a Database Management System.
Performance
This objective emphasizes on the reduction of response time to the inquiries made by the users
of data. The satisfactory response time is governed by the nature of the user database dialogue.
basic sequences of steps to acquiring a DBMS.
Sharing data among functions by making the data global
Sharing data by passing arguments
Creating numerous special-purpose functions
Creating fewer functions
Using GOTO statements
Using structured control flow statements
Writing redundant code sequentially
Using functions for code sequences that are used repeatedly
Introduction to flowcharts
A flowchart is a graphical representation of the sequence of operations in an information system
or program. Program flowcharts show the sequence of instructions in a single program or
subroutine.
Since a flowchart shows the flow of operations in pictorial form, any error in the logic of the
procedure can be detected easily
Flowchart Symbols
Processing
A processing symbol is used in a flowchart to represent arithmetic and data movement
instructions.
Flow lines
Flow lines with arrowheads are used to indicate the flow of operation, that is, the exact
sequence in which the instructions are to be executed.
Decision
The decision symbol is used in a flowchart to indicate a point at which a decision has to be
made and a branch to one of two or more alternative points is possible.
Terminal (begin / end)
This symbol is used to start or end a flowchart.
Input / Output
This symbol is used to denote any kind of input or output.
Connector
If a flowchart becomes very long, the flow lines start crisscrossing at many places that causes
confusion and reduces the clarity of the flowchart.
Rules for Writing Flowcharts
First formulate the main line of logic, then incorporate the details in the flowchart.
Maintain a consistent level of detail for a given flowchart.
Do not give every detail on the flowchart. A reader who is interested in greater details can refer
to the program itself.
Words in the flowchart symbols should be common statements and easy to understand.
Be consistent in using names and variables in the flowchart.
Go from left to right and top to bottom in constructing the flowchart.
Keep the flowchart as simple as possible. The crossing of flow lines should be avoided as far
as possible.
If a new flowcharting page is needed, it is recommended that the flowchart be broken at an
input or output point. Moreover, properly labeled connectors should be used to link the portions
of the flowchart on different pages.
Advantages of Flowcharts
Conveys Better Meaning
Since a flowchart is a pictorial representation of a program, it is easier for a programmer to
understand and explain the logic of the program to some other programmer.
Analyses the Problem Effectively
A macro flowchart that charts the main line of logic of a software system becomes a system
model that can be broken down into detailed parts for study and further analysis of the system.
Effective joining the part of a System
A group of programmers are normally associated with the design of large software systems.
Each programmer is responsible for designing only a part of the entire system. So initially, if
each programmer draws a flowchart for his part of design, the flowcharts of all the programmers
can be placed together to visualize the overall system design. Any problem in linking the
various parts of the system can be easily detected at this stage and the design can be accordingly
modified. Flowcharts can thus be used as working models in the design of new programs and
software systems.
Efficient Coding
Once a flowchart is ready, programmers find it very easy to write the concerned program
because the flowchart acts as a roadmap for them. It guides them in proceeding from the
starting point of the program to the final point ensuring that no steps are omitted. The ultimate
result is an error free program developed at a faster rate.
Systematic Debugging
Even after taking full care in program design, some errors may remain in the program because
the designer might have thought about a particular case. These errors are detected only when we
start executing the program on a computer. Such type of program errors are called bugs and the
process of removing these errors is known as debugging. A flowchart is very helpful in
detecting, locating and removing mistakes (bugs) in a program in a systematic manner.
Systematic Testing
Testing is the process of confirming whether a program will successfully do all the jobs for
which it has been designed under the specified constraints. For testing a program, different sets
of data are fed as input to that program to test the different paths in the program logic. Flow
charts help in selecting tests data for confirming the proper working of the logic.
Limitations of Flowcharts
Takes More Time to Draw
Flowcharts are very time consuming and laborious to draw with proper symbols and spacing,
especially for large complex programs.
Difficult to Make Changes
Owing to the symbol-string nature of flowcharting, any changes or modifications in the program
logic will usually require a completely new flowchart. Redrawing a flowchart is tedious and
many companies either do not change them or produce the flow chart by using a special package
designed.
Non-standardization
There are no standards determining the amount of detail that should be included in a flowchart.
Q6)Computer virus is a major threat to computer security Justify the statement.
Ans: The computer virusis a chronological successor of worm programs. The
computer virus was termed by Davis and Gantenbein (1987) as: "A Trojan horse
program with the capability of auto-relocation (same as in worms) and it can attack
other programs." Thus, a computer virus can cause a malicious activity as bombs or
Trojans but in addition can do something more. A computer virus is the most
dangerous perverse software which can reproduce itself within a computer system.
Due to its replicating nature it can attach itself to a regularly used program and make
you feel that the host file is benign although it intends to do much more. Computer
viruses are highly contagious in nature and may cause considerable damage through
an information disorder/destruction. Computer virus can get the better of the
operating system which you work on, thereby taking control of the system which
may sometimes lead to the destruction of all the data and programs on your hard disk.
Generally, a computer virus acts like a parasite. It draws on the resources of the
computer to monitor its activities, but otherwise does not immediately change the
functioning of the boot system. This is done to evade early detection. If the virus has
destructive effects, the reaction must be delayed somehow, because if it immediately
destroys the host software, it will never be able to reproduce and spread.
The main characteristics of computer virus are
i) Making replicas : A virus can copy itself into another place, file or another
disk. Typically, if a disk carrying a virus is put into a computer, the virus can
get loaded into the machine through Random Access Memory (RAM) and
copies itself onto every other disk that is used thereafter. The virus can also
propagate a copy of itself through the telephone lines or via network
connections. Sometimes a mutated version of the virus may be copied which
may be difficult to recognise.
ii) Autonomous in nature : A virus may run without being explicitly called by
the user of the computer. This is possible because the virus may c1iange iT a
starting up procedure on computer such that the code of the virus is executed
prior to execution of the code of operating system. Thus, it has a degree of
autonomy.
iii) Malicious activity A virus can cause lot of damage to the computer system
in terms of software and data.
--- it may cause loss of data;
--- it may overwrite some of the important'files with unrecognised characters; ---
--- it may modify programs or software making them unusable;
--- it may scramble your database or Word Processor file resulting in incorrect
information;
--- it may not allow the system to start at all;
--- some special effects on screen like falling of characters or bouncing balls
may be produced;
it may display messages graphics on the screen such as Happy Birthday, Give me a
Cookie, your PC is stoned etc.
It is usually believed that viruses cannot damage the hardware. However, there could
be situations when it can damage the moving parts. If a virus can produce a sequence
of sector Read/Write instruction which can be thrust on one's terminal causing a hard
disk motor and IC working for very long duration with a lot of head movement.
Similarly, in the case of monitor it may result in rapid changes in frequency
oscillations or by creating a high intensity beam (if proper protective hardware had
not been used), the beam may destroy the phosphorous, coating on the screen.
Although no such incidents have been reported, yet one thing is for certain, that is,
because of over-working of the hard disk or low level formatting or very high speed
rotation for a very long time may reduce the overall life of these hardware
components.
iv) Avoid detection: A virus may take steps to avoid detection. An active virus
is difficult to recognize as it can hide itself from the scanning program
through showing a mutated version of itself.
Computer virus normally infect the following areas :
i) The hard disk partition table : The partition table. of the hard disk consists
of information regarding the numbers and type of partition. This occupies the
absolute sector on the hard disk and is normally not accessible to an ordinary
user. This area is modified by the viruses by including its own code in the
partition table information, thus on switching on the system, the virus
becomes active. Some of the partition table viruses area Happy birthday,
Joshi, Stoned etc.
ii) Boot record of hard disk or floppies : The boot record contains a program
which is essential for starting up of computer system as it helps in locating
DOS files on the disk. FAT (File Allocation Table) contains the information
of what areas on the disk are, allocated to which file. Virus changes the boot
record by including . itself or a pointer to its code in the. disk. This, results in
execution of virus code prior to the Disk Operating System files. It may
reserve some space in FAT for itself, this space can be marked as bad sector.
Partition table and Boot Sector viruses are the most dangerous viruses
because : (i) it is difficult to visualise them as the partition table and boot
sectors are sensitive areas and normal users.are not allowed to handle these
areas and (ii) they get activated veryearly in the starting up procedure, thus,
they can take control of the system.
These viruses may go unnoticed till the time they strike and by that time irreversible
harm to data is already done.
iii) Operational files : Viruses can destroy data files yet normally' do not infect data
files which are, on-executable. Thus, a yours can overwrite wrong data on a data
file but normally does not copy or attach its code to the data files. User created
Word Processor data file, database file, ASCII files, source Program Code files
of BASIC, PASCAL are...normally not infected by virus. The files which have
following extensions often get infected by viruses :
.COM
.EXE
.OVR
.OVL
.SYS
.BIN
or any other files which can LT loaded into memory and executed.
Best Wishes
Maanas([email protected])
Top Related