Management

Information
Systems
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones

Chapter 9: Managers and Their

Information Needs
www.cengage.co.uk/oz

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Learning Objectives
• Explain the link between an organization’s structure and
information flow
• List the main functions and information needs at
different managerial levels
• Identify the characteristics of information needed by
different managerial levels
• Recognize the influence of politics on the design of, and
accessibility to, information systems

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Learning Objectives (continued)
• Describe the ways in which IT personnel are
deployed in organizations
• List and explain the advantages and
disadvantages of various personnel
deployments
• Explain the importance of collaboration
between IS managers and business managers
and describe the relationship between the two
groups
Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Managers and Information
• Different levels of managers need different
types of information for different types of
decisions
• Increased flexibility of IS allows for changes in
organizational structure
• Politics of information is an issue

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 The Traditional
Organizational Pyramid
• Many organizations follow pyramid model
– CEO at top
– Small group of senior managers
– Many more lower-level managers
• Clerical and Shop Floor Workers
– No management-level decisions required
• Operational Management
– Comply with general policies handed down

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 The Traditional
Organizational Pyramid (Cont.)
• Tactical Management
– Wide-ranging decisions within general directions
handed down; “how to do it” decisions

• Strategic Management
– Decisions affect entire or large parts of the
organization; “what to do” decisions

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 The Traditional
Organizational Pyramid (Cont.)

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Characteristics of Information
at Different Managerial Levels
• Data Scope
– Amount of data from which information is
extracted
• Time Span
– How long a period the data covers
• Level of Detail
– Degree to which information is specific
Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Characteristics of Information
at Different Managerial Levels
(Cont.)
• Source: Internal vs. External

– Internal data: collected within the organization

– External data: collected from outside sources

• Media, newsletters, government agencies, Internet

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Characteristics of Information
at Different Managerial Levels (Cont.)
• Structured and Unstructured Data

– Structured data: numbers and facts easily stored

and retrieved

– Unstructured data: drawn from meetings,

conversations, documents, presentations, etc.
• Valuable in managerial decision making

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Characteristics of Information
at Different Managerial Levels (Cont.)

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
The Nature of Managerial Work

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Planning
• Planning at different levels
– Long-term mission and vision
– Strategic goals
– Tactical objectives
• Most important planning activities
– Scheduling
– Budgeting
– Resource allocation
Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Planning (Cont.)

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Planning (Cont.)

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By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
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 Controlling
• Control activities by comparing plans to results

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Decision Making
• Both planning and control call for decision making

• The higher the level of management:

– The less routine the manager’s activities

– The more open the options

– The more decision-making involved

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Management by Exception
• Review only exceptions from expected results that are
of a certain size or type to save time

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Leading Managers Require these
Skills and Abilities:
• Vision and creating confidence in others
• Encouraging and inspiring subordinates
• Initiating activities for efficient and effective work
• Creating new techniques to achieve corporate goals
• Presenting a role model for desired behavior
• Taking responsibility for undesired consequences
• Delegating authority

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Organizational Structure
• IT Flattens the Organization
– Eliminates middle managers

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 The Matrix Structure
• People report to different supervisors, depending on
project, product, or location of work

• More successful for smaller, entrepreneurial firms

• IT supports matrix structure

– Easier access to cross-functional information

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
The Matrix Structure

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Managers and Their
Information Systems

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Transaction-Processing Systems
(TPS)
• Capture and process raw materials for information

• Interfaced with applications to provide up-to-date

information

• Clerical workers use TPS for routine responsibilities

• Operation managers use TPS for ad-hoc reports

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Decision Support Systems (DSS)
and Expert Systems (ES)

• DSS and ES support more complex and nonroutine

decision-making and problem-solving activities

• Used by middle managers as well as senior managers

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Executive Information Systems
(EIS)
• Provide timely, concise information about
organization to top managers

• Provide internal as well as external information

– Economic indices

– Stock and commodity prices

– Industry trends
Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Information,
Politics, and Power
• Politics
– Development and control of ISs often involves
problematic politics
• Power
– Information affords power which can be problematic
• Who owns the system?
• Who pays for developing the system?
• Who accesses what information?
• Who has update privileges?
• The Not-Invented-Here Phenomenon
Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Ethical and Societal Issues
Electronic Monitoring of Employees
• The Microchips Are Watching

– Video cameras

– Software to count keystrokes

– Artificial intelligence to monitor cash disbursement

and detect fraud

– Monitoring e-mail and Web access

Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Ethical and Societal Issues
Electronic Monitoring of Employees
• The Employers’ Position
– Entitled to know how employees spend time
– Believe monitoring is an objective, nondiscriminatory
method to gauge output
• The Employees’ Position
– Deprives them of autonomy and dignity
– Increases stress and stress-related illness and injury
Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Management of Information
Technology Resources
• Centralized Management
– Staff positions and departments in strict vertical
hierarchy
– Control of organization in few hands
• Decentralized Management
– Delegates authority to lower-level managers
• IS often follows management pattern

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Centralized vs. Decentralized
Management
• Advantages of Centralized IS Management
– Standardized hardware and software
– Efficient administration of resources
– Effective staffing
– Easier training
– Common reporting systems
– Effective planning of shared systems
– Easier strategic planning
– Efficient use of IS personnel
– Tighter control by top management
Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Centralized vs. Decentralized
Management (Cont.)

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Centralized vs. Decentralized
Management (Cont.)
• Advantages of Decentralized IS Management
– Better fit of ISs to business needs
– Timely response of IS units to business demands
– Encouragement of end-user development of
applications
– Innovative use of ISs
– Support for delegation of authority
– Less competition for resources
Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Centralized vs. Decentralized
Management (Cont.)

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Centralized vs. Decentralized
Management (Cont.)

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Organizing the IS Staff
• Central IS Organization: A corporate IS team over all
units
– IS Director oversees several departments
– Usually involved in every aspect of IT
– Often includes a steering committee
– Often easier to integrate an IS plan in a centralized
IS organization
Use with Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)
• Dispersed IS Organization
– Each unit fulfills its IS needs individually
– Each business unit has one or several IS
professionals
– Funds for development and maintenance of unit’s
IS own budget
– Decisions made independently

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Organizing the IS Staff (Cont.)
• A Hybrid Approach

– Small companies use the central approach

– Midsize and large use elements of central and

decentralized approaches

– Handled according to the position of the highest IS

officer in the organizational structure

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Business Managers’ Expectations
of an IS Unit
• Broad understanding of business activities

• Flexibility and adaptability

• Prompt response to the information needs of the

business unit

• Clear, jargon-free explanation of what technology can

and cannot do for the unit

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Business Managers’ Expectations
of an IS Unit (Cont.)
• Candid explanations of what information systems can
and cannot do

• Honest budgeting

• Single point of contact

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 IS Manager Expectations of
Business Managers
• Business planning

• Systems planning

• Systems selection or development

• Participation and partnership

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Summary
• Organizations are run by managers

• Senior managers make decisions that affect the entire

organization

• Middle managers receive strategic decisions as general

directives within which they develop tactics to achieve
specific objectives

• Operational managers are responsible for daily operations

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Summary (continued)
• Operational managers use transaction processing
systems to generate reports

• Clerical and other workers typically carry out their

supervisors' orders

• A major task of middle managers in the past was to

screen information and pass it on to higher-level
managers

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Summary (continued)
• Because information is power, occasionally managers
try to obtain power by controlling ISs beyond their
real business needs

• Information technology provides very effective and

inexpensive means of monitoring employees on the
job

• There are many ways to organise IS staff

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
 Summary (continued)
• Successful use of IS technology depends on an
understanding and collaboration between managers of
business units and IT managers

• IS managers expect business managers to project their

future information needs, clearly explain the business
processes that ISs should support and thoroughly
detail features they desire in a new IS

Use with Management Information Systems 1e

By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning