What information will an MIS database hold?
Sales and Financial Information
Sales data should be collected by one of the business’ functional areas i.e. marketing. The information within Burger-Shed would be the sales data from each restaurant and should be valid and reliable because it is produced from a primary source within the company i.e. the computerised tills. It should also be accurate because the data/information will display the exact amount earned, in sales, for each day and will be stored in a database

As well as being valid and accurate, the information that was gained from the restaurant tills will be relevant because it the information gained will be used for a specific purpose. An example of the information being used to full effect would be most apparent when analysing sales and looking for ways to maximise Burger-Shed’s profit. This information can be used to make critical business decisions such as whether to spend more on stock, train/hire more people to work, open new restaurants and whether or not to increase or lower prices.

Financial information used in the MIS must also be of use to the organisation. Financial information will be accurate if it has been entered correctly into the MIS and hasn’t been tampered with. It should show the exact amount of money the company has and where money is inputted and outputted. When using financial data as a form of management information, accuracy is vital as it allows managers to make decisions based on the report they received, looking at the potential profits and reducing costs if necessary

Competitors
Competitors can have a major impact on an organisation as stiff competition may turn a company bankrupt. It is therefore vital to keep an eye on the activities of rivalling companies and respond to the activity effectively if situations change. By inputting valid, accurate and reliable data about the competition an organisation can use the management information produced to gain an advantage in the market. In business it is important to gain an insight into what opposing companies are putting into place to persuade potential consumers to look their way, and how effective their marketing strategies are to keep the other company out of their field of view. Invalid information on competing companies could mean that an organisation may not have the correct eyes to view their rival’s activity and may lose business by not addressing issues as they arise.

Example 1: If an organisation has incorrect information on prices and services of a competitor, then they may be undercut and will lose business.

Example 2: If an organisation has information about services that are being provided in a particular area, they could target the area with a specific service in order to profit from the customers of their competitors.

In general, having information on competitors will allow managers to predict future developments e.g. the release of specific products/services which opens the possibility of developing and releasing those products and services first.



Employee Skills
Information about employee skills and qualifications is both valid and relevant to an organisation as the management information produced can help make important decisions on staffing matters. Having valid information about the employee’s skills allows managers to make a choice if the employee will require additional training in his role(which can improve the organisations efficiency and quality of products); also having relevant information about the qualifications and skills of individual employees can help the managers decide which jobs and departments are best suited to individual employees

Information about employees can produce useful management information e.g. when the organisation is running training programs; allocating new jobs or roles in a specific project.

Rejected Information
As I have discussed Management information is produced by inputting a wide range of data and information into an MIS which is then analysed by the system. When information or data is selected that is not valid, accurate or relevant it should be rejected.

As an example, if an employee’s age is listed in a report as 345 … this is obviously wrong

Employee Information
When inputting information about employee skills into an MIS, some information regarding employees may have to be rejected; As an example, some information could breach the Data Protection. Information on employees can only be stored if it is being used for the purpose originally intended e.g. to calculate pension or tax rates or to send letters to employees or transfer wages to a bank … if an organisation stores personal details that are not being used for a specific and agreed purpose then it may be in breach of the Data Protection Act – Employees personal details should not be held within the MIS and should only be available to specific, authorised employees in the Personal Department (Human Resources)

GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF PERSONAL DATA THAT COULD BE IRRELEVANT TO A COMPANY

Firm’s Banking Details
Sound financial information is essential to a company but there is some information that should not be stored in the MIS e.g. the organisations banking details – storing the company’s banking details could cause problems if they were accessed by unauthorised people e.g. hacker or dishonest employees – only specific employees in the accounts department should have access … obviously unauthorised access could have a massive impact on a company e.g. loss of funds or even bankruptcy

FIND AN EXAMPLE ON THE INTERNET OF A COMPANY WHO HAD THEIR ACCOUNTS HACKED OR STOLEN



Customer’s Personal Information
An organisation should not enter customer’s personal details into an MIS (such as address, telephone number and bank details). There are two reasons for this:

1. it would breach the Data Protection Act 1998 and
2: The information is invalid for decision making purposes.

If a customer’s personal details were acquired by a third party and used for illegal or unethical purposes; serious legal implications may follow.

As the data is of no strategic use to management it should only be used by an organisation for contacting customers to discuss problems or issues with their products or services i.e. it should not be available within the MIS
GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW A CUSTOMERS DETAILS COULD BE USED ILLEGALY OR UNETHICALLY BY A THIRD PARTY