In the present-day world, nearly all business theorists seem to have agreed upon the fact that the right use of information that the entrepreneur in question has at his/her disposal makes a pivoting point in the development of private entrepreneurship. However, the so-called informational systems need a very delicate treatment. While MIS and BIS (management information systems and business information systems) allow for a great pool of opportunities, when controlled by a single person or a small group of people, MIS/BIS can possibly become a very dangerous weapon against the head of the company, as well as employees.
Defining the role of MIS/BIS in an organization, one must mention that BIS is supposed to “produce high-quality information that can be used to support the activities of an organization” (Bocij & Hickie, 2009, p. 5). In its turn, MIS presupposes the ability to manage the obtained information (Bocij & Hickie, 2009, p. 5). With the help of the information regarding the company and its position in the corresponding market, one can learn what the company’s weaknesses and key assets are, and to use the latter, while taking care of the firm’s negative aspects and, thus, raise the company’s revenues.
However, MIS and BIS also have their controversies; among the most notorious, the idea that a large number of managers contributes to deterioration of the knowledge sharing system should be mentioned (Bocij & Hickie, 2009, p. 6). As the recent researches show, distributing information via multiple management levels results in distortion of basic facts and, as a result, non-productive management decisions: “in future organizations, both the number of management levels and the number of managers can be sharply cut. The reason is straightforward: it turns out that whole layers of management neither make decisions nor lead” (Congress, n. d., p. 131).
Judging by the above-mentioned facts, it can be considered that MIS and BIS contribute to a much more efficient information provision, sharing and digesting. However, it is yet to be decided whether the manual process of handling information is actually more efficient than the one suggested by BIS and MIS. On the one hand, manual information processing presupposes that, even in case of unforeseen accident (e.g., tackling a new information type/source), the information will be processed. On the other hand, manual information processing always involves a human factor and, therefore, increases the possibility of a mistake, which is why MIS and BIS are obviously preferable.
While MIS and BIS improve the quality of life by making the process of information digesting faster, it is still worth remembering that the introduction of MIS and BIS has put a number of people who used to be responsible for information analysis out of work. In addition, the fact that mostly the members of the IT crew are going to handle the information stream leaves doubts concerning the information objectivity and validity. It can be concluded that MIS and BIS are not secure enough, yet very promising as an information-processing tool. Hence, they should be promoted, yet it is necessary to make sure that MIS and BIS are built by not only IT employees, but also other groups within the company, and that the company supports an efficient system of knowledge sharing.
Therefore, it is obvious that MIS and/or BIS make an integral part of any successful present-day company; however, it is crucial that the system of knowledge sharing should be introduced into the company to avoid the possible instances of fraud and dishonest use of information. It is also essential to keep in mind that, once introducing the MIS/BIS system into an organization, the latter should be subjected to a considerable change in structure. Therefore, people might be shifted to lower positions or even lose their job due to the rearrangement of the company. Whenever introducing the MIS/BIS structure, one must keep in mind that the given system means drastic changes, and the entire company must be ready for these changes.
Reference List
Bocij, P & Hickie, S, 2009, Business information systems: Technology, development and management, Pearson Education, Harlow, UK.
Congress, n. d., Critical connections: Communication for the future, DIANE Publishing, Collingdale, PA.