Management Information Systems - Assignment Example

Management Information SystemIntroductionAt the present, management information systems (MISs) have become an essential element of almost all the business organizations as they provide them with a wide variety of features and benefits to run and manage business operations effectively. The basic objective of this paper is to discuss the implementation of an MIS in the context of a Law Company. I have been hired by the Law Company to present an analysis of the company’s situation.ProblemsInitially, the Law Company was started by three lawyers but with the passage of time it turned out into a medium-sized law firm.

At the present, almost ten lawyers are working in this firm. Basically, the Law Company has been using a traditional approach to run and manage its business related activities due to which it has been undergoing a wide variety of problems and issues. Some of these issues are outlined below:Traditional and complex method of managing accounts and other informationComplex information managementDifficulty in accessing the useful information on timeNo concept of data sharingAbsence of customers’ record managementUnavailability of useful data for decision makingLack of control over business information (as it is being managed by an outside firm)Costly and time-consuming business infrastructureComplex resources managementImproper security and data accessProposed SolutionIn order to deal with the above mentioned issues, the Law Company should implement an effective management information system, because “a management information system is the hardware and software systems within an enterprise that provide the information that management needs to run an enterprise” (Rouse, 2014).

 The implementation of a management information system will provide a large number of benefits to the Law Company. Some of the major benefits of this implementation are outlined below:Effective support for decision making Effective data sharing among all the users Customers’ record management All the data will be stored in the same formatImproved way of workingEasy data collection and managementImproved security (only authorized users with a proper user ID and password will be able to access the information that they want to access and this ID will decide whether they are allowed to access a particular information or not).

Proposed TechnologyAt the present, a large number of ready-made management information systems are available for supporting every function of a business. For instance, SAP offers a wide variety of systems for different departments such as accounting, human resource management and so on. But these systems are useful when the size of a company is huge because the implementation of these systems is more costly than the customized solution. In addition, they also charge a license fee on monthly or yearly basis.

I will suggest the implementation of a SQL database, which can be linked with a user interface developed in Dot Net Technology. The implementation of this system will be less expensive as compared to a ready-made system.Working of the systemThe system will be used to manage all kinds of data that relate to the Law Company. Basically, this system will be developed by collecting all the requirements from all the stakeholders. For instance, an accounting module will be implemented in accordance with the accounting related requirements of the company.

This module will process all the data that are used by the company to process and calculate prices. In the same way, other modules will be implemented by considering other requirements. TCOThis system will be implemented within the company and the company will be the total owner of the system. In this scenario, this implementation will improve the security of the company’s assets because all the information will remain under the control of the company.Change ManagementThe system will be developed by considering the growth of the company.

The development team will take care the expected growth of the company so that the system could be extended whenever new users or requirements emerge.ReferencesLaudon, K. C. & Laudon, J. P., 1999. Management Information Systems. 6th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.Rouse, M., 2014. MIS (management information systems). [Online] Available at: http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/definition/MIS[Accessed 04 January 2015].Stair, R. M. & Reynolds, G. W., 2003. Principles of Information Systems, Sixth Edition.

Toronto: Thomson Learning, Inc..