INTRODUCTION- Definition Of MIS Management information Systems (MIS), sometimes referred to as Information Manag ement and Systems, are the discipline covering the application of people, techno logies, and procedures — collectively called information systems — to solving bu siness problems. Management Information Systems are distinct from regular inform ation systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization. Academically, the term is common ly used to refer to the group of information management methods tied to the auto mation or support of human decision making, e.g. Decision Support Systems, Exper t systems, and Executive information systems.The terms MIS and information syste m are often confused. Information systems include systems that are not intended for decision making. MIS is sometimes referred to, in a restrictive sense, as in formation technology management. That area of study should not be confused with computer science. IT service management is a practitioner-focused discipline. MI S has also some differences with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) as ERP incor porates elements that are not necessarily focused on decision support.
SIEMENS Siemens AG is Europe's largest engineering conglomerate. Siemens' international headquarters is located in Berlin, Munich and Erlangen, Germany. The company has three main business sectors: Industry, Energy and Healthcare; with a total of 1 5 divisions. Worldwide Siemens and its subsidiaries employ approximately 420,800 people in ne arly 190 countries and reported global revenue of 76.651 billion Euros as of 200 9. Siemens AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since March 12, 2001. History • Siemens was founded by Werner von Si Siemens on 12 October, 1847. • In 1848 1848, , the the comp compan any y buil built t the the firs first t long long-d -dis ista tanc nce e tele telegr grap aph h line line in Eur Eur ope; 500 km from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main. • In 1850 1850 the the foun founde der' r's s youn younge ger r brot brothe her, r, Carl Carl Wilh Wilhel elm m Siem Siemen ens s star starte ted d to r epresent the company in London. In the 1850s, the company was involved in buildi ng long distance telegraph networks in Russia. • In 1855 1855, , a comp compan any y bran branch ch head headed ed by anot anothe her r brot brothe her, r, Carl Carl Hein Heinri rich ch von von S iemens, opened in St Petersburg, Russia. • In 1867 1867, , Sie Sieme mens ns comp comple lete ted d the the monu monume ment ntal al Indo Indo-E -Eur urop opea ean n (Ca (Calc lcut utta ta to Lon Lon don) telegraph line. • In 1881 1881, , a Siem Siemen ens s AC Alte Altern rnat ator or driv driven en by a wate waterm rmil ill l was was used used to powe power r the world's first electric street lighting in the town of Godalming, United Kin gdom • In 1890 1890, , the the foun founde der r reti retire red d and and lef left t the the comp compan any y to his his brot brothe her r Carl Carl a nd sons Arnold and Wilhelm. Siemens & Halske (S&H) was incorporated in 1897. • In 1907 1907 Siem Siemen ens s had had 34,3 34,324 24 empl employ oyee ees s and and was was the the seve sevent nthh-la larg rges est t com compa pany ny in the German empire by number of employees. • In 1919 1919, , S&H S&H and and two two othe other r comp compan anie ies s join jointl tly y form formed ed the the Osra Osram m ligh lightb tbul ulb b company. A Japanese subsidiary was established in 1923. • In the the 1950 1950s s and and from from thei their r new new base base in Bava Bavari ria, a, S&H S&H star starte ted d to manu manufa fact ct ure computers, semiconductor devices, washing machines, and pacemakers. Siemens AG was incorporated in 1966. In 1988 Siemens and GEC acquired the UK defense and technology company Plessey. • In 1991 1991, , Siem Siemen ens s acqu acquir ired ed Nixd Nixdor orf f Com Compu pute ter r AG and and rena rename med d it Siem Siemen ens s Nix Nix dorf Informationssysteme AG.
• In Octo Octobe ber r 199 1991, 1, Siem Siemen ens s acq acqui uire red d the the Indu Indust stri rial al Syst System ems s Div Divis isio ion n of of Tex Tex as Instruments, Inc, based in Johnson City, Tennessee. • In 1997 1997 Siem Siemen ens s intr introd oduc uced ed the the firs first t GSM GSM cell cellul ular ar phon phone e with with colo colour ur disp disp lay. Also in 1997 Siemens agreed to sell the defense arm of Siemens Plessey. • In 1999 1999, , Siem Siemen ens' s' semi semico cond nduc ucto tor r oper operat atio ions ns were were spun spun off off into into a new new comp comp any known as Infineon Technologies. • In Fe February 20 2003, Si Siemens re reopened it its of office in in Ka Kabul. • In 2005 2005 Siem Siemen ens s sold sold the the Siem Siemen ens s mob mobil ile e manu manufa fact ctur urin ing g busi busine ness ss to BenQ BenQ, , forming the BenQ-Siemens division. • In 2006 2006, , Siem Siemen ens s anno announ unce ced d the the purc purcha hase se of Baye Bayer r Diag Diagno nost stic ics, s, whic which h was was incorporated into the Medical Solutions Diagnostics division on 1 January 2007. • In Marc March h 2007 2007 a Siem Siemen ens s boar board d memb member er was was temp tempor orar aril ily y arre arrest sted ed and and accu accuse se d of illegally financing a business-friendly labour association. • In Apri April l 2007 2007, , the the Fixe Fixed d Netw Networ orks ks, , Mobi Mobile le Netw Networ orks ks and and Carr Carrie ier r Serv Servic ices es divisions of Siemens merged with Nokia’s Network Business Group in a 50/50 joint
venture, creating a fixed and mobile network company called Nokia Siemens Netwo rks. Nokia delayed the merger due to bribery investigations against Siemens. • In Octo Octobe ber r 2007 2007, , a cour court t in Muni Munich ch foun found d that that the the comp compan any y had had brib bribed ed pub pub lic officials in Libya, Russia, and Nigeria in return for the awarding of contra cts; four former Nigerian Ministers of Communications were among those named as recipients of the payments. The company admitted to having paid the bribes and a greed to pay a fine of 201 million Euros. In December 2007, the Nigerian governm ent canceled a contract with Siemens due to the bribery findings. • In July July 2008 2008, , Siem Siemen ens s AG anno announ unce ced d a join joint t vent ventur ure e of the the Ente Enterp rpri rise se Com Com munications business with the Gores Group. The Gores Group holding a majority in terest of 51% stake, with Siemens AG holding a minority interest of 49%. • In Apri April l 200 2009, 9, Fuji Fujits tsu u Sie Sieme mens ns Comp Comput uter ers s bec becam ame e Fuj Fujit itsu su Tech Techno nolo logy gy Solu Solut t ions as a result of Fujitsu buying out Siemens share of the company.
ORGANISATION STRUCTURE Since 1 January 2008, the company is divided into 3 sectors and a total of 15 di visions. INDUSTRY The Industry Sector is the world’s No. 1 supplier of manufacturing, transportati on, building and lighting systems. With the end-to-end automation technologies a nd a comprehensive array of industry solutions, Siemens is increasing the produc tivity, efficiency and flexibility of the customers in the industry and infrastr ucture segments. Motors and drives Automation Building technologies Mobility Lightning Market specific solutions Financial solutions IT solutions and service Communication networks HEALTH CARE The Healthcare Sector is one of the world’s largest providers to the healthcare industry, offering solutions based on core competencies and innovative strengths in diagnostic systems, therapeutic technologies and knowledge processing – incl uding information technology and systems integration. Diagnostic Imaging and therapy Laboratory diagnostics Hearing instruments
Market specific solutions Financial solutions IT solutions and services
ENERGY The Energy Sector is the world’s leading supplier of a wide range of products, s olutions and services for power generation, transmission and distribution as wel l as for the production, conversion and transport of the primary fuels oil and g as. Siemens is the only supplier worldwide with comprehensive knowhow encompassi ng the entire energy conversion chain and, in particular, plant-to-grid connecti ons and other types of interfaces. The company focuses primarily on the requirem ents of energy utilities and industrial companies – particularly those in the oi l and gas industry. Power generation Power transmission and distribution Solutions for the oil and gas industry Market specific solutions Financial solutions IT solutions and services CONSUMER PRODUCTS Computers Cordless phones, broadband and home media Electrical installation systems Hearing instruments Home appliances Home security Lightning
SIEMENS IN INDIA The Siemens Group in India has emerged as a leading inventor, innovator and impl ementer of leading-edge technology enabled solutions operating in the core busin ess segments of Industry, Energy and Healthcare. The Group’s business is represe nted by various companies that span across these various segments. Siemens brings to India state-of-the-art technology that adds value to customers through a combination of multiple high-end technologies for complete solutions. The Group has the competence and capability to integrate all products, systems and services. It caters to Industry needs across market segments by undertaking complete projects such as Hospitals, Airports and Industrial units. The Siemens Group in India comprises of 22 companies, providing direct employmen t to over 17,000 persons. Currently, the group has 18 manufacturing plants, a wi de network up of Sales and Service offices across the country as well as over 50 0 channel partners. Today, Siemens, with its world-class solutions plays a key role in India’s quest for developing modern infrastructure. The Siemens Group in India is a unique player in the field of electrical and ele ctronics engineering with a business volume aggregating about Rs 11,800 crores. The group’s business is represented by various companies that span across three major business segments of Industry, Energy and Healthcare.
UNDERSTANDING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Knowledge Management System (KM System) refers to a (generally IT based) system for managing knowledge in organizations for supporting creation, capture, storag e and dissemination of information. The idea of a KM system is to enable employees to have ready access to the organ ization s documented base of facts, sources of information, and solutions. For e xample a typical claim justifying the creation of a KM system might run somethin g like this: an engineer could know the metallurgical composition of an alloy th at reduces sound in gear systems. Sharing this information organization wide can lead to more effective engine design and it could also lead to ideas for new or improved equipment. KMS systems deal with information (although Knowledge Management as a discipline may extend beyond the information centric aspect of any system) so they are a c lass of information system and may build on, or utilize other information source s. Distinguishing features of a KMS can include: • Purp Purpos ose: e: a KMS KMS will will have have an expl explic icit it Know Knowle ledg dge e Mana Manage geme ment nt obje object ctiv ive e of s ome type such as collaboration, sharing good practice, etc. • Cont Contex ext: t: One One pers perspe pect ctiv ive e on KMS KMS woul would d see see know knowle ledg dge e is info inform rmat atio ion n that that is meaningfully organized, accumulated and embedded in a context of creation and application. • Proc Proces esse ses: s: KMS KMS are are deve develo lope ped d to to sup suppo port rt and and enh enhan ance ce know knowle ledg dgee-in inte tens nsiv ive e processes, tasks or projects of e.g., creation, construction, identification, ca pturing, acquisition, selection, valuation, organization, linking, structuring, formalization, visualization, transfer, distribution, retention, maintenance, re finement, revision, evolution, accessing, retrieval and last but not least the a pplication of knowledge, also called the knowledge life cycle. • Part Partic icip ipan ants ts: : Use Users rs can can pla play y the the role roles s of of act activ ive, e, invo involv lved ed part partic icip ipan ants ts in knowledge networks and communities fostered by KMS, although this is not nece ssarily the case. KMS designs are held to reflect that knowledge is developed co llectively and that the “distribution” of knowledge leads to its continuous chan ge, reconstruction and application in different contexts, by different participa nts with differing backgrounds and experiences. • Inst Instru rume ment nts: s: KMS KMS sup suppo port rt KM inst instru rume ment nts, s, e.g. e.g., , the the capt captur ure, e, crea creati tion on and and sharing of the codifiable aspects of experience, the creation of corporate know ledge directories, taxonomies or ontology’s, expertise locators, skill managemen t systems, collaborative filtering and handling of interests used to connect peo ple, the creation and fostering of communities or knowledge networks. KMS can be used for a wide range of cooperative, collaborative, adhocracy and hi erarchy communities, virtual organizations, societies and other virtual networks , to manage media contents; activities, interactions and work-flows purposes; pr ojects; works, networks, departments, privileges, roles, participants and other active users in order to extract and generate new knowledge and to enhance, leve rage and transfer in new outcomes of knowledge providing new services using new formats and interfaces and different communication channels. ADVANTAGES Sharing of valuable organizational information throughout organizational hierarchy. Can avoid re-inventing the wheel, reducing redundant work. May reduce training time for new employees.
UNDERSTANDING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Supply chain management is concerned with the efficient integration of suppliers , factories, warehouses and stores so that merchandise is produced and distribut ed: – In the right quantities
– To the right locations – At the right time In order to – Minimize total system cost – Satisfy customer service requirements Fierce competition in today’s global markets, the introduction of products with shorter life cycles, and the heightened expectations of customers have forced bu siness enterprises to focus attention on, their supply chains. This has been made easier by the use of software for managing the demand and sup ply chain. Using supply chain software, a manufacturer can communicate with his suppliers constantly about the raw materials required for production. This enabl es the supplier to plan and supply the raw materials according to the manufactur er’s demand. On the other hand, demand chain software provides the channel membe rs and the employees of a manufacturer with accurate and up-to-date information about the goods and services available with the manufacturer, their prices, the distributors and the suppliers in a particular region.
Supply Chain Management Problem: Supply chain management must address the following problems: • Dist Distri ribu buti tion on Netw Networ ork k Con Confi figu gura rati tion on: : Num Numbe ber, r, loca locati tion on and and net netwo work rk of supp supp liers, production facilities, distribution centers, warehouses, cross-docks and customers. • Dist Distri ribu buti tion on Stra Strate tegy gy: : Inc Inclu ludi ding ng ques questi tion ons s of of ope opera rati ting ng cont contro rol l (ce (cent ntra ral l ized, decentralized or shared); delivery scheme (e.g., direct shipment, DSD (dir ect store delivery)); mode of transportation (e.g., motor carrier, including tru ckload, parcel; rail/road; ocean freight; airfreight) and transportation control (e.g., owner-operated, private carrier, common carrier, contract carrier. • Info Inform rmat atio ion: n: Inte Integr grat atio ion n of of and and proc proces esse ses s thr throu ough gh the the sup suppl ply y cha chain in to sh are valuable information, including demand signals, forecasts, inventory and tra nsportation etc. • Inve Invent ntor ory y Man Manag agem emen ent: t: Quan Quanti tity ty and and loc locat atio ion n of of inv inven ento tory ry incl includ udin ing g raw raw m aterials, work-in-process and finished goods. • Cash Cash-F -Flo low: w: Arra Arrang ngin ing g the the paym paymen ent t ter terms ms and and the the meth method odol olog ogie ies s for for exch exchan ang g ing funds across entities within the supply chain
PROBLEM AT SIEMENS Siemens being a large business house faced problems in its business process. The problem was the lack of co-ordination between the internal units of the Company . A company serving thousands of customers and hundreds of clients cannot procure all necessary raw materials by itself. Again the collaboration with so many supp liers and customers was a big problem.
The supply chain – the flow of materials from suppliers through manufacturing, d istribution and sales was a complex issue. Siemens India is having 18 manufacturing units with 25 suppliers and more than 500 distribution partners. Imagine with operations in 92 countries. SOLUTION Embarking on a four-year plan, the company started the transformation in 1999. Siemens had decided on a dual approach that it would use its own in-house inform ation systems capabilities where it made sense to do so, but it would also go ou t-of-house to purchase some systems from major vendors. Siemens Strategic Goals Were To: • Impr Improv ove e its its read readin ines ess s for for exte extend nded ed elec electr tron onic ic comm commer erce ce by stan standa dard rdiz izin ing g hundreds of business process into minimum number of operations by application o f electronic commerce. • Rede Redesi sign gn the the inf infor orma mati tion on tech techno nolo logy gy infr infras astr truc uctu ture re (sof (softw twar are e com compo pone nent nts s that best fit the company’s needs, each from a different vendor), integrated in to an enterprise wide platform.
KNOWLEDGE BASE MANAGEMENT AT SIEMENS Using SAP systems, along with software from i2 Technology and IBM, the company b uilt functional systems that link the enterprise, ensure support functions, and connect with the company’s supply chain partners. SAP: SAP, started in 1972 by five former IBM employees in Mannheim, Germany, states t hat it is the world s largest inter-enterprise software company and the world s fourth-largest independent software supplier, overall. The original name for SAP was German: Systeme, Anwendungen, Produkte, German for "Systems Applications and Products." The original SAP idea was to provide custo mers with the ability to interact with a common corporate database for a compreh ensive range of applications. i2: i2 solutions integrate with data, processes, and systems belonging to suppliers, customers, distributors, carriers, partners, and contract manufacturers. i2 was founded in 1988 by Sanjiv Sidhu and Ken Sharma, two visionaries in what w ould eventually be known as the supply chain management industry. Sanjiv and Ken were passionate about applying technology and best practices to eliminate ineff iciencies in business. KMS KMS refers to the set of business processes developed in an organization to crea te, store, transfer and apply knowledge. It increases the ability of the organization to learn from its environment and t o incorporate knowledge into its business processes The idea of a KM system is to enable employees to have ready access to the organ ization s documented base of facts, sources of information, and solutions. OBJECTIVES: 1) Knowledge acquisition. 2) Knowledge storage. 3) Knowledge dissemination.
4) Knowledge applications. BENEFITS: 1) Sharing of valuable organizational information. 2) May reduce training time for new employees. TYPES OF KMS • Ente Enterp rpri rise se wise wise KMS: KMS: Gene Genera ral l pur purpo pose se, , int integ egra rate ted, d, firm firm-w -wid ide e eff effor orts ts to c ollect, store, disseminate and use digital content and knowledge. • Know Knowle ledg dge e Wor Work k Sys Syste tem: m: Spec Specia ial l wor work k sta stati tion ons s and and syst system ems s tha that t ena enabl ble e sci sci entists, engineers, & other knowledge workers to create & discover new knowledge . • Inte Intell llig igen ent t Tec Techn hniq ique ues: s: Tool Tools s for for disc discov over erin ing g pat patte tern rns s & appl applyi ying ng know knowle le dge to discrete decisions & knowledge domains. FUNCTIONS Taking customer orders, Online procuring of materials and components that go into the manufactur ing process, Collaborating with business partners in developing products. Transporting finished products were integrated across the company, using the Internet as much as possible. To provide better customer service to Siemens s business customers.
NEED FOR MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM This is a universally accepted fact that all managerial functions are performed through decision making. For taking rational decisions, timely and reliable info rmation is essential and is procured through a logical method of information col lecting, processing and disseminating to decision makers. In today’s world of ever increasing complexities of carrying out business, every organization, in order to survive and grow, must have a properly planned, analy zed, designed and maintained MIS. This need is even more increased because organ izations now have to compete not only locally but also globally. MIS assist decision makers, by providing the required information at various st ages of decision making and thus greatly help the organization to achieve its go als and objectives. On the other hand, if an MIS is poorly planned and construct ed, it may provide inaccurate, irrelevant or obsolete information, which may eve n prove fatal for the organization. TYPES OF MIS AND USES MIS CLASSIFICATION MIS is a concept, which is a matter of degree rather than an absolute one. In ma nagement there are perhaps few other areas other than MIS which gas created so m uch controversy. We would make an attempt to try to look into different types of MIS as they have evolved during the course of time. 1. Transaction Pr Processing Sy System 2. Management In Information Sy System 3. Decision Support System 4. Executive Support System 5. Office Automation System 6. Business Expert System Transaction Processing System: It processes transactions and produces reports. I t represents the automation of fundamental, routine processing used to support b usiness operations. It does not provide any information to the user for decision
making. TPS uses data and produces data. Management Information System: MIS in an information system that processes data and converts it into information. A management information system uses TPS for i ts data inputs. The information generated by the information system may be used for control of operations, strategic and long-range planning, short-range planni ng, management control and other managerial problem solving. Decision Support System: A decision support system is an information system app lication that assists decision-making. DSS tends to be used in planning, analyzi ng alternatives and trial and error search solutions. They incorporate a variety of decision-making models and thus area capable of performing what-if analysis. Executive Support System: An ESS is a special kind of DSS. It is specially tailo red for the use of chief executives of an organization to support his decision-m aking. Thus ESS is a comprehensive information system that includes various type s of decision support systems, but it is more specific and person oriented. Office Automation System: Office automation refers to the application of compute r and communication technology to office functions. Office automation systems ar e meant to improve the productivity of managers at various levels of management by providing secretarial assistance and better communication facilities. Business Expert System: A BES is a knowledge based information system that uses its knowledge about a specific, complex application area to act as an expert. ROLES OF MIS THE PERFORMANCE MONITORING ROLE MIS are not just statistics and data analysis. They have to be used as an MBO (M anagement by Objectives) tool. They help: to establish relevant and measurable objectives to monitor results and performances (reach ratios) to send alerts, in some cases daily, to managers at each level of the or ganization, on all deviations between results and pre-established objectives and budgets. THE FUNCTIONAL SUPPORT ROLE Business processes and operations support function is the most basic. It involve s collecting, recording, storing, and basic processing of data. Information syst ems support business processes and operations by: recording, storing and processing sales data, purchase data, investment data, payroll data and other accounting records recording, storing and processing inventory data, work in process data, equipment repair and maintenance data, supply chain data, and other production/o perations records recording, storing and processing personnel data, salary data, employmen t histories, and other human resources records recording, storing and processing market data, customer profiles, custom er purchase histories, marketing research data, advertising data, and other mark eting records recording, storing an processing business intelligence data, competitor analysis data, industry data, corporate objectives, and other strategic manageme nt records use of all the above to implement, control, and monitor plans, strate gies, tactics, new products, new business models or new business ventures. THE DECISION SUPPORT ROLE The business decision making support function goes one step further. It is an in tegral part of making decisions. It allows users to ask "What if…?" questions: W hat if we increase the price by 5%? What if we increase price by 10%? What if we decrease price by 5%? What if we increase price by 10% now, then decrease it by 5% in three months? It also allows users to deal with contingencies: If inflati
on increases by 5% (instead of 2% as we are assuming), then what do we do? What do we do if we are faced with a strike or a new competitive threat?
SYNOPSIS Decision making is an integral part of the functioning of any organization. To f acilitate Decision making in this ever-competitive world it is imperative that m anagers have the right information at the right time to bridge the gap between n eed and expectation. To facilitate better flow of information adequate Managemen t Information Systems (MIS) is the need of the hour. Thus it is important to hav e an understanding of the MIS followed in an organization by all levels of manag ement in order to take effective decisions. A management information system collects and processes data (information) and pr ovides it to managers at all levels who use it for decision making, planning, pr ogram implementation, and control. The MIS has many roles to perform like the de cision support role, the performance monitoring role and the functional support role. To get a realistic and holistic view of the MIS, I studied the MIS at SIEMENS. T o get a more detailed understanding of a particular function of the company, I s tudied the need, uses and benefits of MIS. Knowledge Base Management was of prim e focus in my study, with some aspects of Supply Chain Management. SIEMENS is one of the first companies to realize the potential and importance of information technology and adopt automation and IT. The MIS has greatly facilit ated and synchronized the information flow in the organization and the managemen t feels that is has played a role in the growth and increased performance of the company. REFERENCES • • • •
w ww . si e m en s .c o m w ww . wi k i pe d ia . c om w ww . sa p . co m Management In Information Sy System by by La Laudon & Laudon
