Information systems integrate data from various sources to provide the information necessary for management decision making for operations, planning and control. This means being able to analyze, plan, design, and implement a information system to increase both the operational efficiency and the competitive advantage of a company. It means being able to maintain and enhance systems that are critical to a company. To do all this, an M.I.S. student must have both a well-rounded knowledge of business as well as excellent computer skills and the ability to stay abreast of the latest technological developments. Every area of a company calls on MIS services, and each has different requirements.
User requirements are varied and the systems are complex.
Typically, MIS departments reported to the vice-president of finance. However, because the need for their services has increased and their importance to all areas of the company has grown dramatically, the MIS group now is often a separate function, outside of finance. Highly centralized in the past, the MIS function now is often distributed so that it's staff are attached to the functional area they serve. Thus, MIS personnel may work in marketing, manufacturing, or human resources and serve as liaisons to centralized MIS services. This emphasis focuses on the single user or end user system.