Management information systems (MIS) refers to the practices and processes centered on the relationships between organizations, technology, and people. In business, a management information system is all the tools that executives and employees use in data research, business support processes, competitive intelligence, and information technology. Put simply, MIS tools help companies manage and move data and information. It's a closely related business discipline to both enterprise resource planning and information technology management.
MIS is used to analyze how people gather, study, and use the data accumulated in work processes, such as data-driven reports to help companies make timely decisions on strategy. Management information systems help companies use data to decide on a strategic direction. For instance, retail companies can see customer purchases in use databases to know which of its clothing products sell better than others. Technology companies use management information systems to plan, develop, manage, and track actions made by its user base.
Learning management information systems can give you a broad background in how technology processes impact companies and how people working in these companies can make better use of the data and technology every day. Not only will you learn how to design and develop technology practices for business operations, but you'll also gain clarity on the overall scope of technology in a company structure. Your understanding of management information systems can help you achieve greater potential in future technology and management careers.
Some of the typical careers that use management information systems include common IT-related roles like systems developer, business application developer, network administrator, information systems manager, systems analyst, and similar roles. In these jobs, your effectiveness as an MIS leader will likely be judged by your communication skills, your 'big vision' thought processes, and your ability to manage your time well, allocate projects effectively to team members, and take responsibility for projects both successful and less than successful. You might work primarily with software projects that integrate with networks and learn how to build processes around them.
When you learn about MIS on Coursera, you can gain a fundamental understanding of how business processes mesh with technology innovations in modern business. And you can learn how important management information systems is to modern businesses.