Characteristics Of An Effective Mis

An MIS, whether manual or computerized, should be designed to provide information with the following characteristics in order to give managers the maximum utility from such information. Information provided should be:

1.    Timely—Up to date. Good decisions cannot be based on outdated information. For example, a person or organization desiring to invest in the Nairobi Stock Exchange is at a severe disadvantage if decisions are made on the basis of a month-old or even a week-old data.

2.    Accurate—Correct. Incorrect data will probably cause bad decisions to be made.

3.    Concise—essential data only. There is a limit as to the amount of information a manager can absorb during any one period. Subsequently, managers must limit information to only the most necessary.

4.    Relevant—Information that the manager needs to know. An MIS can provide management with volumes of information. However, because only a small portion of data available is actually useful in a given situation, it is important to single out only the most relevant data for analysis.

5.    Complete—all the information needed. Having partial data could lead a manager to draw false conclusions as decisions could be based on incomplete information. The absence of any one of these factors reduces the effectiveness of an MIS and as such complicates the decision making process.