MIS At Different Organizational Levels

Decisions can be classified as

(i) strategic,

(ii) tactical and

(iii) operational.

These levels of decision making corresponds to management levels. Strategic decisions are made by top management; tactical decisions by middle management, and operational decisions by low-level management. These three levels of decision making rely on data processing for portions of their information, and therefore make unique demands on the MIS.

Strategic decisions are made for the future and involve a great deal of uncertainty. Strategic decision making involves establishing objectives for the organization and outlining of long range plans for attaining those objectives. Decisions regarding the location of plants, about capital sources and about which products to produce, are examples of strategic decisions.

Tactical decision making is concerned with implementing the decisions made at the strategic level. This includes allocating the resources needed to meet original objectives. Examples of tactical decision making include plant layout, personnel concerns, budget allocation, and product scheduling.Operational decisions involve executing specific tasks to assure that they are carried out efficiently and effectively. These decisions are made primarily by lower-level supervisors. Guidelines against which performance is measured are usually present for operational decisions. Managers and supervisors at this level are expected to make decisions that keep the operation in line with the predetermined standards. Examples of operational decision making include accepting or rejecting credit, altering inventory reorder times and quantities, and assigning jobs to individual workers.