Management information systems produce the information that managers
use to make important strategic decisions. They formthe basis for management
reports, both financial and non-financial, and as such they are a vital
component of modern business management. Few managerial decisions
are taken without consulting the data captured by management information
systems.
This book covers the essential managerial skills that are necessary to
design these systems. It is written for managers, those studying business
management, and those developing management information systems on
behalf of management.
I was motivated to write this book because many managers are, in my
experience, rather poor designers of their own management reports. They
often struggle to make full use of the data that is available to them. It
is true that many use management information systems in one form or
another, usually implemented through a series of spreadsheets. Indeed
some have access to very sophisticated ‘business intelligence’ systems. Yet
these spreadsheets (and their sophisticated counterparts) are often illorganized,
and tend to obfuscate rather than enlighten. In addition, there is
not a great deal of material available for those managers wishing to improve
their skills in designing management information systems. The existing
books on information systems often emphasize the technological rather
than the managerial aspects.
This book aims to address these issues. In writing it I have firmly adopted
the managerial perspective, and I have not aimed to compromise for the
benefit of the more technically minded. You will find few references to
specific information technologies in this book, because this book is not
about technology. You will not have to be, indeed ought not to be, a
computer programmer to be able to benefit from this book.
Three core assumptions form the basis of this book and I should like to
summarize them here.