Information technology and MIS

Information technology (IT) in management means using computers, networks and software to collect, process, store and share information for decisions. A management information system (MIS) is the organised system that does this: it takes data from transaction processing, turns it into reports for managers, and supports planning and control. A decision support system (DSS) goes further: it gives managers models and tools to explore alternatives interactively (what if sales fall 10%?). Worked example: a retail chain's MIS reports daily sales by store (a routine report for control), while its DSS lets a manager test what happens to profit if one store closes or prices rise 5% — the MIS tells what happened, the DSS helps decide what to do.