計(jì)算機(jī)專(zhuān)業(yè)外文翻譯---建立一個(gè)信息管理系統(tǒng)

1、<p>　　建立一個(gè)信息管理系統(tǒng)</p><p>　　在行政管理機(jī)構(gòu)信息是個(gè)重要資源。及時(shí)有效的重要信息對(duì)于高效管理職能的表現(xiàn)是至關(guān)重要的，例如準(zhǔn)備，組織，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，控制。在一個(gè)管理機(jī)構(gòu)中，信息系統(tǒng)就像是人體中的神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)，它把組織的所有元件連接在一起而且還在競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的環(huán)境中提供更好的操作和生存機(jī)會(huì)。</p><p>　　信息系統(tǒng)經(jīng)常提及一個(gè)以計(jì)算機(jī)為基礎(chǔ)的，被設(shè)計(jì)成支持組織的操作、經(jīng)營(yíng)和

2、決策功能的系統(tǒng)。在組織中信息系統(tǒng)為決策者提供信息支持。信息系統(tǒng)包含交易處理系統(tǒng)、管理信息系統(tǒng)、決策支持系統(tǒng)和戰(zhàn)略的信息系統(tǒng)。</p><p>　　信息由經(jīng)過(guò)處理的而且是對(duì)用戶是有用的數(shù)據(jù)組成。一個(gè)系統(tǒng)是為了達(dá)成一個(gè)共同的目的共同操作的一組元件。因此一個(gè)管理信息系統(tǒng)收集，傳送，處理，儲(chǔ)存，而且在組織資源、程序表和成就上儲(chǔ)存數(shù)據(jù)。系統(tǒng)進(jìn)入經(jīng)營(yíng)信息之內(nèi)為這些數(shù)據(jù)做合理的變換為決策者在組織里面的使用。因此，一個(gè)管理信息系

3、統(tǒng)提供支持組織管理職能的信息。</p><p><b>　　一、基本的概念</b></p><p>　　1、數(shù)據(jù)和信息的比較</p><p>　　數(shù)據(jù)提供未加工的、不被評(píng)估的事實(shí)數(shù)據(jù)、符號(hào)、物件、事件等等。數(shù)據(jù)可能是一個(gè)在于儲(chǔ)存事實(shí)的集合物件，像一個(gè)電話目錄或者實(shí)施統(tǒng)計(jì)調(diào)查記錄。</p><p>　　信息是那些已經(jīng)進(jìn)入一

4、個(gè)有意義的，有用的背景而且傳達(dá)到一個(gè)使用它做出決斷的接受人的數(shù)據(jù)。信息涉及智慧或知識(shí)的交流和接受。它評(píng)價(jià)而且通知，吃驚而且刺激，減少不確定，現(xiàn)實(shí)另外可供選擇的方案或者幫助去除無(wú)關(guān)的或者沒(méi)用的信息，還影響人們并且鼓勵(lì)他們做出行動(dòng)。數(shù)據(jù)的元素在一個(gè)特殊的背景下可能構(gòu)成一條信息；例如，當(dāng)你想聯(lián)系你的朋友的時(shí)候，他或者她的電話號(hào)碼就是一條信息；除此之外，它在電話號(hào)碼薄里僅僅是一個(gè)數(shù)據(jù)的元素。</p><p><b&

5、gt;　　2、信息的特性</b></p><p>　　好信息的特性是中肯的、時(shí)間性、準(zhǔn)確性、成本效益、可靠性、可用性、無(wú)遺漏和凝聚層次。如果它引導(dǎo)改良的決策，信息是有關(guān)的。如果它重新確定之前的決定它也是有關(guān)的。如果它對(duì)你的問(wèn)題沒(méi)有任何幫助那它就是無(wú)關(guān)的。例如，如果你在一月考慮去巴黎，那有關(guān)巴黎一月的天氣情況的信息對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)就是有關(guān)的。否則，這信息就是無(wú)關(guān)的。</p><p>　　

6、時(shí)間性涉及到信息的流通呈現(xiàn)給使用者。數(shù)據(jù)或信息的流通性是事件發(fā)生到它呈現(xiàn)給用戶（決策者）之間的時(shí)間缺口。如果這個(gè)合計(jì)時(shí)間很短，我們說(shuō)這個(gè)信息系統(tǒng)是一個(gè)即時(shí)系統(tǒng)。</p><p>　　準(zhǔn)確性是通過(guò)對(duì)數(shù)據(jù)和實(shí)際事件的比較而被測(cè)量的。準(zhǔn)確無(wú)誤的數(shù)據(jù)的重要性隨著需要做出決斷的型態(tài)而改變的。工資總支出信息必須是精確地。簡(jiǎn)單的近似值是不能滿足需要的。不過(guò)對(duì)于全體員工的時(shí)間有多少是專(zhuān)注于特定的活動(dòng)需要一個(gè)大致的估算，這是不可或

7、缺的。</p><p><b>　　3、信息的價(jià)值</b></p><p>　　在決策的制定上信息有著重要的作用，因此它的價(jià)值緊緊系在使用它所做出的決斷上。信息沒(méi)有一個(gè)絕對(duì)的萬(wàn)用價(jià)值。它的價(jià)值關(guān)系到使用它的人們，當(dāng)它被用，和在什么情況下被用。在這個(gè)意義上，信息跟其它的商品有相似之處。例如，對(duì)于一個(gè)在撒哈拉沙漠的人來(lái)說(shuō)一杯水的價(jià)值就超過(guò)了一個(gè)在北極冰川迷路的人。<

8、/p><p>　　經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家從招致生產(chǎn)或者獲得商品的一個(gè)商品的成本或者價(jià)格來(lái)辨別價(jià)值。很顯然，產(chǎn)品的價(jià)值肯定比它的成本或者價(jià)格高讓它變得有成本效益。</p><p>　　信息的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)價(jià)值的概念已經(jīng)被經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家和統(tǒng)計(jì)家發(fā)展而且它起源于決斷理論。這個(gè)理論的基本前提是我們總是有一些與我們的決斷相關(guān)的發(fā)生的事件的初步了解。額外的信息可能修改我們對(duì)事情發(fā)生或然率的觀點(diǎn)，因此改變我們的決定并且期望決定取得成功。

9、因此，額外的信息的價(jià)值是通過(guò)減少將來(lái)的事件的不確定性而獲得預(yù)期結(jié)果的差額。</p><p>　　信息支持決定，決定觸發(fā)動(dòng)作，而動(dòng)作影響組織的成就或績(jī)效。如果我們可以測(cè)量出績(jī)效中的差額，我們就可以追蹤信息的影響力，進(jìn)而可以假設(shè)測(cè)量小心地被執(zhí)行，在變數(shù)之中的關(guān)系定義得好，而且不相關(guān)因素的可能結(jié)果被孤立。由于信息的因素，績(jī)效標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的差額叫做信息的現(xiàn)實(shí)價(jià)值或者顯示價(jià)值。</p><p>　　對(duì)于大部

10、分的信息系統(tǒng)來(lái)說(shuō)，特別是那些支持中層和最高管理部門(mén)的人們，產(chǎn)生的決斷時(shí)常與不嚴(yán)格被定義而且包括不能夠被定量的或然率的事件有關(guān)。決策程序時(shí)常是模糊的，而且結(jié)果因多重的、無(wú)比的大小而依比例決定的。在一些情況下，我們可能?chē)L試執(zhí)行一個(gè)多屬性分析或者得到一個(gè)大體上主觀的價(jià)值。主觀的價(jià)值反映了人們對(duì)于信息的綜合印象和他們?cè)敢鉃樘囟ㄐ畔⒅Ц兜膬r(jià)值（Ahituv, Neumann, & Riley, 1994）。</p><

11、p>　　4、對(duì)于決策來(lái)說(shuō)信息是一個(gè)助手</p><p>　　西蒙（1977）把決策的程序說(shuō)成是包含四個(gè)階段： 智力、設(shè)計(jì)、選擇和評(píng)論。智力階段包含與組織和它的環(huán)境有關(guān)的數(shù)據(jù)的集合物件、分類(lèi)、加工和說(shuō)明。這對(duì)于識(shí)別環(huán)境需求的決策是很重要的。在設(shè)計(jì)階段期間，決策者提出可供選擇的方案，每個(gè)解決方案都包含一系列需要被執(zhí)行的動(dòng)作。在智力階段被收集的數(shù)據(jù)現(xiàn)在被統(tǒng)計(jì)，其他的模型為每一個(gè)選擇預(yù)測(cè)可能發(fā)生的結(jié)果。每一個(gè)選擇也

12、要從技術(shù)可行性、行為可行性和經(jīng)濟(jì)可行性方面去檢驗(yàn)。在選擇階段，決策者必須要選擇出一個(gè)對(duì)組織的目標(biāo)貢獻(xiàn)最大的方案。經(jīng)過(guò)選擇可以讓經(jīng)理受制于實(shí)施和監(jiān)聽(tīng)期間并且從錯(cuò)誤中學(xué)習(xí)。信息在決斷程序的所有的四個(gè)階段中扮演著重要的角色。</p><p>　　5、管理信息系統(tǒng)的分類(lèi)</p><p>　　管理信息系統(tǒng)有多種類(lèi)型。梅森和斯旺森（1981）把管理信息系統(tǒng)分為四個(gè)類(lèi)型：（1）數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)信息系統(tǒng)，（2）預(yù)言

13、性的信息系統(tǒng)，（3）制定決策的信息系統(tǒng)，（4）決策執(zhí)行的信息系統(tǒng)。這個(gè)分類(lèi)是以在決策制定的過(guò)程中信息系統(tǒng)可以提供的支持程度為基礎(chǔ)的。Sachdeva（1990）綜合地呈現(xiàn)了這四種類(lèi)型：</p><p>　　數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)信息系統(tǒng)。這類(lèi)信息系統(tǒng)的責(zé)任是觀察，分類(lèi)而且存儲(chǔ)那些對(duì)決策者可能有用的任何數(shù)據(jù)項(xiàng)目。</p><p>　　預(yù)言性的信息系統(tǒng)。這一個(gè)系統(tǒng)隨著時(shí)間的過(guò)去超越純粹的數(shù)據(jù)收集和傾向的決定。

14、 預(yù)言性的信息系統(tǒng)為與做出決策相關(guān)的推論和先前預(yù)測(cè)的事物提供制圖。如果上述的例子會(huì)被這樣用，那么為先前預(yù)測(cè)或者畫(huà)理論圖獲得有用的信息就是可能的。</p><p>　　制定決策的信息系統(tǒng)。這個(gè)系統(tǒng)距離決策制定的程序更近一步，而且它包含組織系統(tǒng)的價(jià)值或這它是各種可供選擇的方案的選擇標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。一個(gè)組織的額外價(jià)值有很多而且形式多樣。它們包括解決農(nóng)民問(wèn)題，增加和規(guī)定了農(nóng)民的基本收入，提高農(nóng)民的生活質(zhì)量的焦慮。但是她們也包含、規(guī)

15、定了 農(nóng)民的基本收入和改善農(nóng)民的生活質(zhì)量。但是他們也含一個(gè)為職員好好地提供（訓(xùn)練、適當(dāng)?shù)男浇穑鹊龋┮鈭D和在鄉(xiāng)下的經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的程序中提供援助的意圖。 </p><p>　　決策執(zhí)行的信息系統(tǒng)。決策執(zhí)行的信息系統(tǒng)的例子在擴(kuò)充的組織中是不容易被找到的。在信息系統(tǒng)中它是一個(gè)決策系統(tǒng)而且決策者只有一個(gè)而且是同一個(gè)。對(duì)于系統(tǒng)本身，它基本上可以削弱它增加動(dòng)作的權(quán)利，因此在這個(gè)系統(tǒng)中，當(dāng)假設(shè)被結(jié)合的時(shí)候，經(jīng)營(yíng)是如此的自信。飛機(jī)加

16、載的自動(dòng)飛行系統(tǒng)就是決策執(zhí)行系統(tǒng)的一個(gè)案例。一旦飛機(jī)被啟動(dòng)，系統(tǒng)自身就會(huì)保持飛機(jī)在正確的方向上，以適當(dāng)?shù)乃俣群透叨龋ㄒ勒诊w行員決定的參數(shù)）飛行。另外一個(gè)決策執(zhí)行信息系統(tǒng)的例子是在調(diào)制解調(diào)器工廠的生產(chǎn)中被應(yīng)用。在汽車(chē)生產(chǎn)中，通過(guò)計(jì)算機(jī)汽車(chē)零配件的清單被連續(xù)不斷的保存就像汽車(chē)移動(dòng)走的流水線一樣。當(dāng)其他部分需要零配件的時(shí)候，計(jì)算機(jī)就會(huì)自動(dòng)的下命令。這是不需要管理者的介入的。</p><p>　　二、在農(nóng)業(yè)擴(kuò)充的管理計(jì)劃

17、中MIS的角色</p><p>　　國(guó)家的擴(kuò)充系統(tǒng)，尤其是在發(fā)展中國(guó)家，一般傾向于很龐大。例如，在印度，國(guó)家的農(nóng)業(yè)延伸系統(tǒng)雇傭了大約125000人。在不同層次擴(kuò)充的管理者需要相關(guān)的信息來(lái)做出高效的決策。如果缺少了這些信息，那么他們的決策也僅僅是依據(jù)他們的最基本的直覺(jué)和以往的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。那些經(jīng)過(guò)處理，存儲(chǔ)和合理出現(xiàn)的數(shù)據(jù)會(huì)輔助他們分析問(wèn)題和做出高效的決定。</p><p>　　就像上面所建議的那樣

18、，在每一個(gè)管理程序的過(guò)程中，管理者需要信息去幫助他們做出高效的決策。這樣的信息我們叫做管理信息。它不包含純粹功能上的信息或者技術(shù)上的信息，像是大米或者小麥耕種的常規(guī)軟件包。管理信息是管理者必須的信息，就像他們做出決定，比如按類(lèi)別要擴(kuò)充的人員就業(yè)的數(shù)目，他們的培訓(xùn)要求，職業(yè)發(fā)展規(guī)劃，工作說(shuō)明，預(yù)算，預(yù)測(cè)，基點(diǎn)審視，報(bào)道被服務(wù)的人們的社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況，和目前的設(shè)備（Ramesh Babu & Singh, 1987）。</p>

19、;<p><b>　　三、需要自動(dòng)化</b></p><p>　　一個(gè)自動(dòng)化的信息管理系統(tǒng)包含的數(shù)據(jù)僅僅像是由手工系統(tǒng)做出來(lái)的。它接收輸入，加工輸入，和遞送像輸出一樣的加工輸入。當(dāng)其他的要求數(shù)據(jù)被記錄在一個(gè)輸入媒介比如磁性材料（特別地涂上一層的塑料易曲的或軟式磁盤(pán)和磁帶）上時(shí)一些輸入設(shè)備允許直接的人機(jī)交互。直接地被連接到一部計(jì)算機(jī)的工作區(qū)的鍵盤(pán)就是直接輸入設(shè)備的一個(gè)例子。自動(dòng)化

20、的使用讓存儲(chǔ)大量的信息變得有可能，而且還避免了找到他們手工記錄的路徑時(shí)的錯(cuò)誤，還有那些在人工系統(tǒng)中實(shí)際上是不可能比較和計(jì)算的錯(cuò)誤。</p><p><b>　　四、數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)的組織</b></p><p>　　數(shù)據(jù)通常是經(jīng)過(guò)交易處理系統(tǒng)在欄位層次上產(chǎn)生的，但是一旦信息被取得，假如信息需求已經(jīng)很好的被定義，適當(dāng)?shù)某绦虮硪呀?jīng)被執(zhí)行，而且一個(gè)方法已經(jīng)被安排為共享數(shù)據(jù)，那么任何組

21、織領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層的延伸階層都可以使用它們。這就暗示著同一個(gè)數(shù)據(jù)可以同時(shí)被多個(gè)不同集合的程序表所使用；因此，我們可以看出數(shù)據(jù)（數(shù)據(jù)的集合）和應(yīng)用（程序的集合）的區(qū)別。在一個(gè)決策支持系統(tǒng)（DSS）中，一系列的程序集是模型的基礎(chǔ)（Keen &Morton，1978）</p><p>　　期間數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)可能提及可以為一個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)內(nèi)各部門(mén)服務(wù)的數(shù)據(jù)集合。在給定的題目上的數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)是一個(gè)數(shù)據(jù)集合，在那個(gè)給定的題目上要遵循三個(gè)準(zhǔn)則：廣泛性

22、（完整性）、非冗余的、和適當(dāng)?shù)慕Y(jié)構(gòu)。廣泛性意味著所有關(guān)于數(shù)據(jù)的題目都在數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)中實(shí)際出現(xiàn)過(guò)。非冗余意味著早數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)中每個(gè)獨(dú)立的數(shù)據(jù)條只存在唯一一次。適當(dāng)?shù)慕Y(jié)構(gòu)意味著數(shù)據(jù)用一種像是使最小預(yù)期加工和存儲(chǔ)成本的方法進(jìn)行存儲(chǔ)(Awad & Gotterer, 1992).。</p><p>　　能夠靈活的被那些應(yīng)用程序或者樣板基層共享的大型企業(yè)的數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)的想法已經(jīng)被那些軟件包特別是執(zhí)行如此認(rèn)為的軟件包所了解。這些被叫做

23、數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)管理系統(tǒng)（DBMSs）的包在不同商品名稱下面的市場(chǎng)中都是可得的，比如ORACLE, SYBASE, INGRES, FOXBASE, and dBASE. </p><p>　　五、以計(jì)算機(jī)為基礎(chǔ)說(shuō)明的MIS</p><p>　　一個(gè)國(guó)家農(nóng)業(yè)擴(kuò)充系統(tǒng)是被國(guó)家政府管理的全國(guó)范圍的系統(tǒng)。在印度，在全國(guó)性和狀態(tài)層次之間的權(quán)力分割之下，農(nóng)業(yè)是一個(gè)政府話題。然而，國(guó)家政府補(bǔ)充財(cái)政資源的狀態(tài)而且

24、在國(guó)家的層次上提供調(diào)和。政府的行政機(jī)構(gòu)被劃分為區(qū)域，區(qū)域進(jìn)入細(xì)分之內(nèi)，進(jìn)入?yún)^(qū)塊之內(nèi)的細(xì)分。一個(gè)區(qū)塊是一組村莊的集合，也是農(nóng)業(yè)擴(kuò)充程序表管理的基本單位。在區(qū)塊層次收集的數(shù)據(jù)需要在高級(jí)的管理層次被整合，在區(qū)域和州的層次上提供一個(gè)整合的意見(jiàn)用以支持計(jì)劃、監(jiān)聽(tīng)和決策制定。</p><p>　　然而，實(shí)際的設(shè)計(jì)可能會(huì)隨著政府的大小和其他因素而改變。為了整個(gè)的政府，一個(gè)整合的數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)可能在政府總部被一個(gè)主機(jī)/迷你計(jì)算機(jī)所支持。

25、為了數(shù)據(jù)的分析，適當(dāng)?shù)某绦虮砜赡鼙辉O(shè)計(jì)成在狀態(tài)層次提供交互式?jīng)Q策支持系統(tǒng)。根據(jù)要處理的數(shù)據(jù)的容量，每個(gè)區(qū)域和細(xì)分有可能具有一臺(tái)迷你/微計(jì)算機(jī)。在區(qū)域和細(xì)分的計(jì)算機(jī)很有可能與政府計(jì)算機(jī)同屬于一個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)。在區(qū)域/細(xì)分本地?cái)?shù)據(jù)可能被存儲(chǔ)和處理，而被共享的數(shù)據(jù)可能會(huì)以適當(dāng)程度的聚合被傳送到政府總部更新整合的數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)。區(qū)域和細(xì)分會(huì)通過(guò)他們的密碼使用指定給他們的適當(dāng)?shù)臋?quán)限直接訪問(wèn)整合的數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)。區(qū)塊可能只使輸入-輸出終端機(jī)被連接到細(xì)分計(jì)算機(jī)為區(qū)域提供數(shù)據(jù)

26、，有必要的時(shí)候作為在線查詢。</p><p>　　Establishing a management information system</p><p>　　Information is a critical resource in the operation and management of organizations. Timely availability of relevant

27、 information is vital for effective performance of managerial functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and control. An information system in an organization is like the nervous system in the human body: it is the

28、 link that connects all the organization's components together and provides for better operation and survival in a competitive environment. </p><p>　　The term information system usually a computer-based

29、system, one that is designed to support the operations, management, and decision functions of an organization. Information systems in organizations thus provide information support for decision makers. Information system

30、s encompass transaction processing systems, management information systems, decision support systems, and strategic information systems. </p><p>　　Information consists of data that have been processed and ar

31、e meaningful to a user. A system is a set of components that operate together to achieve a common purpose. Thus a management information system collects, transmits, processes, and stores data on an organization's res

32、ources, programmes, and accomplishments. The system makes possible the conversion of these data into management information for use by decision makers within the organization. A management information system, therefore,

33、prod</p><p>　　Basic concepts</p><p>　　Data versus Information </p><p>　　Data refers to raw, unevaluated facts, figures, symbols, objects, events, etc. Data may be a collection of f

34、acts lying in storage, like a telephone directory or census records. </p><p>　　Information is data that have been put into a meaningful and useful context and communicated to a recipient who uses it to make

35、decisions. Information involves the communication and reception of intelligence or knowledge. It appraises and notifies, surprises and stimulates, reduces uncertainty, reveals additional alternatives or helps eliminate i

36、rrelevant or poor ones, and influences individuals and stimulates them to action. An element of data may constitute information in a specific context; f</p><p>　　Characteristics of Information </p>&l

37、t;p>　　The characteristics of good information are relevance, timeliness, accuracy, cost-effectiveness, reliability, usability, exhaustiveness, and aggregation level. Information is relevant if it leads to improved dec

38、ision making. It might also be relevant if it reaffirms a previous decision. If it does not have anything to do with your problem, it is irrelevant. For example, information about the weather conditions in Paris in Janua

39、ry is relevant if you are considering a visit to Paris in January. Ot</p><p>　　Timeliness refers to the currency of the information presented to the users. Currency of data or information is the time gap bet

40、ween the occurrence of an event in the field until its presentation to the user (decision maker). When this amount of time is very short, we describe the information system as a real-time system. </p><p>　　A

41、ccuracy is measured by comparing the data to actual events. The importance of accurate data varies with the type of decisions that need to be made. Payroll information must be exact. Approximations simply will not suffic

42、e. However, a general estimate of how much staff time was devoted to a particular activity may be all that is needed. </p><p>　　Value of Information </p><p>　　Information has a great impact on d

43、ecision making, and hence its value is closely tied to the decisions that result from its use. Information does not have an absolute universal value. Its value is related to those who use it, when it is used, and in what

44、 situation it is used. In this sense, information is similar to other commodities. For example, the value of a glass of water is different for someone who has lost his way in Arctic glaciers than it is to a wanderer in t

45、he Sahara Desert. </p><p>　　Economists distinguish value from cost or price of a commodity incurred to produce or procure the commodity. Obviously, the value of a product must be higher than its cost or pric

46、e for it to be cost-effective. </p><p>　　The concept of normative value of information has been developed by economists and statisticians and is derived from decision theory. The basic premise of the theory

47、is that we always have some preliminary knowledge about the occurrence of events that are relevant to our decisions. Additional information might modify our view of the occurrence probabilities and consequently change ou

48、r decision and the expected payoff from the decision. The value of additional information is, hence, the differenc</p><p>　　Information supports decisions, decisions trigger actions, and actions affect the a

49、chievements or performance of the organization. If we can measure the differences in performance, we can trace the impact of information, provided that the measurements are carefully performed, the relationships among va

50、riables are well defined, and possible effects of irrelevant factors are isolated. The measured difference in performance due to informational factors is called the realistic value or revealed valu</p><p>　　

51、For most information systems, particularly those supporting middle and top management, the resulting decisions often relate to events that are not strictly defined and involve probabilities that cannot be quantified. The

52、 decision-making process often is obscure and the outcomes are scaled by multiple and incomparable dimensions. In such cases, we may either attempt to perform a multiattribute analysis or derive an overall subjective val

53、ue. The subjective value reflects people's comprehensive imp</p><p>　　Information as an Aid to Decision Making </p><p>　　Simon (1977) describes the process of decision making as comprising f

54、our steps: intelligence, design, choice, and review. The intelligence stage encompasses collection, classification, processing, and presentation of data relating to the organization and its environment. This is necessary

55、 to identify situations calling for decision. During the decision stage, the decision maker outlines alternative solutions, each of which involves a set of actions to be taken. The data gathered during the intel</p>

56、;<p>　　Classification of Management Information Systems </p><p>　　There are various types of management information systems. Mason and Swanson (1981) describe four categories of management information

57、 systems: (1) databank information system, (2) predictive information system, (3) decision-making information system, and (4) decision-taking information system. The classification is based on the level of support that t

58、he information system provides in the process of decision making. Sachdeva (1990) comprehensively presents these four types of systems: </p><p>　　Databank Information System. The responsibility of this infor

59、mation system is to observe, classify, and store any item of data which might be potentially useful to the decision maker.</p><p>　　Predictive Information System. This system moves beyond pure data collectio

60、n and the determination of trends over time. Predictive information systems provide for the drawing of inferences and predictions that are relevant to decision making. If data from the above examples were to be used in t

61、his way, it is possible to obtain information useful for making predictions or for drawing inferences. </p><p>　　Decision-Making Information System. This system goes one step further in the process of decisi

62、on making and incorporates the value system of the organization or its criteria for choosing among alternatives. An extension organization's values are many and varied. They include concerns for resolving farmer prob

63、lems, increasing and providing for stability of farmer incomes, and improving the quality of farm life. But they also including and providing for stability of farmer incomes, and improving t</p><p>　　Decisio

64、n-Taking Information System. Examples of decision-taking information systems are not usually found in an extension organization. This is a decision </p><p>　　system in which the information system and the de

65、cision maker are one and the same. Management is so confident in the assumptions incorporated in the system that it basically relegates its power to initiate action to the system itself. Airplanes carry automatic pilot s

66、ystems, which are an example of a decision-taking system. Once activated, the system itself keeps the plane on course and at the proper speed and altitude (according to parameters determined by the pilot). Another exampl

67、e of decisi</p><p>　　Role of MIS in the management of agricultural extension programmers</p><p>　　National agricultural extension systems, especially in developing countries, tend to be very lar

68、ge. For example, in India, the national agricultural extension system employs about 125,000 people. Extension managers at various levels need relevant information in order to make effective decisions. In the absence of s

69、uch information, they act only on the basis of their intuition and past experience. Data that have been processed, stored, and presented properly will aid them in analysing situations </p><p>　　As suggested

70、above, at every phase of the management process, managers need information in order to make effective decisions. This we call management information. It does not include purely functional information or technical informa

71、tion, such as packages of practices for rice or wheat cultivation. Management information is the information required by managers as they make their decisions, such as the number of extension personnel employed by catego

72、ry, their training requirements, career develop</p><p>　　Need for automation</p><p>　　An automated MIS system contains data just as a manual system does. It receives input, processes input, and

73、delivers the processed input as output. Some input devices allow direct human-machine communication, while others require data to be recorded on an input medium such as a magnetizable material (specially coated plastic f

74、lexible or floppy disks and magnetic tapes). The keyboard of a workstation connected directly to a computer is an example of a direct input device. Use of automation makes </p><p>　　Organization of a databas

75、e</p><p>　　Data are usually generated at the field level through transaction-processing systems, but once the data are captured, any echelon along the organizational hierarchy may use them, provided that inf

76、ormation requirements have been well defined, appropriate programmers have been implemented, and a means has been arranged for the sharing of the data. This would imply that the same data can be used by different sets of

77、 programmers; hence we distinguish between the database (a set of data) and the appl</p><p>　　The term database may refer to any collection of data that might serve an organizational unit. A database on a gi

78、ven subject is a collection of data on that subject that observes three criteria: comprehensiveness (completeness), nonredundancy, and appropriate structure. Comprehensiveness means that all the data about the subject ar

79、e actually present in the database. Nonredundancy means that each individual piece of data exists only once in the database. Appropriate structure means that the data </p><p>　　The idea of a large corporate

80、database that can be flexibly shared by several applications or model bases has been realized by means of software packages specially devised to perform such tasks. These packages, called database management systems (DBM

81、Ss), are available in the market under different trade names such as ORACLE, SYBASE, INGRES, FOXBASE, and dBASE. </p><p>　　Illustrative computer-based MIS</p><p>　　A national agricultural extens

82、ion system is a nationwide system managed by the national government. In India, agriculture is a state subject under the division of powers between the national and the state levels. Nevertheless, the national government

83、 supplements the financial resources of the states and provides coordination at the national level. The state's administrative machinery is divided into districts, districts into subdivisions, subdivisions into block

84、s. A block is a group of villages </p><p>　　However, the actual design may vary with the size of the state and other considerations. An integrated database for the entire state may be supported by a mainfram

85、e/minicomputer at the state headquarters. Suitable programmes for the analysis of data may be designed to provide an interactive decision support system at the state level. Each district and subdivision may be provided w

86、ith a mini/micro computer, depending on the volume of data to be handled. The computers in the districts and subdivis</p><p>　　References</p><p>　　Ahituv, N., Neumann, S., & Riley, H. N. (19

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