The importance and future of MIS

Gina DiNardo

MIS is not solely technology; it encompasses information systems that support not only business processes and operations, but also decision-making and competitive strategies within a business. As others have mentioned, and what I completely agree with is that technology is clearly the driver and heart of a business but MIS incorporates this technology with certain business strategies and tactics to improves and support operations. What could be cost efficient and effective from a business stand point might be to outsource tech applications, or rent rather than purchase and install an expensive ERP system; none of which can be understood or appreciated without a background in the exciting field of MIS. MIS takes technology to a higher level, making it work for the business it happens to be associated with. Without adopting the improvements that have been made in technology throughout the years, such as streamlining business operations with databases, ERP systems, CRM software etc, businesses would not be able to function as well as they do today.

MIS is my secondary major, but even so, I have found that a background in MIS can be pertinent to any career choice you might make. Students, especially with a background in MIS can be a very valuable asset to a division of a company where not many others will value the importance of how technology practically runs the business. Without an MIS background you can’t really appreciate the integration of information and technology which works to ultimately enhance the business practices you work with day in and day out. When I was interviewing for my position with KPMG, the partner I interviewed with seemed intrigued by my choice of double majoring in MIS. We must have spent a good 20 minutes discussing classes I had taken, what I could bring to the firm with what I have learned, and how I could potentially apply this knowledge to my position within the company. While this may not have necessarily won me the job, it was certainly a great way to differentiate myself from other candidates. Put very simply, one of my tasks at KPMG will be analyzing business reports in order to properly valuate other companies. As Scott and Greg mentioned, XBRL, which is an emerging XML-based standard to define and exchange business and financial performance information, is currently being used by KPMG. XBRL can be viewed as a system of bar codes for financial statements. It allows companies to use nationally and internationally common “tags” to identify individual reporting concepts that exist in a corporate report. It allows context to be communicated along with content. XBRL facilitates the communication of entire reports, avoiding "template reporting," which can be misleading and inaccurate, and allows the standardization of common business reporting concepts while providing flexibility to extend the vocabulary to meet individual circumstances. Receiving financial reports in real time will allow me to efficiently analyze and make the most accurate valuations possible; a very significant task to my position within the firm.

So while I was writing this paper, I was talking to my roommate who was looking up the time difference between the east coast and Mexico. After a quite successful Google search of what she was looking for she said, Laurlen15: what did people do before the internet and google? Laurlen15: thats how i find out everything i need to know. People these days are currently relying increasingly more on the internet and its extensive capabilities, stemming far beyond, but certainly starting with simple Google searches. When I told her about the blog I was writing for class she naively replied, Laurlen15: apparently blogs are the future, Laurlen15: my boss at work is obsessed. Blogs certainly are a wave of the future, as is Web 2.0 as a whole. I believe that the future of Web 2.0 will stem from the creativity of the users who create it, and also those that contribute to it. People just need to figure out how to get involved and how to successfully use Web 2.0 to their advantage. I read an article stating that Web 2.0's principal appeal is empowerment. More capable computers, high-speed Internet connections, and user-friendly Web 2.0 services give individuals the ability to perform sophisticated tasks without having to seek permission from overtaxed information technology departments. Web 2.0 is also being integrated into corporations. Companies are starting to learn from MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking services. The reason for this is because businesses are, in a sense, social networks formed to make or sell something. LinkedIn is an online service for people to post career profiles and search for prospective employees, and is becoming a major corporate recruiting source.

Overall, MIS is information, it is technology, and most importantly it is the combination of the two in order to support the ever important process of decision making. The future of MIS is people, and how they interact with and contribute to the Web, technology, and its extensive capabilities.