Computer-based Management Information Systems Research Articles

Accounting for time: managing time in project-based teamworking

In this paper, we investigate time management in project based teamworking, a form of work that is seen as becoming a significant feature in many organisations, and consider its implications for accounting control. The analysis is based on a perspective on time in organisations which, drawing on time-geography, considers the management of time in project-based teamworking organisations as part of the organisational actors' ongoing active production and reproduction of their social context. We grounded this perspective in a longitudinal ethnographic study of project-based teamworking, which examined the development process of computer-based management information systems for top executives in a large multinational company. The extended time-geography perspective presented in this paper offers a theoretical framework within which various organisational practices may be explained and provides a better understanding of the social dynamics of time management than is provided by traditional accounting approaches. The implications of this perspective for the use of accounting practices in the management of time in project-based teamworking are discussed.

Training teachers in computer‐based management information systems

Abstract This paper presents an evaluation of a multimedia training programme, supported by a video‐conference link, for senior school staff in the use of a computer‐based Management Information System and the subsequent impact on the school organisation. The training took place as a part of the Education Departments' Superhighways Initiative. Two years later the impact of this initiative on school management practice was examined and the implications of subsequent patterns of staff use of ICT in management assessed. Results indicate that change strategies should involve attention to the totality of the relevant school system and should provide for professional dialogue and participation in the process.

A computerized database for head and neck cancer registry.

Over the last years, the management of patients with head and neck cancer has become extremely complex, and the knowledge and information needed to care for a patient can no longer be trusted to the memory or manual systems. Recent advances in data processing technology offer the potential for creating ideal instruments to organize, store and analyze such information. We developed a computerized database management system (H&N-CDMS) which fulfils the following requisites: easy to use even by operators not expert in informatics; minimum possibility of insertion of ambiguous data; use for clinical and research purposes; can be interconnected in a network of similar database operating in other centers; can be expanded to image processing. The configuration of the system is described and its main characteristics are discussed: data entry and coding facilities, data accuracy and standardization, security and anonymity, data retrieval and analysis. H&H-CDMS is a user-friendly tool for head and neck cancer data management in clinical and research environments.

Show Me The Outcomes

LEARNING OUTCOME: To identify a method for gathering and reporting medical nutrition therapy outcomes data which are important to health care payors In order to prove the value of nutrition services to health care payors, outcomes of the nutrition intervention must be documented. To achieve reproducible outcomes, standard care practices must be followed by the dietitians providing the nutrition Intervention. Many protocols are currently available to put into practice. Few, if any, have been validated in a large ambulatory care population or targeted to the needs of the health care payors. Taking samples of these protocols, we developed standardized guidelines for the provision of nutrition care for the top diagnoses for which patients are referred including: diabetes-NIDDM, IDDM, GDM; cardiovascular disease-hypertension, hyperlipidemias; inflammatory bowel disease; food allergies; obesity; cancer. The guidelines are written to correspond with our data entry form for outcomes documentation. The dietitian also uses this form as a basis for creating the patient's report which is sent to the physician and case manager. We are currently validating these guidelines using our potential client base which includes 88,0000 covered lives under one employer contract as well as national and regional contracts with home and long term care agencies. In addition, we have developed symptom management pathways for diarrhea, constipation, nausea and vomiting and drug nutrient interactions. These guidelines and symptom management pathways have been used successfully with clients seen through home health care agencies or those directly referred through currently held managed care contracts. The outcomes measured are processed in our computerized database management system and reported to these agencies on a monthly or quarterly basis by specific categories such as diagnosis, age, physician, or referral source. Outcomes can only be demonstrated when standardized guidelines are utilized. When outcomes are demonstrated, the importance of nutrition services can be demonstrated and valued in dollars.

MIS in Large Public Programs

Designing MIS for large public programs is a complex task more so in a developing country context. While the potential need and utility of computer based management information systems (MIS) is obvious, the actual application poses challenging problems regarding system design, implementation, decision structures, financial allocations and manpower. As a result, there have been only a few programs where computerized MIS has been a success in developing countries. A large part of MIS literature covers private sector studies in developed countries – the relevance of which is limited for developing countries. Few studies of computerized MIS in public programs have been made, particularly in developing countries. There is, therefore, a need to document and analyze the experience of these countries in order to identify the significant issues and their bearing on the successful program implementation and MIS design. These studies need to be related to existing theory and frameworks. This paper documents the experience of implementing an MIS for the literacy program in India which was being promoted in over 187 districts of India as of April 1993. The paper highlights important issues in design and implementation of MIS for such programs and uses a public MIS framework to identify differences in developed and developing country contexts.

A window on information systems technology in China

The status of information technology in China is important to Western firms contemplating cooperative commercial arrangements with Chinese firms. This paper discusses the characteristics of the information technology environment in China. It presents the results of an open-ended questionnaire administered in 1986, and two structured questionnaires administered in 1990 and 1992, to a group of Chinese managers about the introduction and diffusion of computer-based management information systems in their respective organizations. The study presents managers' perspectives across multiple layers of organizational structures. The particular managers who shared their views can be best described as ambitious fast-track individuals who are open to new ideas. They are perhaps representative of the future industrial leaders of China. Of more immediate importance, they typify the type of manager currently involved in China's ‘open market’ sector. These managers are critical employees of import/export divisions, members of joint venture teams and spokespersons for branch offices of foreign firms. In other words, they represent the type of Chinese manager with whom Western firms currently deal, and will be dealing with in the future. Other implications for firms contemplating joint venture relationships with Chinese firms are also given in light of the authors' experience and the results of the survey.

Engineering of a decision support system for underground coal mine planning and production scheduling

Abstract This paper reports on the development of a computer-based management information system at Datong Coal Company, the largest subsidiary of China National Coal Corporation. Particularly presented is the development methodology of a decision support system for underground coal mine planning and production scheduling, including an integration of computer graphics, database management, mathematical modelling and knowledge engineering techniques and a coupling of life cycle and prototyping software engineering processes to support systems quality assurance.

MIS success: why does it vary among users?

Organizations have been developing and implementing computer-based management information systems (MIS) at an increasing rate for the last 35 years. However, evidence indicates that many computer-based MIS are not as successful as they should be and many may be considered failures.

MIS Success: Why Does it Vary among Users?

Organizations have been developing and implementing computer-based management information systems (MIS) at an increasing rate for the last 35 years. However, evidence indicates that many computer-based MIS are not as successful as they should be and many may be considered failures. There has been much research to investigate organizational factors, individual differences, user involvement and their relationship to MIS success, and in particular, one indicator of MIS success, user information satisfaction (UIS). Little attention, however, has been paid to whether UIS for any particular MIS varies for users from different organization functions and different management levels within an organization. This paper reports the results of a field study of MIS in different organizations in Australia which investigates the relationship between type of user, user involvement and user information satisfaction. The results show that MIS success (UIS) varies between users of the same MIS based on their organizational function and that user involvement in the systems development life cycle (SDLC) has a significant positive effect on UIS. The significance of the effect of user involvement varies for users based on their organizational function. Technical users are less satisfied with MIS than administrative users. The relationship between user involvement and user control of the systems development process and UIS is significantly different for administrative and technical users.

An analytical framework on extension education for agricultural and rural development

Extension education approaches generally have been visualized from isolated perspectives ranging from philosophical foundations to practical applications. This paper provides a broad analytical framework to describe and examine different scopes, elements, knowledge fields, and change areas relevant to extension education for agricultural and rural development. For the purpose of a multi-model analysis, a sample of 46 ideographic representations (schematic drawings) on agricultural and rural development-related processes was reviewed using concept-mapping techniques to prepare a computerized database management system. The discussion is based on the commonality findings among models and groups of models.

Using a donor insemination management system

A computerized database management system has been developed for an expanding donor insemination service. The programs have been written in dBASEIV language and they will run on a single personal computer (IBM or compatible, with a hard disc) or on a network. The central database enables access to stock, donor and couple details and routine statistics e.g. pregnancy rates, although levels of access to the system are restricted by password control. The central database provides an archival component, with data recorded on a daily basis, a service management component assisting in the routine administration of a donor insemination service, a financial component and a statistical component providing for both local and national statistics. Data may be converted for use in other software packages, e.g. SPSSX, SAS (statistical packages), encouraging data manipulation and enabling specific research questions to be addressed more readily.

Management Information Systems: Problems and Opportunities

LOUIS RAYMOND is an associate professor of information systems at the University of Quebec at Trois Rivieres. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the problems of small businesses with regard to computer-based management information systems (MIS) based on interviews with 125 managers in 34 manufacturing firms. The main problems concern the organisation and management of information resources, the initial implementation process and the MIS application portfolio. These findings lead to propositions aimed at increasing the effectiveness of computer-based information systems in small firms.

Clients, Computers and Welfare Work

Computer-based client and management information systems are increasingly being introduced into social welfare agencies. Their operation raises substantial questions about the organisation of social welfare; questions which are often not considered in adopting such systems. These include the role of case recording; the construction of relationships with clients; the management of professional supervision and peer review; and the administrative rules, worker behaviours and organisational policies of information management. The establishment of a computer-based client information system in the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services highlights this.

Controlling Purchasing Price Performance

In manufacturing, effective purchasing is crucial. The operations of the firm require an uninterrupted flow of parts and materials. Moreover, since purchasing on the average redirects well over half of each dollar of sales revenue for these required materials, cost-effectiveness is important. The advent of real-time computer-based management information systems has stimulated the introduction of improved techniques for controlling the operations of manufacturing and institutional enterprises alike. This article provides a case illustration of a useful computerized reporting system that facilitates measurement and control of purchasing performance. It focuses on comparisons of current material prices with historical prices and standard costs, allowing management to set cost targets and then track progress toward their achievement. Additionally, the system provides both an incentive and a basis for evaluating the performance of individual buyers.

Transportation applications of geographic information systems

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computerized data base management system for the capture, storage, retrieval, analysis, and display of spatial (i.e., locationally defined) data. The purpose of this paper is to explain why GIS technology is important to transportation professionals, describe how a number of transportation agencies are using GIS, and provide insight on how to participate in this technology. Transportation agencies are still in their infancy with respect to exploiting the power and possibilities offered by GIS technology. The paper examines the usefulness of spatially integrated data to transportation and clarifies the distinction between GIS and other data base systems that use spatial data. The benefits of GIS are summarised, examples of GIS activities at the FHWA and State highway agencies are described, and sources of digital geocoded data are discussed. The paper concludes with a more detailed discussion of hardware and software requirements, topology, overlay processing, and special issues involved in designing a GIS for transportation

Data Base Management Systems: How They Work in Dermatology

The organization of data and the services available from a computerized data base management system are discussed in this article. A primitive medical office management system is built to illustrate how one such system (dBASE III) could be used. The case study shows not only the immediate applications, but also how the system allows new features and functions to be added.

Integrated Information Systems for Social Work Practice

are undergoing a dramatic organi zational change by increasingly adopting computer technology for information proc essing.1 There are two major reasons for this: First, in a milieu of scarcity and re trenchment, there are greater demands on social service agencies for accountability and demonstrated efficiency. These de mands require that agencies generate a great deal of information about their op erations and that they document the quantity and quality of the services they provide as well as how accessible their resources are. Second, the rapid develop ment of low-cost computer-based manage ment information systems presents an opportunity to agency administrators to use such a technology to cope with the increasing informational demands faced by the agency.

Establishment of a large collection of extracted teeth for research.

A collection of over 14,000 teeth extracted at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital since 1982 has been organized and catalogued on a computerized database management system. The computer catalogue provides, for each tooth in the collection, information on the age and sex of the patient, and the date of extraction and condition of the tooth. The catalogue can be searched according to any combination of the descriptive variables in the database record. Researchers, including visiting scientists, can borrow teeth from the central "tooth library" on a temporary or permanent basis. Further information on particular teeth (e.g. patient's medical and dental histories, dental radiographs) can be obtained from patients' charts. Establishment of this collection has greatly facilitated the work of researchers in clinical dentistry, dental anatomy, and dental anthropology.

Database Management in Family Medicine

A computerized database will serve a practice well if physicians and staff make their expectations and needs explicit, establish clear database specifications, and use those specifications as the basis for selecting appropriate data management software and computer hardware. Any computerized database management system introduced into a practice should be thoroughly documented, and the process of implementing the system should be planned in advance. Finally, because a practice's information-related needs, expectations, and capabilities change over time, database usage should be reviewed and refined regularly.

Transferability of computer technology across asian cultures

Though somewhat handicapped by relatively late entry into the computer age, serious attempts are now being made by several Asian countries to take a more active role in the development and export of computer technology, long dominated by the United States and West European countries. Japan, for one, embarked on all-out efforts in the early 1980s to develop the powerful fifth generation computer; it ranks second in the world in the number of computers in use, and has accumulated considerable knowledge and knowhow in the design and use of computer-based Management Information Systems (MIS). This article presents findings from a study conducted in Japan and Hong Kong on the transferability of computer technology, specifically its behavioural aspect, across Oriental cultures.