IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

 Organizational behavior offers several ideas to management as to how human factor should be properly emphasised to achieve Organizational objectives. Barnard has observed that an organization is a conscious interaction of two or more people. This suggests that since an organization is Ihe interaction of persons, they should be given adequate importance in managing the organization. Organizational behavior provides opportunity to management to analyze human behavior and prescribe means for shaping it to a particular direction.

 Understanding Human Behavior Organizational behavior provides under­standing the human behavior in all directions in which the human beings interact. Thus, Organizational behavior can be understood at the individual level, interpersonal level, group level and inter-group level.

 Organizational behavior helps to analyze 'why' and 'how' an individual behaves in a particular way. Human behavior is a complex phenomenon and is affected by a large number of factors including the psychological, social and cultural implications. Organizational behavior integrates these factors to provide* simplicity in understanding the human behavior.

 

• Interpersonal Level: Human behavior can be understood at the level of interpersonal interaction. Organizational behavior provides • means for understanding the interpersonal relationships in an organization. Analysis of reciprocal relationships, role analysis and transactional analysis are some of the common methods, which provide such understanding.
• Group Level: Though people interpret anything at their individual level, they are often modified by group pressures, which then become a force in shaping human behavior, Thus, individuals should be studied in groups also.. Research in group dynamics has contributed vitally to Organizational behavior and shows how a group behaves in its norms, cohesion, goals, procedures, communication pattern and leadership. These research results are advancing managerial knowledge of understanding group behavior, which is very important for Organizational morale and productivity.
• Inter-group Level: The organization is made up of many groups that develop complex relationships to build their process and substance. Understanding the effect of group relationships is important for managers in today's organization. Inter-group relationship may be in the form of co-operation or competition.

 

The co-operative relationships help the organization in achieving its objectives. Organizational behavior provides means to understand and achieve co-operative group relationships through interaction, rotation of members among groups, avoidance of win-lose situation and focusing on total group objectives.

 

• Controlling and Directing Behavior: After understanding the mechanism of human behavior, managers are required to control and direct the behavior so that it conforms to the standards required for achieving the Organizational objectives. Thus, managers are required to control and direct the behavior at all levels of individual interaction. Therefore, Organizational behavior helps managers in controlling and directing in different areas such as use of power and sanction, leadership, communication and building Organizational climate favorable for better interaction.
• Use of Power and Sanction: The behaviors can be controlled and directed by the use of power and sanction, which are formally defined by the organization. Power is referred to as the capacity of an individual to take certain action and may be utilized in many ways. Organizational behavior explains how various means of power and sanction can ,be utilized so that both Organizational and individual objectives are achieved simultaneously.
• Leadership: Organizational behavior brings new insights and understanding to the practice and theory of leadership. It identifies various leadership styles available to a manager and analyzes which style is more appropriate in a given situation. Thus, managers can adopt styles keeping in view the various dimensions of organizations, individuals and situations.
• Communication: Communication helps people to come in contact with each other. To achieve Organizational objectives, the communication must be effective. The communication process and its work in inter-personal dynamics have been evaluated by Organizational behavior.
• Organizational Climate: Organizational climate refers to the total Organizational situations affecting human behavior. Organizational climate takes a system perspective that affect human behavior. Besides improving the satisfactory working conditions and adequate compensation, Organizational climate includes creation of an atmosphere of effective supervision; the opportunity for the realization of personal goals, congenial relations with others at the work place and a sense of accomplishment.
• Organizational Adaptation: Organizations, as dynamic entities are characterized by pervasive changes. Organizations have to adapt themselves to the environmental changes by making suitable, internal arrangements such as convincing employees who normally have the tendency of resisting any changes.

NEED FOR STUDYING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

 The rules of work are different from the rules of play. The uniqueness of rules and the environment of organizations forces managers to study Organizational behavior in order to learn about normal and abnormal ranges of behavior.

 

More specifically, Organizational behavior serves three purposes:

• What causes behavior?
• Why particular antecedents cause behavior?
• Which antecedents of behavior can be controlled directly and which are beyond control?

 

A more specific and formal course in Organizational behavior helps an individual to develop more refined and workable sets of assumption that is directly relevant to his work interactions. Organizational behavior helps in predicting human behavior in the Organizational setting by drawing a clear distinction between individual behavior and group behavior.

 

Organizational behavior does not provide solutions to all complex and different behavior puzzles of organizations. It is only the intelligent judgment of the manager in dealing with a specific issue that can try to solve the problem. Organizational behavior only assists in making judgments that are derived from tenable assumptions; judgment that takes into account the important variables underlying the situation; judgment that are assigned due recognition to the complexity of individual or group behavior; judgment that explicitly takes into account the managers own goals, motives, hang-ups, blind spots and weaknesses.

NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

 Each individual brings to an organization a unique set of personal characteristics, experiences from other organization, the environment surrounding the organization and¹ they also posses a personal background. In considering the people working in an organization, Organizational behavior must look at the unique perspective that each individual brings to the work setting.

 

But individuals do not work in isolation. They come in contact with other individuals and the organization in a variety of ways. Points of contact include managers, co-workers, formal policies and procedures of the organization, and various changes implemented by the organization. Over time, the individual, too, changes, as a function of both the personal experiences and the organization. The organization is also affected by the presence and eventual absence of the individual. Clearly, the study of Organizational behavior must consider the ways in which the individual and the organization interact.

 

An organization, characteristically, exists before a particular person joins it and continues to exist after he leaves it. Thus, the organization itself represents a crucial third perspective from which to view Organizational behavior.

ELEMENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

 The key elements in the Organizational behavior are people,, structure, technology and the environment in which the organization operates.

• People: People make up the internal and social system of the organization. They consist of individuals and groups. The groups may be big or small; formal or informal; official or unofficial. Groups are dynamic and they work in the organization to achieve their objectives.
• Structure: Structure defines the formal relationships of the people in organizations. Different people in the organization are performing different type of jobs and they need to be (elated in some structural way so that their work can be effectively co-ordinated.
• Technology:  Technology such as machines and work processes provide the resources with which people work and affects the tasks that they perform. The technology used has a significant influence on working relationships. It allows people to do more and work better but it also restricts' people in various ways.
• Environment: All organizations operate within an external environment. It is the part of a larger system that contains many other elements such as government, family and other organizations. All of these mutually influence each other in a complex system that creates a context for a group of people.

MEANING AND DEFINITION OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

 

Organizational behavior is concerned with people's thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions in setting up a work. Understanding an individual behavior is in itself a challenge, but understanding group behavior in an Organizational environment is a monumental managerial task.

As Nadler and Tushman put it, "Understanding one individual's behavior is challenging in and of itself; understanding a group that is made up of different individuals and comprehending the many relationships among those individuals is even more complex. Ultimately, the organization's work gets done through people, individually or collectively, on their, own or in collaboration with technology. Therefore, the management of Organizational behavior is central to the management task—a task that involves the capacity to "understand" the behavior patterns of individuals, groups and organizations, to ''predict'" what behavioral responses will be elicited by various managerial actions and finally to use this understanding and these predictions to achieve "control".

Organizational behavior can then be defined as: "The study of human behavior in Organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the Organizational context, and the organization itself."

The above definition has three parts—the individual behavior, the organization and the (interface between the two. Each individual brings to an organization a unique set of beliefs, values, attitudes and other personal characteristics and these characteristics of all individuals must interact with each other in order to create Organizational settings. The Organizational behavior is specifically concerned with work-related behavior, which takes place in organizations.

In addition to understanding; the on-going behavioral processes involved, in 'their own jobs, managers must understand the basic human element of their work. Organizational behavior offers three major ways of understanding this context; people as organizations, people as resources and people as people.

Above all, organizations are people; and without people there would be no organizations. Thus, if managers are to understand the organizations in which they work, they must first understand the people who make up the organizations.

As resources, people are one of the organization's most valuable assets. People create the organization, guide and direct its course, and vitalise and revitalise it. People make the decisions, solve the problems, and answer the questions. As managers increasingly recognize the value of potential contributions by their employees, it will become more and more important for managers and employees to grasp the complexities of Organizational behavior.

Finally, there is people as people - an argument derived from the simple notion of humanistic management. People spend a large part of their lives in_; Organizational settings, mostly as employees. They have a right to expect something in return beyond wages and benefits. They have a right to expect satisfaction and to learn new skills. An understanding of Organizational behavior can help the manager better appreciate the variety of individual needs and' expectations.

Organizational behavior is concerned with the characteristics and behaviors of employees in isolation; the characteristics and processes that are part of the organization itself; 'and the characteristics and behaviors directly resulting from people with their individual needs and motivations working within the structure of the organization. One cannot understand an individual’s behavior completely without learning something about that individual's organization. Similarly, he cannot understand how the organization operates without; studying the people who-make it up. Thus, the organization influences and is influenced by individuals.

Conflict

 conflict - an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals); "the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs"

An armed struggle or clash between organized groups within a nation or between nations in order to achieve limited political or military objectives. Although regular forces are often involved, irregular forces frequently predominate. Conflict often is protracted, confined to a restricted geographic area, and constrained in weaponry and level of violence. Within this state, military power in response to threats may be exercised in an indirect manner while supportive of other instruments of national power. Limited objectives may be achieved by the short, focused, and direct application of force.

In literature, conflict is an inherent incompatibility between the objectives of two or more characters or forces. Conflict creates tension and interest in a story by adding doubt as to the outcome. A narrative is not limited to a single conflict. While conflicts may not always resolve in narrative, the resolution of a conflict creates closure, which may or may not occur at a story's end.

Basic nature of conflict

Conflict in literature refers to the different drives of the characters or forces involved. Conflict may be internal or external—that is, it may occur within a character's mind or between a character and exterior forces. Conflict is most visible between two or more characters, usually a protagonist and an antagonist/enemy/villain, but can occur in many different forms. A character may as easily find himself or herself in conflict with a natural force, such as an animal or a weather event, like a hurricane. The literary purpose of conflict is to create tension in the story, making readers more interested by leaving them uncertain which of the characters or forces will prevail.

There may be multiple points of conflict in a single story, as characters may have more than one desire or may struggle against more than one opposing force. When a conflict is resolved and the reader discovers which force or character succeeds, it creates a sense of closure. Conflicts may resolve at any point in a story, particularly where more than one conflict exists, but stories do not always resolve every conflict. If a story ends without resolving the main or major conflict(s), it is said to have an "open" ending. Open endings, which can serve to ask the reader to consider the conflict more personally, may not satisfy them, but obvious conflict resolution may also leave readers disappointed in the story.

Classification

The basic types of conflict in fiction have been commonly codified as "man against man", "man against nature", and "man against self." In each case, "man" is the universal and refers to women as well.

Although frequently cited, these three types of conflict are not universally accepted. Ayn Rand, for instance, argued that "man against nature" is not a conflict because nature has no free will and thus can make no choices. Sometimes a fourth basic conflict is described, "man against society", Some of the other types of conflict referenced include "man against machine" (The Terminator, Brave New World), "man against fate" (Slaughterhouse Five), "man against the supernatural" (The Shining) and "man against god" (A Canticle for Liebowitz).

Man against man

"Man against man" conflict involves stories where characters are against each other. This is an external conflict. The conflict may be direct opposition, as in a gunfight or a robbery, or it may be a more subtle conflict between the desires of two or more characters, as in a romance or a family epic. This type of conflict is very common in traditional literature, fairy tales and myths. One example of the "man against man" conflict is the relationship struggles between the protagonist and the antagonist stepfather in This Boy's Life.

Man against society

Where man stands against a man-made institution (such as slavery or bullying), "man against man" conflict may shade into "man against society". In such stories, characters are forced to make moral choices or frustrated by social rules in meeting their own goals. The Handmaid's Tale and Fahrenheit 451 are examples of "man against society" conflicts.

Man against nature

"Man against nature" conflict is an external struggle positioning the hero against an animal or a force of nature, such as a storm. The "man against nature" conflict is central to Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, where the protagonist contends against a marlin. It is also common in adventure stories, including Robinson Crusoe.

Man against self

With "man against self" conflict, the struggle is internal. This is a conflict that is usually associated with an external conflict. A character must overcome his own nature or make a choice between two or more paths - good and evil; logic and emotion. A serious example of "man against himself" is offered by Hubert Selby, Jr.'s 1978 novel Requiem for a Dream, which centers around stories of addiction. 

Competition vs. Conflict

But in a conflict the desired result of one person is actually incompatible with the desired result of another. If one succeeds, the result is contrary to the desires of the other. Related Questions

• What or how is epiphany?
• What is the difference between poetry and prose?
• What are the 3 different types of barriers?
• What is 'Small Man syndrome'?

Competition is one or more people striving for the same goal--being the person who sells the most shoes, or runs the fastest in the race, or scores the highest in the test. Everyone wants to see the same thing happen--shoes getting sold, fast running or high scoring. Competition is a secretive, zero-sum game played by individuals for private gain; conflict is open and sometimes raucous but always communal, a public encounter in which it is possible for everyone to win by learning and growing.

The first assumption is a scarcity mindset as opposed to an abundance mindset.  Here, all resources are assumed to be scarce and limited.  When we assume that we’re fighting for a slice of a pie of a fixed size, then our win must be someone else’s loss.  I know I’ve written posts in the past critiquing modernity’s assumption that there are no limits to anything, but there are pitfalls to assuming there’s only a limited amount of desirable things to go around. 

The second assumption is a closed mindset as opposed to an open mindset.  This is a “if you’re not for us, you’re against us” attitude.  In a closed mindset, one is not receptive to being enriched by other sides in a debate. 

Many of the problems our nation faces stem from a mindset of competition between individuals or interest groups in society rather than a mindset of conflict.  In so many areas, we see dualistic, competition-based logic: politics, culture war issues, economic issues, church policies, etc. 

Conflict is not all bad.

Conflict has been broadly defined as the perceptions held by the parties involved, in that they hold discrepant views or have interpersonal incompatibilities (Jehn, 1995). Typically, interpersonal conflicts at workplaces involve interaction between two interdependent parties that perceive incompatibility of goals, interests, values, or ideas.

People sometimes think that being a part of a best place to work means that it is party time all the time. That’s not the case. Sure we work hard and play hard, but really what we do is challenge each other to greatness. We know that to be challenged can also be truly rewarding.

It says somewhere in the bible that a ‘good wife’ will debate and challenge her husband so he can see what he cannot see. I think this is the basis of all partnerships or even leadership teams. If we keep playing it safe, living in our comfort zone then how can we ever possibly create something bigger than ourselves?

There are more people in the RedBalloon team than it once was, and I don’t necessarily have the same moment-by-moment contact with each individual that I used to. As a result I rely heavily on the team leaders around me to deliver on the vision, the passion and the commitment to our people.

Having differences of opinion, viewing the world differently, holding the mirror up so we can see how we are really performing is all healthy. When there is fundamental respect for each other, then challenges are seen as growth opportunities.

Neutralizing of  Conflict

There are times in life when a conflict may arise that needs intervention from a third party. You may find yourself in a situation where you have to mediate a conversation between others who may not agree on a specific topic or procedure. When faced with this challenge, it is critical to “put out the fire” before it spreads to others and / or possibly impacts productivity. Consider these tips the next time you have to mediate a conversation between two or more people.

There are times in life when a conflict may arise that needs intervention from a third party. You may find yourself in a situation where you have to mediate a conversation between others who may not agree on a specific topic or procedure. When faced with this challenge, it is critical to “put out the fire” before it spreads to others and / or possibly impacts productivity.

Below are some tips to consider the next time you have to mediate a conversation between two or more people.

At the beginning of the discussion, ask each party to provide an opening statement regarding what brought them to the table and what they are hoping to achieve.

 

Based upon the opening statements, build an agenda for “cross-talk” (conversation between all parties). The goal of cross-talk is to:

·         Promote venting

·         Identify needs and interests

·         Generate options

·         Get the parties to talk to each other

·         Clarify issues

·         Exchange information

·         Build rapport among parties

·         Summarize the information. (You cannot do this enough.)

·         Use the agenda to frame the discussion. In the agenda, be neutral, concise, and fairly broad.

·         Identify the needs and interest first before providing the options. This helps the transition into negotiation.

·         Express empathy towards the disputants to help minimize emotions.

concept

Concept is an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.

principle

A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed. The principles of such a system are understood by its users as the essential characteristics of the system, or reflecting system's designed purpose, and the effective operation or use of which would be impossible if any one of the principles was to be ignored.

Examples of principles:

• a descriptive comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption,
• a normative rule or code of conduct,
• a law or fact of nature underlying the working of an artificial device.

A principle refers to a fundamental truth. It establishes cause and effect relationship between two or more variables under given situation. They serve as a guide to thought & actions.

Therefore, management principles are the statements of fundamental truth based on logic which provides guidelines for managerial decision making and actions. These principles are derived: -

1. On the basis of observation and analysis i.e. practical experience of managers.
2. By conducting experimental studies.

Theory

Theory - a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory".

A collection of ideas which set forth general rules on how to manage a business or organization. Management theory addresses how managers and supervisors relate to their organizations in the knowledge of its goals, the implementation of effective means to get the goals accomplished and how to motivate employees to perform to the highest standard.

Theory is a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural and subject to experimentation, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual fact. Synonyms: idea, notion hypothesis, postulate. Antonyms: practice, verification, corroboration, substantiation.

What is code of ethics?

 An ethical code is adopted by an organization in an attempt to assist those in the organization called upon to make a decision (usually most, if not all) understand the difference between 'right' and 'wrong' and to apply this understanding to their decision. The ethical code therefore generally implies documents at three levels: codes of business ethics, codes of conduct for employees and codes of professional practice. Code of ethics (corporate or business ethics): A code of business ethics often focuses on social issues. It may set out general principles about an organization's beliefs on matters such as mission, quality, privacy or the environment. It may delineate proper procedures to determine whether a violation of the code of ethics has occurred and, if so, what remedies should be imposed. The effectiveness of such codes of ethics depends on the extent to which management supports them with sanctions and rewards. Code of conduct (employee ethics): A code of conduct for employees sets out the procedures to be used in specific ethical situations, such as conflicts of interest or the acceptance of gifts, and delineate the procedures to determine whether a violation of the code of ethics occurred and, if so, what remedies should be imposed. Code of practice (professional ethics): A code of practice is adopted by a profession or by a governmental or non-governmental organization to regulate that profession. A code of practice may be styled as a code of professional responsibility, which will discuss difficult issues, difficult decisions that will often need to be made, and provide a clear account of what behavior is considered "ethical" or "correct" or "right" in the circumstances.

Discuss why banker-customer relationship is very important

 Banker customer relationship,is just a special contract where a person entrusts valuable items with another person with an intention that such items shall be retrieved on demand from the keeper by the person who so entrust. Thus the banker is the one who is entrustd with the above mentioned valuable items,whie the person who entrust the tems with a view to retrieving it on demand is called the customer. The relationship is thus based on contract.It is based on certain terms and conditons.For instance,the customer has the right to collect his deposit on demand personally or by proxy.The banker too is under obligation to pay, so long the proxy is duly auhorised by the customer It has a semblance of creditor /debtor relationship.Thus the customer is the creditor who has the right of demand on the money from the banker.As long as the banker is keeping the customer items,the banker is indebted to the customer. The elationship is also fiducial.The terms and conditons governing the relationship should not be leaked to a third party,particularly by the banker.Also the items kept should not be released to a third party without due authorisation by the customer. Banker customer relationship,is just a special contract where a person entrusts valuable items with another person with an intention that such items shall be retrieved on demand from the keeper by the person who so entrust. Thus the banker is the one who is entrustd with the above mentioned valuable items,whie the person who entrust the items with a view to retrieving it on demand is called the customer. The relationship is thus based on contract.It is based on certain terms and conditons.For instance,the customer has the right to collect his deposit on demand personally or by proxy.The banker too is under obligation to pay, so long the proxy is duly auhorised by the customer It has a semblance of creditor /debtor relationship.Thus the customer is the creditor who has the right of demand on the money from the banker.As long as the banker is keeping the customer items,the banker is indebted to the customer. The relationship is also fiducial.The terms and conditons governing the relationship should not be leaked to a third party,particularly by the banker.Also the items kept should not be released to a third party without due authorisation by the customer.

What is decision support system? What is its advantage?

 A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance. DSSs include knowledge-based systems. A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers compile useful information from a combination of raw data, documents, personal knowledge, or business models to identify and solve problems and make decisions.

Benefits:

1. Improves personal efficiency
2. Speed up the process of decision making
3. Increases organizational control
4. Encourages exploration and discovery on the part of the decision maker
5. Speeds up problem solving in an organization
6. Facilitates interpersonal communication
7. Promotes learning or training
8. Generates new evidence in support of a decision
9. Creates a competitive advantage over competition
10. Reveals new approaches to thinking about the problem space
11. Helps automate managerial processes

Briefly describe the process of strategic planning.

 

In today's highly competitive business environment, budget-oriented planning or forecast-based planning methods are insufficient for a large corporation to survive and prosper. The firm must engage in strategic planning that clearly defines objectives and assesses both the internal and external situation to formulate strategy, implement the strategy, evaluate the progress, and make adjustments as necessary to stay on track. A simplified view of the strategic planning process is shown by the following diagram:

The Strategic Planning Process

 Mission & Objectives      ->    Environmental Scanning      ->     Strategy   Formulation   -> 

Strategy Implementation  ->        Evaluation  & Control

 

 Mission and Objectives: The mission statement describes the company's business vision, including the unchanging values and purpose of the firm and forward-looking visionary goals that guide the pursuit of future opportunities.  Environmental Scan: The environmental scan includes the following components:

• Internal analysis of the firm
• Analysis of the firm's industry (task environment)
• External macroenvironment (PEST analysis)

The internal analysis can identify the firm's strengths and weaknesses and the external analysis reveals opportunities and threats. A profile of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is generated by means of a SWOT analysis

An industry analysis can be performed using a framework developed by Michael Porter known as Porter's five forces. This framework evaluates entry barriers, suppliers, customers, substitute products, and industry rivalry.

Strategy Formulation: Given the information from the environmental scan, the firm should match its strengths to the opportunities that it has identified, while addressing its weaknesses and external threats.

Strategy Implementation: The selected strategy is implemented by means of programs, budgets, and procedures. Implementation involves organization of the firm's resources and motivation of the staff to achieve objectives.

Evaluation & Control: The implementation of the strategy must be monitored and adjustments made as needed.

Evaluation and control consists of the following steps:

1. Define parameters to be measured
2. Define target values for those parameters
3. Perform measurements
4. Compare measured results to the pre-defined standard
5. Make necessary changes

“Planning and controlling are the cycling work”- explain

 PLAN: Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the expected output (the target or goals). By establishing output expectations, the completeness and accuracy of the specification is also a part of the targeted improvement. When possible start on a small scale to test possible effects.

DO : Implement the plan, execute the process, make the product. Collect data for charting and analysis in the following "CHECK" and "ACT" steps.

CHECK : Study the actual results (measured and collected in "DO" above) and compare against the expected results (targets or goals from the "PLAN") to ascertain any differences. Charting data can make this much easier to see trends over several PDCA cycles and in order to convert the collected data into information. Information is what you need for the next step "ACT".

ACT :Request corrective actions on significant differences between actual and planned results. Analyze the differences to determine their root causes. Determine where to apply changes that will include improvement of the process or product. When a pass through these four steps does not result in the need to improve, the scope to which PDCA is applied may be refined to plan and improve with more detail in the next iteration of the cycle.

What is meant by Management Information System (MIS)?

 A management information system (MIS) provides information needed to manage organizations efficiently and effectively.^[1] Management information systems involve three primary resources: people, technology, and information. Management information systems are distinct from other information systems in that they are used to analyze operational activities in the organization.^[2] Academically, the term is commonly used to refer to the group of information management methods tied to the automation or support of human decision making, e.g. decision support systems, expert systems, and executive information systems.^[2]

Q. Advantage of MIS

The following are some of the benefits that can be attained for different types of management information systems.^[5]

• The company is able to highlight their strength and weaknesses due to the presence of revenue reports, employee performance records etc. The identification of these aspects can help the company to improve their business processes and operations.
• Giving an overall picture of the company and acting as a communication and planning tool.
• The availability of the customer data and feedback can help the company to align their business processes according to the needs of the customers. The effective management of customer data can help the company to perform direct marketing and promotion activities.
• Information is considered to be an important asset for any company in the modern competitive world. The consumer buying trends and behaviors can be predicted by the analysis of sales and revenue reports from each operating region of the company.

Describe the relationship between budget and plan

 New small business owners may run their businesses in a relaxed way and may not see the need to budget. However, if you are planning for your business' future, you will need to fund your plans. Budgeting is the most effective way to control your cashflow, allowing you to invest in new opportunities at the appropriate time.

If your business is growing, you may not always be able to be hands-on with every part of it. You may have to split your budget up between different areas such as sales, production, marketing etc. You'll find that money starts to move in many different directions through your organisation - budgets are a vital tool in ensuring that you stay in control of expenditure.A budget is a plan to: 

·         control your finances

·         ensure you can continue to fund your current commitments

·         enable you to make confident financial decisions and meet your objectives

·         ensure you have enough money for your future projects

It outlines what you will spend your money on and how that spending will be financed. However, it is not a forecast. A forecast is a prediction of the future whereas a budget is a planned outcome of the future - defined by your plan - that your business wants to achieve.

Benefits of a business budget

·         manage your money effectively

·         allocate appropriate resources to projects

·         monitor performance

·         meet your objectives

·         improve decision-making

·         identify problems before they occur - such as the need to raise finance or cashflow difficulties

·         plan for the future

·         increase staff motivation