<s>
A	O
management	B-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
MIS	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
information	O
system	O
used	O
for	O
decision-making	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
the	O
coordination	O
,	O
control	O
,	O
analysis	O
,	O
and	O
visualization	O
of	O
information	O
in	O
an	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
study	O
of	O
the	O
management	B-Application
information	I-Application
systems	I-Application
involves	O
people	O
,	O
processes	O
and	O
technology	O
in	O
an	O
organizational	O
context	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
corporate	O
setting	O
,	O
the	O
ultimate	O
goal	O
of	O
using	O
management	B-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
is	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
value	O
and	O
profits	O
of	O
the	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
contested	O
that	O
the	O
history	O
of	O
management	B-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
dates	O
as	O
far	O
back	O
as	O
companies	O
using	O
ledgers	O
to	O
keep	O
track	O
of	O
accounting	O
,	O
the	O
modern	O
history	O
of	O
MIS	O
can	O
be	O
divided	O
into	O
five	O
eras	O
originally	O
identified	O
by	O
Kenneth	O
C	O
.	O
Laudon	O
and	O
Jane	O
Laudon	O
in	O
their	O
seminal	O
textbook	O
Management	B-Application
Information	I-Application
Systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
era	O
(	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
and	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
computing	O
)	O
was	O
ruled	O
by	O
IBM	O
and	O
their	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
for	O
which	O
they	O
supplied	O
both	O
the	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Smaller	O
,	O
more	O
affordable	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
allowed	O
larger	O
businesses	O
to	O
run	O
their	O
own	O
computing	O
centers	O
in-house	O
/	O
on-site	O
/	O
on-premises	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
era	O
(	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
)	O
began	O
in	O
1965	O
as	O
microprocessors	O
started	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
and	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
and	O
accelerated	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
decentralizing	O
computing	O
power	O
from	O
large	O
data	O
centers	O
to	O
smaller	O
offices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
,	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
technology	O
gave	O
way	O
to	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
and	O
relatively	O
low-cost	O
computers	O
were	O
becoming	O
mass	O
market	O
commodities	O
,	O
allowing	O
businesses	O
to	O
provide	O
their	O
employees	O
access	O
to	O
computing	O
power	O
that	O
ten	O
years	O
before	O
would	O
have	O
cost	O
tens	O
of	O
thousands	O
of	O
dollars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
arguable	O
that	O
the	O
microprocessor-based	O
system	O
did	O
not	O
make	O
significant	O
inroads	O
into	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
use	O
until	O
1979	O
,	O
when	O
VisiCalc	B-Application
prompted	O
record	O
sales	O
of	O
the	O
Apple	O
II	O
on	O
which	O
it	O
ran	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	O
PC	O
introduced	O
in	O
1981	O
was	O
more	O
broadly	O
palatable	O
to	O
business	O
,	O
but	O
its	O
limitations	O
gated	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
challenge	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
systems	O
until	O
perhaps	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
to	O
early	O
1990s	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
third	O
era	O
(	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
networks	I-Operating_System
)	O
arose	O
as	O
technological	O
complexity	O
increased	O
,	O
costs	O
decreased	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
end-user	O
(	O
now	O
the	O
ordinary	O
employee	O
)	O
required	O
a	O
system	O
to	O
share	O
information	O
with	O
other	O
employees	O
within	O
an	O
enterprise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
lets	O
thousands	O
and	O
even	O
millions	O
of	O
people	O
access	O
data	O
simultaneously	O
on	O
networks	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
Intranets	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
fourth	O
era	O
(	O
enterprise	B-Application
computing	I-Application
)	O
enabled	O
by	O
high	O
speed	O
networks	O
,	O
consolidated	O
the	O
original	O
department	O
specific	O
software	O
applications	O
into	O
integrated	O
software	O
platforms	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
enterprise	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
terms	O
management	B-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
MIS	O
)	O
,	O
Information	B-Application
management	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
IMS	O
)	O
,	O
information	O
system	O
(	O
IS	O
)	O
,	O
enterprise	O
resource	O
planning	O
(	O
ERP	O
)	O
,	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
,	O
electrical	O
computer	O
engineering	O
,	O
and	O
information	B-Application
technology	I-Application
management	I-Application
(	O
IT	O
)	O
are	O
often	O
confused	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
is	O
more	O
software-focused	O
dealing	O
with	O
the	O
applications	O
that	O
may	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
MIS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ERP	O
software	O
is	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
MIS	O
and	O
IT	B-Application
management	I-Application
refers	O
to	O
the	O
technical	O
management	O
of	O
an	O
IT	O
department	O
which	O
may	O
include	O
MIS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
career	O
in	O
MIS	O
focuses	O
on	O
understanding	O
and	O
projecting	O
the	O
practical	O
use	O
of	O
management	B-Application
information	I-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
management	B-Application
information	I-Application
systems	I-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
any	O
or	O
every	O
level	O
of	O
management	O
,	O
the	O
decision	O
of	O
which	O
systems	O
to	O
implement	O
generally	O
falls	O
upon	O
the	O
chief	O
information	O
officers	O
(	O
CIO	O
)	O
and	O
chief	O
technology	O
officers	O
(	O
CTO	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
common	O
practice	O
to	O
have	O
inputs	O
to	O
MIS	O
be	O
inputted	O
by	O
non-managerial	O
employees	O
though	O
they	O
rarely	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
reports	O
and	O
decision	B-Application
support	I-Application
platforms	O
offered	O
by	O
these	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Decision	B-Application
support	I-Application
systems	I-Application
(	O
DSSs	O
)	O
are	O
computer	O
program	O
applications	O
used	O
by	O
middle	O
and	O
higher	O
management	O
to	O
compile	O
information	O
from	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
sources	O
to	O
support	O
problem	O
solving	O
and	O
decision	O
making	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Executive	B-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
EIS	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
reporting	O
tool	O
that	O
provides	O
quick	O
access	O
to	O
summarized	O
reports	O
coming	O
from	O
all	O
company	O
levels	O
and	O
departments	O
such	O
as	O
accounting	O
,	O
human	O
resources	O
and	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marketing	O
information	O
systems	O
are	O
management	B-Application
Information	I-Application
Systems	I-Application
designed	O
specifically	O
for	O
managing	O
the	O
marketing	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Accounting	B-Application
information	I-Application
systems	I-Application
are	O
focused	O
accounting	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Office	B-Application
automation	I-Application
systems	I-Application
(	O
OAS	O
)	O
support	O
communication	O
and	O
productivity	O
in	O
the	O
enterprise	O
by	O
automating	O
workflow	B-Operating_System
and	O
eliminating	O
bottlenecks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
School	O
Information	B-Application
Management	I-Application
Systems	I-Application
(	O
SIMS	O
)	O
cover	O
school	O
administration	O
,	O
often	O
including	O
teaching	O
and	O
learning	O
materials	O
.	O
</s>
