Education Management Information System (EMIS)
Unit-One
Basic Concepts of Education Management Information Systems
1.1 Management Information System (MIS)
Harold et al (1980), defined management information system as a formal system to gather,
integrate, compare, analyze, and disperse information (internal and external) to the enterprise in
a timely, effective and efficient manner.
MIS is the combination of human and computer-based resources that results in the collection,
storage, retrieval, communication and use of data for the purpose of efficient management of
operations and for business planning.
At the strategic level of management, the manager needs information to plan the overall
objective of the organization. Tactical level managers need information to ensure that the
resources of the organization are effectively and efficiently utilized to achieve the strategic goals
of the organization. The frontline managers use operational information to ensure that specific
tasks are planned and carried properly within the organization.
Objectives of MIS
Ensuring that all levels of management get the necessary information to carry out their
managerial functions.
Improving the processes of decision making in the organization.
Exposing members of an organization to information technology (IT) through the use of
computers to acquire and disseminate information as quickly as possible.
Helping to establish accurate database at all levels to meet specific needs of the
organization.
Need for Management Information Systems
Management requires information for the following reasons:
To establish, evaluate and adjust objective where necessary
To develop and plan standard
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To measure actual performance so as to enable a comparison with plans and standards;
and
To provide a basis for informed communication.
Characteristics of MIS
It is usually directed towards management of an organization, be it formal or informal.
Data flow: MIS has common data flow
Data form sources of input while information serves as output
MIS depends highly on database
MIS operates in areas of distributed data processing
It creates room for other subsystems to exist.
The Design of MIS
Many factors come to mind when designing MIS. Some of these factors include:
Behavioral Factor: Consists of the norms, attitudes, motivations, aspirations and
capabilities of the people involved. For instance, in Nigeria MIS on compulsory levy
in primary institutions might be jeopardized in some parts of the country because of
their beliefs and attitudes.
Communication Channels: In order to make information available where and
when needed, seminars, meetings, retreats etc have to be organized.
Computer Facilities: Computer and other data transmission should be made available
to help in data processing.
Internet Facilities: If possible, it is ideal to be on network so as to have access
to important information when designing yours.
Personnel: For effective data processing, competent personnel with qualitative
computer knowledge might be needed to help in data processing.
Database: Simple database might be maintained to help in analyzing information.
Institutional Goals of Management Information Systems
Management information system for an institution should be designed to achieve the following
goals.
Enhance communication among staff.
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Deliver complex materials throughout the institution.
Provide objective system for recording and aggregating information.
Reduce expenses related to labor-intensive manual activities.
Support the organizations strategies goals and direction.
Management information system in Education supplies education decision makers with facts, it
supports and enhances the overall decision making process and also enhances job performance
throughout an institution. At the management level, it provides information that helps the board
of management (i.e. the highest decision making body for the institution), to make strategic
decisions for the institution. Management information systems address the effective use of
human and computer resources available in an organization to achieve the objective of the
organization. The professionals in the field of management information systems are responsible
for developing various information systems that provide accurate and timely information to all
levels of decision-making in an organization.
The Role of Management Information System on the Behavior of Educational Managers
All over the world, it is an established fact that information technology has been influencing the
behavior of educational managers in their daily discharge of their duties. For example, a research
carried out by Hofer (1970) showed that the development of management information system
has assisted top managers in industry and education to:
Make some decisions at an earlier date
Gain time in which to consider some decisions
Consider more thorough analysis of some situations
Review several courses of action of many problems
Obtain additional information from middle managers concerning problems,
opportunities and promising alternatives before making decisions.
Challenges of Management Information Systems in Education
The technical element about MIS in education is how to use information. Making use of
information is highly specific, often personalized activity that affects work habits, work style,
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and the flow of work. Since the use of information is highly specific, training and retraining,
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refreshing, workshops, seminars are necessary instrument in making MIS in education effective.
Many obsolete styles of information system have failed not because of being obsolete, but
because the operations failed to change with them or refuse to maintain them. MIS in education
involves several critical steps to success which are listed below:
I. Set standards for information: As a major requirement for MIS in education, needed
information must be generated, defined and described.
II. Set Timing: Information generated at different times and location will vary because of the
time and location. The figure obtained for enrolment rate in September may be different from
the one obtained in March because of the time lag. Likewise, the rate obtained from the
cities/urban centers may be different from throne obtained from rural areas.
III. Define the level of possible accuracy. Most systems (statistics, personnel, inventory,
textbook, examination) except finance, cannot report with more than 2-3% accuracy simply
because of delays.
IV. Reports should be the result of daily activities not special purpose efforts as much as
possible. All reporting should be extracted from daily operational activities. For example,
data on enrolment should be generated from school registers.
V. Define formats – This should be done at the early stage of designs that people can get used to
it and know how to present and interpret information. For example if there is enrollment data
forth nation, MIS in education must be ready to give additional information at regional /
zonal or state level and also provide additional information on which analysis could be based.
VI. Ensure prompt feedback – information provider must be given results of their work as
quickly as possible because, the closer/quicker the processing of information is to the source,
the better the level of accuracy and reliability.
VII. Quantify the cost of producing information – Most institutions, ministries, produce
information anyhow; they in no way measure the cost of the information in monetary terms.
1.2 An Information System
An information system can be defined as a “business application of the computer”. The subject
area of information systems (or management information systems) includes an understanding of:
Organizations- their aims, management, structures and methods of working.
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Information systems and their use within organizations
The information technology uses in information systems
The professional, legal, social and ethical issues involved in the application of
information systems and information technology.
System: A system is an organized unitary whole composed of two or more parts or subsystems
delineated by identifiable boundaries from its environments and established with purpose. Some of the
fundamental concepts in the systems approach.
i. Subsystems or Components. A system by definition is composed of interrelated parts or
elements. This is true for all systems - mechanical, biological, and social. Every system
has at least two elements, and these elements are interconnected.
ii. Holism. . The simultaneous action of different parts of an open system functioning in a
harmonious and integrated manner produces more total effect than the sum of the
separated efforts of individual parts. That is, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
The whole is not just the sum of the parts; the system itself can be explained only as a
totality. Holism is the opposite of elementary, which views the total as the sum of its
individual parts.
iii. Open Systems View. Systems can be considered in two ways; (1) closed or (2) open. Open
systems exchange information, energy, or material with their environments. Biological
and social systems are inherently open systems; mechanical systems may be open or
closed. The concepts of open and closed systems are difficult to defend in the absolute. I
prefer to think of open - closed as a dimension; i.e., systems are relatively open or
relatively closed. The systems approach views organizations as open systems.
iv. Input-Transformation-Output Model. The open system can be viewed as a transformation
model. In a dynamic relationship with its environment, it receives various inputs,
transforms these inputs in some way, and exports outputs.
The following table exemplifies the model.
Inputs Process Output
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Floor, sugar, salt, water, heat, staff, etc. Baking Breads of different
1 A bakery
sizes, etc.
Patients, physicians, nurses, equipment, Diagnosis, Healthy people
2 A hospital support staff, fees. ameliorate, cure,
prevent
Students, faculty/lecturers, support staff, Teaching, Graduates, books,
A
3 tuition, contracts, and grants. research, and articles, outreach
university
community service activities.
What are the inputs, process and outputs of the school system?
v. System Boundaries. It follows that systems have boundaries that separate them from their
environments. The concept of boundaries helps us understand the distinction between
open and closed systems. Relatively closed systems have rigid, impenetrable boundaries,
whereas open systems have permeable boundaries between itself and a broader supra-
system. Boundaries are relatively easily defined in physical and biological systems but
are very difficult to delineate in social systems such as organizations.
vi. Negative Entropy. Entropy is a natural process of decay, death or disintegration. The
system of arresting or controlling the natural disintegration is called Negative Entropy. It
helps to maintain an organization alive and keep its identity. Example, a replacement of
an old cell by a new helps to keep the organism alive and similarly the conception and
introduction of a new product followed by the declining and death of an old item helps to
maintain the organization alive.
Closed physical systems are subject to the force of entropy which increases until
eventually the entire system fail. The tendency toward maximum entropy is a movement
to disorder, complete lack of resource transformation, and death. In a closed system, the
change in entropy must always be positive; however, in open biological or social systems,
entropy can be arrested and may even be transformed into negative entropy - a process of
more complete organization and ability to transform resources - because the system
imports resources from its environment.
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vii. Steady State, Dynamic Equilibrium, and Dynamic Homeostasis. The concept of steady
state is closely related to that of negative entropy. Organizations should adapt to
environmental changes. Homeostasis is a tendency of maintaining equilibrium condition
by making constant and proportional adjustment in response to changes in its
environment. An organization should be stable. Its various parts should be in balance with
one another. If an organization is to survive, it must correct the disruptive forces of the
environment. Example, replacing gas energy by hydroelectric power and solar energy as a
result of deterioration of natural resource such as crude oil.
A closed system eventually must attain an equilibrium state with maximum entropy -
death or disorganization. However, an open system may attain a state in which the system
remains in dynamic equilibrium through the continuous inflow of materials, energy, and
information.
viii. Feedback. The concept of feedback is important in understanding how a system
maintains a steady state. Information concerning the outputs or the process of the system
is feedback as an input into the system, perhaps leading to changes in the transformation
process and/or future outputs.
Feedback can be both positive and negative. Negative feedback is informational input,
which indicates that the system is deviating from a prescribed course and should readjust
to a new steady state.
ix. Hierarchy. A basic concept in systems thinking is that of hierarchical relationships
between systems. A system is composed of subsystems of a lower order and is also part
of a supra-system. Thus, there is a hierarchy of the components of the system.
x. Multiple Goal Seeking. Biological and social systems appear to have multiple goals or
purposes. Social organizations seek multiple goals, if for no other reason than that they
are composed of individuals and subunits with different values and objectives.
xi. Equifinality of Open Systems. This refers to the idea that the same output can be achieved
in multiple ways, with different inputs, and different transformation methods. There is no
single best way of doing a certain job. One can achieve desired goals in various ways.
Thus, search for potential courses of action to achieve goals. Example, profit can be
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achieved by reducing cost or maximizing revenue through making more sales at a
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reduced price.
In mechanistic systems there is a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the initial
conditions and the final state. Biological and social systems operate differently. Equi
finality suggests that certain results may be achieved with different initial conditions and
in different ways. This view suggests that social organizations can accomplish their
objectives with diverse inputs and with varying internal activities (conversion processes).
In sum, the systems approach views organizations including schools as organic and open systems
having interdependence and interactions between the organization and its environment and
among various sub-systems to exchange information and energy. It recognizes organizations are
systems that procure and transform inputs to outputs (goods and services), which are
subsequently discharged into their external environment.
The open systems concept gives principals and supervisors a better and more complete
understanding of the situations, realities, and options they have to deal with. It enables one to see
how social, psychological, economic, political, and technological forces determine the goals of
the organization. It helps to see the problems of the organization in an integrative manner by
considering internal and external forces.
1.3 Information Technology
IT is the use of modern technology to aid the capture, processing, storage and retrieval and
communication of information whether in the form of numeral data, text, sound or image.
It refers to wide variety of items and abilities used in creation, storage, dispersal of
information.
It is a system designed together, process or distribute information
It is a technology that facilitates transmission, collection, processing, interpretation and
dissemination of information.
It is a study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-
based information systems, particularly computer applications and computer hardware
It is a study of information handling and its use in society by means of modern
technology; this includes acquisition, processing, storage and communication of
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information in any by appropriate means.
It is a study of information handling and its use in society by means of modern
technology; this includes acquisition, processing, storage and communication of
information in any by appropriate means.
Components of IT
Information Technology is divided in to three primary components:
1. Computer
2. Communication Network
3. Know-how
1. Computer
A computer is any calculating device or machine, which is electrical, mechanical or
electromechanical. But that doesn’t mean that computer performs only calculation. The name
computer comes from a Latin word computer, meaning “to recon” or “to compute” and can be
applied to abacus or any adding machine as to the modern computer. However, the term
“computer” has come to mean a special electronic device having certain definite characteristics.
Computer, in simple terms, is an electronic machine that can be instructed to accept, process,
store and present data and information.
It processes data (raw facts or figures) into useful information that gives meaning to users.
Computer is programmable that can do virtually anything provided it is given the right set
intervention to do the job other that other machine may do a set of intervention to do the job
other that other machine may do a set of predefined tasks, nothing more, nothing less.
Storage and retrieval – unlike other machines, computer can store data for indefinite period of
time and makes the data available for later use (retrieval).
2. Communications Network
An integral part of IT is the ability to communicate such as send & receive data and information
over a communication network
A communications Network is the connection of station at different location through a medium
that enables people to send and receive data and information.
Telephone wires and cables are common media. Data communication is the transmission of data
and information over communication medium.
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3. Know- how
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Education Management Information System Note for Students
Although computers and data communication are very important parts of IT, an equal critical
part of IT is the ability to draw on the power of IT to solve problems to take advantage of the
opportunities it creates.
Therefore, IT requires or implies know-how, knowing how to do something well. It includes the
following:
Familiarity with the tools of IT.
The skills needed to use these tools
Understanding when to use IT to solve problems
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