Case Study: Management

Information System at Dell

Management information system involves the information system and the organization.
MIS begins where computer science ends. Computer scientists deserve accolades for
developing and delivering even more advanced forms of information technology:
hardware technology; software technology; and network technology. Yet because no
technology implements itself, there is more to MIS than just information technology.
MIS has dimensions. The four interrelated dimensions of MIS are as follows: First, MIS
involves not just information technology, but also its instantiation; second, MIS involves,
as reactive and inextricable elements, both an information system and its organizational
context; third, MIS involves information technology as a form of intellectual technology;
and fourth, MIS involves the activities of a profession or corporate function which are
integral to the essence of what MIS is (Currie & Galliers, 1999).

Dell Computer Corporation: Company Background

Dell Computer Corporation is a major manufacturer of personal computers, computer

peripherals, and software. Among the leading producers of computers in the world, Dell
sells its products directly to customers through the Internet and mail-order catalogs
rather than through retail outlets. The company is based in Round Rock, Texas. At Dell
Computers, customers are brought into the product planning and manufacturing
processes, with all employees encouraged having contact with customers. Through
effective collaboration across boundaries, ideas can be shared about product designs
and value propositions. The result is faster and more customer-focused product and
service innovation. To produce the capacity for this, considerable attention must be
placed on organizational structures, processes, skills and culture. Such elements may
need a radical overhaul in established companies (Dennis & Harris, 2002). Dell was
founded in 1984 by Michael Dell. In 1983, during his freshman year at the University of
Texas, he bought excess inventory of RAM chips and disk drives for IBM personal
computers from local dealers. He resold the components through newspaper
advertisements at prices far below retail cost. By 1984, his sales totaled about $80,000 a
month. In April 1984, Dell dropped out of school to launch his company (Ford,
Honeycutt, & Simintiras, 2003).

The new company soon began manufacturing its own IBM-compatible computers under
the name PCs Limited. Because Dell sold computers directly to users through
advertisements in magazines and catalogs, the company could price its machines lower
than those sold through retail stores. Sales reached nearly $6 million during the
company’s first year, climbing to $34 million the following year. By 1987, Dell was the
leading mail-order computer company in the United States. In that year, it created a
sales force to target large corporations and began adding international offices to
capture the direct-mail market outside the United States (Ford, Honeycutt, & Simintiras,
2003). While the company continued to grow rapidly; Dell experienced a series of
setbacks that hurt profits. In 1990, the company began selling computers through retail
stores, an effort it abandoned in 1994. In 1991, Dell launched a line of notebook
computers, but quality problems and inadequate production planning forced the
company to stop selling for a year. In 1994, Dell launched a new line of notebook
computers and expanded efforts to increase overseas sales. Dell also began focusing on
the market for servers, which used the computers to run local area networks. By the
late 1990s, Dell was firmly in place as the world’s number one direct seller of computers.
More than 50 percent of the company’s computer sales transactions took place via its
website, which generated worldwide sales in excess of $40 million a day (Ford,
Honeycutt, & Simintiras, 2003).

Information Processing Tools

Information processing or Data processing is the analysis and organization of data. It is

used extensively in business, engineering, and science and an increasing extent in
nearly all areas in which computers are used. Businesses use data processing for such
tasks as payroll preparation, accounting, record keeping, inventory control, sales
analysis, and the processing of bank and credit card account statements. Engineers and
scientists use data processing for a wide variety of applications, including the processing
of seismic data for oil and mineral exploration, the analysis of new product designs, the
processing of satellite imagery, and the analysis of data from scientific experiments
(Thierauf, 1978).

Data processing is used extensively in business, engineering, and science and to an

increasing extent in nearly all areas in which computers are used. Data processing is
divided into two kinds of processing: database processing and transaction processing. A
database is a collection of common records that can be searched, accessed, and
modified, such as bank account records, school transcripts, and income tax data. In
database processing, a computerized database is used as the central source of reference
data for the computations. Transaction processing refers to interaction between two
computers in which one computer initiates a transaction and another computer provides
the first with the data or computation required for that function. Most modern data
processing uses one or more databases at one or more central sites (Thierauf, 1978).
Transaction processing is used to access and update the databases when users need to
immediately view or add information; other data processing programs are used at
regular intervals to provide summary reports of activity and database status. Examples
of systems that involve all of these functions are automated teller machines, credit sales
terminals, and airline reservation systems (Thierauf, 1978).

The information processing tools that Dell uses include computers, the internet, maps,
spreadsheets, models, and databases. For the operational level of Dell, the most
appropriate tool for information processing is maps. Through the said information
processing tool, decisions on how to operate the organization can be initialized and
made. Maps can be used to determine which country/place information will be acquired
from, it can also assist in determining the demographic level of people and information
will be gathered . Maps can be in the form of charts that can also provide necessary
information. The information gathered in turn can assist in helping to decide how an
organization will be operated. For the tactical level of Dell, the most appropriate tool
for information processing is databases. Through the said information processing tool,
the records that can assist in finding out the strength and weakness of the company can
be used to determine the tactic that will be used by the organization. For the strategic
level of Dell, the most appropriate information processing tool is the internet or World
Wide Web. Through the internet, trends and strategies by other companies can be
known. After analyzing the trends and strategies used by other companies, an
appropriate strategy can be formulated to use by the organization.

Inventory control systems

Individual businesses need, first and foremost, an efficient inventory control system. This
implies the minimum amount of inventory that will provide the consumers with what
they need whenever and wherever they need it. Effectiveness of the inventory system
means basically having an inventory mix that is most likely successful in satisfying
consumer needs (Samli & Sirgy, 1995). The inventory control systems used by Dell is up
to date and reliable to prevent problems to arise. The inventory system of Dell makes
sure that anything the consumer need will be available to them at any given time. It is
also what the company uses to know if certain products are still available or misuse of
the inventory system may cost problems to the company.

Conclusion

Management information system involves the information system and the organization.
Dell benefits a lot from the management information system. The system helps the
company create strategies that will help the company conquer any problems and threats
from competitors. The system also assists the company in processing the needed
information. Management Information Systems also helps a company to create or
update its inventory control system.

Recommendations

Since the MIS of a company is a vital part of its operations and its survival in the modern
world, it must be well updated and it must compete well with MIS’s competitors. The
MIS of a company should be created from high standards so that it can be of stiff
competition against its counterparts. The MIS system should help the company to
achieve its goals and assist the company in reaching its potential.

Questions:

1. Comment on the MIS in Dell and suggest the positives and negatives of MIS in Dell?

2. The dell directly sells its computers to the customer whether it will give them good
and reliable information or they are lacking in information system due to this move?