Management Information Systems: The Critical Strategic Resource (The ^AWharton Executive Library)

Information has been a scarce commodity in most of human history. All that has changed--but most businesses don't know how to make the most of it. Most organizations use their management information systems only to handle routine transactions like payroll and billing. This book shows executives how a management information system can provide help at all levels: operational, where the work gets done, as well as tactical and strategic, where planning and policy are determined.
The author maintains that an organization's failure to develop a successful information system often stems from management's inability to understand both the power and limitations of information technology. This book tells managers what they need to know to play an effective role in the deployment and operation of an information system. In nontechnical language, with myriad concrete examples, the book shows how an effective MIS can help a business work smarter, not harder--going beyond merely reducing clerical staff to helping businesses gain an important advantage in whatever specific area matters to that business.
This book is the latest volume in The Wharton Executive Library , conceived under the editorship of Jerry Wind, Lauder Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the world's first business school. The series is designed to provide executives with ready access to the latest scholarly advances in key management areas. It is based on the premise that managers can and should understand the latest concepts and methods in order to make better decisions and better evaluate the actions of others.

About the Author:
James C. Emery is Professor of Decision Sciences at the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania. This book distills his 30 years of experience in academia, industry and the non-profit sector: the author continues to work as an industrial and management consultant.