When the collected data is processed and manipulated in a useful sense that can be understood by the users without any ambiguity, then it becomes information. When this relevant information is further summarised to meet a particular aim, it is called a report.
The content and the design of the report depend upon the level of management to which it is to be submitted. The various decisions are to be made on the basis of this report.
Irrespective of the content and design, every accounting report must fulfill the following criteria:
a. Relevance
b. Timeliness
c. Accuracy
d. Completeness Summarisation The various types of reports used in MIS can be broadly categorised as follows
(a) Summary Reports: These are the reports that summarise all the activities of an organisation.
(b) Demand Reports: These are the reports that are prepared on the request and need of the management.
(c) Customer/Supplier Reports: These are the reports that are prepared as per the specifications of the management showing various aspects of the suppliers/customers.
(d) Exception Reports: These are the reports that are prepared in accordance with some specific conditions or exceptions.
(e) Responsibility Reports: These reports are prepared by the managers who are responsible for their respective departments.
Describe the various elements of a computer system and explain the distinctive features of a computer system and manual system.
A computer system is ideally composed of the following six elements:
1. Hardware: It includes all the physical components of a computer such as, keyboard, mouse, monitor, processor, etc. These can be touched and a user inputs commands through them.
2. Software: It is referred to a set of the programs that enables a computer to perform its tasks or commands given by the user. There are following six types of software.
a. Operating System: It is an integrated set of specialised programs that are meant to manage and control the resources of a computer. They make the computer userinter active, i.e. user-friendly. It means that operating system forms an interactive link between the user and the computer hardware.
b. Utility Programs: Utility Programs refer to the set of pre-written computer programs that are designed to perform certain supporting operations. Most of the utility software are highly specialised and are specially designed to perform a single task or a small range of tasks.
c. Application Software: These are user-oriented programs that are designed and developed for performing certain specified tasks.
d. Language Processors: These are the software that interpret or translate a program language into a machine language.
e. System Software: These are the software that controls the internal functions of the system such as reading data from the input devices.
f. Connectivity Software: These are the software that creates and controls the connection between a computer and a server with the purpose of sharing the data.
3. People: It constitutes the most important part of a computer system. It basically refers to the individuals or the users who interact with the computer through the use of hardware and software. The following are the people who are involved in a computer system.
a. System Analyst: They are the people who design the data processing system.
b. Operators: They are the people who write programs to implement the data processing system.
c. Programmers: They are the people who participate in operating the computers.
4. Procedures: A series of operations that are executed in a certain manner in order to achieve a desired set of results is known as ‘Procedures’. There are mainly following three types of procedures. a. Hardware Oriented Procedures: Hardware Oriented Procedures provide details about various components of a computer and their uses.
b. Software Oriented Procedures: Software Oriented Procedures provide detailed set of instructions required for using the software of a computer system.
c. Internal Procedures: These procedures help in sequencing the operation or working of each sub-set of overall computer system.
5. Data: It refers to the facts that are gathered and entered into a computer system. It may comprise of numbers, text, graphics, etc.
6. Connectivity: This refers to the manner, in which a computer system is connected to the other electronic devices through telephone lines, microwave transmission, satellite link, etc., is known as ‘Connectivity’. The mentioned below are some distinctive features of a computer system and a manual system.
1. Accuracy: The computations and operations performed by a computer are highly accurate and correct. If any error is detected it may be due to input of the wrong data or wrong command by the user. As against this, in manual system the results generated or produced by the human beings are not very accurate due to carelessness, boredom and fatigue.
2. Speed: Computer systems require far less time than the manual systems in performing a task. Modem computers can perform 100 million calculations per second.
3. Reliability: It may be beyond the human capabilities to work continuously for long hours. Often people get tired, lack concentration and may feel mental stress while working out huge volume of data that involves tedious calculations. Computer systems overcome these limitations very easily. A computer can easily perform variety of tasks with great precision and accuracy, thereby making the results highly reliable.
Versatility: Computers are designed to perform a variety of task and has wide application in various areas such as, business, industry, etc. As against this, in manual systems human beings can perform only a few specialised tasks and thus are lesser versatile.
4. Storage: Computers have a huge storage capacity and can store huge volume of data in a very small physical space. For example a typical main frame computer can store billions of characters and thousands of graphic images. As against this, the capabilities of manual system are no where close to this.
