What does a Management Information System (MIS) consist of? Choose the most accurate description of its scope and components.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: None of the above

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
A Management Information System (MIS) is much more than computer hardware. It blends people, processes, data, and technology to produce timely, accurate, and relevant information for managerial decision-making. The stem lists only hardware components, so we must decide whether that captures a full MIS.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • MIS supports planning, control, and decision-making across the enterprise.
  • Complete MIS scope includes people (users, analysts), procedures (policies, workflows), data (master and transactional), and technology (hardware, software, networks).
  • Options offered list only hardware subsets.


Concept / Approach:
Classic MIS definitions emphasize an integrated socio-technical system. While hardware is necessary, an MIS also requires software (applications, DBMS), data models, controls, training, and governance. Therefore, any option restricted to hardware cannot be accurate for what an MIS “consists of.”


Step-by-Step Solution:

Compare each option’s scope (hardware pieces) to MIS scope (people, process, data, technology).Recognize the omission of software, data governance, and procedures in the listed choices.Conclude that none of the hardware-only descriptions are sufficient.


Verification / Alternative check:
Any MIS textbook will describe MIS as a combination of human and technical subsystems; hardware-only definitions are explicitly rejected in standard curricula.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

the central processing unit only: excludes all other essential elements.the CPU and input/output units only: still hardware-only and incomplete.the CPU, input/output, and storage units only: omits software, data, procedures, and people.All of the above: aggregates incomplete definitions; still wrong.


Common Pitfalls:
Equating MIS with “the computer”; always remember the human and procedural components that transform data into actionable information.


Final Answer:
None of the above

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