Management Information Systems - Pathfinder International

Figure 5: How can an MIS help the Manager?Making intelligentchoices about theuse of scarceresourcesAnalysingcurentissuesMIS ISHELPFULTO MANAGERIN:Identifyingimmediateproblems andfinding solutionsDiscovering trendsand patternsfor future goalsand objectivesPLANNING MONITORING EVALUATIONNOTE Please refer to Series 1, Module 1 on decision-making to reinforce your understanding ofthis section.22How is information used in the organization?☛ For health-related programs, clinical, community-based and financial data are used toassess the cost effectiveness of services provided at different clinics or service delivery points.☛ Program information or statistics are used for performance monitoring and evaluationoutput measurements (e.g., number of clients seen daily, the number of homes visited,and procedures carried out).☛ Information and feedback from clients and workers is used for daily monitoring ofoperational activities and planning (e.g., at the service level, information on quantityand quality of service rendered are used to assess quality and to determine improvementneeded).☛ Information may be presented differently, based on the organizational level collectingor using the information. For example, at clinics, information is generally collected inmandated ways, including recording in printed ledgers or files, and reported toministries based on specific guidelines, or carried forward to the next level for analysisand aggregation based on the organization’s MIS.☛ Different kinds of detailed information are needed at different levels (e.g., informationneeds of a community-based health worker versus a zonal supervisor).How does information flow in your organization?Movement of information within and out of the organization is called information flow.Information flow can either facilitate data use and MIS efficiency or compromise both. Agood manager knows how information flows—or should flow—within an organization, anddesigns a system to facilitate flow.