In this episode of Mayhem and MISfits, Nicole and Ben discuss MIS – Management Information System, the area of study and application in the business world.
Mayhem and MISfits Episode 4
Nicole Grimm
Hello and welcome. My name is Nicole Grimm.
Ben Rockey
And I'm Ben Rockey.
Nicole Grimm
And this is mayhem and misfits where we take a fun look at business gone awry. And the systems that save them today. We're going to talk about.
Ben Rockey
Swing and a miss?
Nicole Grimm
Not quite OK. MIS stands for management of information systems.
Ben Rockey
Oh that old hat, OK.
Nicole Grimm
It's very, very interesting subject. We're going to talk about this study or area of study. In the basic field of MIS. Not necessarily the MIS technology or systems. This kind of thing, but where do these people come from?
Ben Rockey
These people.
Nicole Grimm
These people.
Ben Rockey
Referring to yourself. Yes, got it.
Nicole Grimm
And those like me, I know for a fact that there are others like me, these people.
Ben Rockey
I've seen.
Nicole Grimm
Them yeah, and there are universities that produce us to some degree. There's business colleges and such in various areas of the country that make people that think like I do or have stuff. This area.
Ben Rockey
Hone that skill. And then tag and release you.
Nicole Grimm
Into the wild, that's correct, so I know I'm not the only one and we'd love our audience to be able to find them because we think it's very helpful for.
Ben Rockey
Business, we'll get you that locator beacon.
Nicole Grimm
That's right, we should create one of those. I'm sure there's an app for that.
Ben Rockey
There is peer-purpose.com.
Speaker
Oh, very good.
Nicole Grimm
I have this area of study that I've doven into if you will, many moons ago not too far moons ago. But it was basically studying and getting a specific degree in a big mouthful of a degree, so I'll describe it as a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in management of information systems.
Ben Rockey
I dare you say that.
Nicole Grimm
Five times fast it is a tongue twister. This basic degree, though I think is super cool and love it and nerd out on it. At any given moment, so you promised to keep me reined in to make sure I don't. Talk about this for 45 minutes to an hour.
Ben Rockey
That's right.
Nicole Grimm
We're going to watch me. The specific area of focus that I loved as much for this degree was the fact that this. Area of study focuses on frameworks and methodologies to get business too. Manage complex. Computer systems in order to drive business decisions and support the business overall. That's its main focus. And I think that's super cool. There are different areas you could go into this practice so it starts off with business administration as overall approach, so we had to take various classes in marketing and accounting and statistical analysis and micro macroeconomics and these kinds of areas. So we have just enough. Information in those areas of business to be dangerous.
Ben Rockey
Well, I I think. That's a good point. The degree you received. Business administration with a concentration in MIS. There are some schools that are, you know, get a business administration degree. They have some eyes classes. There are some MIS courses at other schools that includes some business administration and then you have your program that was business administration with a concentration in MIS. What that all highlights is how integral. Having a good understanding of business and then a good, uh? Standing of technology and how information systems work. Is necessary to have both those halves to make a good MIS professional?
Nicole Grimm
Right, and how important computers and technology are to business, or how critical it is for Business Today you would put us in the same category as accountants or marketing people, sales people, HR. These kinds of various operations. These different facets. It's technology is integrated inside of all of those areas of the business, and they all need it. So if you would treat it that same caliber but we don't always see our customers treating it that way, they might have an accounting department, but they definitely do not have an IT department.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, it's it's more common to call the. The CFO or the controller or the accountant first before the CIO. So it manager. Support analyst first.
Nicole Grimm
Right, you don't see it a lot in business, so it's it's an interesting gap that we see a lot. But we do know that the world produces us. We do exist. There are very long, traditional and established business schools out there. That focus in this area. They can also focus in different areas of technology in college. As an example, a computer science degree or something like that would take way more programming and technical classes than than I did in my education. For example, I did take technical classes, but they were all centered around this managerial approach. So I have exposure. Experience two programming. I was a programmer at one point in my career. Database management, managing networks and systems that way. But we definitely did not super deep dive into those areas. We got into it enough. Like I say all the time to be dangerous, we have a knowledge and awareness and we know what it looks like to be a properly operating system. What a healthy system. Looks like when an unhealthy system looks like. And most of all, our focus is going to be. How do we make all of that work to support management in making decisions to make sure that the business is taking advantage of operating the most efficiently, making the best decisions to facilitate their strategic goals? And how can technology? Actually make an impact to its daily function. Like asterisks happy face yay. More of that all the time.
Ben Rockey
Get the star stickers out, that's right.
Nicole Grimm
So it's kind of important we'll give some. Highlights I suppose too, and my professional is definitely not somebody that you would traditionally see providing Technical Support or. Doing helpdesk tickets in the event of a system failure or something like that.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, and my professional has what we'd say. Some responsibilities in support, but they're not a support person. Just like an in my professional may have experience and may do some programming, but they're not programmers.
Nicole Grimm
Right, yeah?
Ben Rockey
They're there for the application of the program, not. Building the program.
Nicole Grimm
Right, giving direction to those developers to build the best thing for the business and a lot of times we will facilitate translating if you will the technical. Language of a developer programmer? That's that's very. Dry and exs and OHS and zeros and ones into a real business outcome. And we'll translate that business outcome. The vision, the thing they need to try to do into technical speak. So we kind of bridge that gap between the two. And both sides tend to find it highly valuable because they oftentimes don't speak the same language. So we'll facilitate. But not actively use the system, so we typically would not see an professional or the manager of the system. If you will, using the tools as a user, entering in data, that kind of thing, but more facilitate it. So as part as IT department or a technical team. You might have a professional inside of that layer of that. They're still expected to understand the technical components and bringing all those pieces and parts together with that purpose of decision making to support the business. So why do I love me so much?
Ben Rockey
I'm listening.
Nicole Grimm
I love how business runs. But not necessarily what it makes. So many times I have to tell people don't be offended if I don't actually consume like or buy the product you make. That's not where I have my fun. I've worked for places where I don't actually like what they make before for. Just about a. Decade and successfully, I'd say in some cases. I just say it's more for the customer.
Ben Rockey
She's still looking for that awesome chocolate manufacturing job, so Gary Deli if you're listening.
Speaker
This would not.
Nicole Grimm
Right, that would probably be detrimental to my health. So I should probably stay away from producing more since we try to produce more of the product for our customers than beat way too many samplings for me.
Ben Rockey
Well, you would definitely be delivering on at least 2%.
Nicole Grimm
Of their growth exactly, I'd be danger. I also love how you can use technology to be that accelerator. It's just awesome to see the light in someones eyes when you get to show them how. Let's click on this button. We'll do all these things you've done manually for so long.
Ben Rockey
It is a fascinating and wonderful experience when you actually make someone's job easier or better.
Nicole Grimm
Right, so we want to. Jump into what does it look like when you don't have a professional or what does it look like when you? Perhaps need one? So many small businesses. The first part is acknowledging that you have an MIS system. Whether or not you have a. Partner or professional to help you manage it.
Ben Rockey
It's a, it's a tricky place to be. When you're a small business or a medium sized business that's been growing and you have these systems like QuickBooks or maybe some type of inventory tool. But you're using it for the task and the task alone, and you don't really think of it as a part of something that's managing your business per SE. It's more of just there to meet some specific need in only that need.
Nicole Grimm
Right so and my professional sees how all these parts are tightly integrated or should be in order to. Validate that business growth as much as possible. What it might? Look like if you are missing a part to this process or this role kind of overseeing it is you may have that frustration of this should be easier. Why isn't it take me this long to find information or to see what the business is doing or how it's doing? Or if we're making mistakes right? You may have siloed systems that are floating out on their own, but not necessarily talking to each other, and you have to go digging and trying to find. Information that helps you.
Ben Rockey
It's a pretty common occurrence in some customers businesses to have one system for accounting like QuickBooks and maybe another system for managing. A shop or another system for managing and inventory control, and there's no connection between any of the work that's being done and the money that's being made or spent.
Nicole Grimm
Right, and if you're a growing business, it may feel like you aren't getting anywhere with the. These fancier technologies, maybe you're spending more money, but your projects are failing. The implementations are failing, people aren't adopting it. It doesn't quite meet the expectations that you were. Hoping it would meet. So I've seen the lack of a good system. In one example. I had a CEO that was showing me his top customer list written on a legal notepad that took him about an hour and a half to create, and the moment he wrote it down, it could have been wrong. Or expired data at that point, but an hour and a half. Good Lord. To create a common view into your business and what your top customers were so that you knew if your top customer called, you may want to make sure you were paying attention at that highest level.
Ben Rockey
Did he Xerox it afterward and pass? It out, oh.
Nicole Grimm
I don't know.
Ben Rockey
That's one way to. Do things so one way this is a good thing. I took the time. To write this up and I should, I should go in zero accidents.
Nicole Grimm
Disseminate the information that way exactly so that would be the view into. The system that is lacking and something we would love to help with. Oh my gosh just please.
Ben Rockey
And was that was that list accurate added?
Nicole Grimm
Exactly how do you know he didn't make a mistake in it or that you pulled from old data or the wrong data?
Ben Rockey
Pull from old data.
Nicole Grimm
Or the duplicate entry was fat fingered. I've had that the same organization said, well, we may end up adding a 0 by accident or A9 and wrong space and suddenly we have the largest order we've. Ever had in our lives come through the door? No one questions it, right? These are the kinds of things that would facilitate you questioning if you have everything you need and how can't this be better so the the misfit kind of comes from that disorder in pain. In a call for, this has to be easier and it has to be systemized. We have to get the business orders the business operations back in order. And maintain control over it. So one of the things that our users or our listeners have asked us before is where does the mayhem and misfit portion the misfit portion of our name come from?
Ben Rockey
I've wondered that myself. Where does it come from?
Nicole Grimm
We do actually pull it from this same concept, so MIS and I often use misfit as.
Ben Rockey
Oh, is that why Misfits capitalized?
Nicole Grimm
Yes, the why the portion of Misfit is capitalized.
Ben Rockey
Oh alright, I got it now.
Nicole Grimm
If anyone noticed that, yes exactly.
Ben Rockey
Episode 4I finally figured out.
Nicole Grimm
So Misfit should be kind of a little. Golden star for us to say. That MIS should be fit for the organization. It should be right sized. That is an important part 'cause each organization is going to take a different recipe of MIS in order for it to be applied to its best capabilities for them.
Ben Rockey
It's OK to, you know, buy a shirt that you can grow into, but don't don't buy a shirt. You have to grow. Out of, yeah, exactly.
Nicole Grimm
So a lot of. Times the information in a business is looked at as a resource and the. MISB people or professionals are facilitators of that information. How to organize it? How to bring it together for? The business to really plot out its growth. And properly plan and implement the right technologies and systems and processes in order to. Facilitate that growth smoothly. So there's a few areas that. Of are of importance for MIS it helps in managing all that data, especially when you have a large growing business with tons of moving parts, manufacturing, processing these kinds of things, different service offerings or projects. If you're a service organization. You can analyze trends from there which can help in strategic planning for all the levels of management within the organization from bottom to top. All those areas need to set goals and it can help you set those goals and monitor performance against those goals and the performance of the business as a whole so that you can make decisions on perhaps selling it for products or your margins are higher or lower on one product or another.
Ben Rockey
There's good examples of that where we have clients that may sell a product where they believe they can grow the company One Direction because the product might be sells for higher cost. If we can sell something that has a higher cost, has a lot of margin. But it takes more to produce and at the same time we have to have a product that. This is a. Little lower grade may not, maybe doesn't made-up of the same packaging and materials. But, and the margins smaller because it's literally the same type, whether it be you know fruits and vegetables or fruits or nuts. Or you know, wine, you know it's oftentimes, like in the wine industry you have top shelf $25 bottles of wine and. $20 boxed wine that's. 4 bottles of wine in a box. If your customers are going towards the box wine more than the. The the ball that sells for $25 for one. That's higher class wine, and they're buying the $20 box, and you're selling way more of that. But you're not tracking that, and this whole time your opinion was we're going to do everything we can to make that top shelf product more attractive. But the customers buying The the equivalent lower quality product we sell. That margin might be great on that big bottle of wine, but if they're buying the other product and you're not capturing that, you're not seeing that and you're just trending towards this plan of selling to this higher end product. But in reality, you're selling five times the amount of the lower end product. If you don't have reporting, that's telling you that information. In something close to real time, whether weekly or quarterly, you could be making big investments in this plan. You have to sell to the top shelf. When what's going out the door is what's? On the lower shelf. And making bad investments.
Speaker
Right?
Ben Rockey
Over bad investments 'cause you're not paying attention to what's. Happening, so if you're. Not watching your inventory control and looking at the sales tracking that's coming in and you're having reporting that actually informs you on what kind of decisions to be making as close to real time as you as you can. You could run into some financial problems based on this plan you've made that doesn't have any information to. Go with it.
Nicole Grimm
Right, so while you're watching the performance of the business and making sure that you're watching all the areas of the business reporting the sales and the marketing is all aligned to make sure you're. Selling that right product, you can identify problems. Which is another piece that MI systems should do and then increase efficiency throughout that entire integrated system. So there's a number of goals and roles that MIS can facilitate within this process. To even make sure that you're selling the. Right? Thing focused on the right things as an organization. The role and organization itself. Aims to build that system to gather that critical business information to monitor that performance provide controls, align it to the corporate goals, and look to the future and improve consistently on all the time. Always continuous improvement as part of its core. So it integrates all of these pieces and parts into one full picture and organization. The role of is to help in that decision making, coordination comparisons and finding out those problems and aligning with that strategy and making a real impact. Benefits of a good mmsystem. Take all that information, give management. The keys to make their decisions. Both internally and externally communicate information. How can the information of 1 organization be shared with the other to facilitate all these needs, make that a big part of planning. Control and supervise it all around. Finally delivering customer satisfaction. And to our audience, how would MIS even be started if you just realized you needed something like that in your organization? First thing is to recognize your needs first. Things first recognize that you have missed to some capacity there. If you're running any kind of systems.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, I think that's step one. Whether or not you acknowledge it, it is there.
Nicole Grimm
Right, the next thing. Step two people trying to get that mindset into the business. So either look for partners, consultants or people in your organization that perhaps have this understanding and framework and experience.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, you may already have some system thinkers on your team and maybe someone who already has a. Business Administration degree or business administration experience that it was already prepped with some of this MIS if they already. On your team. Maybe they can put 1020% of their job towards helping you getting these systems together and start walking you towards where you need to be.
Nicole Grimm
Right, you can provide some organizational oversight. Maybe some steering committees, or a space where you can start thinking about these things in the organization, and how can we pull it all together.
Ben Rockey
Building the ask.
Speaker
Right?
Nicole Grimm
And then of course, the process of getting it all together through that conversation in that space where you give people. To start playing with these ideas, and. Start building it into the fabric of the organization.
Ben Rockey
You want to pace yourself. You want to make sure that you're giving your team some amount of time to adopt this process change and help them understand what they should be asking for. What Nicole was referencing with having committee steering committees or you know, room to talk to each other.
Nicole Grimm
Right and then finally ending with technology. There is a huge pile of technology out there. Anything from little tiny systems to huge enterprise systems that. Any of our businesses could take advantage of. That's when it gets. A little intimidating. To do it on your own, so you'll definitely need help, and you'll have plenty of vendors that offer. Offer their perspective on where they can fit in.
Ben Rockey
Avengers 1 route to go. Might be good to consider having a consultant that's in your. In your corner as you go. To review.
Nicole Grimm
A third party, let's say right.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, third third party kind of you if you don't have an MI professional on your team. Find a way to put one on there, and if you're not ready to hire someone on your team, hire somebody. By the pound.
Nicole Grimm
Right, there are organizations like our own at pure purpose that do facilitate these kinds of. Managerial oversight and make sure that you're getting the systems that make sense to you and how they implement them and how it's integrated into the fabric of your culture and organization. So we want to make sure that you have that as a baseline. So I think we've covered most of everything today and tide it all into. How can this actually facilitate business as a whole? Any other points we're needing to cover today, Ben?
Ben Rockey
Now we're good for now. More to come.
Nicole Grimm
Jorge thanks everyone for listening. We hope you found some value in this conversation. Please join us next time for more mayhem and Misfits.