"TOP-DOWN" MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS PLANNING (MIS, DECISION-MAKING)

JOHN MICHAEL RAPANOS, Pace University

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to test the claims made by various practitioners and researchers that "top-down" MIS planning is an effective approach for developing Management Information Systems. The first part of this project involved a pilot study whose objective was to develop a set of characteristics to describe the concept of "top-down" MIS planning. Ten MIS experts were sent a questionnaire to elicit their opinion concerning the descriptive value of a preliminary set of propositions developed from an extensive review of the MIS planning literature. In addition, these experts were asked to suggest any further propositions the researcher may have overlooked in his preliminary model. A total of six experts responded to the questionnaire and their responses resulted in identification of seven propositions to describe the concept of "top-down" MIS planning. The second part of this research project involved a survey of 250 top MIS executives from large U.S. industrial organizations. These top MIS executives were administered a questionnaire to gather information concerning the MIS planning practices found in their organizations. A total of 139 Top MIS Executives responded to the questionnaire. The executive responses were factor analyzed to cluster the questionnaire items into some meaningful underlying dimensions. The research propositions identified by the Pilot Study were then associated with the extracted factors. A mean of item means by factor was calculated and used as the criterion measure to assess the degree to which the reported MIS practices found in the sample organizations reflected the practices described by the research propositions. The results of this study suggested that large business organizations have planning environments that are capable of supporting the effective adoption of a "top-down" approach to MIS planning. However, these organizations lack effective adoption of "top-down" MIS planning in two critical areas. These include: (1) significant top-management involvement in the MIS planning process, and (2) a corporate information architecture which supports a firm-wide (top-down) perspective.

Subject Area

Computer science

Recommended Citation

RAPANOS, JOHN MICHAEL, ""TOP-DOWN" MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS PLANNING (MIS, DECISION-MAKING)" (1985). ETD Collection for Pace University. AAI8602136.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/dissertations/AAI8602136

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