Information is a fact, datum, observation perception or any other thing that adds to knowledge. In the words of Gordon B. Davis "Information is data that has been processed into a form that is meaningful to the recipient and is of real or perceived value in current or prospective decisions". Information is obtained either by direct observation or by communication. Most of business information is obtained through communication. Even in the simplest responsibility center, the manager could not observe with his own senses everything that is going on, nor would he want to devote his time to ...

Information used in business can be either systematic or non-systematic. Our discussion is generally limited to information that flows through a formal system, but it is important to keep in mind the fact that a great deal of information reaches the manager from sources outside the formal system. Newspaper and other news media, conversations, and even a manager’s perception of a colleague's facial expressions are important sources of information. Many managers give more-attention to such sources than to the formal reports. Information can be external or Internal. Much information that is ...

The decision to establish a formal Management Information and Control System (MICS) becomes almost inevitable in today's business climate. The accelerating needs for uniform, concise and timely information by all levels of management dictates the establishment of such a system. The results can be better control of and greater profitability from the enterprise. Essentially the functioning of a MICS involves transmission of all pertinent data necessary to the conduct of a business to one or more management information centers, where it is maintained mid then disseminated in discrete form to all ...

A major factor differentiates the automatic control system from the management control system, is the exercise of control by human beings in the latter case. In automatic control systems, the human element is missing. It is for this reason that an understanding of organization behavior is important for the proper perception of management control systems and processes. Further, as the major focus of the control system is on the performance evaluation of the organizational sub-units, the control system designer should also have an undemanding of the organization structure. Structure refers to ...

On the basis of analysis of various design variables, organizational structure can be broadly categorized into four major forms: Functional Structure: In a functional structure, the tasks are differentiated, on the basis of each, major function and each manager is responsible for one of these. Thus, there is functional specialization such as marketing, production, finance, personnel, R & D, etc. In such a structure, those with authority can tell others what to do in that function. Such structures have a high degree of centralized decision-making. Organizations with functional ...

Four different types of organization structures have been identified for managing the tasks of the organization. These are (i) a centralized functional structure,   (ii) a decentralized divisional structure, (ii) a hybrid (matrix) structure, and (iv) network/coupling structure. An important aspect in the design of management control systems is that it should be linked with responsibility centers. Because of this  intimate linkage between the control system and the organization structure, it becomes important to know about key control considerations in the choice of an organization ...