Information Systems for Management Control

The article focuses on the study of information systems for management control. During the past decade there have been many new approaches toward the study of the business entity. It is difficult to classify these approaches because each new approach usually overlaps previous approaches and is typically modified and strengthened by subsequent approaches. Recognizing the difficulty of any classification scheme, four developments are submitted as being the major movements in new approaches during the past decade. First, the psychological and sociological inquiries were combined to form the behavioral science approach toward studying the firm, with the human motivational aspects of each area given greatest emphasis. Second, advances were made in electronic data processing, and the electronic computer became a familiar expression throughout our society. Concurrent developments in electronic computers and communication equipment have provided the necessary means for rapid accumulation, calculation, processing, summarization, reporting, and transmission of data. Third, mathematical tools and techniques were applied to the study of business events. Fourth, scientific method has been applied to the study of the business entity, and applied models are frequently used in studying business situations