Answer
As long as organizations are small and have limited operational goals, manual information systems are satisfactory. However, when the organization grows big and operations are in large numbers, manual system may not be adequate to manage it. Developments in industry and commerce have proved that computer-based information system is essential to efficiently run organizations. This is due to the following reasons.
• The size of organizations is becoming larger and complex to manage them.
• Computer-based processing enables the same data to be processed in many ways. Based on needs, thereby allowing managers to look at the performance of an organization from different angles.
• As the volume of data has increased and the variety of information and their timeliness is now of great importance, computer-based information processing has now become essential for efficiently managing organizations.
• Organizations have many branches in widespread geographical area.
• Markets are becoming more competitive and to maintain competitive edge, organizations have to opt for the computer based system.
• The general socio-economic environment demands more up-to-date and accurate information. Human society is changing faster than ever before. Governmental regulations have become complex. Organizations have to interact with many other interested parties such as consumer groups, environmental protection groups, financial institutions, etc., which did not exist before.