terminologies

• The business environment (climate) is constantly changing and becoming more complex
• Activities require organizations to be agile and to make frequent and quick strategic, tactical, and operational decisions, some of which are very complex
• Making decisions may require considerable amounts of relevant data, information, and knowledge
• Processing data in the framework of needed decisions must be done quickly, frequently in real-time, and usually requires some computerized support
• Business environment factors can be divided into four major categories: markets, consumer demands, technology, and societal
• The intensity of most business environment factors increases with time, leading to more pressures, more competition, and so on
• Organizations and departments within organizations face decreased budgets and amplified pressures from top managers to increase performance and profit
• Actions that managers may take

  • Employ strategic planning
  • Use new and innovative business models
  • Restructure business processes
  • Participate in business alliances
  • Improve corporate information systems
  • Improve partnership relationships
  • Encourage innovation and creativity
  • Improve customer service
• Actions to improve business

  • Employ strategic planning
  • Use new and innovative business models
  • Restructure business processes
  • Participate in business alliances
  • Improve corporate information systems
  • Improve partnership relationships
  • Encourage innovation and creativity
  • Improve customer service and relationships
  • Employ social media and mobile platforms for e-commerce and beyond
  • Move to make-to-order production and on-demand manufacturing and services
  • Use new IT to improve communication, data access (discovery of information), and collaboration
  • Respond quickly to competitors’ actions (e.g., in pricing, promotions, new products and services)
  • Automate many tasks of white-collar employees
  • Automate certain decision processes, especially those dealing with customers
  • Improve decision making by employing analytics
• Closing the strategy gap

  One of the major objectives of computerized decision support is to facilitate closing the gap between the current performance of an organization and its desired performance, as expressed in its mission, objectives, and goals, and the strategy to achieve them
• Management is a process by which organizational goals are achieved by using resources. The resources are considered inputs, and attainment of goals is viewed as the output of the process. The degree of success of the organization and the manager is often measured by the ratio of outputs to inputs. This ratio is an indication of the organization’s productivity, which is a reflection of the organizational and managerial performance
• The level of productivity or the success of management depends on the performance of managerial functions, such as planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. To perform their functions, managers engage in a continuous process of making decisions. Making a decision means selecting the best alternative from two or more solutions
• Mintzberg's (2008) classic study of top managers and several replicated studies suggest that managers perform 10 major roles that can be classified into three major categories: interpersonal, informational, and decisional
• To perform these roles, managers need information that is delivered efficiently and in a timely manner to personal computers (PCs) on their desktops and to mobile devices. This information is delivered by networks, generally via Web technologies
• In addition to obtaining information necessary to better perform their roles, managers use computers directly to support and improve decision making, which is a key task that is part of most of these roles. Many managerial activities in all roles revolve around decision making. Managers, especially those at high managerial levels, are primarily decision makers