Chapter 6

• Good decision-making and problem-solving skills


  Key to developing effective information and decision support systems

  
• Stages of decision making

  1. Intelligence stage

  2. Design stage

  3. Choice stage

  
• Implementation and monitoring


  Important in problem solving
• Management information system (MIS)


  Integrated collection of people, procedures, databases, and devices that provides the right information to the right person in the right format at the right time
• MIS


  • Can give the organization a competitive advantage
• Purpose of an MIS

  To help an organization achieve its goals
• Business transactions


  Can enter the organization through traditional methods, or via the Internet, or via an extranet
• Internal data sources for an MIS

  • TPS and ERP systems and related databases
• External data sources for an MIS

  • Customers, suppliers, competitors, and stockholders whose data is not already captured by the TPS and ERP systems
• Business intelligence


  Can be used to turn a database into useful information throughout the organization
• Outputs of an MIS

  • Scheduled reports
  • Demand reports
  • Exception reports
  • Drill-down reports
• Characteristics of an MIS

  • Provides reports with fixed and standard formats
  • Produces hard-copy and soft-copy reports
  • Uses internal data stored in computer system
  • Allows users to develop custom reports
  • Requires user requests for reports developed by systems personnel
• Functional areas of an MIS

  • Financial
  • Manufacturing
  • Marketing
  • Human resources
  • Accounting
  • Geographic information system
• Decision support system (DSS)


  Organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices used to help make decisions that solve problems

  
• Focus of a DSS

  • Decision-making effectiveness regarding unstructured or semistructured business problems
• Capabilities of a DSS

  • Support for problem-solving phases
  • Support for various decision frequencies
  • Support for various problem structures
  • Support for various decision-making levels

  
• Difference between DSS and MIS

  Type of problems solved, support given to users, decision emphasis and approach, type, speed, output, and development of the system used
• Components of a DSS

  • Database and model base
  • Dialogue manager
• Database management system


  Allows managers and decision makers to perform qualitative analysis on data stored in company's databases, data warehouses, and data marts
• Data-driven DSS


  Performs qualitative analysis based on the company's databases
• Model base


  Allows managers and decision makers to perform quantitative analysis on both internal and external data
• Model-driven DSS


  Performs mathematical or quantitative analysis
• Model management software (MMS)


  Coordinates the use of models in a DSS
• User interface or dialogue manager

  Allows users to interact with the DSS to obtain information and assists with all aspects of communications between user and hardware and software that constitute the DSS
• Group support system (GSS)


  Consists of most elements in a DSS, plus software to provide effective support in group decision making

  
• Characteristics of a GSS that enhance decision making

  • Special design
  • Ease of use
  • Flexibility
  • Decision-making support
  • Anonymous input
  • Reduction of negative group behavior
  • Parallel and unified communication
  • Automated record keeping

  
• GSS software packages


  • Collabnet
  • OpenMind
  • TeamWare
• Tools used in GSS

  • E-mail, instant messaging (IM), and text messaging (TM)
  • Video conferencing
  • Group scheduling
  • Project management
  • Document sharing

  
• GSS alternatives


  • Decision room
  • Local area decision network
  • Teleconferencing
  • Wide area decision network

  
• Executive support system (ESS)


  Specialized DSS that includes hardware, software, data, procedures, and people used to assist senior-level executives
• Characteristics of an ESS

  • Tailored to individual executives
  • Easy to use
  • Have drill-down abilities
  • Support the need for external data
  • Can help with situations that have a high degree of uncertainty
  • Have a future orientation
  • Linked with value-added business processes
• Capabilities of an ESS

  • Support for defining overall vision
  • Support for strategic planning
  • Support for strategic organizing and staffing
  • Support for strategic control
  • Support for crisis management