Management Support Systems
Dr Sherif Kamel
Department of Management
School of Business, Economics and Communication
Why Management Support Systems?
 To support managerial work
 To support decision making
 To render the organization-business flow more effective and
more efficient
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Management Support Systems can also…
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Support managerial problem solving
Change organizational structure
Enable business transformation
Change management methods
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Management and Decision Making
Use of ICT
 Competition and effectiveness
 Speed and efficiency
 Management role in decision making
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Decision Support Systems
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DSS has many definitions
Complexity of managerial decision making is increasing
Computer support for managerial decision making
Several MSS technologies including hybrids
 There are no specific rules (convergence is taking a leading role)
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Why Decision Support Systems?
 Decision support systems (DSS) can help managers
understand problems in addition to providing solutions
 The objective of decision support systems is to increase the
effectiveness of decision making
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Nature of Management
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Make Decisions according to Mintzberg (1980) the roles of management include
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Interpersonal
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Informational
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Figurehead, performs routine duties of social, ceremonial, or legal nature
Leader, motivates subordinates
Liaison, maintains network of contacts in environment for trading information and services
Monitor, seeks and acquires information to have understanding of organization and its environment
Disseminator, transmits information
Spokesperson, transmits information to outsiders
Decisional
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Entrepreneur, searches organization and environment for opportunities and initiates/devises
controlled change in organization
Disturbance handler, initiates/devises corrective action when org. faces unexpected disturbance
Resource allocator, allocates resources, sets the strategy
Negotiator, represents organization in negotiations with others
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Managers and ICT
 Managers need information and use information and
communication technology to support the decision making
process
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
IS and Managerial Decision Making
 Management is a process by which organizational goals are
achieved through the use of resources
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Resources = Inputs
Goal attainment = Output
Measuring success is determined through productivity
Productivity = Outputs/Inputs
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Input-Processing-Output Cycle
Control of System Performance
Input of
Data
Resources
Output of
Information
Products
Processing
Data
Storage of Data Resources
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Factors affecting Decision Making
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Information and communication technology
Organizational structure
Competition
Market forces (local and international)
Changes and transformations locally and globally
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
From TPS to DSS
 Computer applications evolving from TPS and MIS to
proactive applications such as decision support systems
(DSS)
 New modern management tools for decision support could
be reflected in
 Data access
 On-line analytical processing (OLAP)
 Internet/Intranet/Web
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Why Using Technologies is needed in
Decision Support?
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Speedy computations
Overcome limits in processing and storage
Volume may restrict an individual’s problem solving capability
Cost reduction
Technical support
Quality support
Competitive edge
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Decision Support Technologies
Management Support Systems
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Decision Support Systems (DSS)
Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS)
Expert Systems (ES)
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Enterprise (Executive) Information Systems (EIS)
Knowledge Management Systems (KMS)
Hybrid Support Systems
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Decision Support Framework
Type of
Decision
Operational
Managerial
Control
Control
Strategic
Control
Structured
Semistructured
Unstructured
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Decision Support Path
Simon Taxonomy 1977
Highly Unstructured
Highly Structured
(Non-programmed)
(Programmed)
Decisions
Decisions
Semistructured Decisions
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
From Unstructured to Structured
Simon Taxonomy 1977
 Unstructured problems have no structured phases (often
solved with human intuition)
 Semi-structured problems have some (or some parts with)
structured phases (usually solved with standard solution
procedures and human judgment)
 Structured problems have all structured phases
 Procedures for obtaining the best solution are known
 Objectives are clearly defined
 Management support systems can be useful
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Decision Making Phases
Simon Taxonomy 1977
 Intelligence
 Searching for conditions that call for decisions
 Design
 Inventing, developing and analyzing possible courses of action
 Choice
 Selecting a course of action from those available
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Management Support Systems Addresses…
Anthony Taxonomy 1965
 Strategic planning
 Management control
 Operational control
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Computing Support for Structured Decisions
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Since the 1960s
Repetitive in nature
High level of structure
Can abstract, analyze and classify them into prototypes
Solve with quantitative formulas or models
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Scientific Approach for
Managerial Decision Making
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Define problem
Classify problem
Construct mathematical model
Find and evaluate potential solutions
Choose and recommend a solution
Modeling is transforming the real-world problem into an
appropriate prototype structure
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
DSS as a Concept
 DSS are interactive computer-based systems, which help
decision makers utilize data and models to solve
unstructured problems (Scott Morton, 1971)
 Decision support systems couple the intellectual resources of
individuals with the capabilities of the computer to improve
the quality of decisions
 DSS are computer-based support system for management
decision makers who deal with semi-structured problems
(Keen and Scott Morton, 1978)
 There is no universally accepted definition of DSS
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Major DSS Characteristics
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Initial risk analysis (management science)
Model scrutiny using experience, judgment, and intuition
Initial model mathematically correct, but incomplete
Provide very quick analysis
Flexible and responsive
Allows managerial intuition and judgment
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Why Use DSS?
 Perceived benefits include
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Decision quality
Improved communication
Cost reduction
Increased productivity
Time savings
Improved customer and employee satisfaction
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Group Support Systems
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Decisions often made by groups
Supports groupwork, anytime, anyplace
Groupware
Electronic meeting systems
Collaborative computing
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Executive Information (Support) Systems
EIS/ESS
Organizational view (macro-level)
Information needs of executives and senior managers
Customized user seductive interface
Timely and effective tracking and control
Drill-down menus
Filter, compress, and track critical data, information and
knowledge
 Identify problems and opportunities
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Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Executive Information (Support) Systems
EIS/ESS
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Mid-1980s - large corporations
Now Global
Affordable to smaller companies
Serves managers as enterprise-wide systems
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Expert Systems (ES)
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Experts solve complex problems
Experts have specific knowledge and experience
Expert systems mimic human experts
ES performance comparable to or better than experts in a
specialized and usually narrow problem area
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Intelligent Agents
 Help automate various tasks
 Increase productivity and quality
 Search engines
 Email
 Electronic commerce
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang
Knowledge Management Systems (KMS)
 Capture and reuse knowledge at the organizational level
 Knowledge repository for storage
 Organizational impacts can be dramatic
Copyright © 2006 Sherif Kamel
Copyright © 2001-2006 Turban, Aronson and Liang