Principles and Learning Objectives
• Good decision-making and problem-solving skills are the key to developing effective information and decision support systems.
•
The management information system (MIS) must provide the right information to the right person in the right fashion at the right time.
• Decision support systems (DSSs) are used when the problems are unstructured.
• Specialized support systems, such as group support systems
(GSSs) and executive support systems (ESSs), use the overall approach of a DSS in situations such as group and executive decision making.
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What do Managers Do?
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Decision Making as a Component of
Problem Solving
Figure 6.1: How Decision Making Relates to Problem Solving
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Programmed Versus Nonprogrammed
Decisions
• Programmed decisions
– ___________ made using a rule, procedure, or quantitative method
– Easy to computerize using traditional information systems
• Non- ___________ decisions
– Decision that deals with unusual or exceptional situations
– Not easily quantifiable
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• Programmed
– How many workers to staff line A
– What is the EOQ for raw material Z
– How many turbines to power Lethbridge?
• Non-Programmed
– What are the benefits of merging with XYZ
– How will consumer react if we lower the price by 10%
– What are the benefits of
MacDonald's opening up
Hotels
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Optimization, Satisficing, and Heuristic
Approaches
• ___________ model: a process that finds the best solution, usually the one that will best help the organization meet its goals
• ___________ model: a process that finds a good — but not necessarily the best —problem solution
• Heuristics: commonly accepted guidelines or procedures that usually find a good solution
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Management Information Systems in
Perspective
• A management information system (MIS) provides managers with information that supports effective decision making and provides feedback on daily operations
• The use of MISs spans all levels of management
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Management Information Systems in
Perspective (continued)
Figure 6.3: Sources of Managerial Information
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Inputs to a Management Information
System
• Internal data sources
– TPSs and ERP ___________ and related databases; data warehouses and data marts; specific functional areas throughout the firm
• External data sources
– Customers, ___________ , competitors, and stockholders, whose data is not already captured by the TPS; the Internet; extranets
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Outputs of a Management Information
System
• ___________ report: produced periodically, or on a schedule
• Key-indicator report: summary of the previous day’s critical activities
• Demand report: developed to give certain information at someone’s request
• ___________ report: automatically produced when a situation is unusual or requires management action
• Drill-down ___________ : provides increasingly detailed data about a situation
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Functional Aspects of the MIS
• Most organizations are structured along functional lines or areas
• The MIS can be divided along functional lines to produce reports tailored to individual functions
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Functional Aspects of the MIS
(continued)
Figure 6.5: The MIS is an integrated collection of functional information systems, each supporting particular functional areas.
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Financial Management Information
Systems (continued)
Figure 6.6: Overview of a Financial MIS
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Manufacturing Management
Information Systems (continued)
Figure 6.7: Overview of a Manufacturing MIS
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Marketing Management Information
Systems (continued)
Figure 6.8: Overview of a Marketing MIS – Peppers and Rogers
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Human Resource Management
Information Systems (continued)
Figure 6.9: Overview of a Human Resource MIS
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Other Management Information
Systems
• ___________ MIS: provides aggregate information on accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and many other applications
• ___________ information system (GIS): capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographic information
– Customer Analysis
– Market Analysis
– Site Selection
– Risk Analysis
– Territory Management
– Facility/Property/Asset Management
– Supply Chain Management
– Logistics
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An Overview of Decision Support
Systems
• A DSS is an ___________ collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices used to support problem-specific decision making and problem solving
• The focus of a DSS is on decision-making
___________ when faced with unstructured or semistructured business problems
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Capabilities of a Decision Support
System
• Support all problem-solving phases
• Support different decision frequencies
– One of kind to continuous
• Support different problem structures
– Structured to no structured
• Support various decision-making levels
– All levels of decision making
• Pres-Dean-Prof
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A Comparison of DSS and MIS
Table 6.3: Comparison of DSSs and MISs
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A Comparison of DSS and MIS
(continued)
Table 6.3: Comparison of DSSs and MISs (continued)
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Components of a Decision Support
System (continued)
Figure 6.11: Conceptual Model of a DSS
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Group Support Systems
• Group support system (GSS)
– Consists of most ___________ in a DSS, plus software to provide effective support in group decision making
– Also called group decision support system or computerized collaborative work system
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Group Support Systems (continued)
Figure 6.12: Configuration of a GSS
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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 communication
• Automated record keeping
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GSS Software
• Often called groupware or workgroup software
• Helps with joint workgroup scheduling, communication, and management
• Examples: Lotus Notes, Microsoft’s NetMeeting,
Microsoft Exchange, NetDocuments Enterprise,
Collabra Share, OpenMind, TeamWare
• Some transaction processing and enterprise resource planning packages include collaboration software
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GSS Alternatives
Figure 6.13: GSS Alternatives
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GSS Alternatives (continued)
Figure 6.14: The GSS Decision Room
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Executive Support Systems
• Executive support system (ESS): specialized DSS that includes all hardware, software, data, procedures, and people used to assist senior-level executives within the organization
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Executive Support Systems in
Perspective
• Tailored to ___________ executives
• Easy to use
• Drill-down capable
• Support the need for external data
• Can help when ___________ is high
• Future-oriented
• Linked to value-added processes
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Capabilities of Executive Support
Systems
• Support for defining an overall ___________
• Support for strategic ___________
• Support for strategic ___________ and staffing
• Support for ___________ control
• Support for ___________ management
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Executive Support Systems
• ___________ – integrates information from multiple components and present it in a unified display
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