Management Information Systems, 10/e

1. Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod Jr. and George P. Schell Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell

2. Chapter 11 Decision Support Systems Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell

3. Problem-Solving and Decision Making Review • Problem solving consists of response to things going well and also to things going badly. • Problem is a condition or event that is harmful or potentially harmful to a firm or that is beneficial or potentially beneficial. • Decision making is the act of selecting from alternative problem solutions. • Decision is a selected course of action. Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell

4. Problem-Solving Phases • Herbert A. Simon’s four basic phases: • Intelligence activity–Searching the environment for conditions calling for a solution. • Design activity–inventing, developing, and analyzing possible course of actions. • Choice activity–Selecting a particular course of action from those available. • Review activity–Assessing past choices. Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell

5. Problem vs. Symptoms • Symptom is a condition produced by the problem. • Structured problem consists of elements and relationships between elements, all of which are understood by the problem solver. • Unstructured problem is one that contains no elements or relationships between elements that are understood by the problem solver. • Semistructured problem is one that contains some elements or relationships that are understood by the problem solver and some that are not. Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell

6. Types of Decisions • Programmed decisions are “repetitive and routine, to the extent that a definite procedure has been worked out for handling them so that they don’t have to be treated de novo (as new) each time they occur.” • Nonprogrammed decisions are “novel, unstructured, and unusually consequential. There’s no cut-and-dried method for handling the problem because its precise nature and structure are elusive or complex, and or because it is so important that it deserves a custom-tailored treatment.” Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell

7. Model • Model is an abstraction of something. It represents some object or activity, which is called an entity. Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell

8. Uses of Models • Facilitate Understanding. • Facilitate Communication. • Predict the Future. Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell

9. Artificial Intelligence • Artificial intelligence (AI) is the activity of providing such machines as computers with the ability to display behavior that would be regarded as intelligent if it were observed in humans. Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell

10. Group Decision Support System • Group decision support system (GDSS) is “a computer-based system that supports groups of people engaged in a common task (or goal) and that provides an interface to a shared environment”. Management Information Systems, 10/e Raymond McLeod and George Schell