MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SYSTEMS

1. MIS CHAPTER 12 MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SYSTEMS Hossein BIDGOLI

2. Chapter 12 Management Support Systems l e a r n i n g o u t c o m e s LO1Define types of decisions and phases of the decision-making process in a typical organization. LO2Describe a decision support system. LO3Explain an executive information system’s importance in decision making. LO4Describe group support systems, including groupware and electronic meeting systems. LO5Summarize uses for a geographic information system.

3. Chapter 12 Management Support Systems l e a r n i n g o u t c o m e s (cont’d.) LO6Describe guidelines for designing a management support system.

4. Types of Decisions in an Organization • Structured decisions • Well-defined standard operating procedure exists • Also called programmable tasks • Can be automated • Semistructured decisions • Not as well-defined by standard operating procedures • Include a structured aspect that benefits from information retrieval, analytical models, and information systems technology

5. Types of Decisions in an Organization (cont’d.) • Unstructured decisions • Unique; typically one-time decisions • Do not rely on standard operating procedure • Decision maker’s intuition plays the most important role • Information technology offers little support for these decisions • Management support systems (MSSs) • Different types of information systems have been developed to support certain aspects and types of decisions

6. Phases of the Decision-Making Process • Herbert Simon • Winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize in economics • Defines three phases in the decision-making process: intelligence, design, and choice • Fourth phase, implementation, can be added

7. The Intelligence Phase • Decision maker examines the organization’s environment for conditions that need decisions • Data is collected from a variety of sources and processed • Decision maker can discover ways to approach the problem

8. The Intelligence Phase (cont’d.) • Three parts • First: determine what the reality is • Second: get a better understanding of the problem by collecting data and information about it • Third: gather data and information needed to define alternatives for solving the problem

9. The Design Phase • Objective • Define criteria for the decision • Generate alternatives for meeting the criteria • Define associations between the criteria and the alternatives • Defining associations between alternatives and criteria involves understanding how each alternative affects the criteria • Information technology doesn’t support this phase of decision making much

10. The Choice Phase • Best and most effective course of action is chosen • From the practical alternatives • Analyze each alternative and its relationship to the criteria to determine whether it’s feasible • Decision support system (DSS) can be particularly useful in this phase

11. The Implementation Phase • Organization devises a plan for carrying out the alternative selected in the choice phase • Obtains the resources to implement the plan • DSS can do a follow-up assessment on how well a solution is performing

12. Decision Support Systems • Decision support system (DSS) • Interactive information system • Consisting of hardware, software, data, and models (mathematical and statistical) • Designed to assist decision makers in an organization

13. Decision Support Systems (cont’d.) • Requirements: • Be interactive • Incorporate the human element as well as hardware and software • Use both internal and external data • Include mathematical and statistical models • Support decision makers at all organizational levels • Emphasize semistructured and unstructured tasks

14. Components of a Decision Support System • Three major components • Database • Model base • Includes mathematical and statistical models that enable a DSS to analyze information • User interface • What users make use of to access the DSS • DSS engine • Manages and coordinates these major components

15. Exhibit 12.2 Components of a DSS

16. DSS Capabilities • What-if analysis • Goal-seeking • Sensitivity analysis • Exception reporting analysis • More capabilities, such as: • Graphical analysis, forecasting, simulation, statistical analysis, and modeling analysis

17. Roles in the DSS Environment • Roles include: • User, managerial designer, technical designer, and model builder • Users • Most important role because they’re the ones using the DSS • Managerial designer • Defines the management issues in designing and using a DSS

18. Roles in the DSS Environment (cont’d.) • Technical designer • Focuses on how the DSS is implemented • Model builder • Liaison between users and designers

19. Costs and Benefits of Decision Support Systems • Benefits of a DSS: • Increase in the number of alternatives examined • Fast response to unexpected situations • Ability to make one-of-a-kind decisions • New insights and learning • Improved communication • Improved control over operations • Cost savings from being able to make better decisions and analyze several scenarios (what-ifs) in a short period

20. Costs and Benefits of Decision Support Systems (cont’d.) • Better decisions • More effective teamwork • Time savings • Making better use of data resources

21. Executive Information Systems • Branch of DSSs • Interactive information systems that give executives easy access to internal and external data • Typically include: • “Drill-down” features • Digital dashboard • Ease of use • EIS designers should focus on simplicity when developing a user interface

22. Executive Information Systems (cont’d.) • Require access to both internal and external data • So that executives can spot trends, make forecasts, and conduct different types of analyses • Should also collect data related to an organization’s “critical success factors”

23. Executive Information Systems (cont’d.) • Digital dashboard • Integrates information from multiple sources and presents it in a unified, understandable format • Often charts and graphs • Many digital dashboards are Web-based

24. Reasons for Using EISs • EIS increases managers’ productivity • EIS can convert information into other formats • EIS can spot trends and report exceptions

25. Avoiding Failure in Design and Use of EISs • Factors that can lead to a failed EIS: • Corporate culture isn’t ready • Organizational resistance to the project • Project is viewed as unimportant • Management loses interest or isn’t committed • Objectives and information requirements can’t be defined clearly • System doesn’t meet its objectives • System’s objectives aren’t linked to factors critical to the organization’s success • Project’s costs can’t be justified

26. Avoiding Failure in Design and Use of EISs (cont’d.) • Developing applications takes too much time • System is too complicated • Vendor support has been discontinued • Executives themselves • Nature of executives’ work • Nature of information the EIS provides

27. EIS Packages and Tools • Generally designed with two or three components: • Administrative module for managing data access • Builder module for developers to configure data mapping and screen sequencing • Runtime module for using the system • Some EIS packages provide a data storage system

28. EIS Packages and Tools (cont’d.) • Tasks that managers perform for which an EIS is useful: • Tracking performance • Flagging exceptions • Ranking, comparing, spotting trends • Investigating/exploring

29. Group Support Systems • Use computer and communication technologies to formulate, process, and implement a decision-making task • Considered a kind of intervention technology that helps overcome the limitations of group interactions • Reduce communication barriers • Introduce order and efficiency into situations that are inherently unsystematic and inefficient

30. Group Support Systems (cont’d.) • Useful for: • Committees • Review panels • Board meetings • Task forces • Decision-making sessions that require input from several decision makers

31. Groupware • Assist groups in: • Communicating, collaborating, and coordinating their activities • Intended more for teamwork than for decision support

32. Groupware (cont’d.) • Some capabilities of groupware include: • Audio and video conferencing • Automated appointment books • Brainstorming • Database access • E-mail • Online chat • Scheduling • To-do lists • Workflow automation

33. Groupware (cont’d.) • Examples of Web-based GSS tools: • Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and IBM Lotus Domino • Other software used for e-collaboration: • Electronic meeting systems, such as Microsoft LiveMeeting, Metastorm, and IBM FileNet

34. Groupware and Health IT The overall goal of Clinical Groupware is to provide a unified view of the patient by collecting and analyzing data and information from a variety of sources. It has the following benefits: • Inexpensive to acquire and use • Offers evidence-based guidance • Routinely collects quality and performance measures • Provides a collaborative workflow platform

35. Electronic Meeting Systems • Enable decision makers in different locations to participate in a group decision-making process • Include: • Real-time computer conferencing • Video teleconferencing • Desktop conferencing

36. Advantages and Disadvantages of GSSs • Advantages: • Costs as well as stress are reduced due to decreased travel • More time to talk with each other and solve problems • Shyness isn’t as much of an issue in GSS sessions • Increasing collaboration improves the effectiveness of decision makers

37. Advantages and Disadvantages of GSSs (cont’d.) • Disadvantages: • Lack of the human touch • Unnecessary meetings • Security problems • Costs of GSS implementation are high

38. Geographic Information System • Captures, stores, processes, and displays geographic information • Uses spatial and nonspatial data • Uses three geographic objects: • Points • Lines • Areas

39. Geographic Information System (cont’d.) • Common example of a GIS: • Getting driving directions from Google Maps • User-friendly interface that helps you visualize the route • After you make a decision, you can print driving directions and a map

40. GIS Applications • Education planning • Urban planning • Government • Insurance • Marketing • Real estate • Transportation and logistics

41. Guidelines for Designing a Management Support System • Get support from the top • Define objectives and benefits clearly • Identify executives’ information needs • Keep the lines of communication open • Hide the system’s complexity and keep the interface simple • Keep the “look and feel” consistent • Design a flexible system • Make sure response time is fast

42. Summary • Different types of decisions • Phases of decision making in a typical organization • DSS: • Components, capabilities, key players, and costs and benefits • Executive information systems • Group support systems • Geographic information systems