COURSE CODE:(INFS 432)

COURSE TITLE: (ORGANIZATIONAL

INFORMATION SYSTEMS)

SESSION#: (7) – TITLE: (ORGANIZATIONAL DECISION MAKING)

LECTURER: (Mr. Michael Allotey)

DEPARTMENT: (Information Studies)
(Contact Information: mallotey@ug.edu.gh)

College of Education
School of Continuing and Distance Education
2017/2018 – 2018/2019 ACADEMIC YEAR
 Course Information
Provide the following information:

Course Code: INFS 432

Course Title: Organizational Information Systems

Course Credit 3

Session Number &

Session Title: (7) Organizational Decision Making

Semester/Year: Second Semester / 2017/2018

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 Course Information (contd.)
Provide the following information:

Insert Lecture Period(s): (Online how many

Lecture Period(s) online interactions per week)

Prerequisites Insert Course Prerequisites: (if applicable)

Insert Teaching Assistant’s Information: (where

Teaching Assistant applicable, provide name and contact
information)
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 Course Instructor’s Contact
Provide the following information:

Course Instructor(s) Insert Instructor’s Name: (Mr. Michael Allotey)

Name
Insert Office Number: Department of
Office Location Information Studies
Insert Office Hours: ( 9.00 am – 1.00pm
Office Hours (Mondays to Thursdays))

Phone Number:
Phone
Your Email: mallotey@ug.edu.gh
E-mail Slide 4
 Introduction/ Subject or Session Overview
Information systems are mostly used to support the functions of
organizations. Organizations employ information systems for various
reasons such as simplifying decision making. Students will best
appreciate the various type of information systems if they understand
decision making and the types of decisions in organizations.

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 Session Outline
The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:
1. The need for Organizational Information Systems
2. Defining Decision Making
3. Characteristics of Organizational Decisions

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 Session Learning Objectives
After successfully going through this session, you should:
• Appreciate the need for organizational information
systems
• Understand what decision making is
• Understand the types of decision making
• Understand the various levels of organizational decision
making

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 Session Activities and Assignments
This week, complete the following tasks:
• Log onto the UG Sakai LMS course site:
– http://sakai.ug.edu.gh
• Read Recommended Text – Akussah, H. (2016).
Organizational Information Systems. Department of
Information Studies, Legon, NAB Superior Services.
• Watch the Videos for Session 7
• Review Lecture Slides: Session 7
• Visit the Chat Room and discuss the Forum question for
Session 7
• Complete the Individual Activities for Session 7
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 Reading List
• Required Text
– Akussah, H. (2016). Organizational Information Systems. Department of Information Studies, Legon, NAB Superior Services.

– O’Brien, J.A. (2009) Introduction to Information Systems, Boston, Pearson.

– Long, P. et al (2016) Cambridge International AS and A Level IT Course book, University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, UK.

• Supplemental Texts

– Laudon, C.K. Laudon, J.P. (2000) Management Information Systems (11th Ed.), NJ, Prentice-Hall in Honkong, Pearson.

– Senn, J.A. (1982) Information Systems in Management, NY Wadsworth Publishing Company.

– Stoner, J.A.F. (1999) Management, (1999) Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi.

– Lucey Terry, (1995) Management Information Systems, DP Publishing Ltd. Aldine Place, London.

– Watson, H.J. et al (1991) Information System for Management: A Book of Reading.

– Hutchinson, S.E. & Sawyer, S.C. (2000) Computers, Communications and Information: A User’s Introduction.

– Alter, S. (1999). Information systems: A management perspective. Reading, Mass. [u.a.: Addison Wesley.

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Topic One

THE NEED FOR INFORMATION

SYSTEMS
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 The Need for Information Systems
• All organizations perform several activities and
functions in order to achieve their goals.
Unfortunately, organizational activities outlined in
strategic and all other plans are often not
implemented at different levels of the organization
because the information most often needed to
effectively monitor and control these processes is
not available.
• The information may exist but in disorganized forms
spread all over the organization.
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 The Need for Information Systems
• For all organizations to realize their set goals, they need to
have up-to-date, accurate and reliable information to
enable them monitor and fine-tune the broad range of
activities and processes.
• This can only be possible through functional information
systems which collect analyze and deliver relevant
information to the right decision maker at the right time.
• In addition, the contents of information systems which are
often referred to as organizational intelligence enables
organizations to better respond to ongoing threats and
opportunities.
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 The Need for Information Systems
• Contents of Information Systems are utilized by
organizations to continuously plan in order to swiftly
respond to the highly competitive and rapidly
changing environment.
• Continuous planning involves decision makers at all
levels of the organization having access to
organizational intelligence (information) to select the
most prudent alternatives to forge the business of
organization forward.

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Topic Two

DEFINING DECISION MAKING

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 What is Decision Making?
• Decision making is the process of selecting
a course of action among several
alternatives.
• The purposeful selection from among a set
of alternatives in the light of a given
objective.

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 Types and Levels of Organizational Decisions
TYPE OF DECSION ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL

• Structured • Operation Level

Decisions
• Managerial or
• Semi-Structured Tactical Level
Decision
• Strategic or
• Unstructured Executive Level
Decisions Slide 16
 Structured Decisions

• They are termed sometimes as programmable decisions.

They are decisions in which the procedures to follow for a
given situation can be specified in advance. They are
relatively straight forward and can be made with very little
human intervention. For instance, keeping track of
inventories and issues to decide when to place new orders.
• Structured decision making tends to be repetitive and for
that matter
– the approach to them is standardized
– the methodology used is routine
– the type of information needed is known

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 Structured Decisions
• Managers at the operational level such as foremen or
supervisors are responsible for the routine day-to-day
operational tasks of the organization. They develop short
term plans and direct and use resources and perform tasks
according to established procedures.
• Decisions taken at this level are highly structured,
repetitive and programmable.
• Information Systems at this level are geared towards
presenting very regular products such as weekly, daily or
hourly information. Such information is mostly needed for
transactional process control.
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 Semi-Structured Decisions

• These are decisions which are not repetitive even

though their information requirement and the
methodology adopted are often known. Unlike the
structured decision, aspects of the decision depend on
the decision maker or the manager.
• This decisions are normally made by middle level or
functional managers such as marketing managers,
finance managers, human resource managers etc. They
focus mostly on monitoring and controlling operations.
They also control and allocate organization resources.

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 Semi-Structured Decisions
• Middle level managers develop short and medium –
range plans, schedules and budgets. Decisions taken
at this level are mostly unstructured decisions,
depending to some extent on the skills and expertise
of the manager.

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 Unstructured Decisions

• These are decisions which are not programmable.

They are unique to given situations and procedures
to follow cannot be prescribed in advance. They are
mostly policy decisions which may affect the
organization for a long time. Unstructured decision
making process have the following characteristics:
– Information needed is unpredictable
– No fixed Methodology
– Multiple alternatives presented

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 Unstructured Decisions

• At the executive level of organizations, managers

concentrate on long – term strategic issues of the
organization. Managers at this level include Chief
Executive Officers Board of Directors etc. Decisions
taken at this level are unstructured. Such decisions
have long-term effects on the organization.
• Information needs at this level are mostly aggregate
summaries of organization information and
projections for the future.

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 Activity 1
Take time off your studies and visit an organization
close by. Critically examine the organizational structure
and write down the levels of decision making you can
identify

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 Activity 2
List four (4) instances in an organization where
unstructured decisions need to be taken

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Topic Three

CHARACTERISTICS OF
ORGANIZATIONAL DECISIONS
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Characteristics (Examples) of Organizational
Decisions

• Operational Decisions

• Tactical Decisions

• Strategic Decisions
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 Operational Decisions
These are decisions about the organization’s activities now
and within the next 6 to 12 months. For example:

1. A number of production employees are off sick

– what do you do in the short term to ensure that production is
not affected?
2. What raw materials will we need today?
3. Can we organize ourselves differently and speed
up operations?

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 Activity 3
• What sort of Information will the organization need in
order to make the decisions above?

• Who has called in sick today, and how long are they likely to be away from
work?

• What is going to be produced today (we will assume that the raw material
stock was checked a few days prior to today) and do we have assurance that
the raw materials have been moved to the production area?

• A floor plan and production flow information (looking at how the goods
move through the production line).

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 Tactical Decisions
These are decisions about what will happen within
the organization in the next five years or so. These
decisions are often informed by research, to ensure
that the organization remains safe in the medium
term.

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 Tactical Decisions
For example:
1. Are there any new products or service that we should be
offering?
2. Are there any existing products or service that we should
stop offering?
3. Do we need to make any capital investment to meet the
organization's longer-term strategy?
4. Does our workforce need any training to enable us to
meet our longer-term goals?

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 Activity 4
What sort of Information will the organization need in order
to make the decisions above?
1. Information about what competitors are making. Information about
what customers’ changing wants are.
2. Stock information on existing products and information about stock
movement.
3. What our current capital reserves are. If there is insufficient finance
available, should we be taking out a business loan to finance future
strategies?
4. What training does our workforce have? Will this training be sufficient
and suitable to enable us to meet our mid-term goals, or do we need to
have some staff trained? What training courses are available?

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 Strategic Decisions
These are decisions that have a long time frame and
require organizations to look well into the future (in
excess of about five years). For example:

• Should we expand?
• Should we buy larger premises?
• How should the organization be structured?

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 Activity 5
What sort of Information will the organization need in
order to make the decisions above?
1. Estimates of how our organization will develop over the next five
to ten years.
2. The costs of larger premises, including the anticipated overheads
on such a property (such as city tax, average heating and lighting
costs), so that they can be compared with current expenditure
on these items.
3. The current organizational structure should be identified and
written down, so that managers can discuss whether changes in
the hierarchy could be achieved and how they see these changes
being implemented.
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 Summary
You have just completed the session successfully. You
have learned
• The definition of decision making
• The types of decisions
• The levels of decision making
• The types of information needed at each level

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