Information and Decision Support Systems

Information and Decision
Support Systems
Chapter 10
Information is an organization’s core asset. Transaction
processing systems capture a large amount of data.
Management information systems and decision support
systems process and refine that data to provide vital
information to decision makers and problem solvers. As
organizations reengineer business processes, information
systems designed for decision-making are no longer used
solely by managers. To empower employees to make
their own decisions and solve their own problems,
organizations must provide employees at all levels of the
enterprise with timely information provided by these
systems.
Chapter 10
Principles of Information Systems, Slide 2
Fifth Edition
Chapter 10 discusses information systems used for
decision-making and problem solving in business,
including management information systems and decision
support systems. After studying this chapter, you should
be able to address the objectives on the next 3 slides.
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Learning Objectives
List & describe the stages of a problem-
solving process.
Define “management information
system” (MIS) and clearly distinguish an
MIS from a TPS.
Discuss information systems in the
functional areas of businesses.
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Management information systems are designed to
provide correct & timely information about business
operations to the right person. Management information
systems are explicitly designed to provide information
for decision-making and problem-solving, while
transaction processing systems are not.
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Learning Objectives
Describe important characteristics of
decision support systems (DSS)
Describe the basic components of a
decision support system.
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Like management information systems, decision
support systems are designed to provide information to
decision makers. However, decision support systems
are designed to be used when problems are more
unstructured.
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Learning Objectives
State the goal of a group decision
support system (GDSS)
Identify the characteristics of a group
decision support system that distinguish
it from a DSS
Identify basic uses of an executive
support system & list its characteristics
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Group decision support systems and executive support
systems extend the general approach of a DSS to specific
situations, namely group and executive decision making
and problem solving.
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Decision Making and Problem
Solving
Before looking at the information systems designed to
help decision makers and problem solvers, we should
understand the decision making and problem solving
processes.
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Figure 10.1
As shown in Figure 10.1, decision-making is part of
problem-solving. Decision-making encompasses the first
three steps of the problem-solving process: the
intelligence, design and choice stages. In the intelligence
stage, potential problems or opportunities are identified.
Alternative solutions are developed in the design stage.
And a specific solution or course of action is selected in
the choice stage. Problem-solving continues with the
implementation stage, where the solution is put into
action. The final stage of problem-solving is monitoring,
where the solution or course of action that was
implemented is evaluated to see if it accomplished its
goal. Principles of Information Systems,
Chapter 10 Slide 13
Fifth Edition
This process model doesn’t only apply to complex
problems – generally people follow it in everyday
decisions. For example, suppose you need to fly out of
town. During the intelligence phase, you identify all the
problems or issues involved. Two problems you
identify are transportation to and from the airport in
your hometown and your destination. In the design
stage, you think of alternative ways to solve the
problem. Consider transportation to your home airport.
You could drive your own car and park it in long term
parking. You could ask your neighbor to drive you and
pick you up. You could take a cab. Or you could take
the airport shuttle. Principles of Information Systems,
Chapter 10 Slide 14
Fifth Edition
In order to choose an option, you evaluate and each
alternative – in terms of cost, convenience, and
availability. Assume your neighbor offers to drive you
and you chose that option. The implementation phase
starts when you set up the times with him and continues
when he drives you to and from the airport. Monitoring
might start while you are waiting for him to pick you up –
if he’s a little late, you look at your watch and start
thinking about whether or not you’ll make the flight.
When you check in for your flight out of town, you’re
done monitoring the drive to your home airport.
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Programmed versus
Nonprogrammed Decisions
Programmed decisions
 Structured situations with well defined
relationships
 Quantifiable
 Management information system
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When selecting an alternative in the choice stage, various
factors affect the decision. We saw in the airport
transportation example that resource constraints, such as
time, money, or availability, are factors. Another factor is
whether the decision can be programmed. Programmed
decisions are made by following rules, procedures or
quantitative methods that can be described in advance and
regularly used, since the situations are recurring and well-
structured. Management information systems are
designed to provide information to address programmed
decisions.
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Many simple programmed decisions can be completely
automated – for example, inventory control systems can
be programmed with reorder points and automatically
trigger an order for more merchandise when the reorder
point is reached.
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Programmed versus
Nonprogrammed Decisions
Nonprogrammed decisions
 Ill-structured situations with vague or
changing relationships between variables
 Not easily quantifiable in advance
 Decision support systems
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Nonprogrammed decisions involve unusual, continually
changing, or novel circumstances and poorly structured
situations. It is usually difficult or impossible to quantify
nonprogrammed decisions or to develop rules or
procedures to follow to solve the problem. An example of
a nonprogrammable or poorly structured situation would
be deciding where to locate a new regional airport. This
is not a decision that is made often, and each time such a
decision is made, it involves a different locale, different
economic conditions, different population concerns, and
so on.
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Decision support systems are designed to help decision
makers with nonprogrammed or ill-structured problems.
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Problem Solving Approaches
Optimization: find the best solution
Satisficing: find a good solution
Heuristics: use rules of thumb
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Computerized decision support systems can usually be
used for both optimization and satisficing modeling. An
optimization model finds the best solution in relation to
the constraints, assumptions, and goals it was given. For
example, an optimization model can find the optimal
labor cost to produce a particular product and meet a
specific level of profit, subject to the cost of raw
materials and machinery. Profit level is a goal and costs
are a constraint in the model.
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A satisficing model finds a good, but not necessarily the
best, solution. Satisficing is used when optimization is
too difficult, costly, or complex. Satisficing looks only at
solutions that are likely to produce a good solution and
can thus be done more easily and quickly than
optimization, which involves an exhaustive search of all
possible solutions.
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Heuristics, or rules of thumb, are often used in decision
making. Heuristics are generally accepted guidelines,
or guidelines developed through experience, that
usually find a good solution. For example, you might
follow a heuristic of taking an umbrella if it is cloudy,
windy, and humid when you leave the house. Your
experience has shown you that generally this results in
having an umbrella when it rains. However, this isn’t
an optimal solution – since sometimes you carry an
umbrella unnecessarily and sometimes it rains on days
when you don’t have an umbrella. But the cost of
finding an optimal solution is far too great in terms of
time and money.
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Figure 10.2
Spreadsheet programs often can perform optimization.
Figure 10.2 shows Solver, an optimizing routine in
Excel.
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An Overview of Management
Information Systems
Management information systems provides decision-
makers information and feedback on daily operations.
Additionally, management information systems can be
used strategically, often incorporating Web technology.
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Figure 10.3
Figure 10.3 shows the relationship of management
information systems to information sources and other
organizational systems. Transaction processing systems
capture and update databases that provide the largest
source of input to management information systems.
Input data is provided by additional internal and external
databases. External data sources include those available
over the Internet. Management information systems
filter and process the data to output reports that help
users plan, control, organize, and monitor operations
more efficiently and effectively.
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Management information systems also create summary
or application databases containing data that has been
processed or summarized into a form useful to managers.
Application databases can be queried and analyzed by
employees or used as input to decision support systems,
expert systems, and executive support systems.
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Figure 10.4
Most management information systems produce
predetermined reports – that is, reports whose content has
been designed and programmed in advance. These
include scheduled reports, key indicator reports, demand
reports, exception reports and drilldown reports.
Scheduled reports are produced at regular intervals, such
as hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. For example, a sales
manager might get a weekly report summarizing sales by
region, store, or salesperson. This allows the manager to
monitor sales and follow-up on locations or people that
seem to be slipping.
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Key indicator reports summarize the prior day’s critical
activities to allow the user to take quick action to fix a
potential problem. For instance, a report received each
morning summarizing sales figures from each store
would allow a sales manager to immediately follow up
with stores that show slow sales.
Demand reports are reports produced to give information
at a manager’s request, rather than on a particular
schedule. For example, on a Wednesday, the sales
manager may request weekly sales to date for each store.
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Although these reports can be produced on demand, the
requested information must have been identified at an
earlier time and processed and stored in the application
database. For example, if a company has never identified
a store’s rate of sales growth as necessary information
before, a manager cannot suddenly request it and except to
receive it from the management information system.
Exception reports are automatically produced to show a
deviation from normal or from a plan. For example, each
quarter the sales manager might receive an exception
report listing those stores that failed to meet their sales
target.
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Figure 10.4 cont’d
Drill-down reports start with highly summarized data and
allow a user to request increasing levels of detail. For
example, the sales manager may initially see a table
listing monthly sales by region. If he wants more detail,
he can use the mouse to click on a particular region, say
the southeast, and would see a table summarizing sales in
the southeast region by store. If he sees that store A has
lower sales than any other, he could click on it and see
sales for that store by department. He could click on a
particular department to see sales by employee or by
item. This helps users trace problems or superior
performance to the root.
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Figure 10.4 shows a drilldown report starting with
earning summarized by quarter, drilling down to sales by
product category.
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Table 10.1
Table 10.1 lists some guidelines for developing reports
that can be useful. Ensuring MIS reports provide only
useful and timely information and are designed for
usability is important.
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Characteristics of an MIS
Fixed format, standard reports
Hard-copy or soft-copy reports
Uses internal data
User-developed reports
Users must request formal reports from
IS department
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As mentioned earlier, all reports from an MIS have been
predetermined – that is, management information
systems do not generally produce ad hoc reports, or
unique reports done only once. Most recipients get the
same report, although they may use it for different
purposes. Output from an MIS may be printed, or hard-
copy, or viewed on a screen, called soft-copy. Most
output from an MIS is hard copy.
The primary source of input data for an MIS is internal
data stored in internal databases, generally data collected
and maintained by a transaction processing system.
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Sometimes data from external databases is added, such as
general economic data or data about competitors’ actions.
Since an MIS create an application database, end users
can request their own simple reports to access the
information stored in it. However, if many users develop
the same report, it may be more efficient for the IS
department to produce it. More complex reports are
generally requested from the IS department and developed
by specialists.
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Functional Aspects of the MIS
Each management information system is an integrated
collection of subsystems, often organized along
functional lines of an organization.
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Figure 10.5
Functional areas typically include accounting, finance,
marketing, personnel, operations, research and
development, and legal. Management information
systems organized by functional area produce
specialized reports for each area.
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Figure 10.6
A financial MIS provides information to people who need
to make decisions involving the company’s finances.
Figure 10.6 shows an overview of a financial information
system. A financial MIS integrates financial and
operational information from multiple internal and
external sources and makes financial data available on a
timely basis and allows funds to be monitored and
controlled over time. Typically, a financial MIS provides
easy access to financial data to both financial and
nonfinancial users – increasingly through intranets and
extranets.
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Most financial information systems allow financial data
to be analyzed in a variety of ways, such as by time,
customer or product line, and allow past and present
financial activity to be analyzed and monitored. A
financial MIS helps a company manage and use funds
effectively for internal uses, such as inventory or
supplies, and for external investments.
Financial information systems include profit/loss and cost
systems, which organize revenue and cost data. Revenue
and expense data collected by the transaction processing
system are a primary input to the financial MIS.
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Figure 10.7
Manufacturing management information systems assist
in the control and monitoring of materials, products and
services through the organization. The purpose of a
manufacturing MIS is to help a firm produce products or
services that meet customer needs at the lowest possible
cost.
A manufacturing MIS includes subsystems that track raw
material inventory and finished inventory, assist on the
shop floor or in design and engineering, and help control
production, costs and quality.
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For example, computer-added design, or CAD, programs
help in product design and configuration. CAD
programs can be used to develop three-dimensional
product models.
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Figure 10.8
Master production scheduling is part of many
manufacturing information systems. A master production
schedule plans both short-term and long-range production
facilities scheduling. Some scheduling programs can be
used to forecast demand for products or services and
schedules facilities to best meet the demand. Most
programs also allow a production manager to perform
sensitivity analysis to see changes on the production
schedule that would result from demand or cost changes.
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Manufacturing MIS
Inventory management (MRP, JIT)
Process control
 Computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM)
 Computer integrated manufacturing
 Flexible manufacturing system
Quality control
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Inventory control programs are one component of a
manufacturing MIS that relies on the production schedule.
Inventory control programs can forecast future
production, automatically reorder items when a certain
threshold is met, determine manufacturing costs, and
develop resource requirements plans from the production
schedule.
Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP) programs
help coordinate thousands of inventory items when
demand for one item depends on demand for another.
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MRP systems determine when finished products are
needed, then work backward to determine deadlines and
resources needed to complete the final product on
schedule.
When high inventory levels are kept, a company’s money
is tied up in unused inventory. This means higher costs
for the company. A Just-in-time (JIT) inventory
approach ensures inventory and materials are delivered
only when they are needed. This maintains inventories at
their lowest possible level, but insures materials are on-
hand in time for production.
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Although JIT is beneficial, it also makes a business
vulnerable to supply chain disruptions – whether internal
or external. For example, if a machine breaks down that
makes a component another unit needs to assemble the
product, assembly may need to stop due to lack on
components.
Technologies have been developed to control and
streamline the manufacturing process. Computers can
directly control manufacturing equipment using computer-
assisted manufacturing software. Computer-integrated
manufacturing software connects all aspects of production
together, including order processing, product design,
manufacturing, quality control, and shipping.
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For example, after an engineer designs a product using
CAD software, MRP systems can use information from
the design as input to plan and order materials.
Production scheduling systems can use the design
specifications as an input into the scheduling process.
And computer-added manufacturing systems can use the
design specifications as input for setup. This greatly
improves manufacturing efficiency.
A flexible manufacturing system allows a facility to
quickly and efficiently change from making one product
to making another, often using robotics and other
automation. Generally the changeover is computer-
controlled.
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Finally, quality control has become paramount for
manufacturing firms. Control charts or sample testing is
used to monitor product quality.
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Figure 10.9
Developing control charts and sampling plans can be
difficult. Quality control software handles the complexity
of this task.
The information provided by quality control programs
can help locate equipment products or design better
products.
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Figure 10.10
A marketing MIS includes subsystems that support the
management of product development, distribution,
pricing, promotion, and sales forecasting in order to
increase sales, reduce marketing costs, and plan new
products. Subsystems include marketing research,
product development, promotion and advertising, and
product pricing.
Marketing research involves conducting a formal study
of the market and customer preferences. Marketing
research can identify potential customers, as well as
features and qualities, such as price, function or color,
customers want in a particular product or service.
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Data is collected by various means, such as surveys and
interviews. The Internet provides a convenient, low-cost
tool to gather market research – from formal on-line
surveys to chat rooms.
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Figure 10.11
Product pricing is one of the complex functions that
software can help with. Product pricing starts with an
analysis of the demand curve for a product, which shows
the relationship between price and sales. Generally, a
company wants to find a price that will maximize
revenues. Software makes it very easy to see relationships
between price and sales, enabling quick adaptation of
pricing strategies to meet market needs, and thus, increase
profitability.
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Figure 10.12
Sales analysis is also used to identify which products,
personnel, and customers contribute to profits and which
do not. Figure 10.12 shows examples of reports that can
be produced to help make sound marketing decisions.
This first report shows which products are doing well, the
second allows unproductive sales people to be identified,
and the last show who the best customers are.
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Figure 10.13
A human resource, or personnel, MIS addresses activities
related to employees and potential employees. Some of
the subsystems of a personnel MIS handle workforce
analysis, hiring, training, and job management. Figure
10.13 shows some of the inputs and outputs of a personnel
MIS.
A fundamental function of a human resource MIS is to
determine the right number and kind of employees needed
to do specific jobs.
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For companies involved with large projects, this can be a
large and complex task, involving forecasting and project
management software to determine when particular types
of employees are needed and in what quantity in order to
meet specific deadlines. Complex scheduling of people
and jobs can be streamlined by using software.
Personnel applications may also be used to schedule
interviews or recruiting trips or to administer skill tests to
job candidates. Often interview and test results can be
analyzed and reported on by the software. Many
companies now use the Internet to initially screen job
candidates.
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Self-paced training in specific or general skills, or in
company policies and procedures, can be done by
computer-based tutorials or distance learning. Skills and
proficiency tests can be administered by computer.
Wage and salary administration is an important MIS
subsystem. Wages, salaries and benefits can be
determined, administered, and monitored using human
resource information systems.
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Other Management
Information Systems
Accounting management information
systems
Geographic information systems (GIS)
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There are many other kinds of management information
systems used in organizations, including accounting MISs
and geographic information systems.
While an organization’s transaction processing system
captures accounting data, the accounting MIS provides
summary information on various aspects of the accounting
system, such as accounts payable or accounts receivable.
A geographic information system can collect, store,
manipulate and display geographic information. In a
geographic information system, data are displayed
according to their locations.
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Has a sales clerk ever asked you for your zip code as you
pay for a product? When a retail store or restaurant chain
is considering opening a new location, they may use a
geographic information system to determine where their
potential customers are located. By displaying a map,
with zip codes color coded to show the number of
customers traveling to the current store location, a
business can place the new store close to the area where
most of them live.
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An Overview of Decision
Support Systems
Decisions support systems are people, procedures,
software, databases, and devices that are used in
problem-specific decision-making and problem-solving.
Decision support systems are particularly useful when
dealing with semi-structured, poorly structured, or
unstructured situations. Although decision support
systems are used most often at higher levels of
management, all employees may use them to assist in
even programmable decisions.
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Characteristics of Decision
Support Systems
Handle lots of data from various
sources
Report & presentation flexibility
Text and graphics capabilities
Support drill down analysis
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Not all decision support systems, or DSSs, are alike –
some are very small in scope, with only a few of the
following attributes; others are comprehensive and
powerful. A DSS can analyze information stored in a data
warehouse or a database that is distributed across multiple
locations. External sources of data, such as those
available via the Internet,can also be incorporated into a
decision model.
Users can see their output in an appropriate format –
whether that is a chart, image, table or even map – on a
printout or on the screen. In some systems, managers can
also drilldown to more detailed data.
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Characteristics of a DSS
Complex analysis, statistics, and
forecasting
Optimization, satisficing, heuristics
 Simulation
 What-if analysis
 Goal-seeking analysis
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Many of a DSS’s analytical programs are standalone
programs, integrated by the DSS.
Decision support systems often support all types of
decision-making approaches to allow the user great
flexibility. For example, even simple spreadsheets
support “what-if analysis”, which allows the user to
make changes to input variables to see the result on
outcomes. For example, if you can increase production
either by adding a new machine or upgrading different
combinations of existing machines, you can change the
appropriate costs and capacities on a spreadsheet and see
which increases output the most and/or costs the least.
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Simulation allows a user to model a problem by
duplicating features of a real system. This generally
involves some uncertainty or probability. For instance,
perhaps we can increase production by either adding a
new machine or by adding additional employees to set up
and reconfigure existing machines between production
runs. A simulation would model the complex interaction
of all these variables, based on estimates of how long it
takes one person to reconfigure a machine and how
additional people change the time, production time of
one machine, and so on.
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Figure 10.14
Goal-seeking analysis is the process of determining the
inputs, or variable values or quantities, needed to get a
specific result. Say you want to increase production by
exactly 500 units. Using goal-seeking analysis, you
could find the number of additional workers you would
need to add to the assembly line.
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Capabilities of a DSS
Support all problem-solving phases
Support different decision frequencies
Support different problem structures
Support various decision-making levels
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Although a specific DSS might only support one or a few
phases, decision support systems can support decision
makers in all the phases of the problem-solving process –
that is, in the intelligence, design, choice,
implementation, and monitoring stages.
As we’ve seen in this chapter, decisions can range from
one-of-a kind to recurring. An ad hoc DSS is useful for
one-of-a kind or less structured decisions, while an
institutional DSS handles situations that happen on an
ongoing basis. Institutional DSSs are refined over time.
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For instance, deciding where to locate a regional airport is
likely a one of a kind decision, whereas investment
decisions are recurring. Thus, a DSS can support
decisions ranging from unstructured to structured.
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Figure 10.15
Because of their flexibility, decision support systems
are useful at all levels of the organization.
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Table 10.2
Table 10.2 shows examples of decision support systems,
showing the range of support they can provide.
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Table 10.3
Decision support systems differ from management
information systems in many ways. We’ve seen that an
MIS designed to support structured decisions, whereas a
DSS can handle structured and less structured situations.
Users are more actively involved in the creation and use
of decision support systems than management
information systems. Table 10.3 describe these and other
differences.
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Components of a DSS
Decision support systems are composed of several
interrelated parts.
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Figure 10.16
A database and model base are at the heart of a DSS,
but many also allow external database and Internet
access. Additionally, a DSS has an easy to use
interface, called a dialogue manager. For example, the
dialog manager for a spreadsheet programs such as
Excel, is an interactive worksheet with easy to use
menus.
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The Model Base
Financial models
 Cash flow
 Internal rate of return
Statistical analysis models

 Averages, standard deviations
 Correlations
 Regression analysis
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Decision makers use a DSS to model problems or
situations in various ways. For instance, financial
models can show the relationship among variable in
investment analysis. The model base gives DSS users
access to a variety of built-in models they can use, so
users don’t need to write lengthy programs to create
their own models. Often, model management software
coordinates the use of models in a DSS.
For example, consider the examples of financial models
listed on the slide.
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Rather than a decision-maker trying to remember how to
calculate the internal rate of return for an investment and
then figure out how to enter commands for the DSS to
perform the calculations, it is far more efficient to use the
built in internal rate of return model. Although some
businesses create complex financial models unique to
their situation, DSS software contains powerful financial
models.
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Statistical models perform many tasks, including
summary statistics, trends, and hypothesis testing.
Although there are powerful software packages dedicated
to statistical modeling, such as SPSS and SAS, today’s
spreadsheets contain a large set of statistical analysis
models.
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The Model Base
Graphical models
Project management models
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Graphical modeling tools help decision makers develop
and use graphic displays of data and information.
Although simple graphic modeling tools exist, such as
PowerPoint or Visio, there are also sophisticated, high-
end tools, such as computer-assisted design (CAD)
software.
Project management models are used to coordinate and
control projects and identify critical activities or tasks
that could delay a project if not completed on time.
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Group Decision Support Systems
Although decision support systems help individuals make
better decisions, many business decisions are made by
groups. Higher level managers often spend more than
half their decision-making time in meetings. Group
decision support systems, also called group support
systems or computerized collaborative work systems, are
designed to support group decision making. Some types
of GDSS software, called groupware or workgroup
software, help with group scheduling, communications,
and management. Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange
are examples of such software.
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Figure 10.17
A group decision support system, or GDSS, contains
most of the same components as a DSS, plus GDSS
software to support communications between group
members.
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Characteristics of a GDSS
Special design
Ease of use
Flexibility
Decision-making support
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GDSSs are designed to support effective group
communication and good decision making techniques, as
well as creative thinking.
As a general rule, any software that is hard to use, won’t
be used. GDSS software must be especially user friendly,
since often groups have less patience with bad software
than do individuals.
Since different people may solve the same problem in
different ways, a GDSS should support different
approaches to decision-making, as well as integrate their
output into a common view.
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A GDSS supports group decision-making techniques,
such as the Delphi approach, brainstorming, group
consensus, and the nominal group technique.
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Characteristics of a GDSS
Anonymous input
Reduction of negative group behavior
Parallel communication
Automated record keeping
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Many GDSSs allow anonymous input, where group
members cannot identify who provided the input. This
allows people to focus on the merits of the input without
considering its source.
Sometimes, one or two individuals take over a group
discussion, preventing input from other members, or a
group member sidetracks the group into an unrelated or
nonproductive area. Another negative group effect is
called groupthink – a group thinks it has made the right
decision because all agree on it, without examining
alternatives. For these reasons, many traditional meetings
are unproductive.
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GDSS designers try to design software that reduces this
kind of problem by including procedures for effectively
planning and managing meetings into the software.
Often a trained facilitator leading a GDSS meeting also
helps avoid such problems.
In traditional meetings, only one person speaks at a time.
More timid members may never speak up, or a person
may have forgotten what he was going to say by the time
the current speaker is finished.
Chapter 10
Fifth Edition
Using GDSS software, all participants can type comments
at the same time and read everyone’s comments displayed
on their monitor. This can also keep meetings shorter.
GDSSs can store each anonymous comment, as well as
voting results.
Chapter 10
Fifth Edition
Figure 10.18
A GDSS can be configured in a number of ways,
depending on the needs of the group, the location of
participants, and frequency of the decision. Figure 10.18
classifies alternatives by decision frequency and the
location of participants.
When group members are in the same location and group
decision making is frequent, group support software is
placed in individual offices and participants communicate
over a LAN. Software such as Microsoft’s NetMeeting
allows participants to take control of the mouse and work
on a shared application while other watch. Software such
as Lotus Notes can be used to share ideas and documents.
Chapter 10
Fifth Edition
When decision frequency is low and participants are
geographically dispersed, teleconferencing is often the
appropriate alternative. Teleconferencing can be used to
connect individuals or GDSS decision rooms using long
distance telecommunications technology.
A wide area decision network is appropriate for high
frequency decisions made by people who are scattered
geographically.
A decision room is appropriate when participants are
located in the same place and occasionally use the GDSS
for decisions.
Chapter 10
Fifth Edition
Figure 10.19
A decision room combines face-to-face interaction and
GDSS technology. Figure 10.19 shows a typical decision
room layout.
Chapter 10
Fifth Edition
Executive Support Systems
Executive support systems, or executive information
systems, were developed to provide senior managers the
type of information they need, in the format that they
need it. Executive support systems include a DSS, as
well as other tools, such as office automation.
Chapter 10
Fifth Edition
Figure 10.20
Figure 10.20 shows the top layers of management that
executive support systems were originally designed for.
Today, their use is not restricted to top management,
since many organizations have reengineered business
processes and given employees more decision-making
authority.
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Fifth Edition
Executive Support Systems
(ESS) in Perspective
Tailored to individual executives
Easy to use
Drill down capabilities
Access to external data
Can help when uncertainty is high
Future-oriented
Linked to value-added processes.
Chapter 10
Fifth Edition
Although executive support systems have much in
common with decision support systems, they have
important differences. Generally, a DSS provides a
number of modeling tools and is designed to help a user
answer a question. Executive support systems allow
executives to ask the right questions. An ESS is
interactive and helps an executive focus, filter and
organize data and information.
Unlike a DSS, an ESS is usually customized for a specific
individual. Content and format can both be customized.
Since executives are typically busy, an ESS must be easy
to learn and to use – or it won’t be used.
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Fifth Edition
Capabilities of an ESS
Support for defining an overall vision
Support for strategic planning
Support for strategic organizing &
staffing
Support for strategic control
Support for for crisis management
Chapter 10
Fifth Edition
Most executive support systems are designed to give the
user a top-down view of business processes and allow
him to drill down to greater levels of detail. This
capability, as well as access to external databases and to
DSS modeling tools, allows top-level managers to work
on long term, strategic issues that affect the whole
company.
Chapter 10
Fifth Edition

Information and Decision Support Systems

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