Finals Question #4

TOPIC: THE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS (DSS)


1. Describe or define DSS.
Answer: Decision Support Systems (DSS) are a specific class of computerized information system that supports business and organizational decision-making activities. A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers compile useful information from raw data, documents, personal knowledge, and/or business models to identify and solve problems and make decisions.

Typical information that a decision support application might gather and present would be:
* Accessing all of your current information assets, including legacy and relational data sources, cubes, data warehouses, and data marts
* Comparative sales figures between one week and the next
* Projected revenue figures based on new product sales assumptions
* The consequences of different decision alternatives, given past experience in a context that is described.

2. Distinguish DSS from MIS.
Answer:
The DSS and MIS models are very similar. Both consist of a database, report writing software, and mathematical models. In the MIS model, the users are called organizational problem solvers, whereas in the DSS model there are two types of users- individual problem solvers and other group members. The DSS model also includes a third category of software- groupware, which establishes communications link among the problem solvers and between the problem solvers environmental settings a groupware.

Examples

1. The best example of decision support systems include high-level summary reports or charts and allow the user to drill down for more detailed information.

2. A specific example concerns the Canadian National Railway system, which tests its equipment on a regular basis using a decision support system. A problem faced by any railroad is worn-out or defective rails, which can result in hundreds of derailments per year. Under a DSS, CN managed to decrease the incidence of derailments at the same time other companies were experiencing an increase.



3. Illustrate (give examples) how DSS can improve company's competitive advantage and organizational performance.

Answer:As competition gets tougher and tougher, companies have to implement
new management systems to stay efficient. Along business performance monitoring
application, executive information systems, business intelligence systems and
decision support systems (DSS) help managers to lead their companies successfully
and survive into the future. They are interactive, flexible and adjustable systems
that offer support in solving unstructured or semistructured management problems,
meant to improve the decision process. They are developed to assist the tactical and
strategic level of management. The classic architecture of a DSS contains the
database management system, the model base management system and the
interface management system. The evolved DSS have also a knowledge component
that provides the information needed for solving certain aspects of the problems.
According to D. J. Power, at a conceptual level the DSS can be classified into the
following categories: data-driven systems, model-driven systems, knowledgedriven
systems, document-driven systems, communication-driven systems, intra
and inter organizational systems, specialized systems and Web-based systems. At
the end of the paper some opinions concerning the future of DSS are presented.
Keywords: Decision support system; Structured; semistructured and unstructured
problems; Database; Model base; Knowledge base; User interface.nizational performance.









Reference:
http://www.informationbuilders.com/decision-support-systems-dss.html
http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/issuedetails.aspx?issueid=a014b935-c681-4315-b894-476ae4aeb6e3&articleId=31059de5-6ed4-4b01-bbd7-b7f9a1d82e53
Power, D.J. A Brief History of Decision Support Systems DSSResources.COM, World Wide Web, version 2.8, May 31, 2003

by:wilma son