Page 36 - DCAP302_ENTERPRISE_RESOURCE_PLANNING

Enterprise Resource Planning

notes 2.9 Decision support systems (Dss)

Decision support systems (“DSS”) are specifically designed to help management make decisions
in situations where there is uncertainty about the possible outcomes of those decisions. A
decision is considered unstructured if there are no clear procedures for making the decision
and if not all the factors to be considered in the decision can be readily identified in advance.
DSS comprise tools and techniques to help gather relevant information and analyses the options
and alternatives. DSS often involves in data warehouses, executive information systems (EIS).
Decision-support systems are data and decision logic oriented.
A key factor in the use of decision support systems is determining what information is needed.
In well-structured situation it is possible to identify information needs in advance, but in an
unstructured environment, it is difficult to do so. As information is acquired the manager
may realize the additional information is required; that is, having information may lead to the
realization of other requirements.
Consider the decision process followed by banking officers who must decide whether to begin
offering cash management accounts or installing automatic teller machines – both completely
new banking services. Among the many questions to be addressed are these: What will watch
service cost? How many teller locations will be needed? How will the competition respond to
this? What limits should be placed on withdraws at any one time? Can a charge be imposed for
this service? Will this service result in additional deposits and thus more cash inflow for the
bank?
In such cases, it is impossible to pre – design system report formats and contents. A decision
support system must therefore have greater flexibility than other information systems. The
user must be able to request reports by defining their content and even by specifying how the
information is to be produced. Similarly, the data needed to develop the information may alginate
from many different files or databases, rather than from a single master file, as is often the case
with transaction systems and many reporting systems.
Manager judgment plays a vital role in decision-making where the problem is not structured.
The decision support system supports, but does not replace, manager judgment.

Information systems expressly designed to support individual and collective decision making
by making it possible to apply decision models to large collections of data. These systems are
designed to support the decision-making process, rather than render a decision.

types of Dss

Data Analysis System

Data analysis systems are developed using simple data processing tools and business rules. These
systems rely on comparative analysis, application formula, and use of algorithms. Such systems
are generally used for conducting cash flow analysis and fund flow analysis.

Information Analysis System

Information available to the management needs to be analyzed to arrive at a result. The analyzed
data is print in the form of reports for the perusal of the decision maker. By going through these
reports, the decision makers can take decisions. Such information analysis systems are used
form:
Generating sales analysis reports etc.

30 LoveLy professionaL university