Page 213 - DMGT505_MANAGEMENT_INFORMATION_SYSTEM

Management Information Systems

Notes Along the same lines, in a traditional meeting, only one person speaks at a time, and everyone
concentrates on the same issue at the same time. With a GDSS your focus is continually drawn to
the many different comments and discussions taking place at the same time. People who type
rapidly and fit from topic to topic will find that they can dominate the discussions.
In terms of costs, maintaining a separate meeting room with networked computers can be
expensive. Unless the facility is used on a regular basis, the computers will be idle a great deal
of then time. When you factor in the costs for network software, the GDSS software, and other
utilities, the costs multiply. One way to minimize this problem is to lease the facilities that have
been established by a couple of universities and some companies.

The use of GDSS also requires a trained facilitator – someone who can lead discussions, help
users, and control the GDSS software on the network. Hiring an in-house specialist can be very
expensive of there are only a few meetings a year. Again, using facilities are scrupulously
honest; there might be some topics that you do not want to discuss with non-employees.
One way to overcome these limitations is to alter the approach to the meetings. Instead of
requiring everyone to get together at the same time in on room, meetings could be held via
network discussion groups. Each participant could read the messages, add comments, and vote
on issues electronically at any time from any location. Again, the internet offers possibilities to
provide these facilities, but it could be a few years before organizations and managers can accept
the changes required.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
9. To help groups make decisions, a new category of systems was developed known as
..................................
10. Most versions of GDSS use special meeting rooms where each participant is seated at a
.................................. computer.

11. A .................................. operates the network and keeps the discussion moving in the right
direction.

10.5 Geographic Information System

A geographic information system (GIS), or geographical information system captures, stores,
analyzes, manages, and presents data that is linked to location. Technically, GIS is geographic
information systems which includes mapping software and its application with remote sensing,
land surveying, aerial photography, mathematics, photogrammetry, geography, and tools that
can be implemented with GIS software. Still, many refer to “geographic information system” as
GIS even though it doesn’t cover all tools connected to topology.
In the strictest sense, the term describes any information system that integrates, stores, edits,
analyzes, shares, and displays geographic information. In a more generic sense, GIS applications
are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user created searches), analyze spatial
information, edit data, maps, and present the results of all these operations. Geographic
information science is the science underlying the geographic concepts, applications and systems,
taught in degree and GIS Certificate programs at many universities.
In simplest terms, GIS is the merging of graphic map entities and databases. Consumer users
would likely be familiar with applications for finding driving directions, like a GPS program on
their hand-held device. GPS (Global Positioning System) is the real time location component
that uses satellites to show your current position, “where am I now” on your device.

208 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY