IS Chapter 10

autonomic computing

DSS monitors computer systems second by second for problems and takes action to prevent problems, such as slowdowns and crashes, and to recover from them when they occur.

model-driven

DSS primarily performs mathematical or quantitative analysis

data-driven

DSS primarily performs qualitative analysis based on the company's databases qualitative analysis

ad hoc DSS

a DSS concerned with situations or decisions that come up only a few times during the life of the organization

institutional DSS

a DSS that handles situations or decisions tha occur more than once, usually several tiems per year or more. an institutional DSS is used repeatedly and refined over the years

geographic information system (GIS)

a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographic information, that is, data identified according to its location.

recorder point (ROP)

a critical inventory quantity level.

programmed decision

a decision made using a rule, procedure, or quantitative method.

nonprogrammed decision

a decision that deals with unusual or exceptional situations that can be difficult to quantify.

nominal group technique

a decision-making approach that encourages feedback from individual group members, and the final decision is made by voting, similar to the way public officials are elected.

group consensus approach

a decision-making approach that forces members in the group to reach a unanimous decision.

brainstorming

a decision-making approach that often consits of members offering ideas "off the top of their heads"

profit center

a department wihin an organization that focuses on generating profits.

cost center

a division within a compnay that does not directly generate revenue

revenue center

a division within a compnay that generates sales or revenues.

satisficing model

a model that will find a good-but not necessarily the best-problem solution.

just-in-time (JIT) inventory

a philosophy of inventory management in which inventory and materilas are delivered just before they are used in manufactruing a prodcut.

quality control

a process that ensures that the finished product meets the customers' needs

problem solving

a process that goes beyond decision making to include the implementation and monitoring stages.

optimization model

a process to find the best solution, usually the one that will best help the organization meet its goals

demand report

a report developed to give certain information at someone's request.

scheduled report

a report produced periodically, or on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or monthly.

drill-down report

a report providing increasingly detailed data about a situation

exception report

a report qutomatically produced when a situation is unusual or requires management action

decision room

a room that supports decision making, with the decision makers in the same building, combining face-to-face verbal interation with technology to make the meeting more effective and efficient

material requirements planning (MRP)

a set of inventory-control techniques that help coordinate thousands of inventoryitems when the demand of one item is dependent ono the demand for another.

implementation stage

a stage of problem solving in which a solution is put into effect.

key-indicator report

a summary of the previous day's critical activities; typically available at the beginning of each workday.

computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM)

a system that directly contorls manufacturing equipment

dialogue manager

a user interface that allows decision makes to easily access and manipulate the DSS and to use common busines terms and phrases.

flexible manufacturing system (FMS)

an approach that allows manufacturing facilities to rapidaly and efficiently change from making one product to making another.

financial MIS

an informatin system that provides financial information not only for executives but also for a broader set of people who need to make better decisions on a daily basis

human resource MIS (personnel MIS)

an information system that is concerned with activities related to employees and potential emplyees of an organization, also called a personnel MIS

accounting MIS

an information system that provides aggregate information on accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and many other applications.

marketing MIS

an information system that supports managerial activities in product development, distribution, pricing decisions, and promotional effectiveness.

auditing

analyzing the financial condition of an organization and determining whether financial statements and reports produced by the financial MIS are accurate.

exteral auditing

auditing performed by an outside group.

interal auditing

auditing performed by individuals within the organization

local area decision network

can be used when group members are located in the same buiding or geographic area and under conditions in which gorup decision making is grequent

heuristics

commonly accepted guidelines or procedures that usually find a good solution

delphi approach

decision-making approach in which group decision makers are geographically dispersed; this approach encourages diversity among group members and fosters creativity and original thinking in decision making.

strategic planning

determining long-term objectives by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, predicting future trends, and projecting the development of new product lines.

parameters (trigger points)

for an exception report should be set carefully

GSS software (groupware or workgroup software)

helps with joint work group scheduling, communicaiton, and management

DSS dashboard

instantly see food costs, staffing costs, and other performance measures.

Sense and Respond (SaR)

involves determining problems or opportunities (sense) and developing systems to solve the problems or take advantage of the opportunities (respond).

wide area decision network

is used when the decision frequency is high and the location of group members is distant.

teleconferencing

is used when the decision frequency is low and the location of group members is distant.

groupthink

members of a group might assume they have made the right decision without examining alternatives

semistructured or unstructured problems

more complex problems in which the relationships among the pieces of data are not always clear, the data might be in a variety of formats, and the data is often difficult to manipulate or obtain.

model base

part of a DSS that provieds decision makers access to a variety of models and assits them in decision making

highly sturctured problems

problems that are straightforward and require know facts and relationships

group support system (GSS)

software application that consists of most elements in a DSS, plus software to provide effective support in gorup decison making; also called group support system or computerized colaborative work system.

model management software

software that coordinates the use of models in a DSS

executive support system (ESS)

specialized DSS that includes all hardware, software, data, procedures, and people used to assist senior-level executives within the organization, also called executive information system

virtual workgorups

teams of people located around the world working on common problems

simulation

the ability of the DSS to duplicate the features of a real system

monitoring stage

the final stage of the problems-sovling process, in which decision makers evaluate the implementation.

decision-making phase

the first part of problem solving, solving including three stages: intelligence, design, and choice.

intelligence stage

the frist stage of decision making, in which potential problems or opportunities are identified and defined.

goal-seeking analysis

the process of determining the problem data required for a given result.

what-if analysis

the process of making hypothetical changes to problem data and observing the impact on the results.

economic order quantity (EOQ)

the quantity that should be reordered to minimze total inventory costs

design stage

the second stage of decision making, in which alternative solutions to the problem are developed.

choice stage

the third stage of decisino making, which requires selecting a course of action.

computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)

using computers to link the components of the produciton process into an effective system