Chapter 15

Supporting the Manager and Decision Making

Chapter 15 focuses on support technologies for executives and managers. Managerial decision making, especially at the managerial and strategic levels, is becoming more and more complex. Using different tools, IT can provide support to decision making. The chapter concentrates on two types of support. First, the support given to unstructured problems and opportunities is examined under the topic of decision support systems (DSS), which uses a modeling approach to problem solving. Second, the support given to top executives in identifying problems and opportunities, as well as in assessing their importance is covered under the topic of executive information systems (EIS).

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Update

Yet another meeting?

Meetings: they’re a fact of life in modern organizations—it’s estimated that today’s managers spend upwards of 50 percent of their average workday in meetings. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you have to like them. Still, it makes sense to try and find a way to make them more productive. A number of organizations and research scientists are working on ways to make meetings more effective through the use of information technology. In The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings, Fast Company’s Eric Matson describes what’s wrong with meetings and, more importantly, how to make the most of current tools, techniques, and technologies to make meetings better.

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Exercises

1. Surf the Internet to find material on how the Internet/Intranet can facilitate the use of DSS.

2. Enter the Web site of SAS, Inc. Identify their DSS and EIS products. Find the relationship to data warehouse and on-line analytical processing (OLAP).

3. Surf the Internet to find software that facilitates creativity and idea generation. Visit IdeaFisher’s Web site.

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Jewish Hospital

Hertz Rent-a-Car

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