Decision Support System - Report Example

? Decision Support System Decision Support System Introduction With the evolution of computer technology, organizations have taken up the advantages they offer in storage and processing of information to enhance their decision making processes. Typically, a decision support system will comprise of set of several integrated computer programs to collect, analyze and process information obtained through the daily operations of businesses, and use this information to inform management decisions. There is continuous development of such programs so that businesses can obtain modern, fast and up to date packages for use in their daily operation. Information technology experts are investing heavily in finding out the trends of IT uptake in the business world and utilize this information in key decision making for the organization (Albert & Kenneth, 2004). The demand for IT in businesses increases when customers realize there are programs in the market which are meant to help them avoid errors in decision making which affect their organization negatively through the losses incurred. Application of computers especially for decision support services is broad. There is no area in human existence where right decisions are not important. Whether it is health care settings, not for profit organizations, profit organizations, learning institutions, business organizations and any other place or institution where there is spending or cost incurred, all these require making decisions to strengthen the sustainability of the organization. Whether these are individual or corporate owned, there is need to gather information from consumers directly so as to offer products and services which will satisfy them (Albert & Kenneth, 2004). There is no business which operates within a vacuum. It is not very difficult to witness more than one organization which provides similar services, or companies selling goods within the same geographical area. Sometimes there goods which are originating from different companies present in retail outlets and customers do choose one item and leave the other. These decisions which customers make are based on several factors which attract them. In order to attract customers and influence their decisions to buy one product and leave another of the same type manufacturers spend so much in advertising their products to many people (Basil, 2010). The outcome of those promotional efforts is the large number of customers who demand for their products, thus boosting their capital base and profit. The quality of products or services also contributes much on the customers’ demand of those services or products. It is important that clients take their time to provide goods and services which will be able to meet the basic standards in a given setting since every country has a board which oversees the sale and distribution of goods and services to ensure that consumers are protected from counterfeit products and services. Other external factors which affect a business organization include the political, legal and social systems in a particular country. It is important to understand the preferences of people you expect to be your customers for the products and services you offer. The behaviors, habits, customs and practices of people usually have a strong foundation which is sometimes very difficult to change. Therefore before you decide to invest in certain products while having a certain population in mind as your target population; it is important to consider the social nature of these people since it influences the purchasing habits of these people. The legal system is also important in a given country since it lays a framework under which a business should operate. When investing in a foreign country it will be important to gather information on the laws which exist in that country so as to ensure you don’t incur unnecessary costs which come as fines due to breaking of business laws. These are some of the factors which affect a business externally. Internally it is important to ensure that employees are well motivated to work. This can be through proper dialogue in addressing their concerns, giving them appropriate remuneration for the services they render in the organization. If internal customers are satisfied, it gives external customers confidence and be at peace and ready to give the best services. An organization should ensure the employees are trained well for the jobs they do. This might require updates on regular basis to update employees on the latest technology in their specific duties (Information Resources Management Association, 1994). In order to address matters with a potential to influence a business performance internally or externally, it is important that an information system be established to ensure there is continuous collection of information from external and internal customers so as to determine consumer satisfaction on the services they receive from the organization. There are typical components which a successful decision support system must have. The sources of data to be used in the system should be collected from several sources. This will make sure information obtained will be representative of the entire business community. In a business setting, data can be obtained from suppliers to the company, regular and irregular customers who use company services, inventory data can be useful, customer care record and accounts records. So long as information is carefully recorded in these departments it will elicit responses which will be very much representative (Sank, 2006). There is also the corporate community who may include stakeholder, financial support providers, and employees of the company. These should never be left out. Although not all people in a given location uses services provided by a business organization, these people are affected in a certain way by the existence of that company within their residential area. It is important for surveys to be conducted so as to capture the thoughts of the general public (Basil, 2010). Whenever an organization is dealing with data exercise which is meant to influence decision making, statistical support should be contacted so that information collected is valid for decision making. Appropriate sampling methods must be adopted based on research methodologies utilized. This is a very important stage in any support system and it must be well grounded in scientifically sound theoretical and analytical frameworks as cold be advised by research experts. In addition to data collection, care should be taken when data is formatted and collated to ensure that all information has been captured. There are several programs designed for data storage. An organization should have specialists well informed in database development and use in order for collected data to be stored appropriately in preparation for analysis. A good database should reflect all the information which was collected from the field. This is because when tools for data collection are being designed, there is weight attached to every section in order so that all study question components are well captured. Omitting any of these aspects during data storage or analysis will do injustice to data collection and the decision which can be made based on that information may be good enough for the organization. An organization should consult experts in making decision on the kind of dataset to have. Once data has been entered into database it must be analyzed using appropriate packages in order to ensure it informs decisions on questions it was meant to answer. Internal customers of an organization should be well trained to be able to use various data analysis packages. This might require contracting experts in data analysis to help in training and evaluation of staff. In case an organization is large, it can have a department which deals with data. The staff in that department should be well trained in the appropriate use of latest technology in analysis of data. After data has been analyzed reports must be written to ensure decisions are made with consideration to the findings of the operational research (Burstein & Holsapple, 2008). The major reason why organization should have this system in their organization is to facilitate decision making in order to achieve this there are several essential features which an ideal support system must contain. An organization has decision at two levels namely individual and group. A support system must provide information which can help individual employees to make appropriate decision on behalf of the organization in their specific assignments which they do for the organization. An organization has several departments or sections and each has its own distinct roles in the overall operation of the organization. Procurement can utilize database to make information of the most reliable supplier for certain items which the organization needs. On the other hand account department will use the same database to advice on the cost effective means to obtain goods and services. The individual decisions being made in an organization must be based on the evidence provided by the information in the database. In addition there are corporate decisions which must be made to give an overall picture of performance in the organization. It must provide comprehensive information which is required in making such overall decisions (Basil, 2010). These are very essential features of any program which can be useful in developing business intelligence systems. Another important characteristic which business intelligence information system should have is to allow ease installation and operation. It should be understood easily y the people whoa re going to interact with program daily. It should not limit the number of users at any particular time since there may be times when information is needed organization wide. Further it should enable people to access comprehensive information which they can customize in their own computer systems and use for whichever reason. Use of computers in the entire exercise of decision support system will enable an organization to detect trends in the market easily and be able to make appropriate decisions in order for the organization to remain firm and competitive amongst other service providers in the same line. It is proven that successful business organization whether operating locally or internationally have very well developed computer systems. It is a vital organ of any business organization which needs to have a competitive advantage amongst rivals which give it stiff competition. Part B The company’s information system is not the best and adjustments are critical so that they can facilitate decision making. They have put necessary measures to make sure every transaction that takes place is recorded. This is very important in order to avoid fraud. Moreover, their central phone system can be handled by local engineers and helps the organization to ensure they keep record of the work which is going on countrywide. It is recommendable the way they work with their engineers and the rate at which they respond to service requests. The cost is quite high fro services offered at Hydraul UK compared to other engineering firms. Unless people are well informed on the advantages they are likely to receive from this organization, it might very hard to attract customers. The company should have an information system which collects information on the current trends in engineering service provision to ensure that they offer services at an attractive price. Currently, the company offers services at a reduced cost to multinational organization. This bias might hinder potential clients who receive discounts elsewhere. They should give this discount evenly to all customers. Instead of this discount they can reduce the cost of services. Being connected to manufacturers directly from where they obtain original items is very important as it ensures they do not receive generic products which might wear out so fast and make customers think the company deceives and overcharges them for services and products which are substandard (Vesa, 1999). They should come up with a system whereby any transaction which is done between customers and the company engineers is immediately reflect at the headquarters and invoices be automatically available and can be printed out at franchise level without necessary having to wait response from head office (Chung, 1992). It can be designed in such a manner that information can be entered at franchise level and immediately reflected at national office for verification, and within a short duration an invoice is made available to the customers and payment is made immediately or within a short duration. It’s important to come up with a good information system that would support decision making for both the Hydraul Holding Company (the franchisor) and the franchisees. At the moment there is no section in place to capture customer feedback. This is a very big gap as it is the only way to know whether customers are comfortable with the services being provided or not. Customers can also help in advising the best things a business should embrace in order to achieve high profit level. Customer relation and management is important especially in getting their loyalty through giving them time to interact with you and inform the decisions made in the organization. Always provide feedback on how information collected from them was utilized. References Albert, R. R., & Kenneth, R. Y., 2004. Evidence Based Practice Manual: Research and Outcome Measures in Health and Human Services. New York: Oxford University. Basil, M., 2010. Decision Support Systems in Agriculture, Food and the Environment: Trends, Applications and Advances. Amsterdam: IGI Global Snippet. Burstein, F., & Holsapple, C. W., 2008. Handbook on Decision Support Systems 1. Victoria: Springer. Chung, S. K., 1992. Selecting DSS Evaluation Methods. Journal of Information Technology Management, Vol III: 1. Retrieved from http://jitm.ubalt.edu/III- 1/JITM%20Vol%20III%20No.1-4.pdf Information Resources Management Association, 1994. Managing Social and Economic Change with Information Technology. Netherland: Idea Group Inc. Sank, B., 2006. Competence-Based Decision Support for the off shoring of Automotive Product Development Process to India. New Delhi: Auflage. Vesa, S., 1999. Perspective of Information Systems. New York: Springer. Read More