Top Managers and Computers

Managers at all levels have had computer support in the form of printed report. In the last decade most managers, even the most resistant executives, have succumbed to the personal computer. Managers have found personal computer software useful for every aspect of their jobs, from something as simple as sending an e-mail message to complex chores such as designing a compensation package for a thousand employees. For top managers, executives who must have the vision to guide the entire company, sophisticated software is needed.

Decision Support Systems

Imagine yourself as an executive trying to deal with a constantly changing environment, having to consider changes in competition, in technology, in consumer habits, in government regulations, in union demand, and so on. How are you going to make decisions about those matters for which there are no precedents? In fact making one-of-a-kind decisions-decisions that such a situation you would probably wish you could turn to someone and ask a few "what-if" questions.

Making decision

A decision support system is a computer system that support managers in non routine decision-making tasks. the key ingredient of a decisions supports system is a modeling process. A model is a mathematical presentation of a real-life system. A mathematical model can be computerized. Like any computer program, the model can use inputs to produce outputs. the inputs to a model are called independent variables because they can change; the outputs are called dependent variables because they depend on the inputs.

Consider this example, suppose, as a manager, you have the task of deciding which property to purchase for one of your manufacturing plants. You have many factors to consider: the appraised value, asking price, interest rate, down payment required, and so on. These are all independent variables-the data that will be fed in to computer model of the purchase. The dependent variables, computed on the basis of the inputs, are the effect on your cash resources, long-term debt, and ability to make other investments. To increase complexity is appropriate, in fact, because decision support system often work with problem that are more complex than any one individual can handle.

Using a computer model to reach a decision about a real-life situation is called simulation, it is a game of "lets pretend". you plant independent variables-the inputs-and you examine how the model behaves based on the dependent variables-the outputs-it produces. If you wish, you may change the inputs and continue experimenting. This is a relatively inexpensive way to simulate life situations, and it is considerably faster than the real thing.

The decision-making process must be fast, so the Decision Support System  is interactive; The user is in direct communication with the computer system and can affect its activities. In addition, most Decision Support Systems cross departmental lines so that information can be pulled from the data bases of a variety of sources, such as marketing and sales, accounting and finance, production, and research and development. A manager trying to make a decision about developing a new product, for example, needs informations from all these sources.

A decision support system does not replace a Management Information System; instead, a Decision Support System supplements a Management Information System. There are distinct differences between them. Management Information System emphasizes planned reports on a variety of subjects; Decision Support System focuses on decision making. Management Information System is standard,structured, scheduled, routine; Decision Support System is quite unstructured and available on request. Management Information System is constrained by the organizational system; Decision Support System is immediate and friendly.

Executive Support Systems

Top-level executives and decision makers face unique  decision-making problems and pressures. An executive support system is a decision support system especially made for senior-level executives. An executive support system is concerned with how decisions affect an entire organization.

An Executive support system must take into consideration

• The overall vision or broad view of company goals
• Strategic long-term planning and objectives
• Organizational structure
• Staffing and labor relations
• Crisis management
• Strategic control and monitoring of overall operations

Executive decision making also requires access to outside informations from competitors, federal authorities,consultants, trade groups, and news gathering agencies, among others. A high degree of uncertainty and a future orientation are involved in most executive decisions. Successful Executive Support Systems software must therefore be easy to use, flexible, and customizable.

Several commercial software packages are available for specific modeling purposes. The purpose might be marketing, sales, or advertising. Other packages that are more general provide rudimentary modeling but let you customize the model for different purposes-budgeting, planning, or risk analysis.

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