Management Support Systems

A Hierarchy and a Guide

What Is SUPPORTED?

• Managers are employed to create conclusions, to make things happen

• Thus, any support they receive can be only of two types: To make it easier to make things happen or To make others think things have happened

(i.e., to increase the perception of things happening)

Tools for bringing things to conclusion

Tools for helping others see that things have happened

What Is a Conclusion?

• A Decision

• Agreement or consensus

• Realization of a model or plan

• Addition to knowledge

• Increase in confidence

• Any (presumed positive) change in resources (such as cash, staff, customers, etc.)

Relationship to Simon

• It’s all related to problem solving

• Simon says See, Think, Say (then Do)

• See: gather data

• Think: reflect current situation onto what is known about how the world works

• Say: select the best course of action

• Do: implement the decision

What is the Support in Management Support Systems ?

SEE THINK SAY DO LEARN

Gather Access, Analyze Display, Communicate Remember better Knowledge Array, Compare Debate Archive Data Compute

WHAT A MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SYSTEM CAN DO FOR MANAGERS TO INCREASE CONFIDENCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF PROBLEM-SOLVING

Manage this Process

What Kinds of Tools Are There

• Display and Data Formatting (Presentation)

• Data Search and Processing (MIS)

• Suggested Action (Consulting)

• Evaluation of Action (DSS)

• Logical Conclusion (Expert System)

• Action (Operational System)

How These Tools Differ

• Each one incorporates more “knowledge” than those above.

• The value of the knowledge is higher and the knowledge is more specific.

• Each removes some of the burden from the problem solver in generating and evaluating solutions

Display

• Displays and communicates

• Example: Presentation software

• Example: Word Processor

• Incorporates only “display” theories, ideas about how problems or situations might be expressed in words or pictures

• Practical example = this slide

Data Search and Processing

• Locates Data and Makes it Available• Example: Database Manager• Example: Report Generator• Incorporates “Data” theories, ideas about

what descriptors of the current situation may be of interest

• Practical example: Any MIS report (“Here is what is happening or has happened in the past”)

Suggested Action

• Suggests best course of action• Examples: very few• Incorporates similarity theories, what

makes situations similar, what matters in making choices

• Physical example: Any consultant (“Usually when you see this kind of situation, you do X”)

• Based on research of associations

Evaluation of Action

• Puts a “figure of merit” or “tells a story” about each possible course of action.

• Example: What iffing on a spreadsheet• Example: Computer program to calculate

costs, risks, benefits, etc.• Real example: a cost-benefit ratio• Incorporates knowledge about the

outcomes for specific actions in specific cases: very high level of theory (“So much of X gives you so much of Y”)

Logical Conclusion

• Like previous, but logical instead of numerical

• Example is an expert system or use of Artificial Intelligence

• Incorporates knowledge of logical implications or knowledge of society, business or culture (“If you do this, you can expect this to happen.”

Action

• Tool actually carries out the operation• Example: factory, robot, automation• Based on the idea that everything that

needs to be known is already known and encapsulated in a physical theory which predicts outputs more or less exactly based on available inputs.

• Practical example is a stamping machine that can be primed with input dials and produces a result.

Who Uses These Systems

Amount of user discretion and input required and degree ofinclarity and confusion

Amount of tool discretion and input

required and degree ofcertainty and

accumulated knowledge

Display MIS Consulting DSS Operational

Executive

Upper Mgmt

Middle Mgr

Supervisors

Workers

Manager in Need of Support

Structure of a Management Support System

MODELCAPTURE

MODELBASE

DIALOGMANAGER

ADVICE

Knowledgeable Advisor

This takes place continually, refining theQuality and relevance of the stored data

LEARNING

System Management

Model Usage

Model Management

Manager in Need of Support

Structure of a Management Support System

MODELCAPTURE

MODELBASE

DIALOGMANAGER

ADVICE

Knowledgeable Advisor

LEARNING

Example: Management Information System

DATACAPTURE

DATABASE

QUERY/REPORT

MANAGER

REPORTS

This takes place continually, refining theKnowledge stored in the knowledge base

LEARNING

Trans-actions

Manager in Need of Support

Query/ Report Request

Example: Evaluation of Action

SPREAD-SHEET

CAPTURE

SPREADSHEETBASE

SPREAD-SHEET

EXECUTION

PREDIC-TION

This takes place continually, refining and Increasing the stored spreadsheets

LEARNING

AnalysesAnd

Ideas

Manager in Need of Support

What-IF

Example: Operational System

MACHINECONSTRUC-

TION

MACHINECAPA-BILITY

COMMAND

RESULTS

This takes place continually, refining and Improving the machinery

IMPROVE-MENT

DesignSpecs

Manager in Need of Support

Goal

User Roles in MSS

KnowledgeCapture

BODYOF

ADVICE

AppropriateUsage

Appli-cation of Outcome

s

FeedbackOn

Value

UserKnow-ledge

Manager in Need of Support

Descrip-tion

General Model of a Management Support System

KnowledgeEngineering

Know-ledgeBase

Advisors

LEARNINGFeedback

Advice

AdvisingSystem

Interface

Managers ProblemDescription