E.W. Stein. Lecture Notes. Penn State. Overview of. MIS/DSS/ES. TRADITIONAL
MIS,. DECISION SUPPORT,. AND EXPERT. SYSTEMS. PART I: Components.
E.W. Stein
Lecture Notes
Penn State
Overview of MIS/DSS/ES
PART I: Components of Traditional MIS
TRADITIONAL MIS, DECISION SUPPORT, AND EXPERT SYSTEMS
Key Aspects of Management
• Management • Information • Systems
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What is Information?
• Management is a process
• What is data?
• Managers achieve goals using resources
• What is knowledge?
• Managers play many roles and engage in organizing, making decisions, leading, and controlling • MIS can assist in these processes....
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• What is wisdom?
E.W. Stein
Lecture Notes
Penn State
Overview of MIS/DSS/ES
Requirements for Information
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• Observations
If the following symbol means something to you, raise you hand:
• Symbolic encoding/decoding language • Observer • Goal Seeking Behavior
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Observations
Symbolic language
• Sensory data
• Set of symbols that may be manipulated
• Representative of patterns or regularities
• Correspondence between symbols and observations • Rules for encoding and decoding known
E.W. Stein
Lecture Notes
Penn State
Overview of MIS/DSS/ES
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Observer
Goal Seeking
• Perceives symbols and patterns
• Decision-maker has one or more goals
• Knows the rules that govern encoding/decoding of symbols
• Decision-maker has one or more courses of actions
• Can act based on symbols received
• Information serves to help choose from among alternatives
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Information Defined • Information results in changes in behavior • "Bits that make a difference" (Bateson) • Information is essential to business!
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Summary MIS • Management information systems are designed to serve the organization • They are populated by people and their raw materials are data • The MIS function helps transform data into meaningful information for the organization; Supports managers and staff. • MIS systems are built on procedures • Computers play a supporting role in MIS
E.W. Stein
Lecture Notes
Penn State
Overview of MIS/DSS/ES
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What is Knowledge?
PART II: Advanced Information Systems
• System of information • Various elements of information are related to each other
• Types • Decision Support Systems
• Is based in experience
• Expert Systems
• How Different from MIS? • Different uses, users, structure, and development methods
What are Advanced Information Systems? • Decision Support Systems - Executive Information Systems - Model Based Decision Support Systems (DSS mb) - Expert Systems
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General DSS Definition • "Decision support systems are interactive information systems that assist a decision maker in approaching ill-structured problems by offering analytical models and access to databases." (Zwass 1992) • Q's - What are "ill-structured problems? - What are analytical models? - What's wrong with this definition?
E.W. Stein
Lecture Notes
Penn State
Overview of MIS/DSS/ES
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Problem Structure -Standard procedures -e.g., order validation
Structured
Analytical Models • Models are simplifications of reality
-Complex problem, but some routine procedures -e.g.,forecasting
• Physical models - Water flow represents monetary flows
• Analytical models
Semi-structured
- Mathematical/symbolic
Unstructured
DSS
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-New; no procedures -e.g., experimentation with new technology
Who Uses mb-DSS?
- Manipulatable
Range of Uses of mb-DSS EIS • Data access • Data analysis
Those skilled in the development and application of models Managers? not likely
• Simple models
DSS
• Complex models • Experiential models
Analytical staff Yes!
ES
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E.W. Stein
Lecture Notes
Penn State
Overview of MIS/DSS/ES
Components of mb-DSS Data Base
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mb-DSS Components Explained
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• Data Base
Model Base
- Access to company records and external databases; documents
• Model Base - Set of mathematical models to be used by analyst
User Interface
- e.g., linear regression model
• User Interface
USER
- Manages the presentation and flow of information for the user
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mb-DSS Example • Regression analysis (see spreadsheet)
What is an Expert System? • Who uses it? • What is it used for? • .....
