Decision Support Systems

A decision support system is integral to any company’s ability to run efficiently. A decision support system is a set of related computer programs and the data required to assist with analysis and decision making within an organization. (1) There are several types of decision support systems that a company can choose.

            Data driven decision support systems deal with collected data that is manipulated to fit the decision maker’s needs. Data can be internal, external, current or historic. (2) This data is stored in data warehouses and analyzed by the process of data mining. This helps find patterns in the data that a company can use to optimize its sales and marketing campaigns. (3)

            Communications-driven DSS puts an importance on communications, collaboration and shared decision making. A communications-driven DSS can enable communication between groups of people; facilitate the sharing of information, support coordination between people and support group decision tasks. Examples are audio conferencing, bulletin boards, web conferencing, document sharing, email and video conferencing. (4)

            Document-driven DSS’s are the most common support programs with its main function being searching web pages and looking for documents with certain keywords or terms. They are specifically designed to convert documents into important business data and make use of data that is not easily stored or standardized. (5) Examples are policies and procedures, product specifications, catalogs, and corporate historical documents. (6)

            Knowledge-driven DSS can help a manager make the correct decision by suggesting possible solutions. This DDS is a system with specialized problem solving expertise. This comes from knowledge about a particular subject, understanding of the problem within the subject and the tools at solving the problem. This system has been used for diagnosing medical conditions, scheduling in manufacturing and as a web-based advisory system. (6)

            Decision Support Systems can be used in many aspects of business and life. They can be extremely helpful in improving efficiency and cutting costs. Ultimately they are only support systems and people must not forget that a person is ultimately responsible for the decisions they make.

1.      https://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&safe=off&source=hp&q=decision+support+system+definition&pbx=1&oq=decision+support+system+def&aq=0&aqi=g1g-v3&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=2187l2594l0l4109l4l3l0l0l0l0l484l484l4-1l1l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=756fe63c7c87b84&biw=1024&bih=571

2.      http://www.tech-faq.com/decision-support-system.html

3.      http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/741692/data-driven-decision-support-system

4.      http://dssresources.com/dsstypes/cdss.html

5.      http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/document-driven-a-type-of-decision-support-system-2942496.html

http://dssresources.com/history/dsshistory.html

The Delphi Method of Decision Making

Decision Making Methods

            Decision making is a key leadership skill. A person in power must need to know the importance of making the right decision and all of the methods available to arrive at the correct decision. Fortunately there are a number of methods and processes that can be used to derive the correct decision.

The decision making process I chose to outline is called the Delphi Method.  “The Delphi method was developed in the early 1950s at the RAND Corporation to systematically solicit the view of experts related to national defense and later in controversial sociopolitical areas.” (1) The Delphi method starts by selecting a panel due to their expertise. The members are kept separated and answer questionnaires or surveys in order to solicit specific information about a subject. Keeping them separated avoids the negative effects of face-to-face discussions and problems with group dynamics. Members are asked to share their assessment and explanation of a problem or predict the future state of affairs. The mediator controls the interactions, processes the information, filters out irrelevant content, summarizes the answers and then sends them back to the group members. Members then make another decision based on the new information. This process is repeated until a common decision is made. The process is centered around the participant’s expertise and communication skills. The major benefits of the Delphi process are the elimination of problems between participants, the efficient use of each participants time, the diversity of ideals, and the accuracy of solutions and

predictions. (1) I think this process is very interesting because it does eliminate any personal feelings towards other participants or social discomfort. It weeds out any obstacles to true and nonbiased decision making. This process concentrates all responses to just the problem at hand.  “In one case, reported by Basu and Schroeder (1977), the Delphi method predicted the sales of a new product during the first two years with inaccuracy of 3-4% compared with actual sales.” (2)

1.      http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/perform/delphi_process.html

2.      http://www.edelphi.fi/sv/groups/costforesight/documents/d1

Mobile Wallet

            Technology is everywhere in our society today and is now moving to our wallet.  Soon the days of paying with cash or swiping your credit card will be a thing of the past. Many companies are developing systems that will allow people to pay for goods or services with a text message, email, or a wave of their cell phone.

            Google recently released its newest creation, Google Wallet. This new service uses Near Field Communications (NFC) technology. “[NFC] technology is a short-range tool that operates on wireless frequencies similar to RFID chips and tags. It works by connecting a user’s mobile device, equipped with an NFC antenna or specially programmed SIM or SD data card, to a receiver, usually a few feet away.”(1) Currently Sprint’s Nexus S mobile phone is the only phone with the technology but if the program is successful more phones will follow.  Google Wallet is funded by either a prepaid Google debit card that can be reloaded by any credit card, or a Citi MasterCard. Google also plans on adding Visa, Discover and American express to Google wallet. To pay for a purchase a user just needs to wave or tap their phone on the stores PayPass unit and the funds are taken from their card. (2)

            Starbucks recently launched their own version of mobile paying. Customers simply need to download the Starbucks app and have a pre-loaded Starbucks account. To pay for their purchase the customer just needs to scan the Starbucks application barcode that appears on the screen of their mobile phone. This service is currently available at 6,800 US stores and all 1,000 Starbucks in Target stores.(3)

            Chase bank is another company that is taking advantage of ever increasing levels of technology. Chase now has a program called Person-to-Person Quick Pay. Quick Pay allows people with or with out a Chase bank account to send and receive funds from virtually anyone with an email address that is enrolled in the service. Customers just need to go to Chase.com and sign up for the free service. To send or receive money a person just needs to log on to their account, either on a computer or mobile phone, and send an email or text message. It is a secure service because no account number or social security number is required to make a transaction.(4)

            As shown, mobile payment is a convenient way of paying for goods and services. At present this service is just in its infancy but is consistently growing as companies, banks and mobile phone providers realize its benefits.

1.      Wired.com http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/05/wired-nfc-faq/

2.      USA Today “Test run: Google Wallet’s tap-and-pay system is simple” Baig, Edward; Sept. 22 2011, Nov. 6 2011, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/story/2011-09-21/ed-baig-google-wallet-review/50500628/1

3.      Starbucks http://technorati.com/technology/article/new-starbucks-pay-by-phone-will/

4.      Chase.com https://www.chase.com/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/individuals/shared/page/quickpay_faqs