GROUP DESCISION SUPPORT SYSTEM

GDSS is a computer-based system which supports groups of people and engages them in a common task through an interface of sharing environment.

Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) is also called referred to as a Group Support System (GSS), Collaborative Systems or an Electronic Meeting System since they shared similar foundations. However todays GDSS is characterised by being adapted for a group of people who collaborate to support integrated systems thinking for complex decision making. Participants use a common computer or network to enable collaboration

COMPONENTS:

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

hardware, software, people, procedures,

Meeting Types Accommodated by Group Support Systems

Different group support systems are appropriate for distinct types of meetings and address wide-ranging meeting problems. The variation is with respect to the level of hardware support and the features incorporated into the software. At the lowest level, the hardware support is a single workstation (usually a PC) used by the meeting leader or facilitator. The next level is a voting keypad for each group member combined with a workstation for the meeting leader or facilitator. The highest level of support is a personal workstation for

each participant. Software features vary from simple data summarization tools to complex decision modelling tools.

Need for implementation

Some people were not expressing their views because of what others think about us fear. More wastage of time in meetings and seminars by students. Record of important points was not kept. Avoid less deviation from the topic during discussion.

Changes after implementation of gdss

 Increased participation in meetings and discussions: GDSS allow participants to exchange comments or vote anonymously. Automatically recording comments and votes: GDSS records onto a computer disk all comments generated during the meeting, and consequently, the group participants may not need to take notes. Imposing more structure: Provides structure to the meeting which helps in less deviation from the topic and more concentration on the issue. In seminar, students may not have to take notes when a GDSS is present as all the comments are recorded onto a computer disk by the system. Using a GDSS, students no longer raise their hands to speak, interrupt each other in order to talk, or forego making a comment because somebody else is talking. Use for Administrative Support: A few educational administration meetings have been conducted using

the technology. For example, alumni and businessmen have discussed electronically the skills students should have upon graduation

SOME MORE APPLICATIONS OF GDSS

recruitment and selection process in human resources. In business meetings 1. Use in a Seminar 2.Use for Administrative Support A group decision support system for multilingual groups Medical and health applications

ADVANTAGES

Colab meetings tended to be fast-paced and exhilarating. Reason: the tools shifted much of their communication to a visual channel rather than the audio channel. Computers maintained a tangible, persistent, and shared representation. One could always go back to some object in the visual workspace and ask for clarification. One person could control the view temporarily, and draw other people's attention to something.

Expert Systems

An expert system is a software system that incorporates concepts derived from experts in a field and uses their knowledge to provide problem analysis to users of the software. The most common form of expert system is a computer program, with a set of rules, that analyzes information (usually supplied by the user of the system) about a specific class of problems, and recommends one or more courses of user action. The expert system may also provide mathematical analysis of the problem(s). The expert system utilizes what appears to be reasoning capabilities to reach conclusions. A related term is wizard. A wizard is an interactive computer program that helps a user solve a problem. Originally the term wizard was used for programs that construct a database search query based on criteria supplied by the user. However, some rule-based expert systems are also called wizards. Other "Wizards" are a sequence of online

forms that guide users through a series of choices, such as the ones which manage the installation of new software on computers, and these are not expert systems.

Applications of Expert Systems

Credit granting Information management and retrieval AI and expert systems embedded in products Plant layout Hospitals and medical facilities Help desks and assistance Employee performance evaluation Loan analysis Virus detection

 Repair and maintenance Shipping Marketing Warehouse optimization

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Provides consistent answers for repetitive decisions, processes and tasks Holds and maintains significant levels of information Encourages organizations to clarify the logic of their decision-making Never "forgets" to ask a question, as a human might Disadvantages:

Lacks common sense needed in some decision making Cannot make creative responses as human expert would in unusual circumstances

Domain experts not always able to explain their logic and reasoning Errors may occur in the knowledge base, and lead to wrong decisions Cannot adapt to changing environments, unless knowledge base is changed

executive information system (EIS)

An executive information system (EIS) is a type of management information system intended to facilitate and support the information anddecision-making needs of senior executives by providing easy access to both internal and external information relevant to meeting the strategic goals of the organization. It is commonly considered as a specialized form of decision support system (DSS). The emphasis of EIS is on graphical displays and easy-touse user interfaces. They offer strong reporting and drilldown capabilities. In general, EIS are enterprise-wide DSS that help top-level executives analyze, compare, and highlight trends in important variables so that they can monitor performance and identify opportunities and

problems. EIS and data warehousing technologies are converging in the marketplace.

COMPONENTS:
Hardware When talking about hardware for an EIS environment, we should focus on the hardware that meet the executives needs. The executive must be put first and the executives needs must be defined before the hardware can be selected. The basic computer hardware needed for a typical EIS includes four components: 1. Input data-entry devices. These devices allow the executive to enter, verify, and update data immediately 2. The central processing unit (CPU), which is the kernel because it controls the other computer system components 3. Data storage files. The executive can use this part to save useful business information, and this part also help the executive to search historical business information easily 4. Output devices, which provide a visual or permanent record for the executive to save or read. This device refers to the visual output device such as monitor or printer . Software

Choosing the appropriate software is vital to design an effective EIS.[citation needed] Therefore, the software components and how they integrate the data into one system are very important. The basic software needed for a typical EIS includes four components: 1. Text base software. The most common form of text are probably documents 2. Database. Heterogeneous databases residing on a range of vendor-specific and open computer platforms help executives access both internal and external data 3. Graphic base. Graphics can turn volumes of text and statistics into visual information for executives. Typical graphic types are: time series charts, scatter diagrams, maps, motion graphics, sequence charts, and comparison-oriented graphs (i.e., bar charts) 4. Model base. The EIS models contain routine and special statistical, financial, and other quantitative analysis

User interface An EIS needs to be efficient to retrieve relevant data for decision makers, so the user interface is very important. Several types of interfaces can be available to the EIS structure, such as scheduled reports, questions/answers, menu driven, command language, natural language, and input/output. Telecommunication

As decentralizing is becoming the current trend in companies, telecommunications will play a pivotal role in networked information systems. Transmitting data from one place to another has become crucial for establishing a reliable network. In addition, telecommunications within an EIS can accelerate the need for access to distributed data.

Applications

EIS enables executives to find those data according to userdefined criteria and promote information-based insight and understanding. Unlike a traditional management information system presentation, EIS can distinguish between vital and seldom-used data, and track different key critical activities for executives, both which are helpful in evaluating if the company is meeting its corporate objectives. After realizing its advantages, people have applied EIS in many areas, especially, in manufacturing, marketing, and finance areas. Manufacturing Basically, manufacturing is the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale, or intermediate processes involving the production or finishing of semi-manufactures. It is a large branch of industry and of secondary production. Manufacturing operational control focuses on day-to-day operations, and the central idea of this process is effectiveness and efficiency.

Marketing In an organization, marketing executives role is to create the future. Their main duty is managing available marketing resources to create a more effective future. For this, they need make judgments about risk and uncertainty of a project and its impact on the company in short term and long term. To assist marketing executives in making effective marketing decisions, an EIS can be applied. EIS provides an approach to sales forecasting, which can allow the market executive to compare sales forecast with past sales. EIS also offers an approach to product price, which is found in venture analysis. The market executive can evaluate pricing as related to competition along with the relationship of product quality with price charged. In summary, EIS software package enables marketing executives to manipulate the data by looking for trends, performing audits of the sales data, and calculating totals, averages, changes, variances, or ratios. Financial A financial analysis is one of the most important steps to companies today. The executive needs to use financial ratios and cash flow analysis to estimate the trends and make capital investment decisions. An EIS is a responsibility-oriented approach that integrates planning or budgeting with control of performance reporting, and it can be extremely helpful to finance executives. Basically, EIS focuses on accountability of financial performance and it recognizes the importance of cost

standards and flexible budgeting in developing the quality of information provided for all executive levels. Advantages of EIS

Easy for upper-level executives to use, extensive computer experience is not required in operations Provides timely delivery of company summary information Information that is provided is better understood Filters data for management Improves tracking information Offers efficiency to decision makers

Disadvantages of EIS

System dependent Limited functionality, by design Information overload for some managers Benefits hard to quantify High implementation costs System may become slow, large, and hard to manage Need good internal processes for data management May lead to less reliable and less secure data