Chapter three

Information technology
– Elements of information system include:
• Computer Systems And
• Telecommunication Systems.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Computer systems are made up of five

components:
– hardware,
– software,
– information (database),
– people, and
– procedures.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

1. Hardware
– Input devices,
– Processors,
– Output devices,
– Secondary Storage devices
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Input devices
– Functions
– Some examples
• Keyboards
• Point-of-Sale terminals
• mouse
• Image Scanners
• Bar code scanners
• Microphones
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• The processor
– Function
• Components
– the control unit and
– the arithmetic/logic unit
• Memory
– Function
– Types
• RAM
• ROM
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Output Devices
– Function
– Some examples
• monitors,
• printers,
• plotters
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Secondary Storage Devices

– Characteristics
– Examples
• Diskettes
• Hard disks
• Optical disks
• Magnetic tape
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

2. Software
– Systems Software
– Application Software
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Systems Software
– Operating Systems
• Supervisory
– Resident
– Transient
• Job management program
• I/O management program
– Communications Software
– Utilities
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Application Software
– Word Processing Software
– File Management Software
– Database Management Software
– Project Management Software
– Accounting Software
– Photocomposition and Desktop Publishing
– Statistical Software
– Training and Tutorial Software
– Thought Processing Software
– Industry Specific Software
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

3. People
– Users
– Information Technology Professionals
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

4. Procedures
– Operating Procedures
– Backup and Recovery Procedures
– Security Procedures
– Development Procedures
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Operating Procedures
– Are concerned with the execution of an
application.
– Typically, operations procedures include:
• How a system or application is used.
• Who is authorized to use the system and what
each individual is authorized to do.
• How often certain applications are to be used.
• Where results of processing should go.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Backup and Recovery Procedures

– describe when and how to make extra copies (called
backup copies) of
• data,
• information, or
• software to protect yourself against losses.
– Should any of these be lost or accidentally changed, the
backup copy can be used to restore the original version so
that a minimum amount of work is lost.
– Recovery procedures describe the actions to be taken
when data and information or software must be recovered.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Security Procedures
– Security procedures are designed to safeguard data
centers, communications networks, computers, and other
IT components from accidental intrusion or intentional
damage.
– Backup copies protect against loss; security procedures
prevent actions that could lead to that loss.
– Common security procedures entail
• limiting individual access to certain databases and
• creating secret passwords that users must input into
the computer to perform certain functions.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Development Procedures
– These explain how IT professionals should
• describe user needs and
• develop applications to meet those needs.
– They may also prescribe
• when and
• how software should be acquired and put into
use.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

5. Information/Data
– Text
– Sound
– Images
– Other type of Data
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

– Electronic transmission of data (text,

graphics, sound, video) over one or more of
a variety of communications channels.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
– Basic Building Blocks of a Telecommunications Network.

• Computers. Computers originate and receive the data involved.

• Communications channel; forms the path over which data travel as

they pass from a sending device to a receiving device in a
telecommunications system.

• Communications Equipment: Communications equipment assists in

sending and receiving data.

• Communications Software
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• Communication software helps control the
functions of the telecommunications system.

– These functions include:

» Establishing the available paths between sender and
receiver;
» Directing the data along the most efficient path;
» Making sure the data reach the right place;
» Checking the data for errors;
» Converting the data, if necessary, so that they will be
able to be received by different kinds of devices;
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…

• Types of Transmission Media

– Twisted-Pair wire
• Oldest and most common form of transmission media
• Example, Telephone wire

– Advantages.
» Already-installed telephone lines can be used to transmit
data.
» Low installation and maintenance cost.

– Disadvantages
» Relatively slow compared to other transmission media.
» Susceptible to electrical interference that can be garble data.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• Coaxial Cable

– Consists of copper wire surrounded by several layers of

insulation.
– Example. Cable television.

• Advantages
– Can transmit a larger amount of data at faster speeds than twisted-pair
wire (up to 200 megabits per second compared to about 10 megabits per
second for twisted-pair wire)
– Does not suffer from electrical interference.

• Disadvantage
– The layers of insulation made the cable thick and harder to install
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
– Fiber Optic Cable

• A relatively new technology. Is particularly suitable

for the transmission of the large amount of data.

– Advantages
» Can carry more data at faster speeds.
» Is smaller, lighter, and more durable than wire-based
media.
» Is Unaffected by magnetic or electrical fields, thus
lower error rates.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
– Microwave transmission channels
• Long distance microwave transmission facilities can be
leased from common carriers.

– Radio Transmission channels.

• There is an increasing use of Radio channels for short-
distance voice telephone service, and it is being used by
employees who must spend a great deal of time in their cars
and away from their offices.

– Satellite transmission channel

• Communication satellites are cost effective for transmitting
large quantities of data over long distances
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• Types of lines Offered by Common Carriers

– Switched Line
• Uses a regular, public telephone.
• The communications equipment on sending end dials the
telephone number of the communications equipment on the
receiving end. The telephone switching stations choose the
actual line that is to be used.

• Example: A typical business or residence line.

– Disadvantages
» .Access to a line is not assured at peak periods.
» The quality of the line cannot be controlled because it is
chosen at random.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• Private or Dedicated line (also called a leased line)

– Are reserved solely for one customer.

• Advantages
– Faster and better connections (communication devices).
– More secure than switched lines.
– Can often be enhanced to allow for increased data transmission speeds

• Disadvantages
– Business with lower telecommunications needs may not benefit because
the same rate is charged no matter how many calls are made.
– Customer bears the responsibility for maintaining and repairing the lines.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• Data Transmission

– Transmission Mode.

• Asynchronous:
– One character (or byte) at a time is transmitted. Appropriate for low-speed
data communication, such as a person entering data into a computer.

• Synchronous.
– A number of characters are sent in a data packet (used when sending
contents of file to remote site), Advantage is speed and subsequent
reduced transmission costs. Disadvantage is that it requires more
expensive transmission devices. Each of blocks of characters has start
byte(s).
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• Direction of Transmission

– Simplex.
• Data can travel in only one direction Example: data collection
devices.

– Half-Duplex
• Data can travel in both directions but only one direction
at a time,
• Example; Marine radio

– Full-Duplex.
• Data can travel in both directions simultaneously. Example:
Communication between computers.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

– Computers and other communications equipment

connected by a communication channel in such a way
that data, programs, and peripheral devices like
printers can be shared or communicated.

– Two Primary Types of networks

• Local Area networks.

• Wide Area Networks
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• LOCAL AREA NETWORK (LAN)

– A LAN is combination of hardware, software, and communications channels that

connect two or more computers within a limited area.

– Advantages

• Expensive hardware devices such as laser or color printers or large hard drivers can be
shared, lowering costs and enabling the resource to be used more efficiently.

• Provides users with access to shared programs and data files, improving work flow,
Productivity and communication within an organization.

• A LAN workstation provides users with more flexibility and functionality than a fixed-
function terminal connected to a host computer.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
– Disadvantages

• Very complicated, usually requires specially trained personnel

to manage, run and use the network.

• Tends to be less reliable and more exposed, from the

standpoint of data security, than computer running in stand-
alone mode.

• Lack the speed and memory capacity needed to tackle very

large on line transaction processing applications.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• Types of LAN networks
i. Peer-to-Peer

Allow users to share resources and files located on their

computers and to access shared resources found on other
computers. Small offices with 2-15 workstations can benefit
from this type of network.

ii. Client/Server

Another method is client/server networking, this system employs

dedicated PC's or file server’s, which hold a companies
information databases in one location.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• LAN Topology

– It is defined as the physical layout, or shape, of

a network (formed when hardware devices are
connected together.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• Types of LAN topology

– Star Topology.

• Each device is connected to a central unit. Communication

between on device and another must go through the central
unit.

– Advantages.
» Keeps close control over data being processed on the
network.

– Disadvantages.
» If the host computer stops, the entire network will halt.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
– Bus Topology

• Each device is connected to a single, common

communications channel.

• Disadvantages
– The communications channel can handle only one
message at a time.
– When two computers transit at the same time, a “collision”
occurs.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
– Ring Topology.

• Each terminal is connected to two others via a

communications channel, forming a closed loop (circle or
ring).

• Each computer in the network can communicate directly with

any other computer through the ring.

• Ring networks avoid the data collisions that can slow bus
networks by creating an electronic signal called a “token” that
circulates around the network and must be attached to
messages being sent to other devices.
 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY…
• Database Management Systems (DBMS)

– ADVANTAGES OF DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

• Data Sharing

• Reduced Data Redundancy

• Improved Data Integrity

• Data Independence

• Increased Application Programmer and User Productivity

 Chapter four
Common business applications of
information technology
• MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEMS
– basic goal of the marketing function
• to satisfy the needs and wants of existing and potential customers.
– The marketing functions includes
• planning,
• buying,
• merchandising (standardization and grading and pricing),
• selling (advertising, sales promotion, packaging, publicity and
personal selling),
• physical distribution (transporting and storing) and facilitating
(financing, risk bearing and obtaining information).
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

– The strategic decisions include

• new product design and development,
• target selection and old product management.
– On other hand, tactical planning (marketing mix
decisions) includes
• product decisions,
• physical distribution decisions,
• adverting and promotion decisions and
• pricing decisions.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• Marketing information systems

– support the major activities of a marketing
organization.
• The information systems
– collect data that describe marketing operations,
– process those data, and
– make marketing information available to marketing
managers to help them make effective decisions.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCTION INFORMATION

SYSTEMS
– typically focus on
• Acquisition, storage, and availability of raw materials and production
supplies.
• Scheduling the necessary equipment, facilities and workforce to process
these raw materials into finished goods ready fro the marketing system to
sell.
• Designing and testing the products and services.
• Producing the correct quantity at the require level of quality within the
projected cost parameters of the budget at the times required by the
production goals.
– provide the data necessary to plan, organize, operate, monitor, control
and otherwise manage production systems.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• HUMAN RESOURCE
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
– concerned with
• the individuals who constitute the organization.
– From the standpoint of the organization, the function is responsible
• for the acquisition and effective use of the individual,
– the well-being,
– growth, and
– development of each worker.
– To achieve these ends, human resource management departments
perform a variety of activities.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• The major activities of the personnel/human

resources function in an organization include
– Recruiting employees,
– Evaluating applicants and employees,
– Selecting, placing, promoting, terminating, and transferring employees,
– Analyzing and designing jobs,
– Training and development reports,
– Producing required governmental reports,
– Managing employee wage and benefit plans,
– Planning short-and long-term staffing needs,
– To perform these activities, managers rely on a number of operational,
tactical, and strategic information systems
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• MANAGERIAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS

– There are three kinds of management support systems each
distinguished by the type of decision and management level it
supports.
– Executive Support Systems (ESS) support the senior management of
a firm and the strategic planning function.
• Senior executives need information on changing government policies,
demographics, the actions of competitors, and changing market conditions now and
in the future.
– Executive information systems deliver news, reports prepared by
external services, and broad overviews of the performance of the
company, and in some cases permit senior executives to "drill down"
into the company to discover how the numbers were produced, who
was responsible for certain actions, and who might have an answer for
a problem.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

– Management Information systems (MIS) support middle managers

whose job is to control the operations of the company on a daily,
monthly, and quarterly basis.
– An MIS can produce scheduled summary reports, exception reports,
and in some cases on-line ad hoc reports.
– Decision support systems (DSS) support middle management and
information workers who need assistance with semi-structured
problems.
– Decision support systems usually contain analytic models that permit
the users to stimulate the business and to understand how to react to
a change in business conditions.
– The focus of this part of the discussion is on the DSS.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DECISION MAKING

PROCESS
– Before learning about the purpose and features of decision
support systems, you should become acquainted with the
decision making process, the types of problems
addressed in decision making, the attributes of decision
makers, and the strategies for decision making.
– All of these concepts have implications for the design of
decision support systems.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• PHASES OF DECISION MAKING

– According to Simon (1976) and Mintzberg (1976), decision
making involves three phases.
– During the first phase, intelligence, the decision maker may
be reacting to problems or else may recognize
opportunities.
– In either case, a gap between the existing state and a
desired state is a necessary condition for the existence of
a decision problem.
– Design is the second phase of decision making process.
– During design, the decision maker develops and analyzes
alternative course of action.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

– This may involve searching for ready-made alternatives or else

developing a custom-made solution.
– The third phase of decision-making is choice. Choice is the selection
of a particular course of action from those available. Sometimes a
choice has to be ratified by someone higher in the organizational
hierarchy.
– A number of value issues, such as power, politics, and personality,
also come into play during selection.
– In order for a decision situation to occur, the decision maker must be
aware of a gap between the existing state and the desired state, must
be motivated to solve the problem, and must have the resources to
resolve the problem (MacGrimm and Taylor,1976).
– The type of decision problem and the attributes of the decision
maker both influence the decision-making strategy.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• TYPES OF DECISION PROBLEMS

– Problems are structured, semi-structured, depending on
how familiar the decision maker is with:
• the existing state, the desired state, and the transformation
necessary to get from one state to the other.
– Structured problems are well understood.
– Pricing customer orders, reordering office supplies, and
specifying the wage rate for a new employee are examples
of structured decisions because they are routine and can
be addressed using standard operating procedures.
– Standard operating procedures can be in the form of
algorithms or heuristics.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

– Algorithms are sets of standard operations that guarantee

a solution to a problem in a finite number of steps.
– Heuristics are "rules of thumb" that offer procedures or
outlines for seeking solutions.
– In organizations, managerial decision problems are semi-
structured or unstructured.
– This is true because the decision environment is uncertain,
complex, and unstable.
– A decision maker may be uncertain about the nature of the
problem, about the alternative actions he or she should
make, and about how external events may affect the
outcome.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• ATTRIBUTES OF THE DECISION MAKER

– The attributes of decision makers also affect the types of decision strategies
used.
– These attributes include perceptual ability, information capacity, risk-
taking propensity, and aspiration level (MacGrimmon and Taylor, 1976).
– Perceptual ability refers to the ways a decision maker perceives a decision
problem.
• If a decision maker has experience dealing with a similar problem, the problem-solving
situation will not seem as complex and as uncertain as in a case where his or her background
with a similar situation is limited.
– Information capacity is important, because all decision making requires an
information base. In complex decision-making situations, decision makers
who are receptive to new information are better prepared to handle the
cognitive demands of information search when they are faced with difficult or
uncertain tasks.
CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

– In contrast, dogmatic decision makers tend to make rapid decisions

based on little information.
– In either case, decision makers resist changing a decision once it has
been made.
– The other two attributes that account for differences in decision-
making behavior are risk-taking propensity and aspiration level.
– In risky situations, decision makers are more uncertain about
outcomes and possible loss of resources.
– The aspiration level of decision makers also influences their
effectiveness in identifying problems, evaluating alternatives, and
making choices.
– In general, decision makers attempt to achieve an optimal standard,
and prior experiences of success or failure and knowledge of results
both influence this standard.
 CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• STRATEGIES FOR DECISION MAKING

– The types of decision problem and the attributes of the decision-maker influence whether the
decision-maker will use a maximizing, "satisficing", or incrementalizing strategy (MacGrimmon
and Taylor, 1976).
– Maximizing when the outcome of a decision is clear, and the alternatives are well established,
the decision maker will make the decision that maximizes the desired outcome.
– The maximizing approach assumes that the decision maker is rational and is aware of the
probabilities of each alternative.
– Satisficing Since many decisions are made in situations of uncertainty, decision makers are
willing to settle for less than maximum utility.
– According to Simon (1960), decision makers display rationality only within limits imposed by
their experience, background, and awareness of alternatives in a given decision situation.
– A decision maker will set up a reasonable aspiration level and will reach for possible alternatives
until she or he finds one that achieves this level.
– Simon calls this satisficing because the decision maker will terminate his or her search as soon as
a satisfactory alternative is found.
– Incrementalizing In the third decision-making strategy, the decision maker attempts to take
small steps away from the existing state toward a desired state.
– This approach may neglect important outcomes because the alternatives considered are generally
familiar to the decision maker.
 CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• IMPLICATIONS OF DECISION MAKING FOR DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS

– Decision support systems are designed to support semi-structured and
unstructured decisions in situations in which information is incomplete and where
"satisficing" is a goal.
– They are developed to support decisions that are so different each time that it would be
hard to develop a standard set of procedures for programming them.
– Such decisions may be specific and may related to a one-time-only situation.
– A decision support system should enable the decision maker to apply the right decision
rules to a problem, rather than using standard rules that may not apply because of
changing conditions.
– For example, it would be ineffective to apply an inventory reorder model assigned for
slow-moving items to a problem situation involving fast-moving items.
– As you will see in the next section, a decision support system provides the decision
maker with the flexibility to explore alternatives by using appropriate data and models.
 CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• IMPORTANT FEATURES OF DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS

– Decision support systems are designed to support semi-structured and unstructured decisions in situations in which
information is incomplete and where "satisficing" is a goal. They are developed to support decisions that are so
different each time that it would be hard to develop a standard set of procedures for programming them. Such
decisions may be specific and may relate to a one-to-only situation. An effective decision support system needs to
incorporate the following features.
– SUPPORT OF UNSTRUCTURED DECISIONS
– To begin with, a decision support system must support semi structured and unstructured decisions. Semi structured
and unstructured problems involve a decision-making process that can't be defined before actually going through the
process of making the decision. For example, budget analysis is a structured problem but budget preparation is
unstructured problem.
– SUPPORT FOR DATABASE ACCESS AND MODELING
– First you need to define your information requirements. The next step in developing a decision support system is to
determine the types of data access or analysis that is needed. Status access, personal analysis and model based are
three possible methods of using a database. Status access is read-only access to operational data, usually to
generate a set of reports. Personal analysis involves the analysis of data, and model-based analysis uses formal
computer-based models of key aspects of a company's performance. When managers first use DSS tools, their
access to database is usually classified as status access or personal analysis. As managers gain insight into the use
of database query languages and modeling techniques, their reporting and simple analysis systems can evolve into
more sophisticated modeling and analysis systems.
– SUPPORT FOR ALL PHASES OF THE DECISION-SUPPORT PROCESS
– An effective decision support system should support the three phases of the decision making process: intelligence,
design and choice. At each phase of the decision-making process, different operations occur. During the intelligence
phase, data are collected as a basis for diagnosing a problem or a situation requiring a decision. When alternatives
are weighted during the design phase, data may be manipulated or values may be assigned to each alternative. A
simulation of the results of the alternatives or statistics describing them may be useful operations for choosing the
best option.
– SUPPORT FOR COMMUNICATIONS AMONG DECISION MAKERS
– Decision support systems must support decision making at all levels of the organization. Since some decisions require
communications among decision makers at all levels, decision support systems need to support group decision
making. In some cases, decisions are made sequentially, with each decision maker responsible for part of the
decision before passing it to on to the next decision maker. Other decisions require a pooling of knowledge and result
from negotiation and interaction among decision makers. A decision support system should support interaction among
decision makers.
– AVAILABILITY OF MEMORY AIDS
– In making decisions, managers constantly have to recall information or the results of operations conducted at previous
times. Decision makers need memory aids, and so a decision support system should provide them. Workspaces for
displaying data representations or for preserving intermediate results from operations are useful.
– AVAILABILITY OF CONTROL AIDS FOR DECISION MAKING
– A final important feature of a decision support system is the availability of control aids for training and system use.
Many managers feel some anxiety about using computer-based systems. Without effective training in the early
phases of computer operation, they may give up and turn back to paper-and-pencil methods. Help screens, menus,
and prompts are valuable software features that make the training process easier and contribute to the development
of language skills.
 CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
• TOOLS FOR DECISION SUPPORT
– The tools of decision support include a variety of software supporting database query, modeling, data analysis, and display. A comprehensive
tool kit for DSS would include software supporting these application areas.
– Database Languages: Tools supporting database query and report generation use mainframe, minicomputer, and micro-computer-based
databases. Database languages support query, report generation, and simple analysis.
– Model-Based Decision support: Model-based analysis tools such as spreadsheet software enable managers to design models that
incorporate business rules and assumptions. What if types of analysis, cash flow analysis are some of the examples in model analysis.
– (3) Tools for Statistics and Data Manipulation: Statistical analysis software such as SAS and SPSS supports market researchers,
operations research analysts, and other professionals using statistical analysis functions.
– Display-Based Decision Support Software: The final category of decision support software is display-based software. Graphic displays of
output generated from Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets, for example, are very effective in management presentations.
– Using the mode of assistance as the criterion, Power differentiates communication-driven DSS, data-driven DSS, document-driven DSS,
knowledge-driven DSS, and model-driven DSS.
– A model-driven DSS emphasizes access to and manipulation of a statistical, financial, optimization, or simulation model. Model-driven DSS
use data and parameters provided by users to assist decision makers in analyzing a situation; they are not necessarily data intensive.
– A communication-driven DSS supports more than one person working on a shared task;
– A data-driven DSS or data-oriented DSS emphasizes access to and manipulation of a time series of internal company data and, sometimes,
external data.
– A document-driven DSS manages, retrieves and manipulates unstructured information in a variety of electronic formats.
– A knowledge-driven DSS provides specialized problem solving expertise stored as facts, rules, procedures, or in similar structures.
 CHAPTER FOUR: COMMON BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• CAPABILITIES OF DSS
– Because there is no exact definition of DSS, there is obviously no agreement on the standard
characteristics and capabilities of DSS.
– Turban, E.,Aronson, J.E., and Liang, T.P. constitute an ideal set of characteristics and capabilities of
DSS.
– The key DSS characteristics and capabilities are as follows:
• Support for decision makers in semi-structured and unstructured problems.
• Support managers at all levels.
• Support individuals and groups.
• Support for interdependent or sequential decisions.
• Support intelligence, design, choice, and implementation phases.
• Support variety of decision processes and styles.
• DSS should be adaptable and flexible.
• DSS should be interactive and provide ease of use.
• Effectiveness balanced with efficiency (benefit must exceed cost).
• Complete control by decision-makers.
• Ease of development by (modification to suit needs and changing environment) end users.
• Support modeling and analysis.
• Data access.
• Standalone, integration and Web-based