Decision support systems are a class of computer-based information systems including knowledge based systems that support decision making activities.
- Support for decision makers in semistructured and unstructured problems.
- Support managers at all levels.
- Support individuals and groups.
- Support for interdependent or sequential decisions.
- Support intelligence, design, choice, and implementation.
- 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.
Benefits of DSS
1. Improving Personal Efficiency
2. Expediting Problem Solving
3. Facilitating Interpersonal Communication
4. Promoting Learning or Training
5. Increasing Organizational Control
EIS (Executive management System)
An Executive Information System (EIS) is a type of management information system intended to facilitate and support the information and decision 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 a Decision Support System (DSS).
Advantages
- 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 to tracking information
- Offers efficiency to decision makers
- Functions are limited, cannot perform complex calculations
- Hard to quantify benefits and to justify implementation of an EIS
- Executives may encounter information overload
- System may become slow, large, and hard to manage
- Difficult to keep current data
- May lead to less reliable and insecure data
- Small companies may encounter excessive costs for implementation
