Session 2

MBA Management Information Systems 150:249 -- D. Power

Today's Agenda -- Saturday, November 11, 2006

Updated 11/14/2005

  • 10 pt. Quiz on Ch. 1 & 2 on Wednesday
  • Questions about course requirements, forming teams, etc.
  • Navigation of DSSResources.COM. What is the DSS Hyperbook?
  • Discuss any Ch. 1 & 2 review questions
  • Is the IS/IT system a DSS? A list of characteristics from Power (2003):
    1. Facilitation. DSS enhance, facilitate and support specific decision-making activities and/or decision processes.
    2. Interaction. DSS are computer-based systems designed for interactive use by decision makers or staff users who control the sequence of interaction and the operations performed.
    3. Ancillary. DSS can support decision makers at any level in an organization. DSS are NOT intended to replace any decision makers.
    4. Repeated Use. DSS are intended for repeated use. A specific DSS may be used routinely or used as needed for ad hoc decision support tasks.
    5. Task-oriented. DSS provide specific capabilities that support one or more tasks related to decision-making, including: intelligence and data analysis; identification and design of alternatives; choice among alternatives; and decision implementation.
    6. Identifiable. DSS may be independent systems that collect or replicate data from other information systems OR subsystems of a larger, more integrated information system.
    7. Decision Impact. DSS are intended to improve the accuracy, timeliness, quality and overall effectiveness of a specific decision or a set of related decisions.
  • Finding and downloading Excel files for tutorials
  • Work on Tutorials 1 and 2; you will print out materials for Wednesday. The assignments are below:
    1. Tutorial 1. On page 22 step 7 print. On page 28, create a new Most Likely Scenario (sales softball=65; baseball=120; golf-girls=55 and golf-boys=45), then print that scenario (your name in the left header, see Fig. 1-23). Print formulas for Fig. 1-28 on p. 35 (include row and column headings and grid lines). Print first 6 rows shown in Fig. 1-44 showing the formulas (include row and column headings and grid lines). Submit 5 sheets. (10 points) NOTE on p. 35 you will print with and without showing formulas. ALSO NOTE Printing the Scenario Summary for the three scenarios is optional.
    2. Tutorial 2.2. Print Fig. 2-40 (p. 103); print Fig. 2-45 (p. 108); print Fig. 2-49 (p. 113). Please put your name in the header on printouts on the left side. Submit 3 sheets. (5 points)
  • Start Excel Review; Excel Review Questions
  • Check tutorials at Duke Excel Review

To Do and Upcoming

For Class Session 3-- Wednesday, November 15, 2006

  • Read Ch. 3 Analyzing Business Decision Processes and Ch. 4. Designing and Developing DSS; Ask Dan! What kind of DSS does Mr. X need?; Check review questions.
  • 10 point multiple choice quiz on Chapters 1 and 2

For Wednesday, November 22, 2006

  • Case due 11/22 by noon (send as a MS Word attachment to power@uni.edu): Power & Roth “Ertl's Decision Support Journey” (5 page analysis). If you are struggling with the analysis, my comments in the Ask Dan! in DSS Applications titled "What are the answers to the DSS case study questions at DSSResources.COM?" might help. The link is URL dssresources.com/faq/index.php? sid=4507&lang=en&action=artikel&cat=9&id=95&artlang=en

Power, D. J., "Defining Decision Support Constructs," In Bui, T., H. Sroka, S. Stanek, J. Goluchowski (eds.), DSS in the Uncertainty of the Internet Age, Katowice, PL: Karol Adamiecki Univ. of Economics, 2003, pps. 51-62.