For making any organization to succeed the management of the company has to take unique decisions. Let me define what a decision support system (DSS) is.
What is a decision support system (DSS):
A system in which the CEO and top management of the company take decisions by using computer software, data mining, communication, and presentation.
Now let me explain some pros and cons of DSS.
Advantages of a decision support system (DSS):
Fast:
DSS is a fast method for taking decisions. Computers give us results fast. The data we need is displayed on the screen within a few minutes. We have to just take decisions overselves after getting data from the computer software.
Automation:
If you want to reward any customer then you don’t need to worry. The software will know which consumer buy most of the company products and you will give them a 50% discount on their next purchase. So it automates the process of decision making.
Efficient:
It is an efficient method. There are fewer chances that computerized data may be wrong. Computers always extract the data that we feed to them. If we feed relevant data then it will output data that is accurate.
Training:
If we have all the data available on our desk then deciding by top management is easy. They make decisions in no time. First, they get data from a single click. For example, the CEO of Samsung want to know how many sales of a specific model of mobile is sold in December, then he will get information from the computer software. If he wants to know which Samsung mobile model has most of the sales in last year then he will know by doing a couple of clicks from the computer. It is noted that the data is only available to the CEO and top management of the company. So they don’t need extra training.
Communication:
The top company authority gets accurate data from the computerized software. The company CEO and managerial staff communicate with each other and make decisions. They have all the statement ready from the software and they have to only say yes or no to the statements.
Low cost:
If we use the old method of organizing and processing the data then it consumes a lot of manpower. We just get data from relevant authorities and input it into our software. We also get data from doing little research in any field. For example, if we want to construct a building then we get information from real estate agents about cost, time, structure, maps and then we input in computer software and get the results about total cost, and time duration.
Satisfaction:
If you make a random decision without any valid data in front of you then you will be not confident in your decision. But if you first see the data and then make a decision then you get satisfaction with your decisions.
Disadvantages of a decision support system (DSS):
Limited skills:
If the management of the company gets all the data prepared by the system then they don’t do any research by themselves. I mean they will do less mental things. Their brain will become limited. Their skills will be not polished.
Blame computer:
If any staff make mistake then he will directly blame the computer. He will tell that his computer is not working that is why I am not giving a result.
Machine dependent:
All the data is kept in the computer machine. So the CEO will be bound to the machine. He cannot decide without investigating data from the machine.
Wrong information:
If the computer system is given the wrong data input then the results will also be not correct. The computer does not know if the data is right or wrong. The computer is dependent on us. If we feed the right data it will show the right result and if we make mistakes and feed wrong data to the computer then obviously it will show us the wrong result.
Overconfidence:
The management of the company becomes overconfidence. They know all the data and take decisions upon data. But they don’t know that they are doing clerical work. They are making fewer self-decisions and they are most of the time fetching data from the machine.
Wrong coding of software:
Sometimes the software is not coded correctly. The software may get errors and shows wrong results. I mean it will show errors which you try to fetch data. So the IT staff of the company have to make sure that software works well before handling it to management staff.
Examples of decision support system (DSS):
Some examples of DSS are:-
- Search engine e.g. Google
- Weather forecasting
- Real estate
- Universities and schools
- Making budgets of the companies
- Air traffic