Decision Support System

ASSIGNMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEM AND ADMINISTRATION NAME : QUDSIA AZEEM CLASS: BBA 3B DATE : 27-3-2013 JINNAH UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND WEB TECHNOLOGIES: A STATUS REPORT DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS, WORLD-WIDE WEB, DATA DRIVEN DSS, MODEL-DRIVEN DSS, IMPLEMENTATION. Introduction to DSS: A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance.Decision support systems can be either fully computerized, human or a combination of both. DSSs include knowledge-based systems. A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers compile useful information from a combination of raw data, documents, and personal knowledge, or business models to identify and solve problems and make decisions. World-Wide Web technologies have rapidly transformed the entire design, development and implementation process for all types of Decision Support Systems.In particular, Web technologies have provided a new media for sharing information about decision support and a new means of delivering decision support capabilities. For DSS developers, the big leap forward is to use the â€Å"Web as computer†. Modern decision support systems (DSS) provide managers a wide range of capabilities. Computerized systems support decision tasks like information gathering, model building, sensitivity analysis, collaboration, alternative evaluation and decision implementation. Also, decision support is increasingly integrated in business processes and DSS are used for ad hoc analyses.This paper reviews the current status of Decision Support Systems in the context of developments in Web technologies. The article contains brief historical reviews, discussions on implem entations of decision support system and the major part of this article is ‘’State of Practice of DSS in 2001’’ HISTORY: Information Systems researchers and technologists have built and investigated computerized Decision Support Systems (DSS) for approximately 40 years. This article chronicles and explores the developments related to building and deploying DSS.The journey begins with building model-driven DSS in the late 1960s, theory developments in the 1970s, and implementation of financial planning systems, spreadsheet-based DSS and Group DSS in the early and mid 1980s. Data warehouses, Executive Information Systems, OLAP and Business Intelligence evolved in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Finally, the chronicle ends with knowledge-driven DSS and the implementation of Web-based DSS beginning in the mid-1990s. The field of computerized decision support is expanding to use new technologies and to create new applications.. Web-Based Decision Support System s :Power (1998b) defined a Web-Based Decision Support System as a computerized system that delivers decision support information or decision support tools to a manager or business analyst using a â€Å"thin-client† Web browser like Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. The computer server that is hosting the DSS application is linked to the user's computer by a network with the TCP/IP protocol. The idea of Web-enabled or Web-Based Decision Support Systems as services has been explored by various researchers and involves the concept of offering decision computation technologies as services on the Web.The recent popularity and widespread use of the World Wide Web and the Internet has been accompanied by the development of a variety of computing technologies that enable the realization of the â€Å"decision technologies as services† vision. Bhargava and Krishnan (1998) discussed the role of a series of enabling technologies in the context of Model-Driven DSS, covering technologies that enable the use of the Web for communication of decision information and computation, technologies that enable the remote and platform-independent access of DSS, and technologies that allow DSS components to be distributed over the Web.Web Technologies and DSS Tasks: Web technologies are making it possible to perform all of these tasks via a remote Web client. In thinking of such tasks, it is useful to recall the distinction made by Sprague (1980) about application-specific DSS that consist of software, data, and models for a specific decision problem and DSS generators that provide tools and algorithms for building a variety of specific DSS. Application-specific DSS are far easier to build, but rarely reusable; DSS generators are far more complex to build but can be adapted to build many specific systems.Figure 1 summarizes the relationships among 10 major tasks involved in building and using Data and Model-Driven DSS. For example, using an application-specific Mod el-Driven DSS, a user would be given the relevant decision models and data, and would focus on tasks such as model execution, development of reports, or analysis. Using a corresponding DSS generator, on the other hand, would require the performance of additional tasks such as model definition and creation of a custom user interface. IMPLEMENTATIONS OF DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM : STATE OF PRACTICE 2001:In a number of prior papers, we have examined the extent to which current DSS products have â€Å"Web-enabled† the above decision support related tasks, and we have examined the evolution of DSS and especially Web-Based DSS. In this section, we provide an informal tour of our major findings. Web technologies provide both the communication of decision-related information and software and a means of providing remote access to distributed DSS components. We discuss the first function in terms of the Web as media and the second we call the Web as computer.How these capabilities or fun ctions can be used to support decision-making is still evolving. There is much scope for imagination here, but we have identified a few important beneficial uses of these capabilities and we will now review recent developments in each of these areas. WEB AS MEDIA: The Web has facilitated the creation of a number of industry-wide DSS Information Portals . For example, the OLAP Report and Data Ware housing Online Both are industry-wide decision support portals that offer information about software products, vendors, methodologies, and white papers in the context of OLAP and data warehousing technologies.DSSResources. COM is a â€Å"knowledge repository† for a broadly defined set of Decision Support Systems. IBM’s COIN initiative (http://oss. software. ibm. com/developerworks/opensource/coin/) and e-optimization. com offer similar portals for optimization. Info Harvest and the Decision Analysis Society have created portals related to decision analysis. Individual firms ha ve used Web technologies to communicate information about their decision support products and methods, or allow users to conduct various tasks like ordering, payment or Internet delivery related to purchasing DSS products.In the context of using the Web for â€Å"providing company and product information† there is substantial activity across all categories of Decision Support Systems. WEB AS COMPUTER: We generally discuss the use of the â€Å"Web as computer† capabilities in three categories: digital product demonstrations, preview using online interactive examples, and on-line, Web-based Decision Support Systems. The first category, product demonstrations, represents a baseline for the use of the Web’s capabilities for remote computation.Online demonstrations can be delivered as animated multimedia documents (e. g. , QuickTime movies, or Shockwave animation) that require or allow little user interaction. As a next step, online interactive examples allow users t o interact (e. g. , by setting parameter values, or choosing which command to execute next, or designing the format of a report) with the DSS tool in the context of a specific example. The next step in the use of the â€Å"Web as computer† capabilities is to offer application-specific DSS to users that have decision problems within the supported categories.Recall our earlier example of OptAmaze. com which provides paper trim optimization and transportation optimization services to paper mills. Grazing Systems Limited offers decision support services in the agricultural sector. The value of such deployment of DSS may be appreciated by considering the difficulties that user firms would have in installing, maintaining and applying complex DSS tools on their own; Web-enabled DSS allow such firms to use decision support tools without encountering these difficulties.CONCLUSION: The practice of building Decision Support Systems can benefit in many ways from the availability of Web t echnologies. These technologies provide platform-independent, remote, and distributed computation and the exchange of complex multimedia information. The state of practice has benefited considerably from these technologies but e need to resolve technological, economic and social and behavioral challenges to realize the benefits the Web can provide as a platform for building Decision Support Systems.DSS developers must continuously find ways around these limitations, or make use of recent and anticipated developments such as the new version of Internet protocols. To offer decision support as a service, providers must experiment with new payment models. Decision support capabilities are of great interest to a broad range of stakeholders and enormous resources have been and will be committed to building systems that promise to improve the quality, speed and effectiveness of specific decisions. We need to do much more than implement our technologies to build effective Decision Support S ystems.

Proposition paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposition paper - Essay Example nequality was not in decline; in fact, class inequality had made everyone become part and parcel of the struggle against the British crown (Young, 1999). To begin with, poverty had led to constant confrontations with the British as exemplified in the Boston massacre where British soldiers killed five men in a near riot situation. This riot inspired people like George Hewes to get involved in insurgent activities over the next three years including the Boston ‘Tea Party’. The enhancement of class inequality was also demonstrated in the life of George Hewes when he made shoes for poor people and had to compete with factories in Lynn that produced over 80,000 shoes a year (Young, 1999). In addition, he had to incur debts when he bought his attire for his wedding and would soon be in debt for ten years. This was compounded by the fact that his family had to stay with relatives because of extreme poverty. In such circumstances, it is plausible to argue that there was no decline of the class inequality in the revolutionary era (Young, 1999). The persistence of class inequality in America is demonstrated in its entirety by two significant factors that Alfred Young notes in his writings of George Hewes’ life. These are the revolutionary/ insurgency spirit, and the daily life of a common man (Young, 1999). To begin with, the development of an atmosphere of tension was not necessarily occasioned by hatred towards the British crown but towards the conditions of living which made people become ever more conscious about the inequalities they experienced. They had to compete with large factories in making common goods and had to endure low wages as demonstrated by the life of George Hewes living with relatives, being in debts because of clothes, and making shoes for a living. Additionally, the frustrations that were exerted on installations of the government and the capitalists such as the harassment of British soldiers in Kings Street in March 1770 and the destruction

As a Medical Administrative Assistant Assignment

As a Medical Administrative Assistant - Assignment Example Secondly, I would ensure that there are solutions for the above-mentioned drawbacks by providing an opportunity for patients to air their thoughts on all the areas of patient care. Further, I would conduct a survey on patient’s attendance to ensure they are provided with quality services. Lastly, proper documentation of the researched information would avoid confusion before the meeting because my thoughts would be well organized (Shelton 37). In the course of the meeting, I would present my findings in the most simplest way and engage my audience. I would make sure that the meeting is an open discussion while maintaining order. In addition, I would ensure that there is a divergence of information and the key meeting points summarized and accurate minutes published (Shelton 45). Finally, I would foresee that questions are asked and answered accordingly. After the meeting, it is my duty to ensure that I follow up and make sure that the meeting minutes were published. Furthermore, I would publish the meeting discussions on the hospital’s/clinic’s website so that they could be easily accessed by everyone. Lastly, I would benchmark the healthcare with other clinics in terms of customer service to ensure that the meeting objectives were achieved and

Lab report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Lab report - Essay Example The ration of the extension in length to the original length is referred to as tensile strain. Consequently, modulus of elasticity of the material is obtained by finding the ration between tensile stress and strain. The measurement of extension of a material before it snaps enables the classification of the material or specimen as ductile or brittle. The yield strength of a ductile material is obtained when the expansion is 0.2 percent. In order to understand the behavior of materials under high stress or loading rates, impact test is done. Impact tests are usually done using Izod or Charpy procedures. Impact test on steel and plastic aims at establishing their toughness. Impact test determines the behavior of a material under high stress levels that include tension/torsion and bending of the material. A specimen in impact test is broken by a single blow is a specially designed device. The energy spent in breaking the specimen in a single blow is the quality of the material or specimen. The property of a material varies with variation in temperature, thus conducting the experiment at different temperatures allows for the determination of change in properties of the material as temperature changes. Steel has a yield value of 43 ksi, which is approximately the same as the expected value. Also, the tensile strength and strain as well as ultimate strength before the material snaps are approximately the same as measured value. The modulus of elasticity of aluminum measured value tends towards 11 Msi as it approaches power six, which is perceived as equal value. The measured value for Plexiglas is very close to expected value as seen in Table 1. The temperature of the specimen affects impact test on the specimen. Consequently, in order to determine the effect of temperature on impact test, a similar specimen is tested under two different temperatures. The measured value or behavior of the specimen at two

Advertisement Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Advertisement Analysis - Essay Example Various advertisement strategies appeal differently to the consumer. It is important to choose an advertisement strategy that will go in line with the product being advertised. A good example of an advertisement strategy is the one that make use of the Rhetorical Triangle to best appeal to the consumers. The three components of Rhetorical Triangle that are out into consideration in regards to appeals made by the advertiser  include Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. In order to appeal to a large pool of clientele, the message intended for advertisement has to meet specific specifications. The message has to originate from the sender pass through suitable channel to the intended audiences. When considering advertising, it is essential to take into consideration the product being advertised. This is because a different products appeal to the consumer’s in diverse ways. The reason behind applying strategies that will result to bringing more clients is for the enterprise to attain big ma rket share coupled with evading stiff competition. This is especially from the same players whereby due to employee retention predicament may lead moving of employees to the already established corporation. The application of Rhetorical Triangle is significant because it enhance advertisement appeal to the intended consumer. Hausman, Daniel M., and Brynn Welch. ""Debate: To Nudge or Not to Nudge*."Debate: To Nudge or Not to Nudge. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.

Organisational strategy and decision making Essay

Organisational strategy and decision making - Essay Example It has also been observed that the company had set certain strategic directions for future, such as enlarging business in growing economies and empowering its competitive positioning among others. In order to mitigate the strategic issues and successfully attain the strategic directions for future, certain recommendations comprising both short and long-term have been provided. These include adopting, as well as utilising, the strategy of cost leadership and making substantial investments, especially in developing the performances of the entire workforce. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Internal Audit–Strengths and Weaknesses 5 Strengths 5 Weaknesses 5 External Audit – Opportunities and Threats 6 Opportunities 6 Threats 6 Discussion 7 Evaluation 9 Conclusion 11 Recommendations 12 References 14 Introduction Strategies are fundamentally described as the ways that a particular organisation selects to compete with its key business market competitors or to comply with the requirements of the customers. In this similar context, organisational strategies are often defined as a pattern of effective policies, decisions, performances or programmes that support an organisation to accomplish its predetermined business goals and most significantly to attain significant competitive position over the major business market contenders (Rothwell, 1998). It has been apparently observed that the organisational strategies adopted as well as implemented by the organisations affect their decision-making procedures by a significant level. This is owing to the reason that the organisations deeply rely upon formulating effective strategies for the purpose of controlling as well as coordinating the information flow amid different parties such as the employees, stakeholders, investors and the customers (Fairholm, 2009). Tesco PLC is regarded as one of the biggest retailers in the entire globe which performs its business functions in 14 nations. The company employs nearly 5, 00,000 personnel and serves significant portion of customers every week (Tesco, 2013). The visions of the company are to attain utmost value from the customers that it serves and also the communities where it operates its different operational functions. Moreover, the other major vision of the company is to flourish itself as a pioneering as well as a modern company and grow its business in every region throughout the globe (Tesco, 2013). In this discussion, the internal audit of Tesco in the form of strengths as well as weaknesses and the external audit in the form of opportunities along with threats will be taken into concern. Moreover, a comprehensive analysis about the different strategic directions of the company will also be portrayed in the discussion. Internal Audit–Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths One of the major strengths of Tesco is that it is a leading organisation in the business market of the United Kingdom and is known as one of the best retail ch ains across the globe. Moreover, the other strengths of the company are strong brand recognition, increased business reputation and deliverance of superior quality products in accordance with meeting the requirements of the customers. In addition, the execution of e-retailing activities while conducting business is also regarded as the other crucial strength of the company. In this similar context, the company has acquired success due to its formulation

An alien species Essay Example for Free

An alien species Essay An alien species (also known as ‘exotic or nuisance species’) is the entry of any species into the ecology of which in the past it was not a part of. This species can travel to the new ecosystem from a neighboring ecosystem or from another part of the world. An alien species can cause damage or harm to animal, plant and human life thus completely disrupting the ecosystem. Two of the alien species that have seriously affected the other inhabitants of the ecosystem in the US and the other parts of North America include the Green crab and the zebra mussel. In the home ecosystem, an alien species may not be able to thrive well due to the presence of certain factors such as diseases, presence competitors, lack of space, natural enemies, etc. However in the new ecosystem, the alien species is able to thrive uncontrollable due to the absence or restrictive factors. In the past, many alien species have been introduced into various environments. Some have entered due to human factors, whereas other may have entered due to certain natural factors. Some species may have benefited the environment, which they are entered, whereas other may have seriously destroyed the native population. Invasion by alien species can have both, economic and environmental implications. The Zebra mussel is originally from the Caspian Sea and the Green crab is from Eastern Seaboard. These are classic examples of ‘Aquatic Nuisance Species’ (ANS) (ACS, 2007, MDNR, 2006 NOAA, 2007). The Zebra mussels were identified in the Great Lakes and later spread to the other parts of North America via the major rivers and waterways. They may have spread into the US from ships that have traveled through the freshwaters of Europe. They compete for plankton in the waters and in this way seriously jeopardize the food chain. They also damage parts of boats and ships. The Green crabs had spread into the San Francisco Bay region and later through California and Oregon States. They have a strong appetite for food in their territories and in this way deprive other organisms of food. The native crabs of US have seriously suffered from the invasion of the Green crab into their home territory (ACS, 2007, MDNR, 2006 NOAA, 2007).