Decision Support In Organizational Transformation

The main purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion about the design of computer and communication systems that can aid the management process. 1.1 Historical Overview We propose that Decision Support System can be considered as a design conception conceived within the computer industry to facilitate the use of computer technology in organisations (Keen, 1991). This framework, built during the late 1970s, offers computer and communication technology as support to the decision process which constitutes, in this view, the core of the management process. The DSS framework offers the following capabilities: • Access: ease of use, wide variety of data, analysis and modelling capacity. • Technological: software gel)eration tools. • Development modes: interactive and evolutionary. Within this perspective, computer and communication technologies are seen as an amplification of the human data processing capabilities which limit the decision process. Thus, the human being is understood metaphorically as a data processing machine. Mental processes are associated with the manipulation of symbols aOO human communication to signal transmission.

In today's rapidly changing educational and business climate, organizational transformation has become a key area of development for many different and varied environments, both commercial and academic. This book addresses issues related to developing Decision Support Systems (DSS) which are sensitive and adaptable to different contexts and evolving technical and work environments. In addition to addressing the various cultural/social, organizational/individual, task/technology contexts of DSS, the book also anchors these discussions in a practical context, drawing on case studies to illustrate the theoretical dimensions stressed. This book includes the following issues: Frameworks for understanding the contexts and environments of decision support; Cases and issues in decision support and organizational transformation in context; An inter-disciplinary analysis of DSS, covering a wide variety of situations; and Real-world applications of DSS . It contains selected papers presented and discussed at the International Conference on Context-Sensitive Decision Support Systems, which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and held in Bled, Slovenia in July 1998. The book will prove invaluable to anyone working in information and decision support systems development, management, implementation and evaluation, as well as to researchers/practitioners in organizational analysis and development, management and business administration, sociology and psychology of organizations, human relations and human factors management.

In today's rapidly changing educational and business climate, organizational transformation has become a key area of development for many different and varied environments, both commercial and academic. This book addresses issues related to developing Decision Support Systems (DSS) which are sensitive and adaptable to different contexts and evolving technical and work environments. In addition to addressing the various cultural/social, organizational/individual, task/technology contexts of DSS, the book also anchors these discussions in a practical context, drawing on case studies to illustrate the theoretical dimensions stressed. This book includes the following issues: Frameworks for understanding the contexts and environments of decision support; Cases and issues in decision support and organizational transformation in context; An inter-disciplinary analysis of DSS, covering a wide variety of situations; and Real-world applications of DSS . It contains selected papers presented and discussed at the International Conference on Context-Sensitive Decision Support Systems, which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and held in Bled, Slovenia in July 1998. The book will prove invaluable to anyone working in information and decision support systems development, management, implementation and evaluation, as well as to researchers/practitioners in organizational analysis and development, management and business administration, sociology and psychology of organizations, human relations and human factors management.

The field of Information Systems has been shifting from an aeimmersion viewAE, which relies on the immersion of information technology (IT) as part of the business environment, to a aefusion viewAE in which IT is fused within the business environment, forming a unified fabric that integrates work and personal life, as well as personal and public information. In the context of this fusion view, decision support systems should achieve a total alignment with the context and the personal preferences of users. The advantage of such a view is an opportunity of seamless integration between enterprise environments and decision support system components. Thus, researchers and practitioners have to address the challenges of dealing with this shift in viewpoint and its consequences for decision making and decision support systems theories and applications. This book presents the latest innovations and advances in decision support systems with a special focus on the fusion view. These achievements will be of interest to all those involved and interested in decision making practice and research, as well as, more generally, in the fusion view of modern information systems.The book covers a wide range of topical themes including a fusion view of business intelligence and data warehousing, applications of multi-criteria decision analysis, intelligent models and technologies for decision making, knowledge management, decision support approaches and models for emergency management, and medical and other specific domains.

Radical Decision Making offers a controversial new framework to the conventional strategic change management conversation. While many approaches provide a discussion on a singular level, Dr. Hruška blends theory and research of decision making and social interaction to develop a consistent framework of strategic change.

Lee Roy Beech seeks to avoid pedantry, gimmicks & hero worship while addressing the complex issues involved in trying to lead an organization. He does not offer any quick fixes, but concentrates on practical strategies.

This book looks at the current theories of organizational change through the examination of actual cases. Organizational change is looked at from the different perspectives of: organizational culture, personal reaction, interface with the organization environment, organizational dynamics, and decision making.