Decision support systems: definition, components, and organizational applications

DSS and Computer Crime

Although there is no single definition for a DSS, in general, a DSS has been defined as follows:

Decision Support Systems (DSS) are a specific class of computerized information system that supports business and organizational decision-making activities. A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers compile useful information from raw data, documents, personal knowledge, and/or business models to identify and solve problems and make decisions" [italics added] ("InformationBuilders.com," n.d.).

According to Gupta & Malik (2005), DSS is basically "a system that provides information for making semi-structured and unstructured decisions" (p. 184).

A management information system ("MIS") is best defined as a "system or process that provides the information necessary to manage an organization effectively" (Comptroller of the Currency Administrator of National Banks, 1995, p. 2). Stated differently, MIS is a system or process that supports decisions involving quantitative, structured problems (Gupta & Malik, 2005). The hallmark of MIS is that it is "standard, scheduled, structured and routine," whereas DSS is "unstructured and available on request" (Gupta & Malik, 2005, p. 282). Moreover, as opposed to MIS, DSS "facilitates the decision-making process, helping the decision-makers to choose between alternatives" whereas MIS provides the raw data to the decision-maker, letting the decision-maker make and reach his or her own conclusions (Gupta & Malik, 2005, p. 282).

DSS is consists primarily of three components: 1) a database, 2) a model base, and 3) a user interface ("Encyclopedia of Business," n.d.). The "database" component consists of the information used and referenced by the DSS, e.g., "customer account records, product sales history, employee schedules," and the like. ("Encyclopedia of Business," n.d.). The "model base' consists primarily of models that are used by the system in providing information, e.g., a linear regression model used for "sales projections under different conditions" ("Encyclopedia of Business," n.d.). Finally, the user interface merges the data base and model base to provide the decision-maker with a means of controlling and managing the data from the two databases.

As noted above, DSS is situation specific in that it does not dictate the outcome of a decision, as does MIS. Since DSS is quick and not based on a rigid format, it can be used to review data and identify trends and patterns to ascertain consumer behavior. Thus, for example, where MIS helps management decide how much raw material needs to be reordered at a specific time and in what quantities, DSS helps the decision-maker review the trends and patterns associated with the consumption of a particular product, which in turn helps the decision-maker better determine the amount of material to re-order -- material that if based purely on an MIS model, may result in unneeded costs.