Decision Support Systems

Many businesses are faced with situations that need critical analysis, compilation of raw data, circulation of precise documents and effective utilization of computer systems. Frito Lay is an example of a company who implemented various decision support systems (DSS) into their business model. A DSS is a “highly flexible and interactive IT system that is designed to support decision making when the problem is not structured.” (Haag, Cummins p.162) Managers require information to guide their organization in the right direction. DSS increases productivity, efficiency, and enhances understanding of business processes. DSS helped carve their business success, facilitate management making qualitative decisions, and turned their raw data into valued information that was needed by employees and management. DSS assist the management and employees of Frito-Lay by delivering statistical and data retrieving systems. Employees of Frito-Lay also used DSS systems in searching information that was germane to their job function. The three main components of a DSS are model management, data management and interface management. “The model requests the information from the data management component, analyzes the information, and sends the results to the user interface management component, which in turn passes the results back,” (Haag, Cummins p.163) to the user.

There are many types of DSS systems and hybrid DSS systems. Four DSS systems that could be implemented in a business are communication driven, knowledge driven , data driven , and document driven . Hybrid DSS systems are computerized systems that take advantage of combined DSS systems. A DSS may present information graphically and may include an expert system or artificial intelligence (AI). Examples of the information a decision support application might gather and present are the following: “(a) Accessing all information assets, including legacy and relational data sources; (b) Comparative data figures;