Download Chapter 9: Information, Decision Support, Artificial Intelligence, and

Chapter 9: Information,
Decision Support, Artificial
Intelligence, and SpecialPurpose Systems
Succeeding with Technology:
Second Edition
Objectives

Define the stages of decision making and problem
solving

Discuss the use of management information
systems in providing reports to help solve structured
problems

Describe how decision support systems are used to
solve nonprogrammed and unstructured problems
Succeeding with Technology
2
Objectives (continued)

Explain how a group decision support system can
help people and organizations collaborate on team
projects

Discuss the uses of artificial intelligence and specialpurpose systems
Succeeding with Technology
3
Decision Making and Problem
Solving

Decision making
 Process that takes place in three stages



Intelligence
Design
Choice
Succeeding with Technology
4
Decision Making and Problem
Solving (continued)



Intelligence stage
 Identify and define potential problems or
opportunities
Design stage
 Develop alternative solutions
Choice stage
 Select a course of action
Succeeding with Technology
5
Decision Making and Problem
Solving (continued)

Problem solving
 Includes and goes beyond decision making
 Implementation stage


Action is taken to put the solution into effect
Monitoring stage
 Decision makers evaluate the implementation of the
solution
Succeeding with Technology
6
Decision Making and Problem
Solving (continued)


Reactive problem-solving approach
 Wait until problem surfaces before taking action
Proactive approach
 Seek out potential problems before they become
serious
Succeeding with Technology
7
Succeeding with Technology
8
Succeeding with Technology
9
Programmed versus
Nonprogrammed Decisions



Programmed decisions
 Made using a rule, procedure, or quantitative
method
Management information systems
 Often used to support programmed decisions
Nonprogrammed decisions
 Deal with unusual or exceptional situations
Succeeding with Technology
10
Succeeding with Technology
11
Optimization and Heuristic
Approaches


Optimization model
 Will find the best solution
 Utilizes problem constraints
Heuristics (“rules of thumb”)
 Commonly accepted guidelines
 Usually find a good solution, but not the optimal
solution
Succeeding with Technology
12
Succeeding with Technology
13
Management Information System


Often used to
 Support programmed decisions made in response to
structured problems
Primary purpose
 To help individuals and organizations achieve their
goals
Succeeding with Technology
14
Inputs to a Management
Information System



Input data can originate from internal or external
sources
TPS
 Most significant internal source of data for the MIS
 Major activity is to capture and store data resulting
from ongoing transactions
Databases
 Supply data to MIS
Succeeding with Technology
15
Succeeding with Technology
16
Outputs of a Management
Information System


Scheduled reports
 Produced periodically or on a schedule
Key-indicator report
 Special type of scheduled report
 Summarizes previous day’s critical activities
 Available at the beginning of each workday
Succeeding with Technology
17
Outputs of a Management
Information System (continued)


Demand reports
 Give certain information at a person’s request
Exception reports
 Automatically produced when a situation is unusual
or requires action
 Used to help fight terrorism
Succeeding with Technology
18
Decision Support Systems



Focus is on decision-making effectiveness
Should assist people and organizations with all
aspects of decision making
The approach realizes that people, not machines,
make decisions
Succeeding with Technology
19
Succeeding with Technology
20
Characteristics of a Decision
Support System




Handle a Range of Data
Obtain and Process Data from Different Sources
Provide Report and Presentation Flexibility
Perform complex, sophisticated analysis and
comparisons using advanced software packages
Succeeding with Technology
21
Characteristics of a Decision
Support System (continued)


Support Optimization and Heuristic Approaches
Perform What-if and Goal-seeking Analysis
 What-if analysis



Process of making hypothetical changes to problem
data and observing the impact on the results
Goal-seeking analysis
 Process of determining what problem data is required
for a given result
Simulation
 DSS attempts to mimic an event that could happen in
the future
Succeeding with Technology
22
Succeeding with Technology
23
The Group Decision Support System


DSS approaches
 Many not suitable for a group decision-making
environment
Group decision support system (GDSS)
 Also called a computerized collaborative work
system
 Hardware, software, people, databases, and
procedures needed to provide effective support in
group decision-making settings
Succeeding with Technology
24
Succeeding with Technology
25
Characteristics of a GDSS





Special Design
Flexibility
Anonymous Input
Reduction of Negative Group Behavior
Support of positive group behavior
Succeeding with Technology
26
GDSS Software or Groupware



Helps with joint work group scheduling,
communication, and management
Lotus Notes
 Popular groupware package
 Can capture, store, manipulate, and distribute
memos and communications
Using groupware
 Gives every employee rapid access to a vast source
of information
Succeeding with Technology
27
Artificial Intelligence and SpecialPurpose Systems


Artificial intelligence (AI)
 Computers with ability to mimic or duplicate the
functions of the human brain
Advances in AI
 Have led to systems that work like the human brain
to recognize complex patterns
Succeeding with Technology
28
Artificial Intelligence and SpecialPurpose Systems

AI systems are helping to
 Make medical diagnoses
 Explore for natural resources
 Determine what is wrong with mechanical devices
Succeeding with Technology
29
Succeeding with Technology
30
The Difference Between Natural and
Artificial Intelligence


One driving force behind AI research
 An attempt to understand how human beings
actually reason and think
Turing Test
 Attempts to determine if the responses from a
computer with intelligent behavior are
indistinguishable from responses from a human
 No computer has passed
Succeeding with Technology
31
Succeeding with Technology
32
Components of Artificial
Intelligence








Robotics
Vision systems
Natural language processing
Learning systems
Neural networks
Genetic algorithms
Intelligent agents
Expert systems
Succeeding with Technology
33
Succeeding with Technology
34
Robotics


Developing mechanical or computer devices to
 Perform tasks that require a high degree of
precision
Contemporary robotics
 Combine high-precision machine capabilities and
sophisticated controlling software
Succeeding with Technology
35
Succeeding with Technology
36
Vision Systems



Include hardware and software that
 Permit computers to capture, store, and manipulate
visual images and pictures
Can be used to give robots “sight”
U.S. Justice Department
 Makes use of vision systems to perform fingerprint
analysis
Succeeding with Technology
37
Succeeding with Technology
38
Natural Language Processing



Referred to as speech recognition
Allows computers to
 Understand and react to commands made in a
“natural” language
Three major challenges of natural language
 Interpreting ambiguous words
 Sentence parsing
 Being able to interpret the unique ways in which
people pronounce words
Succeeding with Technology
39
Succeeding with Technology
40
Learning Systems


Combination of software and hardware
 Allows computer to change how it functions or
reacts to situations based on feedback
Learning systems software
 Requires feedback on the results of its actions or
decisions
Succeeding with Technology
41
Neural Networks


Act like or simulate the functioning of a human brain
Features of neural networks
 Ability to retrieve information
 Fast modification of stored data
 Ability to discover relationships and trends in large
databases
 Ability to solve complex problems for which all
information is not present
Succeeding with Technology
42
Fuzzy Logic



Deals in probabilities rather than absolutes
Example of fuzzy logic
 Unclear terms, like “tall” or “many”
Fuzzy logic theory
 Allows people to incorporate interpretations and
relationships that are not completely precise
Succeeding with Technology
43
Genetic Algorithms




An approach to solving large, complex problems
Based on the theory of evolution
First step in generating the algorithm
 Change or vary a number of competing solutions to
the problem
Second step
 Select only the best models or algorithms, which
continue to evolve
Succeeding with Technology
44
Succeeding with Technology
45
Intelligent Agents



Also called an intelligent robot or bot
Consist of
 Programs and a knowledge base used to perform a
specific task
Used by the U.S. Army to
 Route security clearance information for soldiers
Succeeding with Technology
46
Expert Systems


Act or behave like a human expert in a field or area
Computerized expert systems have been developed
to
 Diagnose diseases given a patient’s symptoms
 Suggest the cause of a mechanical failure of an
engine
Succeeding with Technology
47
Specialized Systems


Virtual Reality Systems
 Computer-simulated environment or event
Geographic Information Systems
 Capable of storing, manipulating, and displaying
geographic or special information
Succeeding with Technology
48
Succeeding with Technology
49
Specialized Systems (continued)


Game Theory Systems
 Develop strategies for people who are competing
against each other
Other Specialized Systems
 Informatics


Combines traditional disciplines with computer
systems and technology
Bioinformatics: combines biology and computer
science
Succeeding with Technology
50
Succeeding with Technology
51
Summary



Three phases of decision making
 Intelligence, design, and choice
Problem solving
 Takes decision making a step further
 Implements the choice
 Monitors the effects of the decision
MIS
 Provide managers with insight into the regular
operations of the organization
 Output

Scheduled reports, demand reports, and exception
reports
Succeeding with Technology
52
Summary (continued)



Decision support systems
 Can handle large amount of data
 Can obtain and process data from different sources
 Can provide report and presentation flexibility
Group decision support system (GDSS)
 A computerized collaborative work system
Artificial intelligence (AI) includes
 Robotics
 Learning systems
 Neural networks
Succeeding with Technology
53