Question Paper Management Information Systems (MC261) : January 2009

. i e x

Section A : Basic Concepts (30 Marks)

This section consists of questions with serial number 1 - 30. Answer all questions. Each question carries one mark. Maximum time for answering Section A is 30 Minutes.

1.

Using advanced graphics and communications to address unstructured decision making is an example of an information system at

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

The operational level The knowledge level The management level The strategic level All of the above. Management information systems Decision support systems Expert systems Transaction processing systems Collaboration system. Transaction processing system Decision support system Executive information system Expert system Management Information Systems. Decision support system Collaboration system Management information system Expert system Transaction processing systems.

2.

Drawing on diverse yet predictable data resources to aggregate and summarize data is characteristic of:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

3.

What is the interactive, computer-based information system that collects data on transactions and operations?

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

4.

Which of the following is not one of the four major classes of information systems?

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

5.

What level of decision is appropriate for a manufacturing industry if it involves rearranging the work area, altering production schedules, changing inventory methods, or expanding quality control measures?

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Operational Tactical Strategic Both (a) and (c) above (a), (b) and (c) above. Applying for funds from a bank before changes are considered Laying off old employees before changes are made Hiring new IS teams before any of your competitors Implementing new technology before any of your competitors All of the above.

6.

Strategic changes often involve:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

7.

Comparisons between enterprise data and internal standards industry averages or data on competitors this example is related to which type of information?

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Decision support Monitoring information Problem finding information Action information Analysis information.

8.

Information systems at the management level of an organization that serve the functions of planning, controlling, and decision making by providing routine summary and exception reports best describes:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Management information systems Artificial intelligence systems Transaction processing systems Executive support systems Decision support systems. What data do you need to arrive at the solution? How much does it cost? How much training for users would be required? What kind of problem do you expect this system to solve? What is the situation of the problem? 4 7 3 9 8. Libraries of statistical models Statistical graphs from multiple information sources Optimization models OLAP tools OLTP tools.
Monitor the elementary activities and transactions of the organization

9.

The first question to ask in any evaluation of a DSS is

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

10.

The general DSS Development process contains how many activities?

11.

The most common models in a DSS software system are

12.

Operational-level systems:

Support knowledge and data workers in an organization Support the monitoring, controlling, decision-making and administrative activities of middle management Support long-range planning activities Support financial and resource planning activities. Knowledge systems Integrated systems Enterprise systems Extranets Intranets.

13.

Integrated enterprise-wide information systems that coordinate key internal processes of the firm best describes:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

14.

Which of the following is not the DSS Development Process?

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

SDLC ROMC Functional analysis JAD RAD. Monitor the elementary activities and transactions of the organization Support knowledge and data workers in an organization Support the monitoring, controlling, decision-making and administrative activities of middle management Support long-range planning activities Support financial and resource planning activities. KS PPS LS DDS DSS.

15.

Management-level systems:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

16.

The representation of Software System is:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

17.

Information systems that rely on computer hardware and software for processing and distributing information are called.

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

CRM Systems Enterprise Systems Computer- based information systems Knowledge Management systems Database Management Systems.

18.

The process of helping users see patterns and relationship in large amounts of data by presenting the data in graphical form is called.

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

GIS Data visualization DSS An optimization model MIS.

19.

The process of buying and selling goods and services electronically involving transactions using internet and networks is defined as

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Electronic process Digital process E- commerce Relational database management systems E- goods. Describes the functional features of the system chosen for development in the previous phase studies the organizations current procedures and the information systems used to perform organizational tasks Determines the scope of the proposed systems and produces a specific plan for the proposed project Codes, tests, and installs the new system Both (a) and (b) above.

20.

During logical design the project team

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

21.

Every DSS development tool contains

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Knowledge variation Knowledge manipulation Knowledge transfer Knowledge representation Knowledge formulae. Relational database management system Management Information system Product Management systems Supply chain management systems Executive Information Systems. Growth strategy Product strategy Both (a) and (b) above Designing Multiple strategy. Attending meetings, attending corporate luncheons, disciplining staff, representing the company Planning, organizing, coordinating, making decisions, controlling Maintaining a rigid position in the hierarchy to prevent customer complaints from coming to the attention of the Board Supervising the work of junior staff Maintaining the work flow and coordination of the work. The decision has a definite procedure to deal with the problem The manager has to use judgement based on previous experience, insight and careful evaluation The decision will result in no correct course of action No decision can be made The decision is based is not based on careful evaluation. Computer professionals are rather disorganized people Many specialist skills are needed, which have to be coordinated MIS systems are powerful bits of software that make decisions The hardware is complex to be set All of the above. Sales trend forecast Inventory report Customers information Summary of customers preference analyses All of the above.

22.

Information system that automate the relationship between a firm and its suppliers are called

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

23.

In an organization, the strategy can be classified into ---------------------

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

24.

Which one of these BEST describes the role of a manager?

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

25.

A manager has to make an unstructured decision, which means that:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

26.

Why do computer projects in MIS need to be carefully managed?

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

27.

An example of input to an information system would be:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

28.

Enterprise systems solve the problem of fragmentation of data by:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Automating business processes Allowing a seamless flow of information throughout the firm Building systems around specific, separate functional areas Integrating discrete business processes into company-wide business processes (a), (b) and (c) above. DSS Interface DSS Development Tool Intrinsic Tool Both (a) and (b) above Partial Intrinsic tool. Strategic planning Management control Task control Both (a) and (b) above (a), (b) and (c) above.
END OF SECTION A

29.

Which one is described in terms of the LS, KS and PPS?

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

30.

The domain of the management control systems includes the following-----

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Section B : Problems/Caselets (50 Marks)

This section consists of questions with serial number 1 5. Answer all questions. Marks are indicated against each question. Detailed workings/explanations should form part of your answer. Do not spend more than 110 - 120 minutes on Section B.

1. 2.

<Answer> List the decisions involved in each phase of the management process, starting from planning to control? ( 10 marks)

Describe the common method of identifying key variables. What are key input variables? ( 10 marks)

<Answer>

Caselet 1
Read the caselet carefully and answer the following question:

3.

What are the adverse affects of the cost reduction programme implemented at Mr. Pereras jam factory? ( 10 marks) Mr. Perera was the Managing Director of a Jam factory built in the early 1990s at Homagama, a fast developing town. The factory was situated in a beautiful rural surrounding. The factory itself was surrounded by cultivable land and many of the factory workers owned ancestral property there. Mr. Perera felt that production of his factory had never come up to managements expectations for several reasons. One of these was heavy absenteeism, for during the agricultural season, the factory workers stayed at home to cultivate their own land. Since the workers were also farmers, there was no dearth of food, and their factory jobs only provided them with an additional source of income. Since they did not depend on factory wages alone, they were at ease as factory workers. This attitude resulted in an unusually high rate of absenteeism. In 1998, the company set up a fresh fruit drink processing unit in the same

<Answer>

compound where the Jam factory is situated. The jobs in this unit were seasonal. The plant could operate at full capacity only during the fruit seasons. It employed 50 semi-skilled workers in Grade III category. The peak-time work included bottling of fruit drink and storing of fruit juice in wooden casks to be used for bottling during lean periods. The jobs in the units were pealing fruit, extracting juice, boiling juice with other ingredients into syrups or jams, bottling, capping, labeling, storing and cleaning the premises. Soft drinks are a seasonal product and therefore, each month has a varied sales and production target to be met. Depending on the promotional effort put in to market the 7 varieties of drinks, the demand fluctuates and the sales targets get adjusted. However, because of the entry of new competitors into the market, the sales targets and production targets do not seem very practical or achievable. Therefore, some varieties get over produced whereas some varieties do not get produced enough to satisfy the demand in the market. During the lean periods, a large part of all these jobs come to an end and therefore, part of the workforce is transferred to the jam plant in order to meet labour shortages there. Others remain to attend to light jobs like cleaning and packing. There were only two types of workers employed in the two regular job categories; bottle fillers and cappers. These bottle fillers and cappers who continued in their regular jobs were unhappy because, while they contributed eight hours of hard work daily, others had lighter duties. They requested higher wages or job rotation. Mr. Perera found that these categories of workers could not be given higher wages because the other workers in the same category in the jam factory would demand higher wages as well. On the other hand, the employees in these two categories were well experienced in their jobs and therefore, job rotation would result in inefficiency. Mr. Perera noticed that a few competitors entered into the fresh fruit drink market at this time and the customers were being attracted to these companies as well. By the year 2002, the market share of this company dropped and profits decreased. Mr. Perera initiated a cost cutting programme. Strict rules and regulations were laid down for cost reductions to increase company profits. After another year, a market analysis showed that the market share of the company has gone down further. Due to this situation, additional internal problems such as lack of discipline, unbalanced workloads, demotivation, high absenteeism, unsatisfaction among the executive staff and the workers developed. Mr. Perera was worried about what was happening and looked into the matters more carefully. He understood that the cost reduction programme has worked adversely and has resulted in poor quality fruit drink production and reduction of some staff members, which was leading to trade union action. There was also de-motivation of staff members due to strict controls, leading to low productivity and low budgets for advertising and promotional campaigns.

Caselet 2
Read the caselet carefully and answer the following question:

4.

Explain in detail the Critical control path (ccp) process implemented at Kates cake and state the benefits obtained from it? ( 10 marks) Another, more successful innovation was developed in the run up to Christmas 2007. This product was produced for M&S who wanted a white, chilled Christmas cake that would sell for 13. This was a new category of cake for Kate's who normally do not produce chilled desserts. The result was a White Belgium Chocolate Cheesecake. To come up with the ideas for the cake Mark gathered his team for a brainstorming session. Since their brief was quite vague, they created a mood board to try and understand what M&S wanted. Thereafter they went into the kitchen to play. After many prototypes and many trips back and forth to the account manager responsible for M&S before they finally settled on one product.

<Answer>

Production started in August 2007. The cake was featured in M & S Christmas commercial where it was served with champagne. Kates produced 43,000 cakes which all sold out. Mark and his team celebrated the huge success of the Christmas cake by watching the cake fly off the shelf on Christmas eve at their local M&S in Shoreham. To enable such a high number of new product developments Kate's Cake has implemented a process called Critical Control Path (CCP). This process involves weekly meetings with everyone involved in the product development including: Mark and his team, the operations department, the technical team, manufacturing and other relevant departments. The role of the group is to discuss all new products that are in the pipeline. The meetings allow the group to address any challenges or problems that may occur. Repeated mistakes are avoided as the groups has a broad range of skills and experience to deal with any upcoming issues. At one meeting a discussion emerged about replacing the use of lemon zest with lemon pulp. One of the CCP members pointed out that this discussion had taken place five years earlier when it was established that pulp was not a suitable alternative. A mistake could thus be avoided. Factory trials are an important part of the CCP process. Whilst the equipment used in Marks product development kitchen is identical to factory equipment (except for ovens), the transition to mass production of a cake can be tricky. Often a product has to be passed back and forth between product development team and factory trials three times before it is ready for production. Where there are problems with mirroring a new product in factory trials, Mark gets the technical and operations teams to look at every detail of the product and production process to identify the problem. It can often be something minor. Mark gives an example of a lemon cake that baked well in the kitchen but boiled over in its factory trial. It was discovered that the mixture was left to stand for longer in the factory giving the raising agent more time to activate. Once this cause was discovered, the product was reworked and sent back to the factory for another trial. Mark uses the analogy of a jigsaw to describe the workings of Kate's Cakes. As the company is growing, new areas for innovation are being considered which must be integrated into the everyday functioning of the company. One example is the companys new focus on waste management. A focus group has been set up to minimise the amount of waste the company produces. The group has identified twenty waste producing areas and ways to tackle these. Packaging is another innovation area under consideration. Mark is working together with other departments to develop new and innovative ways of packaging. Similarly, a group has been set up to predict the type of products M&S and other customers may be interested in. Most people at Kate's Cakes would probably agree that it is people that make the business so successful. The atmosphere is relaxed and informal but yet professional. The staff work hard but have fun while they do it. Everyone helps each other out and relationships are open and honest. Staff are often promoted from within and staff expertise is taken Kate's Cakes has, what may be considered, an almost perfect example of an innovative culture. One of the company's four core values is to put innovation and product development at the forefront of the business. Helen, the HR director, says that Kate's Cakes is driven by innovation. Everyone in the company works closely together to make sure new and innovative products are constantly developed. Structures and processes developed to promote innovation only work because communication channels are open. The organisational hierarchy is flat and staff members communicate easily across traditional management boundaries. In some instances, recruiting new staff members can be difficult, because the company needs to be sure that these new recruits can function within the innovative paradigm. Change management is built into structures and processes at Kate's. There is regular review of manufacturing and other processes and tweaks are constantly made. The company is very flexible and can focus on hand crafted products

while simultaneously producing bulk items. Mark and his team take learning and sharing knowledge seriously, particularly knowledge about raw materials. Team expertise is diverse and when recruiting new members the aim is to preserve as much diversity as possible. It is not uncommon for skilled and experienced staff from other departments, such as the factory, to move into more challenging areas such as product development. Despite the efforts to share knowledge, it can be hard to ensure that records are kept and that knowledge is not lost in a busy organisation such as Kates. Another challenge is to balance the cost of ingredients with customer demands. In some cases, the company has had to walk away because customers were unwilling to pay for better ingredients. When Mark and his team develop new products they engage in something termed 'value engineering'. Initially, the new product development team only use the best ingredients, but will drop the quality of certain ingredients successively until a balance between quality and price is found. According to Mark, an excessive focus on cost in early product development can undermine the quality off the product. Mark hopes to put aside a day a month for brainstorming new products, but time and organisational constraints sometimes thwart his efforts. Even in the most innovative of companies, innovation can sometimes be a challenge.

5.

What is the purpose of the management control systems? Explain the domain of management control systems. ( 10 marks) END OF SECTION B

<Answer>

Section C : Applied Theory (20 Marks)

This section consists of questions with serial number 6 - 7. Answer all questions. Marks are indicated against each question. Do not spend more than 25 -30 minutes on Section C.
<Answer>

6. 7.

Discuss about Problem Processing System. Distinguish between a system of representation and a system of processing. ( 10 marks) Explain the DSS Analysis and Design Strategies. ( 10 marks)

<Answer>

END OF SECTION C

END OF QUESTION PAPER

Suggested Answers Management Information Systems (MC261): January 2009

Section A : Basic Concepts
Answer 1. Reason The strategic level is an example of an information system that uses advanced graphics and communications to address unstructured decision making.
< TOP >

2.

Drawing on diverse yet predictable data resources to aggregate and summarize data is < TOP > characteristic of decision support systems.

3. 4. 5.

A B A

Transaction processing system is the interactive, computer-based information system < TOP > that collects data on transactions and operations. collaboration system is not one of the four major classes of information systems
< TOP >

Operational level of decision is appropriate for a manufacturing industry if it involves < TOP > rearranging the work area, altering production schedules, changing inventory methods, or expanding quality control measures. Strategic changes often involve Implementing new technology before any of your competitors.
< TOP >

6. 7. 8.

D C D

Comparisons between enterprise data and internal standards industry averages or data < TOP > on competitors this example is related to Problem finding information. Information systems at the management level of an organization that serve the functions of planning, controlling, and decision making by providing routine summary and exception reports best describes a executive support system.
< TOP >

9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29.

D B A A E D C B C B C C D D C B B D C E A

What kind of problem do you expect this system to solve is the first question to ask in < TOP > any evaluation of a DSS. The general DSS Development process contains 7activities. Libraries of statistical models are the most common models in a DSS software system. Operational-level systems monitor the elementary activities and transactions of the organization.
< TOP > < TOP > < TOP >

Integrated enterprise-wide information systems that coordinate key internal processes < TOP > of the firm best describes intranets JAD is not the DSS Development Process.
< TOP >

Management-level systems support the monitoring, controlling, decision-making and < TOP > administrative activities of middle management. PPS is the representation of Software System.
< TOP >

Information systems that rely on computer hardware and software for processing and < TOP > distributing information are called computer- based information systems. Data Visualization is a process which helps the users to see patterns and relationship in large amounts of data in a graphical form .
< TOP >

E-commerce is the process of buying and selling goods and services using an internet < TOP > as the medium of transactions. During logical design the project team determines the scope of the proposed systems and produces a specific plan for the proposed project. Every DSS development tool contains knowledge representation.
< TOP > < TOP >

Information system, that automate the relationship between a firm and its suppliers < TOP > are called supply chain management systems. In an organization, the strategy can be classified into growth strategy and product < TOP > strategy. Planning, organizing, coordinating, making decisions, controlling describes the role < TOP > of a manager. For the manager to take a unstructured decision, the manager has to use judgement based on previous experience, insight and careful evaluation. Many specialist skills are needed, which have to be coordinated An example of input of an information system would be Customers information. a, b and c. DSS Interface is described in terms of the LS, KS and PPS.
< TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP >

30.

The domain of the management control systems includes strategic planning, < TOP > management control and task control.

Section B : Problems
management process is executed through a variety of decisions taken at each step of planning, organizing, < 1.The staffing, directing, coordinating and control and the MIS aids decision making. The objective of the MIS is toTOP provide information for a decision support in the process of management. The decisions required to be taken > through the above mentioned steps are tabulated as under: Management Steps Decision to be taken A selection from the following various alternatives such as strategies, Planning resources, methods etc. A selection of a combination out of several combinations of the goals, Organization people, resources, method and authority. Staffing To provide a proper manpower complement. To choose a method from the various methods of directing the efforts Directing in the organization. To make a choice of the tools and the techniques for coordinating the Coordinating efforts for optimum results. To make a selection of the exceptional conditions and the decision Controlling guidelines.

2. Input-through-output-model is the most common method of identifying key variables. The input variables are < related to raw material, the throughput variables to production, processing and manufacturing and the outputTOP variables to marketing. We mention the key input variables now. However every organization will have to > identify the key variables relevant to its success. Key input variables could include the following: Raw material availability: Its absence will lead to lower capacity utilization. When raw materials are not readily available, organizations will find it difficult to recover their fixed costs and inability to procure the raw material may even close the organization. Raw material quality: The quality of raw materials is tested through simple sampling techniques. When the payment for a product is made on the basis of quality, the maintenance of quality becomes crucial. Raw material costs: The management needs to keep a close watch on raw material costs, particularly when they constitute a large percentage of the total cost. We can classify key variables broadly into the following categories such as strategy, structural, process and environmental. If there is similarity between the different variables, performance of an organization will be improved. Strategy variables refer to the long-term choices concerning the programs, goals, policies and action plans that are formulated by an organization. Structural variables can be studied in terms of the structure of the organization: centralized or decentralized form of organization and the organizational autonomy. Thus they represent the organizational arrangements and the distribution of authority and relationships. Process variables refer to processes that influence the behavior of the employees towards the achievement of organizational goals. Some examples of process variables are the participation, monitoring and control, human resource development and motivation.

Environmental variables help in understanding the scope, diversity and uncertainty relating to an organization. When all these variables are perfectly aligned then can organization can achieve congruence of its performance with its goals. The following steps will help in the identification of the key variables: Identification of decision variables Interactions with the environment Implications for the control structure Key success and the control paradigm

3. Mr. Perera initiated a cost cutting programme. Strict rules and regulations were laid down for cost reductions to < increase company profits. After another year, a market analysis showed that the market share of the company hasTOP > gone down further. Due to this situation, additional internal problems such as lack of discipline, unbalanced workloads, demotivation, high absenteeism, unsatisfaction among the executive staff and the workers developed. Mr. Perera was worried about what was happening and looked into the matters more carefully. He understood that the cost reduction programme has worked adversely and has resulted in poor quality fruit drink production and reduction of some staff members, which was leading to trade union action. There was also de-motivation of staff members due to strict controls, leading to low productivity and low budgets for advertising and promotional

campaigns. 4. Kate's Cake has implemented a process called Critical Control Path (CCP). This process involves weekly < meetings with everyone involved in the product development including: Mark and his team, the operationsTOP department, the technical team, manufacturing and other relevant departments. The role of the group is to discuss > all new products that are in the pipeline. The meetings allow the group to address any challenges or problems that may occur. Repeated mistakes are avoided as the groups has a broad range of skills and experience to deal with any upcoming issues. At one meeting a discussion emerged about replacing the use of lemon zest with lemon pulp. One of the CCP members pointed out that this discussion had taken place five years earlier when it was established that pulp was not a suitable alternative. A mistake could thus be avoided. Factory trials are an important part of the CCP process. Whilst the equipment used in Marks product development kitchen is identical to factory equipment (except for ovens), the transition to mass production of a cake can be tricky. Often a product has to be passed back and forth between product development team and factory trials three times before it is ready for production. Where there are problems with mirroring a new product in factory trials, Mark gets the technical and operations teams to look at every detail of the product and production process to identify the problem. It can often be something minor. Mark gives an example of a lemon cake that baked well in the kitchen but boiled over in its factory trial. It was discovered that the mixture was left to stand for longer in the factory giving the raising agent more time to activate. Once this cause was discovered, the product was reworked and sent back to the factory for another trial. 5. A management control system assists the management in the synchronization of the activities of the organization < and steering them in the proper direction in order for the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. It TOP involves the following functions in an organization such as planning, coordinating, communicating, evaluating > and influencing. It helps in planning the activities of an organization and further synchronizes the activities. It communicates information to all the different levels of the hierarchical structure. Further it evaluates the information and would decide on the action to be taken. It influences people to change their behavior. During the planning the stage, the management of an organization decides on the activities of an organization and a management control system ensures that the management adopts the right strategies in order for the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. Management control systems foresee future conditions and are not self-regulating in nature. They help the management in taking better and well-timed decisions and in the management control process according to procedures and timetables decisions are made. Management control systems assist the management in the synchronization of the activities of the organization and steering them in the proper direction in order for the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. The domain of management control systems includes the following such as strategic planning, management control, task control, control of strategy and control of operations. Top management does the strategic planning and it is a long term planning.

Section C: Applied Theory

6. PPS is a computer which generates useful answers for the decisional process, handling the < TOP > information of the KS. Its made up of 3 parts: 1. Data Base Management System (DBMS) 2. Model Base Management System (MBMS) 3. Inferential Machine ( MOT.INF) Data Base Management System (DBMS) It is a software package to make the management of the database easier: Definition of the database structure (vertical lists,) Data acquirement from inner and outer sources Changes to acquired data Access to DB and query formulation Integration of data from different DB Model Base Management System (MBMS) It is 2a software package to make the management of the model base easier: Model list Quick update and changing of the MB Creation of a directory with all the information about available models Access to MB Recovery of the necessary data for elaboration Generation, drawing and update of the required parameters Creation of new models

 What-if sensitivity analysis Inferential Machine (MOT.INF) It contains artificial intelligence functions to manage the knowledge system (KS). Use of rules and assertions to infer new facts through heuristic. Use of meta-rules (rules about rules), to decide what to do when more then one rule can be applied.

Clear and logic explanation of the relationship between inputs and outputs that is often difficult to understand because of the complex information used. A system of representation must be expressed in a means that the PPS can understand and process (LS). Likewise the PPS must be able to express output in a manner that can be understood by the user (PS) or another DSS (human or computer). Additionally, knowledge in the KS must be represented in a manner that the PPS can understand. Representation systems are not software, but may contain software as part of the system. A system of processing is software that reacts to user requests and drives the problem solving process toward a corresponding response. It draws on LS, PS and the KS to execute its purpose.

7.

< TOP > Strategies for DSS Analysis and Design There are two common strategies for DSS development: 1. Programming a customized DSS 2. Employing a DSS generator Each strategy is unique, the choice of which one to adopt often depends on the organizational setting. DSS use both approaches in combination during the various design stages of the project. Programming a customized DSS This strategy uses either a general purpose language like C++ or a fourth-generation language like Delphi or Visual C11. Most modern systems use a combination of 4GL and modeling applets to boost programmer productivity and decrease development time and effort. This allows for development of special interfaces between the DSS and other applications. Employing a DSS Generator It eliminates the need for programming thousands of individual instructions or code in the design and constructions of a DSS. These range from spreadsheets such as Excel perhaps with some add-ins or a more sophisticated generator such as MicroStrategys DSS Architect. MicroStrategys DSS Architect allows the designer increased flexibility over the conventional spreadsheets.

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