Chapter 8 Group Decision Support System (GDSS)

Presented By:

Tan Pui San (204647)

Lim Hui Mui (203812)

Chapter Outline
8.1 What Are Group DSS?

8.2 Why Group DSS Now?

8.3 Group Versus Individual Activities 8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

8.5 Types of Group DSS

8.6 Groupware 8.7 Group DSS in Use Today 8.8 Groupware Products

8.1 What Are Group DSS?

A group decision support system

(GDSS) is: A decision support system which design, structure and usage reflect the way which a person interact to make certain decision

8.1 What Are Group DSS?

Communication

Other activities that involve group interaction

File sharing

Supports group decision processes

Aggregation of individual perspectives into group perspective

Modeling of group activities

8.1 What Are Group DSS?

Used by more than one person. Example: A group of factory managers got together
to choose a factory floor layout. The members includes: Stockroom supervisor Milling room supervisor Assembly supervisor Paint room supervisor Shipping supervisor

8.1 What Are Group DSS?

GDSS is a DSS with capabilities designed to

support the processes needed for group activity.

8.2 Why Group DSS Now?

2 factors that lead to the increase usage of GDSS:-

Organizational Factors

Technical Factors

8.2 Why Group DSS Now?

Most organizational decisions

are group decisions both for task-related reasons and organizational reasons.

8.2 Why Group DSS Now?

is related with the functional requirements of making decision

Task-related reasons

is related with reflecting peoples Organizational desire to be involve in reasons the decision.

8.2 Why Group DSS Now?

The Organizational Reasons for GDSS Growth are:

Changes in the way management makes decisions

Changes in organizational culture

8.2 Why Group DSS Now?

Changes in the way management makes decisions due to

More complex decision environments Emphasis on Specialization time as a which require of decision competitive multiple makers perspectives resource of different people Forcing multiple decision makers to break tasks into smaller subtasks and solve those subtasks in parallel.

8.2 Why Group DSS Now?

Changes in organizational culture due to

Desire to achieve benefits of Increased need participative management to make a job that satisfy workers such as improved needs for selfmorale and decision actualization acceptance by all group members
Overcoming the shortcomings of group meetings such as groupthink and dominance by one or few individuals

8.2 Why Group DSS Now?

Groupthink
The tendency of group members to fall into similar thought patterns and to disapprove, implicitly or explicitly, of opinions that do not conform to these patterns. GDSS make it less threatening for group members to violate group norms by stating new opinions or disagreeing with them.

8.2 Why Group DSS Now? Technical Reasons for Group DSS Growth:
Wide area telecommunications links becoming less expensive Wide area telecommunications links becoming less expensive More organizations have gateways and local area networks to bring high-speed links to decision makers desktops

8.3 Group Versus Individual Activites

The key difference between group

activities and individual activities is that for individuals to accomplish their task in group activities, they must interact with other individual in the group.

8.3 Group Versus Individual Activites

In group activities:
A task can be distributed among The knowledge group members This type of necessary to into subtasks which interactions cannot complete the task be achieved when members work may be distributed together to a single decision among the group integrate all results maker is involved. members and work out the overall solution.

8.3 Group Versus Individual Activites

When implementing this process,

splitting the overall task into subtasks which map precisely into the knowledge of individual members can allow each decision makers to seek help from members which have information beyond their domain knowledge.

8.3 Group Versus Individual Activites

A group directory can provide information

about the group members, skills and other requests to all other members via email or in a discussion group. This will lead to a higher form of information sharing which involve publishing what they learned and make it directly accessible over internal network such as an intranet.

8.3 Group Versus Individual Activites

How to motivate group members to cooperate?

How to ensure the information truthfulnes?

How to ensure that there is no free riding?

Challenges in design and implement GDSS

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

Defined as potential information-carrying capacity of a data transmission medium Measured by number of available communication Media Richness channels as well as immediacy of feedback provided to decision makers Used in groups may determine how information is processed

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

Communication Medium Richness Table

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

Electronic mail (low richness)

The level of media richness from high to low
Conveys information but requires longer time of response between members

Facial expression and tone of voice (medium)

Conveys information that provides immediate feedback Easy to gauge understanding and correct interpretations

Face-to-face (high richness)

Allows simultaneous display of multiple communication cues such as words used, body language, facial expressions, tone of voice

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

Task GDSS designers have used McGraths classifications (circumplex) frequently to design GDSS to match task requirement.

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

Group Task Circumplex

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

2 Dimensions

Circumplex (8 Classes of Tasks)

4 Basic Tasks

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

2 Dimensions

Cooperation to conflict

Behavioral (involve physical actions) to cognitive (inviolve mental activity & information)

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

4 Basic Tasks

Generating plans (planning tasks) Generating ideas (creativity tasks)

Tasks that have correct answer (intellective task) Involve issues without right answer (decision making tasks)

Generating Tasks

Choose Tasks

Negotiate Tasks
Resolve conflicts of viewpoints (cognitive conflict tasks) Resolve conflicts of interest (mixed-motive tasks)

Execute Tasks
Involve physical activity

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

Task and Media Fit (Task-Media Fit)

Defined as the fit between a task and a medium which means what type of media best fit each type of task Determining the correct richness of its communication media is important aspect of designing a GDSS to implement in any organization

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

Structured Task

Low richness is required

Unstructured Task

High richness is required

8.4 Media Richness and Task Types

Example: If an organization is implementing a

GDSS that allows members to communicate, should provide video teleconferencing if group is engaged in. During discussion, a written record of what others suggested, allows time to consider their suggestions and provides a way to add to the discussion without peer pressure. It may work better as well as being less expensive

8.5 Type of GDSS

GDSS can categorize in terms of how they deal
with the content and the information flow of decisions. The information flow axis shows the degree to which the GDSS is aware of how the group works and supports that style of work directly. The content axis starts with the DSS hierarchy from Chapter 4. The content-free zero level is added, which means GDSS with no decision making can be of use if they perform a useful function along the second, information flow, dimension.

Two Dimensional GDSS Spectrum

Suggestion system

Optimization system
Representation system

Accounting models Analysis information system Data analysis system

Group Decision Support System (GDSS)

Level 1 Connection management Level 2 Communication management Level 3 Content management Level 4 Process management

File drawer system No task content

8.5 Type of GDSS

Level 1: Connection Management System

Providing a physical mechanism through which people involved in a decision communicate e.g: WAN architecture

Level 2: Communication Management

Enhance information flow by means of facilities to store, reply, forward e.g: electronic mail packages and discussion groups

8.5 Type of GDSS

Level 3: Content Management System

Provides intelligent routing- the system knows where a document goes after its current user finishes with it, or where the messages should go once it is entered. e.g: decision conference system

Level 4: Process Management

Considering the content of the information in the flow in deciding what to do with it.

8.6 Groupware
The term groupware came into popular use in
the early 1990s. It related to, but not identical with group DSS. Groupware is the technology that group use. The field that studies how people use groupware is called compute-supported cooperative work (CSCW).

8.6 Groupware
Computer-based systems that support groups of
people engaged in a common task (or goal) and provide an interface to a shared environment Groupware facilitates the work of the group. It helps a group reach decisions more quickly, easily, or inexpensively. e.g. calendar programs Calendar program are a common elementary groupware application. Keep track of each members schedule commitments.

8.6 Groupware
Calendar program + electronic mail capabilities = it can
notify required and optional participants of meetings, schedule conference rooms and other required resources, collect information, generally simplify the process of meeting administrations Categories of groupware products include: e-mail and messaging conferencing tools GDSS tools Group document handling tools Workflow tools

Relationship Among DSS, GDSS, and Groupware

8.7 GDSS Use Today

8.7.1 Electronic meeting systems: Also known as a electronic boardroom or war
room Provide same time same place meeting Each participant has a microcomputer, connected by a high-speed local network Also have a large screen display, located where it can be seen by all participants Meeting facilitator guides the electronic aspect of the meeting, can view any participants computer display and show it on a large screen

8.7 GDSS Use Today

Electronic meeting room s/ware tools for planning the
session (propose agenda item), during meeting (organize and structure members comments), after meeting (recorded data) Three styles of electronic meeting: chauffeured: display screen is control by one person. ~Work quite well with small groups but was ineffective with large one. supported: all group member can write on the blackboard ~Work well between small and large group interactive: most highly computerized, hardly anyone speaks ~Preferred for large group

8.7 GDSS Use Today

Benefits: As the group become larger, independently of
the meeting style. Negatives: Most people can talk faster than they can typedepend highly on the meeting style.

Group Communication Grid

8.7 GDSS Use Today

8.7.2 Work Flow System Can be thought of as intelligent electronic mail, the systems knows what the flow of information in a decision-making situation is supposed to be and routes information accordingly This corresponds to either level 3 content management, or level 4 process management, of the group DSS hierarchy. Route work using forms and scripts
A form corresponds to a paper form A script defines the routing of the form

8.7 GDSS Use Today

Major characteristics of work flow development tools are :

they can move various types of objects forms,

documents, technical drawings, fax etc they can route information objects automatically from person to person according to a programmed plan information can be processed at any point. Applications developers have flexibility in the type of processing they specify tracking can show who has done what and where things are being held up information moved using electronic mail e.g. BeyondMail, WorkFlo, Cooperation, WorkMAN, TeamRoute, INConcert, Notes

8.7 GDSS Use Today

Work flow facilitate information

Compared to traditional communications where one must find out who has information, request it, and finally get it.

Work flow often associated with image

processing
It is incontestable that may work flow applications.

However, the two concepts are separate

and should be considered separately.

8.8 Groupware Products

8.8.1 Collaborative Authoring: a) Dolphin:

From German firm GMD S/ware system that supports

collaborative authoring in a distributed or face to face environment Supports the phase of collaborative writing that requires intense meetings

8.8 Groupware Products

Provide multiple cursors to show who is

working on part of the shared document Allow member to access a shared workspace from remote sites, exchange annotations and engage in discussions Uses replication to replicate the changes Utilize locking in the transactionprocessing sense to control concurrency

8.8 Groupware Products

b) MERMAID (Multimedia Environment for Remote Multiple Attendee Interactive Decision Making) Develop by Nippon Electric Corp (NEC) Supports a wide range of cooperative work in a distributed environment including collaborative authoring Used for technical discussions, s/ware development by groups whose members are distributed, joint system design, joint document editing

8.8 Groupware Products

Can accommodate WAN and multiple LAN
using any networking technology Provides multiwindow user interface with pulldown and pop-up menus that can be controlled by using the keyboard and mouse User friendly easy for non-technical office workers using this program Multiple authors can co-edit documents in a real time using the shared document editor while they can have a conversation using the video and audio-enabled conferencing facility.

8.8 Groupware Products

8.8.2 Lotus Notes From IBM subsidiary Lotus Development Corporation Notes way to organize documents and make them available to groups of people Not a relational database (not allow the user to enter data in a field in one file and then use the same field in another, not automatically update) Can store compound documents and do periodic, but not immediate updates

8.8 Groupware Products

Not suitable for applications that needs instance

update airline ticketing Provide many features serial routing and status checking Build around four core technologies security, compound documents basic component of a d/base, consist many types of information replication several copies of the d/base exist in different location development tools allows Notes system to be customized to the needs of a particular organization

8.8 Groupware Products

8.8.3 InConcert Work Flow Work flow management system for complex production-level work flows Provides the platform for building specific applications that help groups work together to solve problem Uses its object technology to associate an unlimited number of attributes and external data with processes and tasks. Operates in a client/server environment

8.8 Groupware Products

Packages includes the server s/ware,
developers kit and the optional tools and addon modules Code using C++ object-oriented programming language Provides security by restricting access to the users who do not have appropriate access privileges Is a process management system along the horizontal axis of the GDSS hierarchy