GROUP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM PREPARED BY: Name Roll Call Soyeb Jindani 14 Sonal Patel 37 SUBMITED TO: Mrs. Rutvi Umriger (Management information & control System) Bhagwan Mahawir College of Management

Definition Decision Support Systems (DSS) DSS are interactive computer-based systems intended to help decision makers utilize data to identify and solve problems and make decisions.

Group Decision-Support System (GDSS) GDSS is an interactive, computer based system used to facilitate the solution of unstructured problems by a set of decision makers. Consists of most of the elements in a DSS, plus GDSS software to support group decision making Also known as a computerized collaborative work system What Is a GDSS?

Hardware : conference facility, audiovisual equipment,including the room, the tables and the chairs and should be physically laid etc. Software Tools : e-questionnaires, e-brainstorming, idea organizers, group dictionaries, questionnaire tools, policy formation tools. voting tools, etc.) People : includes not only participants but trained facilitator and staff support. Three Main Components of GDSS:

Characteristics of GDSS Special Design Ease of use Specific and general support Suppressing negative group behavior Supporting positive group behavior

GDSS Time/Place Environment Same-Time Same-Place (Most widely used GDSS- computers with projectors, voting tools) Same-Time Different-Place (team room, tools, audio conferencing, screen sharing, chat) Different-Time Same-Place (audio/video conferencing, document sharing) Different-Time Different-Place (voice mail, , bulletin boards)

Tools of GDSS Electronic questionnaires: Set an agenda and plan ahead for the meeting Electronic brainstorming: Allows all users to participate without fear of reprisal or criticism Questionnaire tools: Gather information even before the meeting begins, so facts and information are readily available Stakeholder identification: Determines the impact of the group’s decision Group dictionaries: Reduce the problem of different interpretations

GDSS Meeting Workstations are provided to each attendee. Are networked and connected to facilitator’s workstation and the meeting’s file server. Activities Undertaken: Idea Generation Idea Organization Prioritizing Policy Development

Group Decision Support System

Business Value of GDSS Contributes to a more collaborative atmosphere by guaranteeing contributor’s anonymity. Properly designed GDSS meetings can increase the no. of ideas generated Most useful for tasks involving idea generation, complex problems and large groups.

Why Use GDSS? High level managers can spend 80% of their time making decisions in groups. Applied correctly, GDSS can reduce this time, arriving at a better decision faster. GDSS provides the hardware, software, databases and procedures for effective decision making.

How GDSS can enhance group decision making? Improved preplanning: Forces an agenda to keep the meeting on track Increased participation: Increases the number of people who can effectively contribute to the meeting Open, collaborative meting atmosphere: Non-judgmental input by all attendees Criticism free idea generation: Anonymity can generate more input and better ideas Evaluation objectivity: The idea itself is evaluated and not the person contributing the idea

Continue… Idea organization and evaluation: Organized input makes it easier to comprehend the results of the meeting Setting priorities and making decisions: All management levels are on equal footing Documentation of meetings: Results of meeting are available soon after for further use and discussion Access to external information: Reduces amount of disagreements by having the facts Preservation of “organizational memory”: Information is available to other groups within the organization

Advantages of GDSS Anonymity – drive out fear leading to better decisions from a diverse hierarchy of decision makers Parallel Communication – eliminate monopolizing providing increased participation, better decisions Automated record keeping – no need to take notes, they’re automatically recorded Ability for virtual meetings – only need hardware, software and people connected Portability - Can be set up to be portable… laptop Global Potential - People can be connected across the world No need for a computer guru – although some basic experience is a must

Disadvantages of GDSS Cost –infrastructure costs to provide the hardware and software/room/network connectivity can be very expensive Security – especially true when companies rent the facilities for GDSS; also, the facilitator may be a lower-level employee who may leak information to peers Technical Failure – power loss, loss of connectivity, relies heavily on bandwidth and LAN/WAN infrastructure – properly setup system should minimize this risk Keyboarding Skills – reduced participation may result due to frustration Training – learning curve is present for users, varies by situation Perception of messages – lack of verbal communication could lead to misinterpretation

1) “example is Hewlett-Packard. Their human-factors engineers work at locations all over the world. And they meet in person only once a year. The rest of the time, they have frequent, ongoing meetings to discuss professional and company issues. But they have these discussions through an electronic conference and final decision making is done with the aid of GDSS (Sproull 121).” Examples of GDSS taken directly from