MIS 301 Information Systems in Organizations Dave Salisbury ( ) (web site)

What We Will Cover: Knowledge Work Activities Decisions, Decisions—Making Decisions at the Individual Level Problem Solving

Student ROI (Return on Investment) Your investment of time and effort in this course will result in your being able to answer these questions: What are some activities that you as a knowledge worker will likely perform to add business value to your organization? How do structure and quality information influence the nature of the decisions made by knowledge workers? How can knowledge workers use the IADD model of problem solving to create business value?

Knowledge Work Activities Discovery Transformation Analysis Synthesis Communication

Simon & the Rational Person Humans can be rational actors, their rationality is bounded by their limitations Humans tend to satisfice, or settle on the first acceptable option, rather optimizing Information stored in computers can increase human rationality if accessible when needed The central problem is not how to organize to produce efficiently, but how to organize to make decisions (i.e. process information)

Information Technology Provides Assistance to... Capture, and codify and create knowledge Communicate and/or distribute knowledge Collaborate with other workers Make procedures standard and routine

Knowledge Work Activities

Discovery Discovery is the finding of data, information, and knowledge relevant to a task, problem, issue, opportunity, and so on. Search engines are a important part of the discovery process. Intranets contains data about the company that can be searched by employees to find “best practices.”

Transformation Transformation is a knowledge work activity to involves organizing the results of discovery activities. Often this involves transforming data using databases into information that can be used to create business value. Database management systems (DBMS) software are important to the transformation process.

Sales Data for WildOutfitters

Transforming Data Visually

Analysis Analysis is the knowledge work activity involves thoughtful investigation and examination of the available data, information, and knowledge. Spreadsheet software is widely used for the analysis process.

Synthesis Synthesis is the discovery of trends or patterns and may explain courses of action to favorably influence the future. Often wholes from parts is one way of synthesizing data into useful information and knowledge. An accurate and complete synthesis of the results of an analysis is essential to solving the right problem and making sound decisions.

Communication Communication is the sharing of analyses, ideas and solutions with others. Some communication technologies like and instant messaging focus on physically sharing a message. Other communication technologies help in scheduling meetings. Presentation and document creation software are important communication tools.

Communication Technologies

Examples of Knowledge Work Activities Activity Example DiscoveryFind weekly sales data for out company and for competitors TransformationCompare sales data for one week to similar data for previous months AnalysisIdentify any trends in data and compare to competitor and industry SynthesisSuggest ways to capitalize on company strengths and overcome weaknesses CommunicationPresent findings and suggestions to management.

Making Decisions at the Individual Level A decision is a choice about actions to take (or not take) in a given decision. A structured decision is one that can be programmed; it is routine or repetitive. A semistructured decision is one that involves some uncertainty or doubt about the outcome of it. An unstructured decision is one that involves a significant amount of uncertainty about the outcome associated with a choice. Information systems are important because they help reduce uncertainty by providing information to decision makers.

Two Key Issues Uncertainty Lack of information Ambiguity Lack of structure

Using CARROTS As a knowledge worker, your work centers on finding and using quality data, information, and knowledge. As a decision maker, the quality of a decision often depends on the quality of the inputs used to inform the decision. CARROTS is a way to remember the important characteristics of useful data, information, and knowledge: CARROTS: Complete, Accurate, Reliable, Relevant, Objective, Timely, and Source

Using Carrots Information Characteristic Example CompleteA new team member’s phone number is Do you need an area code? AccurateYour course schedule shows a class starting at 11P.M. Is it wrong? ReliableAn unsolicited offers to share millions of dollars with you. Is this reliable? RelevantIs an article on IS operations dated Dec. 1, 1999 about the Y2K problem relevant to today’s problems? ObjectiveCould you consider information found the Web site of a political party to be “objective”? TimelyCan a forecast of yesterday’s weather be considered timely information in deciding what to wear today? SourceTransaction processing data is internal information while a report from the U.S. Census Bureau is external.

Summary of Decision Making

Problem solving A problem exists when we find ourselves in a current situation that fails to meet our goals, needs, or expectations. Often the result of past series of events or lack of events. Once we recognize that a problem exists, we have an opportunity to solve the problem Problem Solving refers to a series of steps or a process (logical sequence of activities) taken in response to some event or activity.

IADD Model The IADD model consists of four major steps, Investigate, Analyze, Decide, and Do. Investigate: Determine if there is a problem or an opportunity and if it is possible to solve the problem or take advantage of the opportunity. Analyze: Gather data that are relevant to the problem or opportunity. Decide: Evaluate solutions and make choices regarding how to implement the solution. Do: Implement the solution and monitor the results.

IADD Problem Solving Model

Investigate Knowledge workers identify a challenge or problem and gather data to determine if meeting the challenge or solve the problem is possible. Problems tend to be defined or identified in terms of what went wrong with a process or action. They may be defined by comparing your current situation to a desired current or future state and noticing a difference. They can also be defined as opportunities or challenges.

Analyze In the analyze stage, you become a detective, looking for clues that will help you determine what has happened. You also need to generate alternative solutions from which one will be selecting as well as determining criteria that will be used in the selection process. IS can help with analysis: Databases and database management systems (DBMS) software are tools for organizing and storing data Tools for manipulating data and in a sense, ask questions of your database – querying and data mining.

Decide In the decide stage knowledge workers choose the best solution from those available and describe how that solution will solve the problem, meet the challenge, or capitalize on the opportunity. During the decide stage, the best ideas from the alternative solutions are synthesized into a “best” solution. How do knowledge workers actually decide which solution to pick? It all depends on the criteria they established and the agreed upon decision process.

Do This step of the IADD model is where tasks and other physical activities are carried out according to your solution. Do stage often requires planning, scheduling, managing and supervising. Do it! Watch what Happens, Modify, Revise, and Learn

IADD Problem Solving Model Summary IADD Stages Purpose of each stage of our problem solving model InvestigateIdentify a challenge or problem and gather preliminary data to determine if something can be done to meet the challenge or solve the problem. AnalyzeDescribe the problem or challenge as well as all of the factors that influence the situation. Gather additional data as necessary to fully analyze the problem, challenge, or opportunity. Generate possible solutions and develop criteria that will help you choose the “best” solution. DecideChoose the best solution and describe how the solution will solve the problem/meet the challenge/capitalize on the opportunity DoDo it! Watch what Happens, Modify, Revise, and Learn

Putting it All Back Together