1. Chapter 6 – Analyzing Information for Business Decision Making
Information Systems, First Edition
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
by France Belanger and Craig Van Slyke
Contributor: Brian West, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2. Practice: Focus Story Discussion
What role did information play in this decision?
An electronic spreadsheet was very helpful in making this decision. What would have been different if spreadsheet software was not available?
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

3. Good decision making skills
One of the skills that sets apart successful business professionals
These skills are directly related to being able to make good decisions
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

4. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Practice
Learning Activity 6.1 (p. )
Suppose that you are in the market for a new apartment.
How would you go about making the decision of which new apartment to choose?
What information would you gather?
What would be the consequences of making a bad decision?
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

5. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Types of Decisions
Operational control
Managerial control
Strategic planning
Structured
Human resources reporting, short-term forecasting
Investment analysis, distribution system analysis
Semi-structured
Compensation planning,
Unstructured
Cash management, project management
Budget preparation, sales planning
Figure 6.1 – Gorry and Scott-Morton’s Information Systems Framework
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

6. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Practice
Learning Activity 6.2 (p. )
You will face many different types of decisions throughout your business career. Some decisions are well defined, have clear alternatives and information requirements. Others are much less clear. For each decision, answer the following questions:
What information would you need in order to make the decisions?
How confident are you that you have accurately identified the needs? Why do you feel this way?
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

7. Decision Making Process
Intelligence involves sensing conditions and predicting what conditions will require action
Choice selects the most effective and efficient alternative
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

8. Expanded Decision Making
Identify and clearly define the problem
Identify alternatives
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Identify the Problem
The “5 Whys”
Begin with the problem and ask “why?”
Why are our sales declining?
Why are costs rising?
Keep asking “why” until you uncover the problem
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Requirements
Must have vs. Like to have
Goals may conflict
Original requirements sometimes are changed to like to haves
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

11. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Practice
Learning Activity 6.3 (p. ) Suppose that you are in the market for a new vehicle. Establish at least five requirements and goals (five combined). For each requirement and goal, determine one or more criteria.
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

12. Does the solution solve the problem?
Make sure that it actually solves the original problem
If the problem is poorly defined, you are likely to develop inappropriate requirements and goals
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

13. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Practice
Learning Activity 6.4 (p. ) “What grade will I get if I score a 75% on the final?” You have probably asked yourself a similar question. While you can certainly figure this out without a computer, a properly designed spreadsheet can make this much easier. Use the spreadsheet available on the book’s website to calculate your overall course grade under three different final exam scores.
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

14. Information retrieval and analysis tools
Figure 6.6 – SAP Business Objects Screen
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“What-if” Analysis
Figure 6.7 – Spreadsheet Example
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16. Scenario Manager Summary
Figure 6.8 – Scenario Manager Summary
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Results of Goal Seek
Original
After Goal Seek
Figure 6.9 – Results of Goal Seek
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Showing Formulas
Figure 6.10 – Spreadsheet Showing Formulas
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

19. Data Visualization Software
Figure 6.11 – Visualization Example
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

20. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Practice
Learning Activity 6.5 (p. ) Spreadsheets are used extensively to understand outcomes based on different levels of input variables. Go to the course website and click on the link for Learning Activity 6.4. Follow the instructions.
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

21. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.