Using Management Information Systems Chapter 2 Information

Using MIS 2eChapter 2

Information Systems for Collaboration

David KroenkeEdited by Spiros Velianitis

© Pearson Prentice Hall 2009 2-1

Study Questions Q1 – What is collaboration?

Q2 – How can you use collaboration systems to improve team communication?

Q3 – How can you use collaboration systems to manage content?

Q4 – How can you use collaboration systems to control workflow?

Q5 – How do businesses use collaboration systems for decision making?

Q6 – How do businesses use collaboration systems for problem solving?

Q7 – How do businesses use collaboration systems for project management?


Q1 – What is collaboration?








Q1 – What is collaboration? Collaboration occurs when two or more people work together to

achieve a common– Goal– Result– Work product

Greater than individuals working alone Involves more than coordination and communication alone Feedback and iteration provide an opportunity for team

members to:

– Proceed in a series of steps (iterations) by continuously reviewing and revising each other’s work

– Learn from each other rather than working in isolation– Change the way they work and what they produce– Ultimately produce a product that’s greater (and better) than an

individual could accomplish working alone


Q1 – What is collaboration? The three critical collaboration drivers are:

– Communication

• The success of the collaboration group depends on the availability of effective communication systems that allow them to share their skills and abilities

– Content management

• Users need to manage the content of their work to avoid conflicting with other team members.

– Workflow control

• Workflow is a process or procedure to create, edit, use, and dispose of content.










Q2 – How can you use collaboration systems to improve team communication? Synchronous communication

– Team members meet at the same time, but not necessarily at the same geographic location.

– It may include conference calls, face-to-face-meetings, or online meetings.

Asynchronous communication– Team members do not meet at the same time or in the same

geographic location.

– It may include discussion forums or email exchanges.



Fig 2-1 Information Technology for Communication



Virtual meetings don’t require everyone to be in the same place at the same time.

– Conference calls – can be difficult to arrange the right time

– Multiparty text chat – easier to arrange if everyone has mobile texting

– Videoconferencing – requires everyone to have the proper equipment

– Email – most familiar but has serious drawbacks in content management

– Discussion forums – content is more organized than email

– Team surveys – easy to manage but don’t provide very much interactive discussion











Fig 2-5 Information Technology for Sharing Content


There are three categories for sharing content. Your choice depends on the degree of control your team needs to complete their tasks


The following methods of sharing are effective but provide no control over content management.

– Email attachments are the most primitive but have numerous problems.

• Someone may not receive the email or ignores it.• It’s difficult to manage attachments.

– A shared file server provides a single storage location for all team members.

• It uses FTP technology to access files.• Problems can occur if multiple team members try

using the same file at the same time.


Q3 – How can you use collaboration systems to manage content? These methods of content sharing provide version

management

– Wikis

– Google Docs and Spreadsheets

– Microsoft Office Groove


Q3 – How can you use collaboration systems to manage content? Wikis are shared knowledge bases, repositories of team

knowledge, which have or use tracking mechanisms for changes.

Most commonly known wiki is wikipedia.com.



Google Docs and Spreadsheets

– Access it at http://docs.google.com with a Google account (different from a Gmail account).

– Documents are stored on Google servers making them accessible from anywhere.

– Team members can track revisions and review change summaries.

– It’s a free service but you must use Google programs for processing.


Q3 – How can you use collaboration systems to manage content? Microsoft Office Groove

– You create a workspace and invite others to join.

– Document changes are automatically provided to all team members.

– You can use VoIP rather than separate phone lines for conversations.

– You can use it asynchronously or synchronously.

– You can use any computer or server to access workspaces.

– Each user must purchase a license and install it on each computer (may be exceptions).



Shared content with version control provides more limitations than version management and more control over changes to documents.

– It uses shared libraries (directories) to store documents.

– Users are given permissions that limit what they can do with the documents.

– It requires users to check out documents and check them back in.

– Microsoft SharePoint is the most popular for business use.

• It requires a publicly accessible server.

• It’s difficult to install.











Sequential workflow– When documents are reviewed by multiple members of a team one

after another

Parallel workflow– When documents are reviewed by multiple members of a team

simultaneously

SharePoint site– Defines workflows and ensures team members perform required

tasks










Information Systems for Decision Making Decision making in organizations is varied and complex. Decisions occur at three levels in organizations (decision

levels): Operational decisions concern day-to-day activities.

– Information systems that support operational decision making are called transaction processing systems (TPS).

Managerial decisions concern the allocation and utilization of resources.– Information systems that support managerial decision making are

called management information systems (MIS). Strategic decision making concern broader-scope

organizational issues.– Information systems that support strategic decision making are

called executive information systems (EIS).

Information Systems for Problem Solving Information systems can be used to solve problems. Problem definition

– A problem is a perceived difference between what is and what is not.

– A problem is a perception.

– A good problem definition defines the differences between what is and what ought to be by describing both the current and desired situations.

– Different problem definitions require the development of different information systems.

– All personnel in the organization must have a clear understanding of which definition of the problem the information system will address.

Decision Making and Problem Solving Problem solving is the most critical activity a business organization

undertakes. Problem solving begins with decision making. In the intelligence stage, potential problems and /or opportunities are

identified and defined In the design stage, alternative solutions to the problem are developed In the choice stage, a course of action is selected In the implementation stage, action is taken to put the solution into

effect In the monitoring stage, the implementation of the solution is

evaluated to determine if the anticipated results were achieved and modify the process

The Decision Process Two decision processes (method by which a decision is to

be made) are structured and unstructured. Structured decision process is one for which there is an

understood and accepted method for making the decision. Unstructured process is one for which there is no agreed on

decision making process. The terms structured and unstructured refers to the decision

process-not the underlying subject.


Fig 2-15 Collaboration Needs for Decision Types


Optimization, Satisficing, and Heuristic Optimizing is finding the best solution and is usually best

fit for problems that can be modeled mathematically with a low degree of estimation risk. For example, find how many products an organization should produce to meet a profit goal.

Satisficing is finding a good, but not necessarily the best, solution. Satisficing does not look at all possible solutions, but at those that are likely to give good results. Satisficing is a good decision method because it is sometimes too expensive to analyze every alternative to get the best solution. A satisficing example is when you have to select a location for a new plant.

Heuristics are guidelines or procedures that usually find a good solution by using “rules of thumb”.

Different Types of Information Systems for Different Types of Decisions Automated information systems are those by which the

computer hardware and program components do most of the work.– Humans start the programs and use the results.

Augmentation information systems are those in which humans do the bulk of the work.– These systems augment, support, or supplement the work done by

People (email, instant messaging, video-conferencing, etc) to aid in decision making.









Q6 – How do businesses use collaboration systems for problem solving? Collaboration systems provide team members with

feedback and iteration that helps them:

– Identify numerous solution alternatives rather than just one.

– Make a choice by allowing them to discuss the pros and cons of each alternative.

– Broker the selected solution and make necessary adjustments that benefit all parties.



Problem solving and collaboration systems are more effective when they successfully employ the three collaborative drivers:

– Communication systems that allow a regular and reliable exchange of ideas and information

– Content-management systems that control document changes and revisions so everyone has the most current version

– Workflow control is less important because of the nature of the unstructured decision-making process











The three collaborative drivers are important to ensure the success of a project.

– Communication systems help decision makers communicate with one another and deal with unexpected problems as they occur.

– Content-management systems control document changes and revisions that occur during the project.

– Workflow control is important because of task dependencies inherent in projects.



Fig 2-17 Collaboration Systems for Decision Making, Problem Solving & Project Mgt


Business

Using Management Information Systems Chapter 2 Information