Decision support systems are organized collections of information, people, software, procedures, and other devices that are used to make decisions to solve problems. They allow businesses to have a known structure to solve issues and problems, which would save money and time for the company. Our text used the example of TurboRouter, which is a support system for shipping developed in Norway that reduces shipping costs and cuts emissions on merchant ships. It uses effective scheduling and management to save as much money as possible for shipping, which can get very expensive. There are many types of decision support systems, including Group Support Systems, which use collaboration to solve problems and make decisions.
Group Support Systems are used so that people in the workplace can use networks and computers to work together to solve problems, usually so that they do not have to be in the same place at the same time. They provide for a more hands on approach to problem solving and work cooperation than Computer Supported Cooperative Work, which focus more on general communication support. [1]
Group support systems have the same benefits as Decision Support Systems in general, however, they also provide much more. It allows for communication between parties who may not have been able to communicate without the software and systems. Since people would not have to travel around the country or world to go to meetings to work together, employees at different branches of a business or in different businesses can collaborate, travel costs are greatly cut down. This saves the business money and time lost, both very important things these days, since money needs to be saved anywhere it can.[2] If I could conduct a meeting or solve a problem with someone in Los Angeles over the internet instead of spending the time and money to fly there, I know I certainly would choose the Group Support System.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_decision_support_systems
[2] www.terry.uga.edu/~hwatson/Group%20Support%20Systems1.ppt
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