Managerial Decision Making and Information Needs

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Managerial Decision Making and Information
Needs
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Roles of managers and needed information?

• Classical view
• plan,
• organize,
• coordinate,
• decide,
• control
• What information do they need?

• Modern view
• Based on observations of managers on the job,
  in their respective environments.
• What information do they need?

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Classical Styles

• Quantitative managers
• How do they manage?
• Information needs?

• Qualitative managers
• How do they manage?
• Information needs?

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The Classical View

• Quantitative Style
• Quantifiable factors
• Variables
• Values
• States optimum state
• Strategies
• Outcomes

• Information
• states of nature
• objectives
• performance
• standards
• alternatives

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The Classical View

• Qualitative Style
• Better solutions
• General problem statement
• Assumptions
• Satisficing
• Human values included

• Information
• cost of information
• nature of information
• can we improve on situation?
• attractive alternatives

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Modern View of Managerial Decision Making

• Rational Manager
• Satisficer
• Organizational Procedures Type
• Political View
• Individualist

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Rational Manager

• well informed
• single decision maker
• classical approach
• information needs
• cost/benefits
• economic factors
• criteria for choice
• analytic definition of variables

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Satisficer

• knowledge has a limited nature
• uses heuristics
• good enough is good enough
• attempts to improve on present
• single or group decision maker(s)
• information needs
• descriptive model
• identification of present
• tool to find identify improvements

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Organizational Procedures Type

• decisions are outputs of standard procedures
• invoke procedures when a decision is needed
• single or group decision maker(s)
• information needs
• definition of roles
• lines of authority
• available channels of communication
• laws, rules, regulations which apply

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Political View

• bargaining
• determinants of outcomes (power, influence,
  status, recognition,..)
• single or group decision maker(s)
• information needs
• process (as opposed to content)
• persons
• payments
• IOUs

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Individualist

• personal style
• emphasis on personal problem solving
• single decision maker
• information needs
• contingent on personal style, education,
  personality, personal values
• effected by approach used
• based on situation

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How does the I-net support varied decision making
styles?

• E-mail communication
• Electronic handbooks published revised
• Interactive training classes
• Employee reviews
• Performance tracking
• Scheduling and task assignments
• Reporting
• Purchasing

• Rational manager
• Satisficer
• Organizational
• procedures type
• Political view
• Individualist

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Consider purchasing a passenger car. What
factors do you look for?

• Page 1 list 4-5 important factors.
• Do not erase a single factor!
• Page 2 rank order the above factors.
• Page 2 apply weights from 1-10 to represent
  importance.
• List information you need to purchase the car.
• Do not discuss with others!

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Community environment.Group decision making.

• form groups of 3-4 persons,
• as a group, decide on 5-6 important environmental
  factors for your community,
• rank order them,
• what information do you (as a group) need?
• Do not include a factor just because someone
  mentioned it!

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How would the above influence the MIS you design
and install for these managers, on these levels
of community management?
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IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGN UNDERSTANDING INFO
SYSTEMS

• ENVIRONMENT
• STRUCTURE OF FIRM
• CULTURE
• POLITICS

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End Managerial Decision Making Styles