Dear Not a Guru:
In the computer age, Decision Support Systems (DSS) have worked to providemany industries with ways of using existing data to solve current or futureproblems. For instance, financial planners may use a DSS to determine theeffects of a quarter-point drop in the Federal Funds Rate on the ultimate valueof a client’s portfolio, using both historical data andother user-defined information. Many corporations today use DSS to helpconsolidate and organize organizational data to quickly and efficiently getanswers to crucial questions. For example, during the budget process, afinancial analyst wants to determine the impact on a division’s profitabilityif new staff were added.
Executive Information Systems (EIS) are a newer twist on DSS and evolved fromits technology. This niche-type of system is geared towards the upper-levelmanagement of a company and was designed to provide these executives withhigh-level reporting that would impact strategic planning. It was often builtoff of information contained in the underlying DSS, butnot reported at such a detailed level.
Today, with the advent of newer, faster technologies in data searching andmore user-friendly databases, DSS and EIS have become almost one-in-the-same.Soon there will be little distinction between them.
SOURCE: Bill Dickmeyer, CEBS, Madison Human ResourcesConsulting, LLC,Madison, Wisconsin, Sept. 30, 2002.
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The information contained in this article is intended to provide usefulinformation on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice ora legal opinion. Also remember that state laws may differ from the federal law.