In: Operations Management
Consider Transaction Processing Systems, Management Information Systems, and Decision Support Systems.
A regional sales manager is suffering from unexpectedly low sales of a new product. How can s/he use each of the above systems for diagnosing the cause of this problem?
Transaction processing systems and Management information systems are internal systems where as Decision support systems pertain to decisions affecting the whole organization.
Transaction processing systems are used to record all the business transactions done. For example, inventory control requires this system to record all the material transactions so that the current inventory can be known.
Management information systems take the data from transaction processing system as input and analyze it thoroughly. For example, we can know what type of goods are performing well and what types are underperforming . Necessary actions can be taken.
Decision support systems use the data from above internal systems and help in taking decisions that affect the whole organization. For example, human resource department may be changed to arrange for required staff to get more work done from the organization. Here Decision support system indicates the need for more staff.
Low sales of a new product can rectified using the above systems. For example, using the transaction processing system, we can kknow whether products are being ordered or not. Using management information system, we can know where the product is lacking, like quality or aesthetic design. Based on this information, decision support systems give a detailed analysis and suggestions. The sales manager can take necessary action to successfully tackle the situation.