DECISION-MAKING AND THE MANAGER'S JOB

15.10 DECISION-MAKING AND THE MANAGER'S JOB

Computer-based information systems have had an impact on the job of manager for over three decades. However, this impact was felt mainly at the lower- and middlemanagerial levels. Now MSS are affecting top managers as well.

The most important task of managers is making decisions. MSS technologies can change the manner in which many decisions are being made and consequently change managers' jobs. The impacts of MSS on decision-making are numerous; the most probable areas are the following:  Automation of routine decisions or phases in the decision-making process (e.g., for

frontline decision-making).  Less expertise (experiencejrequirerl for making many decisions.  Faster decision-making because of the availability of information and the

automation of some phases in the decision making process.  Less reliance on experts and analysts to provide support to top executives; man-

agers can do it by themselves with the help of intelligent systems.  Power redistribution among managers.  Support for complex decisions, making them faster and of better quality.

 Information for high-level decision-making is expedited or even self generated.

Many managersreport that the computer has finally given them time to get out of the office and into the field (EIS can save an hour a day for every user). They also find that they

CHAPTER 15 INTEGRATION, IMPAITS, AND THE FUTURE OF MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SYSTEMS

agents, expert systems, OLAP, and other analytical tools). Another aspect of the managerial challenge lies in the ability of MSS to support the decision process in general and strategic

planning and control decisions in particular. MSS could change the decision-making process and even decision-making styles. For example, information gathering for decision-making is completed much more quickly. Enterprise information systems are extremely useful in supporting strategic management (Liu et al., 2002). AI technologies are now used to improve environmental scanning of information. As a result, managers can change their approach to problem-solving. Research indicates that most managers tend to work on a large number of problems simultaneously, moving from one to another as they wait for more information on their current problem (Mintzberg et al., 2002). MSS tend to reduce the time required to complete tasks in the decision-making process and eliminate some of the nonproductive waiting time by providing knowledge and information. Therefore, managers will work on fewer tasks during each day but will complete more of them. The reduction in start-up time associated with moving from task to task could be the most important source of increased managerial productivity.

Another possible impact on the manager's job could be a change in leadership requirements. What are now generally considered good leadership qualities may be significantly altered by the use of MSS. For example, as face-to-face communication is replaced by electronic mail and computerized conferencing, thus, leadership qualities attributed to physicai appearance could become less important.

Even if managers' jobs do not change dramatically, the methods managers use to do their jobs will. For example, an increasing number of CEOs no longer use intermediaries; instead, they work directly with computers and the Web. Once voice understanding is of high quality, we may see a real revolution in the way managers use com-

puters.