Knowledge that Transforms

:This study is an attempt to examine the efforts of a governmental agency, namely, the United States Postal Service, to compete in the high technology field against the private sector. The study seeks to highlight the impact of technological, political, legal, and economic problems. A hoped-for by-product is producing some lessons for guidance in similar future ventures.The paper surveys the rapidly advancing and highly competitive electronic mail market and the use of telecommunication networks in the leading companies in the private sector. The Postal Service approach to competition in the market and its managerial policy for dealing with this technological evolution in information delivery are also examined. Recommendations are made based on the capabilities, competitive position, and cost-demand structure of the U.S. Postal Service.

:We examine a versatile mathematical device which systematically summarizes combinations of linear functions of integer variables. The deterministic frequency function, like its relative the probability distribution, may be manipulated numerically or analytically to serve different purposes. Here we review some of its properties which make it suitable for solving small combinatorial problems of a general nature as may arise in mis and other applications.

:It is a mistake to categorize decision support systems (dss) as just another recent variant of traditional computer-based information systems. While traditional computer-based information systems are oriented toward performing structured processing tasks and producing regular reports, dss have the purpose of supporting nonroutine activities and evolving in response to user learning. Thus a different subset of factors should be considered when developing a decision support system. This paper proposes and defines a conceptual model of dss development whose origins are based on an open systems approach and whose components capture technical, behavioral, and organizational aspects of the development process.

:Decision support systems differ in a variety of ways from other forms of computer-based information systems. The specific relationship of a decision support system to the formal information system function with regard to application development has been a topic of speculation. This article reports on such relationships as found from an investigation of eighteen decision support systems.

:Gains in productivity and improved internal control of data and operations by data processing and word processing departments are often mentioned as motives for pursuing office automation. A recent survey of data processing and word processing managers indicates that productivity improvement is indeed a motivating factor, but that operations control may not be particularly important. This implies that justification of office automation based on the need to enhance data processing and word processing control may be an insufficient reason for incurring the time and expense necessary to automate. Therefore, if productivity problems do not exist, operations control should be closely examined before citing it as a major reason for implementing office information systems.

:This proposal for a new model of database administration development provides organizations with a framework for planning and controlling the growth of the database administration function and rectifies the shortcomings of previous models. These other models have proven to be neither consistent nor concise. Additionally, they have lacked consensus on the number of stages and on their constituent activities.To develop a new model, a field study was conducted. Interviews and a questionnaire were used to identify tasks which were important to the dba in the performance of the function. Results were analyzed using the techniques of factor and cluster analysis and then related to indicators of functional development. Three stages in the development of the database administration function were identified: initiation, transition, and stability.

:A new framework for the clasification and analysis of information-decision systems is presented. It is based upon two key dimensions, Scope and Complexity, each of which can be adequately described in terms of two principal components. For Scope, these are the organizational descriptors of breadth and depth, while for Complexity they are the problem descriptors of uncertainty and variety.This framework is shown to be a logical extension and synthesis of previously presented frameworks. The Scope/Complexity framework is sufficiently flexible to accommodate a variety of information system perspectives and to enable the analyst and researcher to graphically and algebraically portray the existing system and to evaluate various strategies for process improvement.An example of the application of the Scope/Complexity construct in the context of a vehicle scheduling decision support system is presented. In the final section, the Scope/Complexity framework is employed to identify a series of research hypotheses which directly parallel the problems of analysis and design encountered by the practitioner.

:Numerous firms experience rapid changes in information needs in today’s dynamic business environments. Many of the traditional systems development life-cycle (sdlc) approaches to systems design do not provide for incorporating changes to proposed designs during development of the information system. The sequential approach taken with these traditional life-cycle methodologies can lead to the failure of the information system in a volatile situation. This paper examines past sdlc approaches, proposes an approach which incorporates flexibility into the design process and provides an example illustrating the application of the proposed methodology.