Executive support systems (EIS)

Executive support systems (EIS)

EIS

Executive support systems are intended to be used by the senior managers directly to provide support to non-programmed decisions in strategic management.

These information are often external, unstructured and even uncertain. Exact scope and context of such information is often not known beforehand.

This information is intelligence based:

Market intelligence

Investment intelligence

Technology intelligence Examples of Intelligent Information

Following are some examples of intelligent information, which is often source of an ESS:

External databases

Technology reports like patent records etc.

Technical reports from consultants

Market reports

Confidential information about competitors

Speculative information like market conditions

Government policies

Financial reports and information

1 Advantages of ESS

Easy for upper level executive to use

Ability to analyze trends

Augmentation of managers' leadership capabilities

Enhance personal thinking and decision making

Contribution to strategic control flexibility

Enhance organizational competitiveness in the market place

Instruments of change

Increased executive time horizons.

Better reporting system

Improved mental model of business executive

Help improve consensus building and communication

Improve office automation

Reduce time for finding information

Early identification of company performance

Detail examination of critical success factor

Better understanding

Time management

Increased communication capacity and quality

2 Disadvantage of ESS

            Functions are limited

            Hard to quantify benefits

            Executive may encounter information overload

            System may become slow

            Difficult to keep current data

            May lead to less reliable and insecure data

            Excessive cost for small company