Decision making requires intelligence. Firstly it is necessary to recognise the problem, then a search for relevant information is made, resulting in an answer or solution. An information system can provide the information that allows the management to operate and make decisions.

Management Information System (MIS)

A Management Information System revolves around the processes of monitoring, receiving feedback, and controlling. It will produce reports and statistics often in a graphical form utilising pie charts, bar graphs, or scatter graphs for example. These can be produced for managers on a regular basis or on demand. External sources or information such as competitors' sales can be used for decision making.

Decision Support System (DSS)

A Decision Support System is an interactive system that helps managers decide upon courses of action. A DSS may gather data from the business' Transaction Processing System or Management Information System. A DSS may also use models and simulations to help the management make an informed decision.

A Decision Support System (DSS) has the purpose of helping the decision making process assigned to management. A DSS can assess the outcomes of decisions given relevant information or estimates.

A DSS acts at multiple levels:

• Operational - The DSS assists in making every day decisions regarding the running of the business
• Tactical - The DSS is used to model the operations or direction of the business in the future weeks or months. For example, a change in pricing policies can be assessed using the DSS.
• Strategic - The DSS is used to model the long term direction of the business

Some applications of Decision Support Systems are as follows:

Marketing:

• The effect of discount or pricing strategies
• Impact of an advertising campaign
• Changes in product range

• Whether opening a new plant is a good idea
• Deciding plant layout
• Project planning (time and costs)

Expert / Intelligent Systems have "expertise" which involves having specific knowledge that relates to a certain field or task. The Expert System is processed by a program which can make inferences and come to conclusions. The Expert system can mimic reasoning in the sense that it can explain how it comes to its decision. It can construct, evaluate, and choose alternatives for a certain course of action.

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