Decision Process Cycle Time Reduction through Coordination of Modeling Activities 49

PC-based modeling activity by end-users, used for decision support, is dependent upon information from other models and sources outside the functional unit. Consequently, there is a need for coordination of the various functional unit models that comprise the distributed decision support system. To the extent that the information sharing among these models is timely, current and correct, the resultant outputs of the models will be vastly improved. This article investigates coordination issues of end-user models with a focus on how such coordination affects cycle time of the organizational decision process. The article first discusses the various types of model interdependence and then presents a coordination strategy for accommodating each interdependence type. Significant cycle time reduction in organizational decision making processes can be achieved through use of one or more of the proposed coordination strategies. The PC-based modeling activity by end-users is one of the most significant contemporary developments in organizational computing. It is known that productivity of individual decision makers is improved as PC-based modeling tools allow users to make more decisions within the constraints of cognitive, time and economic limits. The productivity improvement of individual decision makers has been a main focus of decision support systems research (Bostrom et al., 1990; Rivad et al., 1988; Sein et al., 1987) under the assumption that maximum performance of individual decision making ensures maximum performance of collective organizational decision making.