Decision Support Systems in Business

Decision support systems (DSSs) are a sub-set of information systems that support human decision-making through computerized systems that provide contextual information. DSSs allow decision-makers to improve their strategic planning and management control; from a business standpoint these systems have a wide-range of application (Yong & Taib, 2009). DSSs can be applied in a variety of areas to assist decision-makers as in controlling inventory, assessing consumer behavior, scheduling, forecasting, safety, planning, and risk assessment (Turban, et al., 2008). DSSs also see wide-ranging application in other fields, such as political analysis (Berg & Rietz, 2003), investigating social implications (Turoff, et al., 2002), developing educational programs (Tatnall, 2007), medical applications (Mainous, et al., 2013), understanding consumer behaviors (Koufaris, et al., 2001), evaluating military decisions (Klimack, 2002), assessing environmental policies (Poch, et al., 2004), forecasting demand (Efendigil, et al., 2009), predicting stock performance (Kuo, et al., 2001), and understanding power system loads (Santana, et al., 2012). Perspective of Chapter