how the decision was derived. This can hamper the company's ability to make long-term strategic decisions which are in the best interests of the organization.
In the future, technology is likely to become more sophisticated, more powerful, and less expensive. The complexities of information technology are likely to lead to increased reliance on such systems, and there is likely to be an increase in the distance between decision makers and the tools they use to make decisions. This requires that decision makers develop new analytical skills in order to determine if the decisions presented by information systems are valid.
Current Operational Information Systems
Information technology has traditionally been the domain of a company's management information system (MIS) department. Companies based decisions to implement such applications on demonstrated cost savings or avoidances and the availability of MIS resources (both system resources and labor resources for development and support). The advent of personal computers has strengthened the argument for implementing a database application because it greatly relieves the burden on the MIS department (Royal, 1995, p. 67).
Using a PC, many individuals are now capable of creating a data maintenance screen and reports and developing a relatively sophisticated application. The PC revolution has given individuals access to immediate results, autonomy and ingenuity that come from direct interaction with computer applications. When database applications were created exclusively by the MIS department, integrity and access control were managed by people who were specifically trained to handle them. Today, companies are faced with the problem of how to capitalize on the advantages of end-user computing while encouraging data-sharing and ensuring integrity and confidentiality.
In many operational information systems, the data represent a structured collection. One record exists ...