Should We Invest in a Decision Support System?
Disadvantages
of a Decision Support System
DSS should accomplish a purpose that is valued by the organization and supports the individuals and groups who use the system. However, building and using DSS can create negative results.
1. Overemphasis on Decision Making: The focus of building a computerized system is obviously on decisions and decision making. However, overemphasis on decisions and decision making is often the result. It is vital to educate managers about the broader context of decision making and when and under what circumstances DSS should be used.
2. Transfer of Power: Building any form of DSS may be seen as transferring decision authority from a human to a software program. DSS should only be used to improve decisions. The system cannot capture all the complexities of human decisions; therefore the human decision maker should still be a part of the process. The decision maker should always be considered the ultimate authority with the final say in accepting or ignoring the analyses and recommendations of the DSS.
3. Unanticipated effects: The implementation of the decision support technology may reduce the skills required to perform a decision task because some DSS tend to overload the decision maker with information, resulting in decreased decision-making effectiveness. The company may also be confronted with problems developing a system capable of assisting people in situations that neither the user nor the program can foresee.
4. Obscuring Responsibility: Some users may deflect personal responsibility to DSS. Users may need to be constantly reminded that the computerized DSS is an intermediary between the people who built the system and the people who use the system. All responsibility should be held to the users and designers of the system.