Intelligent user interfaces, particularly in interactive group settings, can be based on system explanations that guide model building, application, and interpretation. Here we extend Silver's (1990,1991) conceptualization of decisional guidance and the theory of breakpoints in group interaction to operationalize feedback and feedforward for a complex multicriteria modeling system operating within a group decision support system context. We outline a design approach for providing decisional guidance in GDSS and then test the feasibility of the design in a preliminary laboratory experiment. Findings show how decisional guidance that provides system explanations at breakpoints in group interaction can improve MCDM GDSS usability. Our findings support Dhaliwal and Benbasat's (1996) conjecture that system explanations can improve decisional outcomes due to improvement in user understanding of decision models. Further research on intelligent agents, particularly in interactive group settings, can build on the concepts of decisional guidance outlined in this paper.
To permit exploration of the development of attitudes in a group decision support system environment, eight groups of four and five persons each met in a computer-supported conference room over a period of two months. Each group addressed two strategic planning tasks, meeting for a total of eight two-hour sessions. The computer support provided was Software-Aided Meeting Management (SAMM), a system designed to support common group needs such as problem identification, alternatives generation, and alternatives evaluation. Groups were permitted to use or not use SAMM, according to their own perceived needs. Members' attitudes toward the group decision process and their perceptions of meeting quality were assessed after each meeting. As part of an academic course in which they were enrolled, the groups were required to submit a detailed report of their plans for each task; the plans were evaluated by the course instructor. Results suggested two patterns of adoption of SAMM: (1) groups that accepted the technology and used it throughout their meetings, and (2) groups that discarded the technology and ceased to use it. This paper discusses attitudinal development in these two types of groups and explores the relationship between attitudes and the quality of group planning in the SAMM environment.
There is very little empirical research available on the effectiveness of decision support systems applied to decision-making groups operating in face-to-face meetings. In order to expand research in this area, a laboratory study was undertaken to examine the effects of group decision support systems (GDSS) technology on group decision quality and individual perceptions within a problem-finding context. A crisis management task served as the decision-making context. Two versions of the experimental task, one higher in difficulty and the other lower in difficulty, were administered to GDSS-supported and nonsupported decision-making groups, yielding a 2 X 2 factorial design. Decision quality was significantly better in those groups that received GDSS support. The GDSS was particularly helpful in the groups receiving the task of higher difficulty. Members' decision confidence and satisfaction with the decision process were, however, lower in the GDSS-supported groups than in the nonsupported groups. These findings expand knowledge of the applicability of GDSS for decision-making tasks and suggest that dissatisfaction may be a stumbling block in user acceptance of these systems.
A cumulative body of experimental research is emerging that examines the ability of computer technology to support the processes and outcomes of small group meetings. For the most part the group decision support system effort has been concerned with demonstrating the usefulness of the technology in planning and decision-making situations where the quality of the meeting's outcomes can be objectively assessed. In many decision situations, however, there is no objective measure of decision quality available. Rather, the group must reconcile differences in opinion, personal preference, or judgment and achieve consensus about a particular mode of action. As a contribution to the accumulating research on GDSS, the current study examines the effects of a GDSS in resolving conflicts of personal preference. In a task requiring resolution of competing personal preferences, 82 groups--the largest sample size in the GDSS literature to date--were randomly assigned to one of three experiment conditions: (1) a computer-based support system (GDSS); (2) a manual, paper and pencil, support system; or (3) no support whatsoever. Groups were either of size 3 or 4 persons. Use of the GDSS was expected to facilitate democratic participation in group discussion, move group members toward agreement with one another, and result in a high level of satisfaction with the group decision process. While several of the intended effects of the technology were observed, the groups experienced some unintended consequences as a result of using the GDSS. In general, the GDSS technology appeared to offer some advantage over no support, but little advantage over the pencil and paper method of supporting group discussion.
Human resource information systems (HRIS) have become a major MIS subfunction within the personnel areas of many large corporations. This article traces the development of HRIS as an entity independent of centralized MIS, assesses its current operation and technological base, and considers its future role in the firm, especially its relationship to the centralized MIS function. The results of a survey of HRIS professionals from 171 U.S. corporations are described in order to provide an overview of the current design, operation, and effectiveness of HRIS. The findings of the survey are discussed in terms of their implications for management of human resource information systems.