Robert J. Thierauf - Böcker

This book is designed to help MIS and information center managers and their staffs to efficiently and cost effectively meet the needs of end-users in their organizations. Focusing on managerial aspects of information centers, Robert J. Thierauf explores the ways in which new information technology--spreadsheets, query languages, report writers, word processing, etc.--can be placed in the hands of end-users without the interdepartmental conflict and loss of systems control often associated with such transitions.

Thierauf's work develops a number of interesting and potentially useful approaches to management information systems (MIS) practice. The author presents a number of techniques (some well known, others more recent) that practicing MIS managers may adopt to facilitate effective MIS planning for the 1990's by focusing on problem finding rather than on problem solving. A primary recommendation of Thierauf's is the restructuring of the MIS organization using a functional (end-user) departmental approach. Discussed at length are various issues relevant to this restructuring, such as staffing, motivating MIS personnel and end users, and MIS `soft' controls. Recommended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students as well as practicing managers and MIS specialists. ChoiceWith new developments in hardware and software, MIS managers are increasingly faced with the need to develop more sophisticated managerial--as opposed to purely technical--skills. Here, an acknowledged expert in the field of information systems draws on his own original research and experience to develop a set of workable strategies and techniques that MIS managers can use to function more effectively as we move into the next decade. Thierauf identifies probable trends in the field in coming years and outlines ways in which MIS managers can anticipate predictable problems, apply improved management skills to the end-user interface, and effectively motivate MIS personnel.Thierauf concentrates particularly on four major areas of managerial responsibility: planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling. In planning, he shows how to use problem-finding techniques to anticipate and solve potential problems between MIS personnel and end-users. To help reduce this conflict, Thierauf argues, there is a need for a new direction in organizing MIS departments. He proposes bringing MIS and end-use departments together by using a functional departmental approach. In motivating MIS personnel, there is need to go beyond self-actualization by emphasizing mutual actualization as well as self donation. Finally, in the area of control, Thierauf advocates the use of soft controls to replace stringent controls that have had a tendency to restrict personal freedom on the job. A common thread througout the discussion is a focus on effective guidelines for the MIS manager to follow in order to come to grips with the changing realities of the 1990s.

Written primarily for information systems managers, systems analysts, and end users who interface with them, this volume explores the group approach to decision support systems. As Thierauf points out, group decision making enhances the effectiveness of overall organizational decision making by eliminating some of the shortcomings--particularly the potential for uncorrected error--of individual decision making. When the collective expertise of the group is combined with the objective findings from a computerized mode of operation designed to help the decision making process, group decision support systems are the result. Thierauf explains the principles of group decision support systems, demonstrates their practical applications, and describes methods that can be used to design effective group decision support systems.The book begins by presenting the underlying framework for group decision support systems and examining the characteristics of decision making in the group environment. There follows two chapters which offer a comprehensive treatment of the hardware and software necessary and one devoted to work redesign and the development of group decision support systems. The final section addresses the applications of group decision support systems to strategic planning, marketing, manufacturing, accounting, and personnel. Numerous figures illustrate points made in the text. An important contribution to the MIS literature, this book both delineates the need for more widespread use of group decision support systems and clearly explains how to implement such systems in every area of business operations.

Expert systems--problem-solving computer programs that contain the encoded knowledge of experts in a specific application area such as financial planning--represent a crucial turning point in how the typical organization utilizes its computer environment. This volume, written for practitioners in finance and accounting as well as MIS managers who wish to broaden their expertise, offers a comprehensive look at the use of expert systems in the everyday operations of finance and accounting. The author presents selected areas that are viable candidates for expert systems, demonstrating the ways in which organizations can successfully augment their present management information systems with expert systems. Actual programs using a typical PC expert system shell (EXSYS) further illustrate the relative ease with which expert systems for finance and accounting can be developed, implemented, and maintained.Divided into four parts, the book begins by offering a framework for developing expert systems in finance and accounting. In the second part, Thierauf reviews the current state of development for programming languages in expert systems, the computer hardware necessary to run expert systems, and expert system shells useful in developing business expert systems. Part three presents an in-depth examination of the procedures used in developing expert systems, while the final part focuses on typical applications of expert systems in finance and accounting. Following a chapter on general business and nonbusiness applications, Thierauf addresses finance applications of expert systems and then uses the EXSYS program to develop demonstration and field prototypes and operational expert systems for standard finance applications. The final two chapters take the same approach to accounting applications. An appendix lists vendors of artificial intelligence/expert systems hardware and software.

One of the most important trends in information systems today is the increasing use of electronic data interchange whereby paper is replaced by electronic communication for transactions between companies. Written for financial and accounting professionals as well as the MIS managers with whom they interface, this book offers a comprehensive discussion of the elements of EDI systems that are particularly useful in finance and accounting applications. Thierauf introduces the underlying framework for EDI, comparing it to the present paper operating mode; explains the fundamentals of national and international electronic communication, and explores the hardware and software necessary as well as the typical costs involved. Numerous real-world case studies are included to demonstrate the feasibility, development, and implementation of EDI systems in finance, accounting, and banking operations.The text's structure follows a logical sequence from concept through application designed to assist the typical end user in the design and installation of an EDI system. Part One shows the relationship of EDI systems to various types of management information systems and discusses factors underlying both U.S. and international systems. In Part Two, Thierauf investigates the currently available EDI hardware and software and presents a custom-designed approach to software. In the final chapter of Part Two, Thierauf provides in-depth treatment of typical EDI applications as well as the design considerations for their development. The feasibility of undertaking an EDI system and detailed procedures for developing and implementing such a system form the focus of Part Three. Separate chapters cover EDI in strategic planning, banking, finance, and accounting. Numerous figures amplify points made in the text. In addition to providing a thorough guide to EDI for accounting, finance, and MIS professionals, this volume will also be ideal as a supplemental text for undergraduate and graduate courses in business information systems.

This work highlights the coming age of management information systems for all types of executives by focusing on executive information systems, or EIS. Serving as a data-intensive system, an EIS offers a snapshot of a company's past and present operations as a way of predicting the future. In this book, Robert Thierauf provides a complete picture of executive information systems, from an introduction of what these systems are all about, to the hardware, software, and applications that form the basis of an EIS environment.The work is divided into four basic sections. The first provides an overview of executive information systems, discussing the real need for an EIS, the essential characteristics underlying it, and its relationship to prior management information systems. The types of executive decision making typically found in an EIS environment, illustrated with specific examples, are also examined. The second section focuses on the computer hardware and software that is useful within an EIS operating mode, along with on-line databases that assist executives in decision making. The development of executive information systems is covered in section three, which features current approaches for executives and their staffs as well as methods to be followed by the Management Information Systems department. Finally, section four addresses various aspects of working in an EIS environment, including strategic planning, marketing, manufacturing, finance, and personnel. A master case study is presented, and each topic is explored in relation to it. Typical EIS applications are also described for each of the topic areas. With its combination of both EIS theory and practical applications, this work will be a valuable resource for senior executives and MIS professionals as well as for students of management and information systems. Public, academic, and business libraries will also find it to be a useful addition to their collections.

A common complaint heard in today's business office is, There is paper everywhere but I cannot find the document that I'm looking for! It is estimated that 90 percent of all data and information currently being processed and distributed within offices and between organizations resides on paper. Finding the physical space to store this paper can be a key problem. To overcome this problem and others, there is a need for a dramatic new approach to information processing found in business. Such an approach is found in this unique and useful volume.Essentially, image processing systems in business use today's computer technology to solve paper processing and storage problems. Their main means of processing is performed electronically, that is, documents are captured initially on an electronic medium and forwarded to other users in the same mode. In this manner, their essential means of communicating with users is in an electronic format versus a paper one. Also, image processing systems in business are much more flexible in meeting changing user needs, especially when the data is stored on optical disk.

Current thinking about how to improve strategic planning (now upgraded to strategic thinking) and decision making by managers at all levels is to employ some aspect of information systems technology. Although this approach has worked well for most organizations, chief executives are now asking their managers to do what they do best but to do it better. But how? Future thinking about improving strategic thinking and decision making involves integrating creativity with the latest in information systems. Hence, the power of the computer can be an important means to assist managers in doing what they do better when employing a creative computer software approach.Initially, the text looks at a number of areas that are impacted by creativity, with special emphasis on creative computer software. Management decision making is examined from a problem-finding or a forward-looking viewpoint that can benefit from utilizing creative computer software. Not only is this software useful for organizing ideas, but also for getting managers involved in networking ideas in different locations of a company. But more importantly, this software centers on the generation of new ideas. To demonstrate the generation of these ideas, the final part of the text gives a number of real-world applications of creative computer software. Particular emphasis is placed on Idea Fisher 4.0, an effective software package for generating new products and services.

Today's MIS manager must understand and apply the latest thinking on the crucial management functions: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. Moreover, not only must managers understand the research-based foundations underlying this thinking, they must also know how to leverage the new MIS technologies and incorporate them into it. Thierauf's new book guides managers through the technology/managerial function interface, explains latest research and its applications, and then provides MIS managers, their external auditors and consultants, with a unique questionnaire to help them assess the performance of their MIS groups and their own managerial effectiveness. With illustrations, checklists, guidelines, and unusual clarity of presentation, not only will Thierauf's book help MIS managers and those they report to understand better their day-to-day tasks, but it will also shed new light on the technologies themselves and their inevitable work impacts.

Virtual reality—one of the most advanced and exciting technologies to emerge in recent decades—offers businesspeople a new way to grasp information and use it quickly and effectively. By literally experiencing information in an artificially created computer generated world instead of reading, hearing, or viewing it on a screen, businesspeople can get information in a way that has proved most successful and most natural for humans. The result is saved time and money, savings that are essential to any enterprise if it is to survive and prosper in today's fast-paced, competitive business environment. The first book to explore virtual reality strictly for businesspeople, Virtual Reality Systems in Business provides essential information not only on theory and the scientific underpinnings of this new technology, but also on its methods, purposes, and day-to-day applications.Readers will learn how virtual reality applies to retailing, marketing, design, manufacturing, accounting, finance, training, human resource management, and other functions critical to the operations of any organization, public or private. They will learn the types of hardware and software currently available to develop the virtual worlds they need in their specific organizations, and how to procure them from vendors. Also covered are the methodologies by which computer professionals can develop their own virtual reality systems, and the relationship between virtual reality systems and computer databases and data communications. Explained too is the basic framework underlying business-oriented virtual reality systems and how these systems tie in with nonbusiness oriented systems. A major contribution to our understanding of today's technologies and the benefits that will accrue from them in years to come.

On-line analytical processing (OLAP) is clearly a new approach to information system technology—offering a much-needed way to make informed decisions better and faster. One of its most important characteristics is multidimensional analysis—analysis that goes beyond the conventional two-dimensional analysis and provides users with rapid retrieval of data from organizational databases, data warehouses, or both. Not only that, but most importantly, says Dr. Thierauf, it allows users to look at different dimensions of the same data, thus enabling them to do analyses across departmental and even corporate boundaries. How it works and OLAP's many benefits to aid users in the public and private sectors is spelled out here, comprehensively yet concisely, and with the author's customary well-developed examples and clear prose. His book will be important reading for people at all levels of management and in all types of organizations.Another way of viewing OLAP is getting a typical company out of the custom-report-writing business and into the data-cube-server building business. An OLAP data structure can be thought of as a Rubik's Cube of data that users can twist and twirl in different ways to work through what-if and what-happened scenerios to get at the whys of the situation. Within an OLAP environment, the focus is on performing dictionary definition and maintenance as well as mapping flat files or relational columns to dimensions and measures. Although this may sound like a lot of work, managing one data cube is more efficient than writing a number of custom reports. Currently, some vendors provide administrative tools to get the data into the cubes in the first place, in the proper form, and on a regular basis. Hence, the job of managing data has been simplified for users.

Until now, business systems have focused on selected data within a certain context to produce information. A better approach, says Thierauf, is to take information accompanied by experience over time to generate knowledge. He demonstrates that knowledge management systems can be used as a source of power to outmaneuver business competitors. Knowledge discovery tools enable decision makers to extract the patterns, trends, and correlations that underlie the inner (and inter-) workings of a company. His book is the first comprehensive text to define this important new direction in computer technology and will be essential reading for MIS practitioners, systems analysts, and academics researching and teaching the theory and applications of knowledge management systems.Thierauf centers on leveraging a company's knowledge capital. Indeed, knowledge is power—the power to improve customer satisfaction, marketing and production methods, financial operations, and other functions. Thierauf shows how knowledge, when developed and renewed, can be applied to a company's functional areas and provide an important competitive advantage. By utilizing some form of internal and external computer networks and providing some type of knowledge discovery software that encapsulates usable knowledge, Thierauf shows how to create an infrastructure to capture knowledge, store it, improve it, clarify it, and disseminate it throughout the organization, then how to use it regularly. His book demonstrates clearly how knowledge management systems focus on making knowledge available to company employees in the right format, at the right time, and in the right place. The result is inevitably a higher order of intelligence in decision making, more so now than could ever have been possible in even the most recent past.

One step above knowledge management systems are business intelligence systems. Their purpose is to give decision makers a better understanding of their organization's operations, and thus another way to outmaneuver the competition, by helping to find and extract the meaningful relationships, trends, and correlations that underlie the organization's operations and ultimately contribute to its success. Thierauf also shows that by tying critical success factors and key performance indicators into business intelligence systems, an organization's most important financial ratios can also be improved. Comprehensive and readable, Thierauf's book will advance the knowledge and skills of all information systems providers and users. It will also be useful as a text in upper-level courses covering a wide range of topics essential to an understanding of executive business systems generally, and specifically their creation and management.The theme underlying Thierauf's unique text is that a thorough understanding of a company's operations is crucial if the company is to be moved to a higher level of competitive advantage. Although data warehousing, data mining, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and other electronic aids have been in place for at least a decade, it is the remarkable and unique capability of business intelligence systems to utilize them that has in turn revolutionized the ability of decision makers to find, accumulate, organize, and access a wider range of information than was ever before possible. Effective business intelligence systems give decision makers a means to keep their fingers on the pulse of their businesses every step of the way. From this it follows that they are thus able to develop new, more workable means to cope with the competition successfully. Comprehensive and readable, Thierauf's book will advance the knowledge and skills of all information systems providers and users. It will also be useful as a text in upper-level courses covering a wide range of topics essential to an understanding of executive business systems generally, and specifically their creation and management.

One of the first books to probe the latest direction in computing technology, Thierauf's and Hoctor's innovative text explores ways in which smart business systems can help pick the best, most optimal or near-optimal solutions from among hundreds, even thousands of possibilities that threaten to swamp organizational decision makers daily. Authors make clear that while past information systems have focused on generating information that is helpful in the production of knowledge over time, smart business systems, utilizing optimizing techniques, can do it quickly, more efficiently, and in ways that can raise organizations to higher levels of competitiveness. Well-illustrated with examples and discussions of typical applications in such areas as strategic planning, marketing, manufacturing, and accounting, the book will help managers at all levels tie their organization's critical success factors into its key performance indicators and financial ratios. The result is a win-win situation within your company's complex of competing needs and goals, and a way to produce directly and immediately measurable benefits on the bottom line.The book is designed for company managers and other decision makers and for information systems professionals. It provides understanding of one of the most important developments in systems-decision making, and how these smart business systems are constructed. It is also suitable in an academic environment, specifically in undergraduate and graduate courses that cover the fundamentals of smart business systems, and which give special emphasis to optimization models. The authors explain that enterprise resource planning and supply-chain management vendors include optimization algorithms in their products and that their book will make software optimization more accessible to developers of business systems. Although optimization is undoubtedly a complicated subject, Thierauf and Hoctor go a long way toward simplifying it. In doing so, they enhance its value as an important tool for decision makers in almost all organizational capacities.