Information Systems

Abstract

It is very important to acknowledge that due to constantly and rapid changes in the market environment decision makers should possess at the right time the right information in order to arrive at the most appropriate decisions (Gale, 1992). Effective decision making within an enterprise calls upon the existence of on time and valid information (Schewe and Smith, 1980), thus providing additional advantages to any company against its competitors (Lewis, 1990). In their presentation, on the awareness of the information consequences, Garvin and Bermont (1983) state that every problem in an enterprise is in fact an information problem. Davis (1987) recognizes the underlying constraints for the decision makers, in the information process and problem solution, the variety and complexity of the required information, along with the existence of cooperation problems among decision makers and analysts regarding the determination of the information requirements. He proposes a gradual approach, consisting of five steps, in order to determine the information requirements for the development of a strategy.