Decision Support Systems for Inquiring Organizations

For many years, organizations have been faced with increasing amounts of information but have not been able to adequately use that information in a way that allows for organizational growth. The ability of an organization to learn is likely to be the only competitive advantage left in an economy where technology can be a significant leveling factor. Integrating decision support systems and inquiring systems will produce support for a learning organization that is capable of complex problem formulation and solution. There are many similarities between inquiring systems and decision support systems. This paper suggests that decision support will be enhanced by integrating the theory of decision support in a comprehensive inquiring system that is capable of adapting to changes in the business environment. Development of such a system will ensure that decisionmakers and managers can focus on the task of guiding an organization to its ultimate success rather than expending energy sorting through information to make accurate and timely decisions.