Chapter 6 • Managerial Support Systems 237gas division used Comshare Decision to create an integrat-
ed information system with easier, more consistent, and
timely access to information for business decision-making
processes—an EIS. Petro-Canada calls the new system
“The Dashboard Project,” which means having the key
performance measures and analytical data available
for view on a dashboard so that managers can look
forward through the “windshield of opportunity.” By using
Comshare Decision’s integrated solution for analysis and
performance measurement, all levels of decision makers
have access to the same numbers and views and have
confidence that the data are current, correct, and verifiable.
The new system provides a single user interface for all
required information in an intuitive, flexible manner,
including executive views, graphs, charts, drill-down
capabilities, alarms, and alerts. Furthermore, the data
visualization capabilities permit decision makers to have
the data presented in the way that makes most sense for
them (DM Review, 2000).
Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meijer, Inc., is one
of the largest private retailers in the United States, operat-
ing more than 175 retail supercenters across Michigan,
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Based on feedback
from the business areas within Meijer, the company knew
that its existing financial reporting processes needed to be
changed. The company needed to have a central repository
for data, to get rid of the multiple spreadsheets it had been
using, to have reports available via the Web, and to be able
to carry out additional analyses on the data. In short,
Meijer needed a performance management system. After a
careful evaluation of alternative products, Meijer selected
Inform PM, and the company has been very happy with the
results. Users can now go to the Web for the information
they need. As they sign on the Web site, they see messages
about the availability of financial reports, scorecards, and
other pertinent information. “Our more than 200 users are
happy to be able to go to a central spot, pull the informa-
tion, have it immediately go into Excel if they want to
work with it, and be able to pull the past history,” reports
Jeff Powers, Director of Financial Reporting at Meijer.
“They can page through their profit and loss statements
and drill into further detail that supports the individual
P&L lines, and they can flip between actual and budgets”
(Infor Web site, 2010).
University Health Care System (UHCS) of Augusta,
Georgia, is an integrated, not-for-profit health-care
provider operating a network of facilities—anchored by
University Hospital—serving 25 counties in Georgia and
South Carolina. UHCS implemented Infor PM to auto-
mate its budgeting process, make management reporting
and analysis more efficient and effective, and provide
executives with customized dashboards for tracking key
performance measures. UHCS began by streamlining the
budget process—eliminating spreadsheets and manual
labor—and was able to shave more two months off the
budget cycle. Reporting also became more efficient, with
more timely and accurate reports. Further, users had the
ability to access data online and, if they wished, drill
down to detailed data levels. The executive dashboard
gave management daily statistics, including revenue, on
the various units in UHCS as well as other important
statistics such as emergency room registrations. Managers
could drill down into the daily revenue figures and com-
pare with their budgets, if they wished. “Our success at
streamlining operations and gaining better control in such
a short time has been phenomenal,” according to Lisa
Ritch, UHCS Director of Financial Accounting (Infor
Web site, 2010).Knowledge Management Systems
Knowledge management systems (KMSs)are systems
that enable individuals and organizations to enhance learn-
ing, improve performance, and, hopefully, produce long-
term sustainable competitive advantage. Simply stated, a
KMS is a system for managing organizational knowledge.
A KMS is typically designed to support one of three
connection strategies: connections from people to people
(e.g., expert directories), connections from people to
knowledge (e.g., knowledge repositories), and connections
from people to tools (e.g., community calendars, discus-
sion forums). On the other hand, a KMS may consist
of elaborate structuring of knowledge content (e.g.,
taxonomies), carefully packaged and disseminated to
people. Hence, KMSs provide organizations the ability to
leverage and extract value from their intellectual or
knowledge assets.
KMSs use various hardware and software applica-
tions to facilitate and support knowledge management
(KM)activities. What then is KM? KM is a set of
management practices that is practical and action-
oriented. In other words, KM involves the strategies and
processes of identifying, creating, capturing, organizing,
transferring, and leveraging knowledge to help individu-
als and firms compete (O’Dell and Grayson, 1998). KM
is concerned with behavior changes to reflect new
knowledge and insights. KM is not about relying on
technology to improve processes; rather, KM relies on
recognizing the knowledge held by individuals and the
firm. Therefore, a KMS is the technology or vehicle that
facilitates the sharing and transferring of knowledge for
the purpose of disseminating and reusing valuable
knowledge that, once applied, enhances learning and
improves performance.
Why has KM received so much attention recently,
and why are so many projects labeled KM projects? There