FREE online courses on the Basics of a Computer - COMPUTER APPLICATIONS - An aid to Management

 

We have seen that the computer is able to provide useful information. Let us consider what this means to people in managerial positions whose task is essentially to translate information into action. The immediate benefit is that the information provided is comprehensive and up-to-date. This means that decisions taken can be more reliable, and they can often be made in advance of a crisis rather than after it has occurred. The computer can also be used as a management tool to assist in solving business problems. In operational research, which is the name given to the application of scientific procedures to decision-making, certain techniques are used which require the calculating and storage abilities which the computer can provide. Critical path analysis and linear programming are two methods of analysis which are used. These are applied in situations where a good deal of information is known concerning a number of variable factors, and where the task is to arrive at a solution which indicates the best possible relationship between the variables, taking into account whatever constraints there are. The simulation method is used where decisions have to be made on the basis of probability and where some of the information used in the analysis is itself predicted, and where some of the information used in the analysis is itself predicted, and where past events have to be taken into consideration before arriving at a decision. In assisting in the decision-making process the computer uses rather than provides information.