A group decision support system for idea generation and issue analysis in organization planning

The increasing reliance on group decision-making in today's complex business environments and advances in microcomputer, telecommunications and graphic presentation technology have combined to create a growing interest in the design of group decision support systems (GDSS). Planning is an important group decision-making activity within organizations. Effective planning depends on the generation and analysis of innovative ideas. For this reason, the idea generation and management process has been chosen as the domain for the study of the design and implementation of a GDSS to support complex, unstructured group decision processes within organizations. The MIS Planning and Decision Laboratory has been constructed to provide a research facility for the study of the planning and decision process while top executives from a variety of organizations use the laboratory to conduct actual planning sessions for their organization. This paper presents the design of a system to support the idea generation and analysis process in organization planning. Results of research conducted in the MIS Planning and Decision Laboratory on the use of the Electronic Brainstorming system with over 100 planners from a variety of organizations are presented and discussed. The findings of the research indicate that computer brainstorming stimulates task oriented behavior, decreases group interactions and equalizes participation. Information presentation, network speed and typing skills of the upper level managers were identified as possible inhibitors of the idea generation process that must be considered in the design of the system and the methodology for its use. Planners using the GDSS reported high levels of satisfaction with the process and outcome of the planning sessions. They rated the computer as an important tool for idea generation and the computer brainstorming process as "Much Better" than manual brainstorming.