Database Reference
In-Depth Information
1. To reduce the amount of data bombarding the executive
2. To increase the relevance, timeliness, and usability of the informa-
tion that reaches the executive
3. To focus a management team on critical success factors
4. To enhance executive follow-through and communication with
others
5. To track the earliest of warning indicators: competitive moves, cus-
tomer demands, and more
Many EIS systems are based on the paper-based brieing topic, long a ix-
ture in executive chambers. Its purpose is to advise senior executives of criti-
cal issues and the status of key projects within the organization. The problem
with paper reports is that they usually arrive too late for preventive or cor-
rective action and do not provide a format conducive to in-depth investiga-
tion. There is also no way that an executive can ask questions to get more
detailed information. hus, the brieing topic is supplemented in most com-
panies with monthly status meetings just to respond to these deficiencies.
This lack of information results in an organization's executives spending
approximately 80 percent of their time in attending these status meetings.
If one adds in the trickle-down requirement of rolling information down
to the staff level, then these additional “one on ones” and roll-down meet-
ings add overhead to a firm that forces it to spend more time reading about
being competitive than actually being competitive.
In many companies, at least part of the problem is being addressed by
automating the brieing topic. here are many advantages to an auto-
mated brieing topic. Each executive can receive a personalized selection
of reports and charts, reducing the amount of relevant information he or
she sees. In addition, each executive can set up variables responding to
acceptable tolerances. For example, an automobile executive might wish
to flag any line of car in which the company's market share falls below 25
percent. Because executives often like to see facts in context, automated
brieing topics should have the capability of comparing information on a
competitive or historical basis. For example, looking at current sales data
as the latest event in a continuum indicates whether sales volume is head-
ing up or down. Similarly, executives usually want to compare informa-
tion with goals, budgets, and forecasts as well as with information stored
on the competition.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to upward reporting is that the senior exec-
utive is only privy to information on a monthly basis. In an age of stiff
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