Organizational decision support systems: Centralized support for decentralized organizations

Organizations are becoming increasingly decentralized in their operations and decision making. Advanced information technolgoies provide the glue that holds such organizations together and facilitates their operations. Organizational decision support systems (ODSSs) provide mechanisms for ensuring that the decision being made through such organizations are consistent with each other and with the overall organization goals. Through means of a ODSS, information and guidance is automatically passed from higher levels to lower levels for use in decision-making models.