 | Term | Definition |
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Database administrator (DBA) |
(1) A person appointed to manage the databases for the firm. The DBA needs to know the technical details of the DBMS and the computer system. The DBA also needs to understand the business operations of the firm. (2) A management person in the MIS department charged with defining and maintaining the corporate databases. Maintaining data integrity is a key component of the job. |
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Database management system (DBMS) |
Software that defines a database, stores the data, supports a query language, produces reports, and creates data-entry screens. |
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Decentralization |
Moving the major operations and decisions out to lower levels within the firm. In MIS, decentralization has largely been led by the declining cost and improved capabilities of personal computers. See also Centralization. |
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Decision biases |
Without models and careful analysis, decisions made by people tend to be biased. There are several biases in each of the four systems categories: data acquisition, processing, output, and feedback. |
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Decision support system (DSS) |
Systems to use data collected by transaction processing systems to evaluate business models and assist managers to make tactical decisions. They have three major components: data collection, analysis of models, and presentation |
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Decision tree |
A graphical representation of logic rules. Each possible answer to a question or situation leads to a new branch of the tree. |
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Default value |
A value that is automatically displayed by the computer. Users can often override the default by deleting the old value and entering a new one. The goal is to choose a value that will almost always be entered, so the user can skip that item. |
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Dehumanization |
Some people feel that technology isolates people and decreases our contact with other members of society. Treating people as identification numbers and summary statistics can lead managers to forget the human consequences of their decisions. |
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Descriptive model |
A model that is defined in words and perhaps pictures. Relationships between objects and variables tend to be subjective. Useful for an initial understanding of a system but difficult to evaluate by computer. |
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Desktop Publishing (DTP) |
The art of creating professional documents with personal computers and small laser printers. Beyond basic word processing, DTP software provides controls to standardize pages, improve the page layout, and establish styles. |
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Detail section |
The section in a report that is repeated for every row in the associated tables. It is often used for itemized values, whereas group and page footers are used for subtotals. |
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