MNG03218 - DSS Proposal for Sonic Healthcare: Implementation Report

This report presents a proposal for implementing a Decision Support System (DSS) within Sonic Healthcare, an Australian healthcare company. The proposal highlights the need for a new information system to address challenges in the current manual system, aiming to improve decision-making, increase productivity, and identify new business opportunities. The report includes an executive summary, an analysis of the internal and external operating environments, and a discussion of the problems associated with the current system. It outlines the benefits of a DSS, including improved data management, enhanced communication, and support for strategic decision-making. The report also covers the system development life cycle and ethical considerations, emphasizing the importance of data security and adherence to regulations. The proposed DSS is designed to help Sonic Healthcare overcome the limitations of its existing system, providing the management with the tools needed to make informed decisions and gain a competitive advantage in the healthcare market. The report emphasizes the importance of information systems in modern business operations, and the need for healthcare organizations to adopt cloud computing and other technological innovations to remain competitive and provide effective services to customers.

Running Head DSS 0
To
Top Management
Sonic Healthcare
Subject: Proposal for implementing a Decision support system
Dear Sir,
This proposal includes the application of a decision support system. It is necessary for the
healthcare industry to take the various essential decision for the growth and development of
business in the market. DSS is a program that helps the management in supporting,
determining, judging and taking a course of action. The huge amount of the data and
information can be analyzed automatically and problems can be resolved in an effective
manner with the implementation of an information system. The new system will provide the
various business opportunities which will help in increasing productivity and improving the
performance of the organization.
This report includes the effective implementation and procedure and benefits are included
which will help in a growing business. New business opportunities will be analyzed with the
information system.
Request you to kindly accept the proposal of implementing the DSS system in the organization
after analyzing the requirements and current issues.
Thank you

DSS 1
Decision support system

DSS 2
Executive summary
In the process of business, an information system is required for managing the operations and
functions of the organization. IS are required for improving the performance with the help of
technological innovation. It helps in increasing productivity as well as the profitability of the
business. This report included the Decision support system implementation in Sonic Healthcare
which is a well-known company in the healthcare industry in Australia. It includes the research
proposal for implementing the decision support system for solving the challenges which are
faced with the current system for better outcomes and growth of the business.
In this report, new approaches are provided for improving the existing manual information
system. The new IS will be introduced for the growth and development of the organization. The
new business opportunities were discussed with the implementation of the new system. The role
of the information system will be explained for improving productivity and profitability. The
sponsor of the report is the top management of the company which requires implementing the
information system.

DSS 3
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Internal and external operating environment...................................................................................3
Identifying the problem or opportunity for IS.................................................................................4
Decision support system..................................................................................................................6
Strategic goals and business opportunities......................................................................................8
System development life cycle........................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
Reference.......................................................................................................................................13

DSS 4
Introduction
In an organization, the information system is required for managing the process in an effective
manner. IS helps in providing the various benefits and it is necessary to implement the system
for the effectiveness of operations for the growth of the business. For the efficiency of the
system, the organization is required to adopt cloud computing. There are various types of
information system which can be used for making the business effective. Information systems
are used for managing the process which includes the CRM, SCM, ERP, MIS, and DSS. Sonic
Healthcare Limited is an Australian company which provides laboratory services, radiology,
pathology services. The number of employees that are associated with the organization includes
the 37,000 including pathologists and radiologists. They had created the values for delivering
exceptional medical services. It was established in 1987 and they are leading in providing the
general practice, radiology, occupational medicine, and corporate medical services in Australia.
they deliver high-quality medical services to more than 100 million people.
The report includes various issues that are faced in the current system. The report includes a
proposal for improving the new information system for the organization. This report includes the
changes which are required for improving the existing system in the organization. The new
information system will be introduced to the top management of the company for creating new
business opportunities for the firm.
Internal and external operating environment
For implementing the new information system in the business, it is necessary for the
management to consider the internal as well as the external operating environment. The internal
environment includes the analysis of the requirement of employees and businesses for achieving
the goals and objectives. In Sonic healthcare, the internal environment requires to change the
system from manual to automatic processing for making effective decisions. In the external
environment, every business requires to change the system according to the requirement of the
customers. in the healthcare industry, it is necessary to provide effective services to customers
for attracting and retaining them for taking the services. The information system is required in
Sonic healthcare for making effective decisions and making the process easy (Tarhini, et al.,
2015).

DSS 5
It is necessary for making effective decisions for the business which will help in growth and
development. The changes are essential which helps in making the decisions according to the
requirement of the internal as well as external environment of the organization. In order to
achieve success, the information system is essential to be implemented for providing the services
to the customers (Yucel, et al., 2012).
Identifying the problem or opportunity for IS
In Sonic Healthcare, an information system includes the various approaches for managing the
services of the organization. The changes are required to be managed by a firm. The firm is
required to use information technology for managing the process. Business intelligence can be
used for managing the data as well as the procedure of decision making. In order to make
effective decisions, the requirement of a decision support system is essential for implementation.
For organizational decision making, the various risks are associated with the operations and
process. The management is required to make effective decisions for making the process easy.
The decision support system is considered a computer-based system which helps in effectively
planning, manufacturing, operating and managing decisions on the basis of the information
(Zeng, et al., 2012). It helps in combining and analyzing the raw data and formulating the
information for making an effective decision. It is required in the sonic healthcare for identifying
the problems and determining the solutions and helps in facilitating the optimal decision making.
It is necessary for the organization to consider the internal and external environment for making
effective changes.
In the healthcare industry, the health information system is vital to be implemented for designing
the system to manage the data of healthcare. This system helps in collecting, storing, managing
and transmitting the data and information of the patients. DSS is considered as a system for
supporting the policy decision of the organization. The manual existing system is creating the
issue of data management. The organization is required for storing in the database and centers. It
is essential for the organization of managing the infrastructure for storing the data. A decision
support system(DSS) helps the organization in overcoming the barriers for good decision making
which included in the manual system (Chang, et al., 2015). A decision support system helps in
using the information graphically and the expert system is included for making the decision.

DSS 6
Ethical consideration issues are faced in the organization which includes following the rules and
regulations. It is necessary to provide security which includes following the code of ethics for
improving the security in information as well as data. The concept includes decision support
which includes the areas. The decision support system includes the executive information
system, group decision support system, organizational decision support system which includes
the single user and model-oriented DSS. The components of the Decision support system include
the inputs, user knowledge and expertise, outputs and making decisions. The decision support
system is included in the cognitive decision-making functions which help in making the artificial
intelligence system (Jacobs, et al., 2011).
A decision support system helps in providing the various benefits as it helps the business in
improving personal efficiency and speeding up the process of decision making. It helps in
increasing the control over the process of the system. The problems or issues can be resolved
easily with the help of DSS (Gottshlish and Hinz, 2014). Information systems in sonic
healthcare will help in facilitating interpersonal communication which is essential to make
effective decisions. The managerial processes of the business can be managed in an effective
manner which helps in automating the system.
Decisions are required to be taken in all the business functions and levels of the firm. The
decisions are required to be taken as IT helps in providing the tools for managing and carrying
out the decisions. The decision support system is required for concreting, updating the
information and redistributing the data for further processing. It is analyzed that the information
system does not provide the information directly to the management but it helps in providing the
capabilities to the user for analyzing the problem and generating the necessary information for
making the decisions. Data warehouses are used by the end-users for working effectively for the
organization (Antero, 2015).
It will help in making an effective decision by the different management and all levels of
management. Which includes the unstructured, semi-structured and structured decisions by the
senior, middle and operational management. It helps in supporting the management for analysing
the problem which helps in making the decisions in a unique way and rapid changes can be made
for the betterment of the business. In the healthcare industry, it is necessary to get the
information from the external sources which include the technology (El-Sappagh and El-Masri,

DSS 7
2014). It helps the management in emphasizing the changes, flexibility, and making rapid
decisions that help in creating an effective environment for employees. It helps in catering to
make strategic decisions.
Decision support system
The decision support system is computerized support for making the process of decision. Data
management is required for making the services as it includes the databases for containing the
relevant data and information. It helps in enabling users to communicate in an effective manner.
With the help of model management, the new information system in sonic healthcare includes
the software for managing the financial, statistical, and managing the quantitative models. It is
essential for managing knowledge management for providing solutions to the problems and
supporting the system in an effective manner. The decision support system includes passive
decisions which include the system for decision making. The solution and suggestions are
provided with the help of an information system (Jensen, et al., 2010).
In order to drive the data, information system helps in emphasizing on accessing the data and
manipulating the information. With the help of a decision support system, the documents are
driven which includes managing, retrieving and manipulating the unstructured information in an
effective manner. It will be used for driving the knowledge for solving the problems with the
help of storing expertise rules, facts and procedures (Arvidsson, et al., 2014). In sonic healthcare,
the information system in the process of operations helps in monitoring the performance of the
organization and setting the goals and objectives. It helps the business in tracking the activities of
the competitors and spotting the problems which are faced by the employees and customers. DSS
will help the management in identifying the opportunities for forecasting the trends. It is
necessary to analyze the trends. The internal and external sources are combined in which the
managers are required to understand the unstructured problems which occur at the strategic level
of the firm (Laudon and Laudon, 2016).
For solving the problems and in the process of strategic decision making, the management
requires the executive support system and executive information system which helps in
increasing the control of the organization. The information system helps in revealing the new
approaches and opportunities for growth and improving the performance and productivity of the

DSS 8
business. The top management is responsible for making the decisions with the help of
encouraging the exploration and discovering the effectiveness. In the competitive market, the
new system helps in making the business competitive advantage (Nguyen, et al., 2014). In the
decision support system, the information is used in the patterns and trends with the help of an
analytical model. Decision making helps in collecting useful information from raw data,
documents, personal knowledge, and business models to identify and solve problems and make
decisions. The decision support system in sonic healthcare requires adaptability and flexibility.
The decision-makers take complete control over the strategic decisions. Data access can be
supported with the help of a decision support system with the help of integration of data and
support of the analysis (Moja, et al., 2014).
Cost-benefit analysis
The decision support system is considered as effective with the help of cost-benefit analysis. The
feasibility study of the information system includes a great degree of insecurity. It includes the
process of analyzing decisions and systems. It helps in identifying the benefits of the system for
developing the conclusions for the advisability of a decision. It helps in supporting the decision
making which helps in analyzing the benefits of the system. With the help of cost-benefit
analysis, it is analyzed that the decision support system helps in developing the business
strategies and helps the top management in making effective decisions for resource allocation as
well as purchasing decisions. For Sonic healthcare, it is analyzed that the decision support
system is an effective system for making decisions. Cost-benefits analysis is done for developing
the benchmark of the system by comparing it with the other system which was less beneficial for
the organization (Nour and Mouakket, 2013). Cost-benefit analysis of DSS in sonic healthcare
includes the benefits of cost-saving, cost avoidance, improved services and information to the
management. Cost-saving leads in reducing the administrative as well as operational costs.
The DSS feasibility study examined the consequences and impacts of the proposed project. The
issues addressed in this study include the benefits, costs, effectiveness, alternatives considered,
alternative analysis, opinions of potential users, and other factors.
This feasibility analysis is a way to explore the factors and risks that affect the potential for
success and it includes developing and implementing decision support systems. A large

DSS 9
information system is considered for development work often includes a feasibility study as a
major checkpoint to provide key information considering the goals and constraints of the project,
is it possible to develop a system. The report includes the designing of the system to provide
important information on a range of issues that can affect success (Taboada, et al., 2011).
Strategic goals and business opportunities
Every organization requires achieving its goals and objectives. The management is required to
set the goals for the process of the business. The information system helps in achieving the goals
which are required to achieve. DSS is the database which includes information from the different
sources.
The decision support system database can be a small database or a stand-alone system, or a large
data warehouse, which can meet the information needs of the organization. To avoid decision
support systems interfering with the operation of the operating system, the DSS database usually
contains a copy of the production database. Decision support systems can trade-off different
models, each of which performs a specific function. The choice of models that must be included
in the decision support system series depends on user requirements and the purpose of DSS.
Please note that DSS software contains predefined models (or routines) from which new models
can be built to support specific types of decisions (Seethamraju, 2015).
The organization is required to use the service from the third party for managing and
implementing the system. The business functions are required to be maintained in an effective
manner for taking decisions. An information system is required to be effective for improving the
skills of decision making. It is beneficial for the business for improving productivity and
performance. In an information system, various things like innovation, technology helps in
improving the performances. Improving decision-making efficiency through changing decision-
making methods should be the main goal of any DSS project (Kunath and Winkler, 2018).
System development life cycle
Decision support system implementation requires following the process and procedure for
making the business effective. With the help of the system development life cycle, effective
implementation is required in the process. SDLC includes the waterfall methodology which

DSS 10
helps in solving business issues and problems. Control of management is required in every phase
of the process. The system helps in providing the opportunities at the various stages which helps
the chances of capturing the requirements of the project. The stages which are included in the
process of SDLC are planning stage, analyzing stage, designing, developing, testing,
implementing and maintenance phase. It helps in ensuring the quality and correctness for
building the software. It helps the business in planning, building and maintaining for
implementing the software. The standards are required to be set for tracking and controlling the
activities of the business (Dweiri, et al., 2016).
Planning stage
During the planning phase, management is required to identify and select the systems that need
to be implemented for business growth and development. The decision support system requires
effective planning which can be done by analyzing the requirement of the business. In order to
access the requirements of the business, the management is required to assess the feasibility
study for analyzing the issues or problems (Dweiri, et al., 2016). It requires the management to
understand the problems or opportunities that arise in the business, and request a product
feasibility study that helps identify business needs for new or improved systems with the help of
feasible solutions.
Analysis
In the analysis stage, the information is required to be gathered by the team. In Sonic healthcare,
the information is required to be gathered by the team for analyzing the requirement. In order to
implement the change in the information system, it is necessary to analyze the goal and
understanding of business needs and processing needs are analyzed. It includes gathering,
analyzing and validating the information which is required for implementation (Dweiri, et al.,
2016).
Designing stage
In the design phase, the problems are required to be resolved. In Sonic Healthcare, the system is
required to be adopted by considering the approach of creativeness and innovate for managing
the business. It includes the designing and customizing the system according to the identified

DSS 11
needs of the business. It includes the designing of applications, making networks, databases,
system interfaces and users (Bright, et al., 2012). It requires to create the contingencies, training
and planning for the maintenance of the system.
Developing stage
An information system is required to be developed with the help of programs and databases. The
information which is gathered by the system is required to be analyzed and proper layout is
designed so that it will help the employees in understanding the DSS implementation. Top
management is required to understand the process of making effective and essential decisions
(Bright, et al., 2012).
Implementation stage
At this stage, the implementation of the system will take place which includes the
implementation of the design into the source code with the help of coding. All the information
will be used for implementation and the team will be required to take care of the system. The
training environment will be created in the type of modules that will help in detecting the errors
and defects. It includes integrating the decision support system in the environment of Sonic
Healthcare and installing the new system by replacing the existing system (Accorsi, et al., 2014).
Maintenance stage
After the implementation of the system, the management is required to maintain the system by
giving the responsibility to the team. It is necessary to provide all the information to the users for
managing the system and work in an effective manner. In Sonic Healthcare, DSS will help in
providing the various benefits and bring a positive change in the environment. The feedbacks
and suggestions are required to be considered for making the changes. Evaluation is required to
be done for analyzing the performance of the system (Accorsi, et al., 2014). It requires to
maintain the system for the long term by handling the residual errors and resolving the issues on
time.
With the implementation of the system, it is necessary to consider the post-implementation
activities of maintaining the system in the long run and fulfilling the requirement with the help of
upgrading the technologies. It is necessary for the management to consider the changes and the

DSS 12
new system requires the changes in the process and behavior of the employees and it will require
to provide the training the employees (Accorsi, et al., 2014). Project management will be
affected and requires to consider the DSS as a project for achieving the goals and objectives of
the business. In Sonic healthcare, the management is required to be careful about taking the
decisions regarding technology as it affects the patient's behavior. The organization is required to
provide effective services to customers for the growth and development of the business in a
different market. The information system helps in integrating the information from the different
sources and using the information for making effective decisions (Asemi, et al., 2011).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is analyzed that the information system is required in the business for managing
the process and functions of the organization. The decision support system is required to be
implemented in Sonic Healthcare for making effective decisions. This report analyzed the
opportunities which are generated with the implementation of an information system. The
decision support system is considered essential in the organization for managing the process
which helps in achieving the strategic goals and objectives. The management is required to do
the analysis and designing of the system for effective implementation. With the help of the
system development life cycle, the system is developed, tested and implemented according to the
requirement of the business. The implementation of an information system requires the post-
implementation activities which include the training to employees for using the system in an
effective manner (Siregar, et al., 2017). A decision support system is beneficial for the
organization as it helps in increasing the efficiency and speeding up the activities of the decision
making. It is analyzed that sonic healthcare requires control by the management and this system
will help in increasing controlling, competitiveness and capabilities for making future decisions.
It is analyzed that the DSS helps in automating the managerial process of the business which
requires fewer efforts for solving the problems.

DSS 13
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