UNIVERSITY OF SARAJEVO

SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS SARAJEVO

DŽEJLANA HARBAŠ, MELIKA MUNDŽIĆ, SELMA PANDŽA, AJŠA

TANOVIĆ

GROUP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS

SEMINAR PAPER

SARAJEVO, JANUARY 2023.

 UNIVERSITY OF SARAJEVO
SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS SARAJEVO

GROUP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS

SEMINAR PAPER

Course: Management Information Systems

Professor: prof. dr Lejla Turulja
Students: Džejlana Harbaš (index number: 76771)
Melika Mundžić (index number: 76616)
Selma Pandža (index number: 76758)
Ajša Tanović (index number: 76746)
Financial Management and Marketing Management

Sarajevo, January 2023.

Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1

2. ABOUT OUR COMPANY ..................................................................................................... 2

2.1. Mission, vision, and values .............................................................................................. 2

3. GROUP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS .......................................................................... 3

3.1. Components of a Group Decision Support System .......................................................... 3

4. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GDSS ........................................................ 4

4.1. Advantages of GDSS ....................................................................................................... 4

4.2. Disadvantages of GDSS ................................................................................................... 4

5. PROBLEMS THAT GDSS SOLVE ....................................................................................... 5

6. TEAMWORK AND CLICKUP .............................................................................................. 7

6.1. Teamwork......................................................................................................................... 7

6.2. ClickUp ............................................................................................................................ 7

6.3. Comparsion of Teamwork and ClickUp .......................................................................... 8

7. CRITERIA FOR COMPARISON OF TEAMWORK AND CLICKUP ................................ 8

7.1. Complex decision making ................................................................................................ 9

7.2. Connecting ..................................................................................................................... 10

7.3. Time constraints ............................................................................................................. 10

7.4. Disagreements and conflicts........................................................................................... 11

8. PROJECT LIBRE .................................................................................................................. 12

9. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 13

References ..................................................................................................................................... 14
 1. INTRODUCTION

In recent years, group decision support systems (GDSS) have become increasingly important as
organizations rely more heavily on teams to make important decisions. A GDSS is a computer-
based system that is designed to facilitate the process of group decision-making by providing tools
and resources that enable group members to brainstorm, share information, and evaluate
alternatives. (Solanki, 2020)

GDSSs are typically used in situations where a group of people needs to make a decision together,
but where individual members of the group may have different levels of knowledge, expertise, or
preferences. A GDSS typically includes tools for communication, such as chat or video
conferencing, as well as tools for data analysis, such as spreadsheets or statistical software. These
tools allow group members to share information, collaborate on decision-making, and reach a
consensus on the final decision. (Shi-Weiren, 2019)

This paper also includes a study of the decision-making process of a group using the GDSS, the
outcomes of the decision, and the overall effectiveness of the GDSS in supporting the group's
decision-making process

In this paper, we will provide an overview of the current state of GDSS research and discuss key
issues related to their design and implementation. We will also examine case studies of GDSS in
action and explore future directions for this field of study. Overall, this paper will demonstrate the
potential of GDSS to improve group decision-making and increase organizational effectiveness.

For the purposes of this paper we have imagined a fictional company called inVoice, which deals
in accounting and bookkeeping services. We have thought up some problems this company might
be facing, that a certain group decision support system might be able solve. In the final part of the
paper, we have chosen two different group decision support systems (Teamwork and ClickUp)
and compared them according to a certain criteria and a point system.

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 2. ABOUT OUR COMPANY

inVoice is an accounting company working with clients all across Europe. Our company has been
founded in 2013 and has been growing since. The clientele varies from small start-ups to middle-
sized companies working in different industries from the car industry to retail. As mentioned
clients are from all around Europe and so are the offices and teams. inVoice is a very flexible and
modern company in the accounting world. We provide our employees with a hybrid model of
work, where they choose whether they want to work online from home or the office. The programs
used in our company are the greatest and are the most time efficient. Most employees are
accountants but the company also has a team of managers, a PR team, and an HR team.

2.1. Mission, vision, and values

Our mission is to provide accurate and reliable financial services to our clients, while maintaining
the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. Our vision is to be the premier provider of
financial services in all countries we have offices in, recognized for our expertise, innovation, and
commitment to client success.

The values of our company include:

 Integrity: Upholding the highest ethical standards and being honest and transparent in
all of our actions.
 Professionalism: Providing services with the highest level of skill and competence,
adhering to industry standards and regulations.
 Confidentiality: Protecting the privacy of our client's financial information and
maintaining the trust they place in us.
 Innovation: Continuously seeking new and better ways to serve our clients and improve
our services.
 Teamwork: Working collaboratively and supporting one another in our efforts to
deliver the best possible results for our clients.
 Responsiveness: Being available to our clients and addressing their needs in a timely
and efficient manner.

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  Continuous Learning: Encouraging and investing in professional development and
education, to ensure we are always up-to-date with the latest industry trends and best
practices.

3. GROUP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) are computer based systems designed to facilitate group
decision-making in which two or more individuals work collaboratively and interactively to reach
a common outcome. It is sometimes also referred to as a 'computerized collaborative work system.'
Its main goal is to improve the productivity of a group to come to a decision. (Techopedia, 2022)

Group Decision Support Systems are often employed in organizations when the problem being
discussed has numerous interrelated components that require the input and opinion of all
participants to reach an appropriate solution. GDSS are able to facilitate group decision-making
by helping to support effective communication and collaboration between group members and
providing specific tools for data analysis and decision-making.

During an electronic GDSS meeting, each person is supplied with a computer which are connected
to each other to the facilitator’s and then to the file server. A projection screen is available at the
front of the room and the facilitator and the participants can both project digital text and images
onto this screen. (Top4U, 2023)

3.1. Components of a Group Decision Support System

A group decision support system is composed of 3 chief components:

 Hardware: It includes electronic hardware like the computer, equipment used for
networking, electronic display boards and audiovisual equipment. (HQ, 2023) It also
includes a meeting room that contains everything required for group discussion.
 Software tools: It includes various tools and methods (electronic brainstorming tools and
questionnaires, formation tools) to help decision-makers plan, organize ideas, collect
important information, etc.
 People: It includes the individuals that are engaging in a meeting, the facilitator who deals
with the execution of the meeting and trained staff to support hardware and software.

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 4. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GDSS

4.1. Advantages of GDSS

The primary benefit of GDSS is that they provide a platform for groups to discuss and evaluate
complicated decision problems collectively. The system uses rules, incentives, and information
management technologies to increase the efficiency of the decision-making process while also
eliminating potential biases. By removing individual biases and incorporating the perspectives of
each group member, GDSS support a shared understanding of the available options and lead to a
more informed and efficient decision-making process. This means that a group is more equipped
with information rather than an individual would be. Furthermore, the use of modeling and
simulations in GDSS often allow stakeholders to explore ‘‘what-if’’ situations and consider
multiple solutions before committing to a course of action.

In addition to their ability to increase the efficiency and consistency of group decision-making,
GDSS also provide advantages related to the timing of decisions. As opposed to face-to-face
meetings that can often be limited to business hours, it provides access to the decision-making
process 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This allows various stakeholders to participate in the
decision-making process regardless of their location or time constraints. It is also important to
mention that GDSS also serve to increase group satisfaction as a result of their ability support
negotiation and consensus building. By providing a platform for users to negotiate solutions, it can
help to foster creative problem solving and encourage user participation while also promoting
collaboration and compromise.

4.2. Disadvantages of GDSS

They are time consuming. Because a group contains more than one individual, it can sometimes
be difficult to organize, plan, coordinate and explain the goals and the purpose of the meeting to
them. This can take a lot of time and consequently reaching to a solution can be quite challenging.

Another problem is individual domination. It is not uncommon in group meetings that there will
always be few members who will try to dominate during discussions. If they manage to dominate
the meeting, other members will fade away in the group, which will result in fewer contributions
by other members thus having a negative effect on the final outcome

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Sometimes the solution that was accepted by the group is not optimal. The reason for that often
comes from the fact that participants let social issues and considerations weigh heavily on their
viewpoints and opinions. Because of that they end up not actually evaluating solutions in truly
critical manner.

Group decision-making is quite expensive in terms of time, money, energy and man-hours. There
is likely that more than necessary man-hours have to be spent to be able to arrive to solutions that
could have been reached by a much smaller group or even single expert individual.

5. PROBLEMS THAT GDSS SOLVE

In this section, we will discuss some of the problems that GDSSs solve in the company Invoice.
GDSS are particularly useful to our company since we are a large geographically dispersed
establishment, therefore it is very important for us that the flow of information i.e. communication
and collaboration between our multinational stations is efficient, along with being managed and
organized well. We see GDSS a very valuable tool since it has helped us in overcoming many
problems as well as aiding us in preventing many unwanted consequences.

One of the primary problems that GDSSs solve for us, is the problem of group thinking.
Groupthink occurs when a group of people becomes so focused on reaching a consensus that they
fail to consider alternative perspectives or solutions. This can lead to poor decision-making, as the
group may not be considering all possible options. GDSSs can help to mitigate this problem by
providing a structured decision-making process that encourages participation and debate among
group members. Through the use of GDSSs, group members are able to share their ideas and
perspectives in a collaborative manner, which allows for a more comprehensive evaluation of
potential solutions.

Another problem that GDSSs solves is the problem of information overload. In today's fast-paced,
information-rich environment, it can be difficult for groups of people to sort through and make
sense of the vast amount of information that is available to them. GDSSs can help solve this
problem by organizing, analyzing, and presenting information in a way that is easy for group
members to understand and use. This allows group members to quickly and easily access the

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information they need to make informed decisions, thus reducing the time and effort required to
process and analyze large amounts of data.

GDSSs can also help solve the problem of social loafing, which occurs when group members do
not contribute their full effort because they believe their individual contributions will not be
noticed or valued. This can lead to a lack of participation and a lack of commitment to the group's
goals. GDSSs can help to mitigate this problem by providing a means of tracking and rewarding
individual contributions to the group decision-making process. This can increase the motivation
of group members to participate and contribute their full effort.

In addition, GDSSs can help to solve the problem of communication breakdown, which occurs
when group members are unable to effectively communicate with one another. This can lead to
misunderstandings and a lack of coordination among group members, which can negatively impact
the group's ability to make effective decisions. GDSSs can help to mitigate this problem by
providing a variety of communication tools, such as instant messaging, video conferencing, and
document sharing that make it easy for group members to collaborate and share information.

Furthermore, GDSSs can also help solve the problem of distance, making it difficult for group
members who are geographically dispersed to collaborate effectively. This can lead to a lack of
coordination and a lack of participation among group members. GDSSs can help to mitigate this
problem by providing a means of communicating and collaborating remotely so that group
members can work together regardless of their physical location.

In conclusion, we consider GDSSs to be very powerful tools that have greatly improved the quality
and efficiency of our operations since their earlier implementation. Helping our employees to
effortlessly solve a wide range of problems, furthermore aiding in the refinement of our decision
making process. By facilitating communication, collaboration, and decision-making among group
members, GDSSs can help to overcome many of the challenges that groups face in today's fast-
paced, information-rich environment. Ultimately, the use of GDSS has added a great contribution
to our interpersonal relationships, as well as the development of a sense of belonging for
employees. Our employees always work together against a problem rather than working against
one another. From an efficiency perspective, teamwork activities have been significantly
enhanced, providing for a better employee experience along with leading us to better and more
effective results all in all. The ability of GDSSs to mitigate group-thinking, information overload,

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social loafing, communication breakdown, and distance issues can lead to better decision-making,
increased productivity, and improved group performance.

6. TEAMWORK AND CLICKUP

6.1. Teamwork

Teamwork.com is a project management and team collaboration software. It offers a wide range
of features that help teams to organize, prioritize, and manage their work effectively. Some of its
key features include task management, time tracking, file sharing, team messaging, and a calendar.
It also includes a Gantt chart and a Kanban view to manage the work progress. It also offers
integrations with other tools, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft Office.
Teamwork.com is a web-based software that can be accessed from any device with an internet
connection, it also have mobile apps available for iOS and Android. It's designed for small and
large teams, and it's used by businesses of all sizes in various industries. (Teamwork, 2023)

It is commonly used by:

 Business teams and departments to manage projects and collaborate on tasks

 Agencies and consultants to manage client projects and communicate with clients
 Marketing teams to plan and execute campaigns
 IT teams to manage software development and other technical projects
 Educational institutions to manage student projects and assignments
 Non-profit organizations to manage volunteer projects and events

It can be used by teams of all sizes, from small startups to large corporations, and it is suitable for
a wide range of industries. The tool offers a range of features that can be customized to fit the
needs of different teams and projects

6.2. ClickUp

ClickUp is a project management and team collaboration software. It provides a wide range of
features that help teams to organize, prioritize, and manage their work effectively. Some of its key
features include task management, time tracking, file sharing, team messaging, and a calendar. It
also includes Gantt charts and a Kanban view to manage the work progress. It also offers

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integrations with other tools such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft Office. (ClickUp,
2023)

ClickUp is a web-based software that can be accessed from any device with an internet connection,
it also have mobile apps available for iOS and Android. It's designed for small and large teams,
and it's used by businesses of all sizes in various industries, such as software development,
marketing, and customer service.

One of the unique features of ClickUp is its ability to customize the interface to suit the team's
specific needs, users can create custom views, dashboards and can also create custom fields to
track specific information. Additionally, ClickUp offers a wide range of templates to make it easy
for teams to get started quickly with common project types.

6.3. Comparsion of Teamwork and ClickUp

Teamwork and ClickUp are both tools that can be used to manage and organize team projects, but
they serve different purposes. Teamwork is a project management tool that allows teams to
collaborate on tasks, track progress, and manage deadlines. It has features such as task lists,
calendars, and time tracking.

ClickUp is a productivity tool that allows users to organize their tasks, projects, and time in one
place. It includes features such as task management, calendars, and time tracking, as well as
integrations with other productivity tools.

In summary, Teamwork is a Project Management tool that is focused on Team Collaboration,

while ClickUp is a Productivity tool that is focused on task management and organization.
However, Teamwork is specially designed with client work in mind and is ideal for an accounting
firm like ours. ClickUp is lacking in certain financial analysis options.

7. CRITERIA FOR COMPARISON OF TEAMWORK AND CLICKUP

To decide which software we are going to implement in our company's project we decided to
compare and grade on a scale from 1-10 both Teamwork and ClickUp with these 4 criteria:

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  Complex decision making- this is the most obvious and the most important criterion to
check since it is the core part of our project. With this criterion, we are going to see
how much are the softwares compatible with our company.
 Connecting- since our company is spread around different parts of Europe, connecting
our employees is very important for us. This criterion will show us which software has
better features to connect people.
 Time constraints- time is money and we as an accounting company that constantly
works on deadlines and a variety of clients need the best tools to help us to most
efficiently use every work day. Here we are going to grade softwares for their time
management and organizational tools
 Disagreements and conflicts- every company has to resolve conflicts or disagreements
from time to time and that can be hard in the office let alone across the whole Europe.
Our company here will grade functionalities that software offer designed for resolving
problems.

7.1. Complex decision making

Teamwork can be used to facilitate collaboration and coordination among team members in
decision-making. It has features such as task assignments, calendars, and file sharing that can be
used to organize and streamline decision-making. It also has a discussion feature that allows team
members to share ideas and give feedback on decisions. Teamwork is best used in decision-making
that requires collaboration and coordination among team members.

ClickUp, on the other hand, is a software that is designed to help teams organize and prioritize
tasks, and track progress. It has features such as Gantt charts, time tracking, and goal setting that
can be used to manage project timelines and track progress. It also has a feature that allows users
to set up custom workflows and automate tasks. ClickUp is best used in decision-making that
requires a clear overview of project progress and a good understanding of the dependencies
between tasks.

Comparing both of the apps by our first criteria we are giving Teamwork 8 points and ClickUp 9
points. We got the impression that Teamwork can be useful for decision-making related to project

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management and coordination, while ClickUp for decision-making related to project progress
tracking and monitoring in an accounting company.

7.2. Connecting

Teamwork has features such as task assignments, calendars, and file sharing that can be used to
keep team members informed and on track. The software's discussion feature can also be used to
share ideas and give feedback on decisions, which can be helpful when connecting employees
from different regions. Teamwork also has video conferencing and screen-sharing features that
can be used to conduct virtual meetings and brainstorming sessions.

Features that allow users to set up custom workflows and automate tasks are included on ClickUp.
ClickUp also has a feature called "Spaces" that allows users to create different workspaces for
different teams and projects, which can be useful for connecting employees from different regions.

Here we have a change in grading, Teamwork gets 8 points and ClickUp 7 points. Teamwork
facilitates communication and collaboration but ClickUp does not provide us with any similar
services.

7.3. Time constraints

ClickUp has many features such as Gantt charts, time tracking, and goal setting that can be used
to manage project timelines and track progress. It also has a feature called "Dependencies" that
allows users to see the relationships between tasks, which can help identify and manage time
constraints. Additionally, ClickUp has a feature called "Time Estimates" that allows users to set
time estimates for tasks, and track how long they take, which can be useful for managing time
constraints on projects.

Teamwork has a calendar feature that can be used to schedule tasks, events, and meetings. It also
has a task management feature that can be used to assign tasks to team members and track progress.
Additionally, it has a time-tracking feature that allows team members to log the time spent on
different tasks, which can help track time constraints on projects. Teamwork also has a feature
called "Workload View" that allows team members to easily see how much work they have to do,
which can be useful for managing time constraints.

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The third criterion was a close battle but Teamwork gets 9 points and ClickUp 8 points. Teamwork
focuses on time constraints providing an overview of the work and track time spent on tasks, while
ClickUp has many similar features lack of this one lost them a point.

7.4. Disagreements and conflicts

Teamwork and ClickUp have many similar features but the one that ClickUp is lacking the most
is the possibility of having video communication. Teamwork has a video conferencing and screen-
sharing feature that can be used to conduct virtual meetings and brainstorming sessions, which can
be useful for resolving conflicts in a face-to-face manner. Additionally, Teamwork also has a
feature called "Approval Workflow" that allows team members to submit and approve tasks, which
can help resolve conflicts related to tasks and deliverables.

ClickUp's features that could be used in resolving conflicts are „Comments" and „Assignees".
„Comments" allows users to leave comments on tasks, which can help resolve conflicts related to
tasks and deliverables. "Assignees" allows users to assign tasks to specific team members, which
can be useful for resolving conflicts related to task ownership.

For the last criterion, our app of choice is Teamwork. They get 9 points and ClickUp gets 7 points.
COVID-19 showed us how important was to have that face-to-face contact in the workplace, so
software without a video conferencing option is not the best suited for us.

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 8. PROJECT LIBRE

In the following screenshots we have presented our analysis of this project in the ProjectLibre
software.

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 9. CONCLUSION

To sum this paper up, for our project we chose Teamwork software. As can be seen in the previous
graph, ClickUp was a great candidate but Teamwork's features were more suitable for our
company's needs. After we analyzed both Softwares we believe that Teamwork may integrate
better with other tools or systems that our company already uses. inVoice is an accounting
company and Teamwork is currently developing a financial analysis option with their new plan
which includes advanced budgeting and invoicing tools. ClickUp does not offer any similar
features now nor in the nearer future and this is an additional reason why we chose Teamwork
because it is easier just to update the current plan if we like the new version that they are
developing.

When talking about prices, both apps offer different monthly plans which go from 0 to 20$. We
chose Teamwork's „Grow“ plan which has a minimum of 5 users, and it is perfect for complex
projects. „Grow" offers options and features for Workload and Capacity Management in addition
to budgeting tools and many features which improve reports. This plan is paid 17.99$ per user
monthly.

In summary, both of the softwares are great for Group Decision Support System. It just comes
down to the preferences and needs of a team or company.

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References

ClickUp, 2023. ClickUp. [Online]

Available at: https://clickup.com/
[Accessed 2023].

HQ, M. S., 2023. Group Decision Support System. [Online]

Available at: https://www.managementstudyhq.com/

Shi-Weiren, J.-D. L.-Y. C.-J., 2019. Group Decision Support Systems: A description on models
and modules in GDSS based on cooperative MAS , s.l.: College of Automation, Chongqing
University, Chongqing, China.

Solanki, K., 2020. Top4U. [Online]

Available at: https://www.toppers4u.com/2020/12/group-decision-support-system-gdss.html
[Accessed 2022].

Teamwork, 2023. Teamwork. [Online]

Available at: https://www.teamwork.com/
[Accessed 2023].

Techopedia, 2022. Group Decision Support Systems. [Online]

Available at: https://www.techopedia.com/

Top4U, 2023. Group Decision Support Systems. [Online]

Available at: https://www.toppers4u.com/

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