THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION / DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS (l/DSS) IN DEBT MANAGEMENT The Egyptian Experience Ashraf E.S. Hassan Department of Information Systems The London School of Economics and Political Science Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of London December 1998 UMI Number: U123260 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U123260 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................ viii ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................. xi PREFACE.................................................................................................................. xiii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.........................................................................................xvil ACRONYMS............................................................................................................xix Part 1 Chapter I The Debt Problem & Egypt A. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 1. P r o b l e m D e f in it io n.....................................................................................................................1 B. EGYPT.................................................................................................................... 3 1. The C o u n t r y .................................................................................................................................... 3 2 . In f o r m a t io n Te c h n o l o g y in Eg y p t .................................................................................... 6 3 . The D ebt P r o b l e m ....................................................................................................................... 12 C. THESIS OUTLINE.................................................................................................. 16 D. THESIS DIVISIONS...............................................................................................18 E. CONCLUSION........................................................................ 20 Chapter II Theoretical Foundation & Research Methods A. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................22 B. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION............................................................................23 1. D e c is io n M a k in g a n d D e c is io n S u p p o r t Sy ste m s .....................................................2 3 2 . Exter n a l D e b t ............................................................................................................................... 3 3 3 . D ebt M a n a g e m e n t ..................................................................................................................... 3 7 C. THE RESEARCH..................................................................................................41 1. R e s e a r c h M e t h o d ..................................................................................................................... 4 3 2 . R e s e a r c h P l a n ............................................................................................ 4 4 3 . C o n d u c t o f the R e s e a r c h .....................................................................................................4 8 D. CONCLUSION.............................................................. 52 Chapter III Theoretical Background A. DECISION MAKING ..................................................................................... 54 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 54 2. O rganizational M odels o f D e c is io n M a k in g .....................55 B. DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS....................................................................60 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 60 2. D efinitio n o f D S S ................................................................................................60 3. O r ig in s o f DSS.....................................................................................................60 4. C haracteristics o f DSS................................................................................... 62 5. Types o f D S S .......................................................................................................... 64 6. Fa c t o r s in DSS Su cc ess a n d Fa ilu r e .......................................................... 67 C. DEBT MANAGEMENT...................................................................................69 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................69 2. W hat is D ebt? ........................................................................................................70 3. C o n c e p t o f D ebt M a n a g e m e n t a n d Its Ev o l u t io n ............................... 74 4. D ebt M a n a g e m e n t Fu n c t io n s ............................................. 74 5. D ebt M a n a g e m e n t System (D M S )................................................................ 75 6. D M S Pr in c ip a l Fu n c t io n s a n d O utputs....................................................76 D. C O N C LU S IO N ................................................................................................ 79 Part 2 Chapter IV Strategic decision making & Debt acquisition process in Egypt: “The before stage” A. THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS IN EGYPT PRIOR TO 1985.................. 81 B. DEBT MANAGEMENT PROCESS IN EGYPT PRIOR TO 1985........................85 1 .D ebt A c q u is it io n p r o c e s s ................................................................................................... 8 6 2. CBE - LEDD organization str u c tu r e , w o r k f l o w a n d o p e r a t in g PROCEDURES.....................................................................................................................................8 8 C. THE EGYPTIAN CABINETINFORMATION AND DECISION SUPPORT CENTER (IDSC).....................................................................................................116 1. ID S C I n c e p t io n ................................................................................................................... 1 1 6 2 . ID S C O b je c t iv e s .................................................................................................................1 1 8 3 . ID S C ’s M a n a g e m e n t A p p r o a c h .............................................................................. 119 4 . ID S C ’s CHALLENGES FACED 1 2 0 iii 5 . Se r v ic e s o f f e r e d t o the c a b in e t a n d ministerial c o m m it t e e s ......................... 1 2 3 D. CONCLUSION (THE BEGINNING)..............................................................124 Chapter V Information / Decision Support Systems (l/DSS) in Debt Management: “The Egyptian Experience” A. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 130 B. DEBT MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMIC MONITORING PROGRAM 132 1. P e o p le a n d R e a s o n s B e h in d In it ia t in g the P r o g r a m ......................................... 13 2 2 . P r o g r a m H is t o r ic a l Ev o l u t io n ...................................................................................1 3 4 3 . P r o g r a m O b jectives a n d P ha ses ................................................................................ 1 3 5 4 . P r o g r a m Sc o p e ........................................................................................................... ... ..1 3 8 5 . P r o g r a m C haracteristics .............................................................................................. 139 6. P r o g r a m C h a l l e n g e s Fa c e d ......................................................................... 141 7. P r o g r a m M a in U sers a n d Ta r g e t e d B eneficiaries ..............................................1 4 3 8 . P r o g r a m D eliverables a n d O utputs ..........................................................................1 4 5 9 . P r o g r a m Su c c es s es a n d Fa ilu r es ...............................................................................1 4 9 1 0 . P r o g r a m Syste m C o m p o n e n t s.................................................................................. 1 5 2 11. IDSC’s R o l e .......................................................................................................................... 1 5 4