Which type of system, from a constituency perspective, did Whirlpool need to improve?

Whirlpool needed to improve its Transaction Processing System (TPS) to enhance its operational efficiency. A TPS is designed to manage and process day-to-day transactions within an organization, ensuring that data is accurately captured, processed, and stored. By improving the TPS, Whirlpool could streamline its processes for handling orders, inventory, sales, and other transactions crucial to its business operations.

Enhancements to the TPS can lead to greater accuracy in data handling, quicker transaction times, and better overall performance in high-volume transaction environments, which are essential for a manufacturing and retail company like Whirlpool. This improvement ultimately supports better decision-making and resource management at operational levels.

Other types of systems, although important, focus on different aspects. A Management Information System (MIS) mainly deals with generating reports and helping managers in decision-making based on data accumulated from TPS. A Decision Support System (DSS) aids in complex decision-making through analysis of data, while an Executive Support System (ESS) provides top-level executives with an overview and critical insights into organizational performance and external trends. Therefore, while all these systems play valuable roles, in this case, the primary need identified was for better transaction processing capabilities.