Chapter 7 Data and Decision Making
technological competency - answersthe ability to understand new technologies and to
use them to their best advantage
information competency - answersthe ability to locate, gather, and organize information
for use in decision making
analytical competency - answersthe ability to evaluate and analyze information to make
actual decisions and solve real problems
data - answersraw facts and observations
information - answersdata made useful for decision making
5 characteristics of useful information - answers1. Timely—The information is available
when needed; it meets deadlines for decision making and action.
2. High quality—The information is accurate, and it is reliable; it can be used with
confidence.
3. Complete—The information is complete and sufficient for the task at hand; it is as
current and up to date as possible.
4. Relevant—The information is appropriate for the task at hand; it is free from
extraneous or irrelevant material.
5. Understandable—The information is clear and easily understood by the user; it is free
from unnecessary detail.
management information systems - answerscollect, organize, and distribute data for use
in decision making
internal information - answersdescribes specific operational aspects of an organization
-need to know information from their immediate work setting and from other parts of the
organization
intelligence information - answers-gathered from the environment to deal with
customers, competitors, and other stakeholders
public information - answersdisseminated to stakeholders and external environment
data mining - answersthe process of analyzing data for patterns, predictions, and
insights useful for decision making
big data - answersexists in huge quantities and is difficult to process without
sophisticated mathematical and computing techniques
, analytics - answersinvolves systematic gathering and processing of data to make
informed decisions
aka business analytics or management analytics
Five Vs of Big Data - answersVolume
Variety
Velocity
Veracity
Value
Volume - answersneed large amounts of data
5 Vs of Big Data
Variety - answerswant data from many sources
5 Vs of Big Data
Veracity - answerswant data to be believable and trusted
5 Vs of Big Data
Velocity - answersreflects what is currently happening in the world in real time
5 Vs of Big Data
Value - answersdata has to be worth the time, effort and resources
5 Vs of Big Data
business intelligence - answerstaps information to extract and report data in organized
ways that are helpful to decision makers
-types include competitive information, big picture information, function-specific
information
competitive information - answerstarget markets and marketing strategy, package
types, market share, strengths and weaknesses, unit sizes, pricing structure, sales
volumes
big picture information - answers-example is tracking financial results across different
levels of the organization and doing historical comparisons in order to detect patterns
indicated possible fraud
function-specific information - answersAn example is ensuring that manufacturing
workers are aware of costs, marketing people are aware of sales expenses relative to
sales revenues, and customer service employees know cost per service contact
data visualization - answerspresent clear and efficient visualizations of key performance
indicators on a real-time basis
aka executive dashboards
technological competency - answersthe ability to understand new technologies and to
use them to their best advantage
information competency - answersthe ability to locate, gather, and organize information
for use in decision making
analytical competency - answersthe ability to evaluate and analyze information to make
actual decisions and solve real problems
data - answersraw facts and observations
information - answersdata made useful for decision making
5 characteristics of useful information - answers1. Timely—The information is available
when needed; it meets deadlines for decision making and action.
2. High quality—The information is accurate, and it is reliable; it can be used with
confidence.
3. Complete—The information is complete and sufficient for the task at hand; it is as
current and up to date as possible.
4. Relevant—The information is appropriate for the task at hand; it is free from
extraneous or irrelevant material.
5. Understandable—The information is clear and easily understood by the user; it is free
from unnecessary detail.
management information systems - answerscollect, organize, and distribute data for use
in decision making
internal information - answersdescribes specific operational aspects of an organization
-need to know information from their immediate work setting and from other parts of the
organization
intelligence information - answers-gathered from the environment to deal with
customers, competitors, and other stakeholders
public information - answersdisseminated to stakeholders and external environment
data mining - answersthe process of analyzing data for patterns, predictions, and
insights useful for decision making
big data - answersexists in huge quantities and is difficult to process without
sophisticated mathematical and computing techniques
, analytics - answersinvolves systematic gathering and processing of data to make
informed decisions
aka business analytics or management analytics
Five Vs of Big Data - answersVolume
Variety
Velocity
Veracity
Value
Volume - answersneed large amounts of data
5 Vs of Big Data
Variety - answerswant data from many sources
5 Vs of Big Data
Veracity - answerswant data to be believable and trusted
5 Vs of Big Data
Velocity - answersreflects what is currently happening in the world in real time
5 Vs of Big Data
Value - answersdata has to be worth the time, effort and resources
5 Vs of Big Data
business intelligence - answerstaps information to extract and report data in organized
ways that are helpful to decision makers
-types include competitive information, big picture information, function-specific
information
competitive information - answerstarget markets and marketing strategy, package
types, market share, strengths and weaknesses, unit sizes, pricing structure, sales
volumes
big picture information - answers-example is tracking financial results across different
levels of the organization and doing historical comparisons in order to detect patterns
indicated possible fraud
function-specific information - answersAn example is ensuring that manufacturing
workers are aware of costs, marketing people are aware of sales expenses relative to
sales revenues, and customer service employees know cost per service contact
data visualization - answerspresent clear and efficient visualizations of key performance
indicators on a real-time basis
aka executive dashboards
