Complete the following assignment in one MS Word document:
Chapter 1 –discussion question #1 (textbook; page # 68) & exercise 15 (textbook, page # 69) (limit to one page of analysis for exercise 15)
When submitting work, be sure to include an APA cover page and include at least two APA formatted references (and APA in-text citations) to support the work this week.
All work must be original (not copied from any source).
PAGE NO 68
Questions for Discussion
Survey the literature from the past six months to find one application each for DSS, BI, and analytics. Summarize the applications on one page, and submit it with the exact sources.
Your company is considering opening a branch in China. List typical activities in each phase of the decision (intelligence, design, choice, and implementation) regarding whether to open a branch.
You are about to buy a car. Using Simon’s (1977) four-phase model, describe your activities at each step in making the decision.
Explain, through an example, the support given to decision makers by computers in each phase of the decision process.
Comment on Simon’s (1977) philosophy that managerial decision making is synonymous with the whole process of management. Does this make sense? Explain. Use a real-world example in your explanation.
Review the major characteristics and capabilities of DSS. How does each of them relate to the major components of DSS?
List some internal data and external data that could be found in a DSS for a university’s admissions office.
Distinguish BI from DSS.
Compare and contrast predictive analytics with prescriptive and descriptive analytics. Use examples.
Discuss the major issues in implementing BI.
PAGE NO 69
Exercises
Teradata University Network and Other Hands-On Exercises
Go to the TUN site teradatauniversitynetwork.com. Using the site password your instructor provides, register for the site if you have not already previously registered. Log on and learn the content of the site. You will receive assignments related to this site. Prepare a list of 20 items on the site that you think could be beneficial to you.
Go to. Explore the Sports Analytics page, and summarize at least two applications of analytics in any sport of your choice.
Go to. The TUN site, and select “Cases, Projects, and Assignments.” Then select the case study “Harrah’s High Payoff from Customer Information.” Answer the following questions about this case:
What information does the data mining generate?
How is this information helpful to management in decision making? (Be specific.)
List the types of data that are mined.
Is this a DSS or BI application? Why?
Go to teradatauniversitynetwork.com and find the paper titled “Data Warehousing Supports Corporate Strategy at First American Corporation” (by Watson, Wixom, and Goodhue). Read the paper, and answer the following questions:
What were the drivers for the DW/BI project in the company?
What strategic advantages were realized?
What operational and tactical advantages were achieved?
What were the critical success factors for the implementation?
Go to http://analytics-magazine.org/issues/digital-editions and find the January/February 2012 edition titled “Special Issue: The Future of Healthcare.” Read the article “Predictive Analytics—Saving Lives and Lowering Medical Bills.” Answer the following questions:
What problem is being addressed by applying predictive analytics?
What is the FICO Medication Adherence Score?
How is a prediction model trained to predict the FICO Medication Adherence Score HoH? Did the prediction model classify the FICO Medication Adherence Score?
Zoom in on Figure 4, and explain what technique is applied to the generated results.
List some of the actionable decisions that were based on the prediction results.
Go to http://analytics-magazine.org/issues/digital-editions, and find the January/February 2013 edition titled “Work Social.” Read the article “Big Data, Analytics and Elections,” and answer the following questions:
What kinds of Big Data were analyzed in the article’s Coo? Comment on some of the sources of Big Data.
Explain the term integrated system. What is the other technical term that suits an integrated system?
What data analysis techniques are employed in the project? Comment on some initiatives that resulted from data analysis.
What are the different prediction problems answered by the models?
List some of the actionable decisions taken that were based on the prediction results.
Identify two applications of Big Data analytics that are not listed in the article.
Search the Internet for material regarding the work of managers and the role analytics plays in it. What kinds of references to consulting firms, academic departments, and programs do you find? What major areas are represented? Select five sites that cover one area, and report your findings.
Explore the public areas of dssresources.com. Prepare a list of its major available resources. You might want to refer to this site as you work through the book.
Go to microstrategy.com. Find information on the five styles of BI. Prepare a summary table for each style.
Go to oracle.com, and click the Hyperion link under Applications. Determine what the company’s major products are. Relate these to the support technologies cited in this chapter.
Go to the TUN questions site. Look for BSI videos. Review the video of “Case of Retail Tweeters.” Prepare a one-page summary of the problem, proposed solution, and the reported results. You can also find associated slides on slideshare.net.
Review the Analytics Ecosystem section. Identify at least two additional companies in at least five of the industry clusters noted in the discussion.
The discussion for the analytics ecosystem also included several typical job titles for graduates of analytics and data science programs. Research Web sites such as datasciencecentral.com and tdwi.org to locate at least three similar job titles that you may find interesting for your career.
Go to Brainspace at MIT lab brainspace.com. View the video about “Augmented Human Intelligence.” Find the activities that deal with the enabling of meaningful combination of people and machines. Write a report.
Find information about IBM Watson’s activities in the healthcare field. Write a report.
Examine Daniel Power’s DSS Resources site at dssresources.com. Take the Decision Support Systems Web Tour (dssresources.com/tour/index.html). Explore other areas of the Web site. List at least three recent resources related to analytics. What topics do these cover?