Discussion

Discuss about the Essay for Business Intelligence of Essential Methodologies and Tools.

The purpose of making this report is to discuss about management information system. Management Information System that is commonly known as MIS, is highly used in business organizations for handling various business operations. This system has revolutionized the way data is being used for making decisions regarding business knowledge management. The purpose of making this report is to evaluate the impact of business intelligence and business analytics on improving business decision making and managing business knowledge. Management Information System is actually a computerized database which is used to store financial information in an organized way. This system is able to generate business reports that are used by business management for making decisions.  Now we will discuss about some other essential concepts about management information system. (ComputerWeekly, 2016)

How does decisions making works in business environment?

Decision making is an essential process that is important for every business organizations. There are various critical business activities where appropriate decision making is required. There are different types of decision making that are used in business environments and here we will discuss that how decision making works in organizations. (SearchBusinessAnalytics, 2016)

Decisions making process works by following some essential steps that are listed as below:

Identification of Purpose for Making Decision

Collection of Information

Principles for Judging Alternatives

Analysis about Different Choice

Evaluation about Alternatives

Selection of best Alternative

Execution of Decision

Evaluation of Results

Identification of Purpose for Making Decision

In process of decision making, identification of purpose for which we are going to make decision is necessary. In this process, whole problem is analyzed properly. Under this phase, some essential questions are considered such as what is the actual problem? why problem should be solved? Who will be affected with this problem? Is there any deadline for solving problem?

Collection of Information

There can be various stakeholders of organization. In addition there can be dozens of factors involved that can affect problem. To resolve these problems, it is necessary to gather information that is related to factors and stakeholders that are involved in problem. For this process, Check Sheets can be used effectively.

Principles for Judging Alternatives

In this step of process, criteria that is used for judging alternatives should be set up. While defining the criteria, goals of organizational and corporate culture should be taken into consideration.

Six Elements of Business Intelligence Environment

Analysis about Different Choice

Here in this step of process, different alternatives to analyze the problem is considered. Before generating and implementing any new idea, it will be better to find out alternatives for resolving the problem. For this step, use of cause and effect diagrams and Pareto chart are essential tools. Through cause and effect diagrams it will be possible to identify all possible causes of the problem and priority of causes will be set.

Evaluation about Alternatives

Here by using judgment principles and decision making criteria, each alternative is evaluated properly. Effectiveness and experience of judgment principles come into existence. Positive and negative points of alternatives should be considered properly.

Selection of Best Alternative

Among all these alternatives, one best alternative is necessary to consider. For doing this, it is necessary to go through from step 1 to 5. Then you can make decision accordingly to select best alternative.

Execution of Decision

After making decisions, one should always consider consequences and all positive outcomes of alternatives. After this, plan should be executed.

Evaluation of Results

Proper evaluation of outcome of decision should be made. Here it should be identified that is there anything that you should learn and correct in future for making decisions. This is an effective process that should improve decision making skills.

In this way, by implementing above discussed steps, effective decision making works in business organizations.

Business Intelligence is a strategy based initiative and in business organizations, this environment is necessary to maintain. The business intelligence environment consists of following six elements:

Data collection that is related to business environment such as structured and unstructured from various sources that is required to integrate and organized.

Other essential factor is related to business intelligence infrastructure. It consists of a database system that is needed to store all the relevant business process data.

Besides this, other essential factor that is essential to consider in business intelligence environment is related to analyze data and produce reports, tracking of progress of business by using key indicators of performance.

Managerial methods and users is also one of the major element of business intelligence environment. Under this method, managers decide on strategic business goals and it is also decided that how progress is measured for making use of BI and BA tools appropriately.

The delivery platforms such as MIS, DSS and ESS are used to results from BA and BI and deliver it to everyone in firm.

Analytical Outputs that Business Intelligence Systems Utilize

User interface is also required for business intelligence environment, here visual techniques such as dashboards and scoreboards are used for presenting results of BA and BI.

These are major elements of business intelligence environment that must be considered while doing business. (Tutorialspoint.com, 2016)

Business intelligence systems have analytical functionalities:

First analytical functionality outputs consists of predefined reports that are based on industry-specific requirements.

Parameterized reports are also necessary in case of analytical outputs. Under this parameterized reports, various parameters are entered into pivot table. This is done to filter data and to separate impacts of parameters.

Visual tools are used in business environment such as dashboards and scoreboard. These tools are used for presenting performance data that is defined by users.

Adhoc query, search and report creation is used for creation their own reports that are based on searches and queries.

Analytical output that business intelligence utilizes also consists of drill down factors. This is an ability which is used to move from high-level summary to a more detailed view.

Forecasts, scenarios and models are also one of major analytical outputs that is used to perform linear forecasting. It consists of what-if-scenario analysis and analysis of data by using standard statistical tools.

Decision making is an essential process performed by business organizations. It is a critical task to perform and it is responsibility of business management to implement this appropriately. Decision making has both positive and negative impacts on business operations. Business intelligence and analytics support improve decision making in a way that it provides help to improve productivity of business which is necessary for enhancing profit and revenue of business. To do this, business can channel their wide range of resources and workforce to raise productivity of business. Here business intelligence team handles whole work and it results in saving of cost, time and efficient supporting of reports that are required to improve productivity of business. The next way in which business intelligence and analytics can support improved decision making is that crucial or important information can be accessed easily through this activity. This information is regarding companies that is used to improving companies’ ability for making decisions and for generating competitive advantage. Other way in which business intelligence and analytics supports for decision making is that it provides accurate and timely information to business organizations and on the behalf of that information, business organizations can measure their performances. BI is also helpful in informed decision making regarding strategic issues. In this business intelligence and analytics are helpful for business organizations and these activities ensure that company receives real-time advanced data for ensuring that this information will be utilized properly. (Academia.edu, 2016)

In modern business, business intelligence methodologies and tools are considered to be useful for making critical business level decisions. Due to effectiveness of these methodologies or tools, these have become popular among business organizations. The major benefits that are observed to modern benefits of employing the use of intelligent technique in decision making are listed as below:

The major benefit of BI to modern business of employing is the use of measurement activities for determining overall performance metrics. This performance metrics provide information about progress towards business goals.

In development of quantitative processes that are required for making decisions, analytical activities are used. In case of business knowledge discovery, analytical activities are also required.

Reporting activities that are required to develop an infrastructure for strategic reporting can also developed with the help of business intelligence methodologies, This strategic reporting is useful for strategic decision making mechanism.

With the help of Business Intelligence, collaborative activities can be performed and these provide different parties to work together. To perform these activities data sharing and electronic data interchange are used for collaborative work.

Knowledge management activities are also performed through business intelligence methodologies. This is important for implementing practices for identifying, representing and distributing of experiences that are required for business knowledge. (Google Books., 2016)

The methodologies and tools of business intelligence and analytics can be used for both individual level and group level decision making. In group decision making all key executives are involved those provide guidance and strategy for business. Here business intelligence will provide help for making detailed report and analysis and executives can easily make decisions on the behalf of this detail report.

Business Intelligence is a real-time performance management tool for monitoring large amount of data that is generated by business organizations. Besides this, it enables business executives for detecting market opportunities. BI guides group members in a way that no conflicts occur while making decisions by them.

Business organizations always consider customers’ behavior while making any essential decisions. Business intelligence also focus on customers’ behavior and its preferences. This is also effective to make group level decisions. (Miller, 2011)

In this way by using significant business intelligence techniques group level decision making can be done easily without any conflicts.

Enterprise wide knowledge management systems are effort of firms or business organizations for collecting, storing, distributing and applying digital content and knowledge. Structured Knowledge based systems provide tools and databases that are required for storing and organizing structured documents. On other side, semi-structured knowledge based systems are used to manage semi-structured documents such as emails and rich media etc. The knowledge based systems are helpful enough to provide directories and tools that can be used for locating firm employees with special expertise. Enterprise-wide knowledge management systems can be more effective and beneficial, if these will be well-designed and also enable employees for locating, sharing and using knowledge in effective ways.( Etechgs.com, 2016)

Conclusion

After this whole discussion about business intelligence and analytics and its essential methodologies and tools, we can say that today without BI it will become difficult to perform effective decision making by business organizations. Detail reporting system, real time performance activities and appropriate analysis of customers’ behavior are major features of business intelligence. These reasons enhance the overall popularity of business intelligence in business organizations.

As we have discussed above effectiveness of Business intelligence in case of decision making, but there are some points that we would like to recommend through this report such as:

While implementing business intelligence and its tools and methodologies, appropriate knowledge about these tools is necessary.

Experts are required in organizations that have knowledge how business intelligence can be implemented effectively.

To get successful outcomes, all BI standards are required to implement at level of management.

References

ComputerWeekly. (2016). Business intelligence: Collaborative decision-making. [online] Available at: https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Business-intelligence-Collaborative-decision-making [Accessed 31 Mar. 2016].

SearchBusinessAnalytics. (2016). Understanding benefits of business intelligence reporting, data mining. [online] Available at: https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/feature/Understanding-benefits-of-business-intelligence-reporting-data-mining [Accessed 31 Mar. 2016].

Academia.edu. (2016). Effects of Business Intelligence Techniques on Enterprise Productivity. [online] Available at: https://www.academia.edu/2700385/Effects_of_Business_Intelligence_Techniques_on_Enterprise_Productivity [Accessed 31 Mar. 2016].

Google Books. (2016). Management Information Systems: Managing The Digital Firms. [online] Available at: https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Kx0YJS4ayAgC&pg=PA497&lpg=PA497&dq=Discuss+the+systems+that+are+used+for+improving+enterprise-wide+knowledge+management.&source=bl&ots=i14PbNq7Cr&sig=RfqwGZl98BP4axzVsVrQn88iaJg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi72NvA9unLAhVDCo4KHUvkCysQ6AEIMDAD#v=onepage&q=Discuss%20the%20systems%20that%20are%20used%20for%20improving%20enterprise-wide%20knowledge%20management.&f=false [Accessed 31 Mar. 2016].

Miller, R. (2011). Successful BI deployments have these elements – TechRepublic. [online] TechRepublic. Available at: https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tech-decision-maker/successful-bi-deployments-have-these-elements/ [Accessed 31 Mar. 2016].

Tutorialspoint.com. (2016). Decision Making Process. [online] Available at: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/decision_making_process.htm [Accessed 31 Mar. 2016].

Inc.com. (2016). Management Information Systems (MIS). [online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/management-information-systems-mis.html [Accessed 31 Mar. 2016].

Etechgs.com. (2016). Business Intelligence Helps in Strategic Decision Making. [online] Available at: https://www.etechgs.com/blog/post/Business-Intelligence-Helps-in-Strategic-Decision-Making.aspx [Accessed 31 Mar. 2016].