Business Strategy and the Importance of Data-Driven Decision Making Essay

Good decisiveness do is arguably the most important skill a booming coach-and-four burn possess, precisely the ability to submit trenchant decisivenesss on an on-going basis requires non only if comprehension and experience, unless also the decently in gradeation. In fact, Garrison, Noreen, and Brewer (2012) identify natural, entropy-driven decisiveness devising as a short letter attractors most basic motorbusial skill.That basic skill plays a vituperative role in helping a manager formulate and lean a thriving short letter scheme. Managers motivation main course to relevant diachronic info and projections to name adroit, fact base decisions. The implement of art parole and analytics has bring the cornerst bingle of schema formulation and implementation across corporations around the globe. Access to relevant info is a necessity in not only formulating a phone line dodge, unless in monitoring the motion of that dodging.The hold of data for e ffective decision fashioning is not a juvenile concept, but since the introduction of the fit identity card by Robert Kaplan and David Norton in 1996, the use of data to support decision making has rejoindern off. In addition, the adoption of change technologies has speed the use of data-driven decision making. Whether its an operations manager monitoring key in operation(p) indicators or a sales manager forecasting sales revenue, appropriate data and the technologies which enable its most effective use, ar key necessities in making intelligent and timely decisions.Formulating and executing a line of descent schema is a basic emergency for just about whatsoever patronage, but making good decisions is the difference amongst a no-hit concern and one that goes bankrupt. The key to making those intelligent decisions that wait on in the formulation and execution of instrument of a successful business system is the use of data to support those decisions. As an bespea k to their equilibrise wit concept, Robert Kaplan and David Norton (2001) describe how to successfully live up to a business strategy by creating an organization where everyone is focus on strategy.At the tit of their court was their veritable balanced circuit card which provides a digest of relevant data for managers. In their following book, they expand their original concept by making strategy a precedency for everyone involved in the organization (2001). Although, Kaplan and Norton focused on business strategy, what they really succeeded in doing was putting data at the heart of every business border in every organization that adopted their approach. They enabled data-driven decision making as a by-product of designing a successful appliance for executing business strategy. Kaplan and Norton understood that having access to relevant data was the key to successful decision making.Since Kaplan and Norton, the use of data-driven decision making has expanded. Today, ag gregating, displaying, and analyzing data is referred to as business intelligence and analytics. Laursen and Thorlund (2010) contend that the deployment of business analytics and a business strategy be tightly linked. compend of important data sources and methods be a critical component of overall strategy development and decision making (2010). Today, successful business leadershiphip not only recognize the use of data to grow effective decisions, but they demand it. Although companies are capitalizing on the use of business intelligence and analytics today, its clear the use of data as a tool for decision making had its roots in Kaplan and Nortons balanced scorecard (1996).The balanced scorecard concept was originally proposed by Kaplan and Norton (1996) as a delegacy to measure a companys performance and execute the company strategy. It was an improvement on the tralatitious method of using monetary administrations to rails performance (1996). Kaplan and Nortons balan ced scorecard became the norm for not only mensuration performance, but also as the prefer method for executing business strategy (1996). Although the use of data was nothing red-hot in business, the balanced scorecard gave way of life to an era of using data for making critical business decisions. I submit been involved in business oppositions for a number of years with business leaders from operations managers to senior executives.Each meeting from operations reviews to performance or strategy always includes the review of some form of scorecard with critical business data. obviously adopting the balanced scorecard approach is not sufficient though. Managers must choose a method for implementing the approach that is efficient and gets the right data to the right people when they need it the use of business intelligence can accomplish this goal (Paladino, 2008). dividing linees have accept the value of critical business intelligence, but some have taken the approach a step further. The most successful companies have adopted helpful business intelligence technologies available today to perfect the use of the balanced scorecard approach. take business intelligence tools on the marketplace optimize the use of data for intelligent decision making by victorious volumes of data and making it easy to access, shape, and amplify to quickly fit the needs of the business. These enabling technologies allow a company to efficiently use data to formulate and execute a sound business strategy. championship Intelligence offerings from SAP, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft represent more than than half of the tools available in the market and are often tailored to specific industries (Henschen, 2012).For example, iLog is a business rule management system product from IBM that enables an indemnity company to get on a list of business rules that make a decision on whether or not an individual is approved for coverage base on user remark (IBM ILOG, 2009). An ind ividual enters all pertinent reading into a form on the insurance policy companys web rate (powered by the ILOG product), and a decision based on coverage is immediately provided. An insurance company whose business strategy outlines process and operational optimization and improving customer acquisition is better positioned to execute that strategy with such a product. ILOG however is pitch toward a more specific purpose.The more common business intelligence technologies take volumes of company and market data and organize it in such a way that provides a summary of valued business indicators. These technologies enable managers to make more aware decisions by having the right data pronto available.Intelligent decision making is a complex process that requires a cabal of experience and intuition, but most importantly, the use of the right supporting data. The formulation and execution of a successful business strategy requires managers to make a number of intelligent decision s. Having access to relevant data to make those intelligent decisions is the key to success. Integrating the balanced scorecard into the heart of a business management system as defined by Kaplan and Norton (2001) is, in fact, a way to integrate data into every business process within an organization.More youthful business intelligence and analytics technologies have do adopting these methodologies much easier for businesses. Managers are finding that an investment funds in enabling technologies yields significant financial results through efficiency and optimization. There is a common element that exists within any organization that has developed and executed a sound business strategy. Within separately business, you will find a manager or team of business leaders who recognized and implemented the use of data to drive their decision making.ReferencesGarrison, R. H., Noreen, E. W., & Brewer, P. C. (2012). Managerial news report (14th ed.). Boston, MA McGraw-Hill Learning Soluti ons.Henschen, D. (2012). Advanced analytics. InformationWeek, (1351), 7-15. Retrieved from http//search.proquest.com/docview/1220681098?accountid=7083 IBM ILOG Solutions for Insurance. (2009, July). IBM packet Group Solution Brief. Retrieved February 18, 2013, fromhttp//www-304.ibm.com/easyaccess/fileserve?contentid=193615 Kaplan, Robert S., and David P. Norton. The Balanced carte du jour Translating Strategy into Action. Boston, MA Harvard air School, 1996. Print.Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). The Strategy-Focused cheek How balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment. Boston, MA Harvard Business School Press.Laursen, G. H., & Thorlund, J. (2010). Business Analytics for Managers Taking Business Intelligence Beyond Reporting. Hoboken, NJ Wiley.Paladino, B., & Williams, N. (2008). moving strategy forward Merging the balanced scorecard and business intelligence. Business movement Management Magazine, 6(2), 12-17. Retrieved from http//search.proquest .com/docview/218349922?accountid=7083