When you reply to two your classmates' posts, respectfully agree/disagree to the post and explain why, while offering an opinion with an example to support it and references. Be sure to do one or more of the following:

• Agree and explain why you agree.
• Respectfully disagree and explain why you disagree.
• Offer an opinion with an example to support it.
• Propose an idea or a suggestion.
• Tell a related personal story.
• Respond to the classmates' or the instructor's questions.
• Pose a question and be sure to include your own answer as an example.
• Explain how the discussion question connects to real-life experiences.

Classmate 1:

Management can help employees understand that there are various types of analytics that factor in to organizational success. Two such analytics are predictive and prescriptive data. Prescriptive analytics targets an understanding of past events by analyzing historical data to identify the organization's areas for improvement. In contrast, predictive analytics focuses on forecasting future outcomes and understanding how changes will impact future performance for the organization (Segal, 2022). By merging these two forms of analysis, businesses can obtain a thorough insight into their activities and make informed choices for the future.

KPIs are often coupled with prescriptive and predictive analytics to assess the leading and forecasted indicators of organizational performance (Southekal, 2021). Managers should collaborate with their teams to establish specific KPIs that align with the organization's strategic goals and objectives. It is important to regularly monitor and communicate these KPIs to ensure employees grasp which metrics are critical for measuring the businesses success.

There are also diagnostic analytics which go one step further than prescriptive analytics. Diagnostic analytics help businesses understand why certain trends or patterns are occurring (Co-learner, 2021). By identifying the root causes of certain outcomes, businesses can gain a better understanding of which factors are contributing to their success or failure. In short, descriptive, and diagnostic analytics help businesses to understand the what and the why behind the data, to determine what is contributing to their success or failure (McCarthy, 2014).

Another measure to help employee's understand which data analytics are important is through the creation of dashboards (DoerHRM, 2023). Dashboards are used in business to visually present KPIs in an easily understandable way. By displaying these KPIs prominently, employees are consistently reminded of the organization's priorities and the objectives they should be focused on (DoerHRM, 2023). Providing employees with regular updates and real-time data creates transparency and accountability, motivating them to improve performance as needed.

References:

Southekal, P. (2021, November 22). Key performance indicators (KPIs): The lynchpin in enterprise data analytics. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/11/22/key-performance-indicators-kpis-the-lynchpin-in-enterprise-data-analytics/?sh=282a945c7704Links to an external site.

Segal, T. (2022, December 31). What is predictive analytics? How it works and examples. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/prescriptive-analytics.aspLinks to an external site.

DoerHRM. (2023, April 23). Smart KPI: What is smart KPIs and how to use it in business-meaning, examples, dashboard and template. Medium. https://medium.com/@doerhrm/smart-kpi-what-is-smart-kpis-and-how-to-use-it-in-business-meaning-examples-dashboard-and-8ecfb35cb3f8Links to an external site.

Co-learner. (2021, May 8). 4 types of data analytics every analyst should know-Descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, prescriptive. Medium. https://medium.com/co-learning-lounge/types-of-data-analytics-descriptive-diagnostic-predictive-prescriptive-922654ce8f8fLinks to an external site.

McCarthy, B. (2014, October 3). Prepare your organization to capitalize on predictive analytics. Harvard Business Review. https://ccg.instructure.com/courses/3966434/pages/module-5-readings?module_item_id=106274017

CLassmate 2:

Management is essential in guiding employees to success and helping them understand the importance of monitoring analytics daily as it constantly changes to meet organizational goals. A few strategies to help management help employees understand are communication, Establishing KPIs, training, and educating employees about changes. It is crucial for management and employees to establish clear communication regarding organizational objectives and strategies for how employees can support the objective.

Communication is the number one key to being successful in any organization. "Effective communication is the lifeblood of any organization"... "It is the key to ensuring that ideas are conveyed. Clearly, instructions are understood, and goals are achieved"... "Without clear communication, workplace productivity suffers, creativity is stifled, and conflicts can arise" (Team, 2023). By communicating the organization's overall goals, employees can prioritize the analytics that best aligns with the organization's goals and make sure the organization remains on track. For example, if the company goal is to improve customer satisfaction and ratings, the analytics data that would be used to make improvements are surveys and customer ratification. However, employees would know that information through communication.

Another essential strategy is KPIs. "Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the critical (key) quantifiable indicators of progress toward an intended result"... "KPIs provide a focus for strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical basis for decision making and help focus attention on what matters most" (Harlow, 2024). Management can work to establish the KPIs that align with business progress towards the objectives. They are used as benchmarks for success because they help employees understand the importance. According to the article, "KPIs are invaluable analytical tools used by businesses to answer critical questions and measure the success of their strategic efforts,"... "By using the right KPIs and tools, companies can overcome biases and make the best managerial rulings that are aligned with their strategies" (Calzon, 2023). In other words, KPIs can help organizations remain neutral and choose the best data that suits their objectives. An example of a KPI is customer retention; an organization wants to see if most customers are older or newer. The data they would use is customer retention.

A final strategy to keep in mind is to invest in training. It is crucial to make sure to educate, create workshops, and train employees so they know what they are doing and what is expected of them so everyone is on the same pace. Educate them about the flexibility of data plastic and how to adapt to such changes. The key to success is investing in your employee's education as they operate and create the service or product. They should be adequately trained, as it would take the organization money and time. Also, they should be given performance reviews every so often to know how they are doing and what is expected.

By implementing these strategies throughout the organization, management can assist the employees in understanding the importance of regularly monitoring data analytics, which helps improve decision-making within the organization.

Reference

Calzon, B. (2023, February 14). The importance of data driven decision making for business. datapine. https://www.datapine.com/blog/data-driven-decision-making-in-businesses/

Harlow, J. (2024, February 16). What is a key performance indicator (KPI)?. KPI.org. https://www.kpi.org/kpi-basics/

Team, W. (2023b, July 27). Clear communication in workplace: Key to success: Wrike. Blog Wrike. https://www.wrike.com/blog/communication-workplace-organizational-success/#:~:text=It%20is%20the%20key%20to,stifled%2C%20and%20conflicts%20can%20arise.