Research and creating a presentation of data to share with decision makers. Choose an industry and company B2C firm. To ensure you have access to information required for completing this assignment, the company you choose must be a publicly traded firm. You can choose any B2C firm
Overview
You will be creating a presentation of data to share with decision makers. Choose an industry and company you find interesting. To ensure you have access to information required for completing this assignment, the company you choose must be a publicly traded firm. You can choose any B2C firm.
Requirements
• What to submit: Upload your paper in Microsoft Word format.
• Length: The paper should be 1,600 to 1,800 words long excluding the title page, references, etc.
• Rubric: Your paper will be graded using the rubric included below. Please pay more attention on row #5, #6, #7, and #11 requirements in Rubric below. The requirement for row #7 alone is 30 points
Instructions
Write a paper outlining what data you would choose to present to some of the firm’s managers/staff and how you would present that data. Your paper should include each of the following sections:
1. Use headings to divide the paper into the sections identified on the rubric
2. Start with a section explaining best practices in organizing and displaying data for business users, including the design of dashboards.
3. Briefly describe the company you will be looking at for the assignment and how they currently use big data
4. List at least four data users by job title.
o Include the CEO on this list.
o Include at least one other manager who makes important decisions for the firm and who could make use of data on a regular basis. Examples of managers you might consider include VP of Manufacturing, Product Manager, Store Manager, Regional Sales Manager, etc.
o Finally, include the job title of at least two individual contributors who can make use of data. Examples of individual contributors include sales representative, retail sales associate, customer service representative, etc. Your choices for this role are likely to vary by the industry type of firm (e.g., manufacturer, retailer, service provider) you have chosen.
4. Include brief job descriptions for each user (job title)
5. Include descriptions of the data needs of each user
6. List data items you recommend that can be supplied to each user (job title).
o Consider these data items carefully. You will want to include data needed by the user (manager or staff member in that position) to do their job and exclude data that would be unhelpful or distracting. For example, the CEO might find data from financial statements (and ratios from financial statement items) useful such as expenses, sales by division, gross margin, average sale amount, return on assets (ROA), return on investment (ROI), variance reports (actual vs. budget) by division, etc. A store manager, on the other hand, would more likely benefit from information such as refunds, net sales, total labor cost, customer ratings/feedback, employee count, FTE count, etc. A store manager would also likely want to see comparisons to peer stores or benchmarks for store operations.
o Be sure to include only data items the company can reasonably be expected to have. For example, a company is not likely to have detailed data on a competitor, so do not include detailed data on competitors unless it is available in that industry.
o Consider using a table to display your list of data items and which users would be provided with each.
7. Include a description and illustration of the user’s dashboard.
o Each dashboard should display data most helpful to that user.
o Be sure to include data on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis.
o Group data logically, and emphasize at least two KPI’s for each user along with data allowing the user to dig deeper into the details behind the KPIs.
o Use graphical presentations of data in cases where the visual display would make the data more helpful to the user and would enhance understanding of the data presented.
o Create each dashboard in Excel, and paste each one of them into your paper. Each dashboard illustration should include sample data.
8. Close your paper with a brief summary and your conclusions
Important!
• Use headings to divide the paper into logical sections.
• A minimum of five trade publication articles, five academic journal articles, and the annual report of the company should be used as references. These should be real, widely read (at least in their industry) publications, not random blogs or websites. Additional credible references (books, general interest business publications, local newspapers, websites, blogs, etc.) are welcome.
• Sources for both major concepts and direct quotes used in your paper must be cited in the text of the paper and be in the reference list at the end of the paper.
Format the paper using APA style for the title page, page layout (line spacing, page numbers, etc.), headings, citations, and references. There is no need to follow additional APA style requirements.
Submitting Your Work
Use Microsoft Word format when composing your paper and upload it for evaluation.
Please pay more attention on row #5, #6, #7, and #11 requirements below since those four items take 60 points over 100 point total. The requirement for row #7 alone is 30 points
Rubric
Criteria
1 Section 1 – Best Practices Excellent
High level knowledge and understanding of best practices demonstrated.
2 Section 2 – Summary of Company Excellent
High level knowledge and understanding demonstrated in concise description of company’s use of big data.
3 Section 3 – List of 4 Data Users by Job Title Good
Some knowledge and understanding demonstrated for 4 data users.
4 Section 4 – Job Descriptions for Each User Excellent
Complete, but concise job descriptions included for all 4 users.
5 Section 5 – Data Needs of Each User Excellent
High level knowledge and understanding demonstrated about data needs of all 4 users.
6 Section 6 – List of Data Items for Each User Excellent
High level knowledge and understanding demonstrated about data items for all 4 users.
7 Section 7 – Dashboards for Each User Excellent
All 4 dashboards display appropriate data items and time frames. Two or more KPI’s are included. Data presented graphically when appropriate. Each dashboard created in Excel and pasted into paper. Data items grouped logically. Sample data shown.
8 Section 8 – Summary and Conclusions Excellent
High level knowledge and understanding demonstrated in concise summary and conclusions.
9 Quality of writing Excellent
Paper exceptionally well-written using proper grammar and spelling. Points are very well reasoned and clear.
10 Length of Paper Excellent
1,600 to 1,800 words
11 References Excellent
Meets or exceeds number of required references in all three categories. (Required: 5 references from trade journals, 5 from academic journals, plus firm’s annual report.)
12 Paper conforms to APA style Excellent
Paper conforms completely to applicable aspects of APA style
13 Paper submitted on time. Excellent
Completed paper submitted on time.
Types of Publications
General Interest Business Publications
These publications offer articles on businesses and business professionals. Professional journalists on staff with knowledge of business generally write the articles, but guest authors may write some articles. Topics covered vary from profiles of companies or individuals to general discussions of topics of interest to people working in business, including finance, management, marketing, strategy, etc. Articles are not peer reviewed. Language used is easy to understand, with business terms sometimes explained for readers. Many are published as magazines, with glossy color photos of individuals and company facilities, but some are published in newspaper-like formats with lower quality photos. Most charge a subscription fee and may also be available on a per-copy basis at newsstands. Advertising varies from ads aimed at managers who make business decisions for their firms (B2B) to consumer ads targeting higher income households (B2C.) Some have national or international editions, while some are published for specific metropolitan areas. Examples include Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and Crains Chicago Business.
Trade Publications (aka Trade Journals)
Trade publications offer current news articles of interest to those working in a specific industry. Articles are written by staff writers or, in some cases, others with knowledge of the industry. The language used may include industry-specific terms not familiar to the general public or even business people in other industries; however, the overall language is easily understood by most readers. Articles are not peer reviewed. They are distributed to people who work in a specific industry and are not generally available for purchase by the public. In some cases they may be distributed free of charge to those working in the industry, and in other cases they may charge a subscription fee. They also typically carry advertising targeted at those working in the industry. Examples include Chain Store Age, U.S. Banker, Manufacturing News, Travel Weekly, Advertising Age, Nations Restaurant News, and Modern Grocer.
Academic Journals (aka Scholarly Journals)
Academic journals in business disciplines generally publish in-depth articles written by academics conducting research into very specific, narrow topics. Authors are usually faculty at academic institutions and not professional journalists employed by the journal. Extensive citations and references are included, enabling readers to verify information. Articles in most academic journals are peer reviewed by experts in the field prior to being accepted for publication. The target audience is primarily other business researchers, academics, and students. The language used can be very dense and technical, with terms specific to a narrow field of study. Most academic journals are produced in black and white and might include graphs, charts, and tables. Photographs are rarely seen in an academic journal. Journals are offered on a subscription basis, with many users accessing them online through academic libraries. Advertising is rarely included. Examples include Journal of Management, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Operations Management, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Advertising Research, Tourism Management, and Journal of Supply Chain Management.