Demonstrate an understanding of how managers use business analytics to formulate and solve business problems and to support managerial decision making.

CONTENT Business analytics is closely related to management science and operational research. It refers to the use of quantitative methods, models, and data to support the process of making business decisions. This unit provides general knowledge about business analytics, in this 12-week journey you will learn how to utilise and leverage data to solve business problems. It aims to enhance your employability skills throughout the study, we will discuss case studies and analytics examples using real data to address a real organisational problem. Indicative Syllabus – Role of business analytics in decision making – Introduction to data visualisation – Frameworks in business analysis – Data analysis and practice – Analysing sustainability and customer experience – Measuring performance Page 3 of 11 AIMS The aims of this unit are to: A1. Provide an awareness of how data analysis skills and tools enable businesses to support data-driven decision making. A2. Explore how data is visualised and communicated to a range of stakeholders to support an understanding of business information. A3. Understand a variety of data types and uses for data including the foundations of how data can be used to predict business and customer needs. LEARNING OUTCOMES On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to: LO1. Demonstrate an understanding of how managers use business analytics to formulate and solve business problems and to support managerial decision making. LO2. Evaluate and interpret business data to support a structured and coherent argument. LO3. Visualise data to communicate the results of an analysis accurately and reliably. INDICATIVE TEACHING & LEARNING METHODS No. of hours of scheduled activity 48 hours No. of hours of independent activity 102 hours No. of hours of placement activity 0 hours This will comprise: • Lectures • Interactive case studies • Online learning (inc. video recordings, online practice sets, etc.) • Problem-solving activities • Directed reading • Private/guided study ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS Table A1- Assessment Components Assessment Component List all separate components Weighting (%) Typical Indicative Assessment tasks Where the component comprises more than one assessment task Assessment Type Word Count Approx word count where applicable Business report 100% Report Research poster with 1,000 words executive summary Table A2 –Categories for Assessment Page 4 of 11 Assessment Type % of assessment Category Written exam Written Set exercise (under exam conditions but not testing practical skills) Written Written assignment, including essay Coursework Report 100% Coursework Dissertation Coursework Portfolio Coursework Project output (other than dissertation) Coursework Set exercise (not under exam conditions, e.g. critiques) Coursework Oral assessment and presentation Practical Practical skills assessment (including production of an artefact) Practical Set exercise testing practical skills Practical Table A3 – Summary of Table A2 data Assessment Category Total % for Unit Written Coursework 100% Practical Table A4 – Assessment Criteria CRITERION MAPS TO LEARNING OUTCOME Knowledge of: Key models in business analysis LO1 Application of: Methods of evaluating and interpret quantitative data LO2 Application of: Structured and coherent arguments regarding business recommendation to support managerial decision making LO1 & LO2 Technical and applied skills through: Visualising data to communicate the results of an analysis accurately and reliably LO3 Page 5 of 11 READING LISTS1 ESSENTIAL Mize, E. (2017). Data Analytics: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Data Analytics, New York: CreateSpace Knaflic, C. N. (2015). Storytelling with data: A data visualization guide for business professionals, New York: John Wiley & Sons. Girling, P.X. (2013). Operational Risk Management : A Complete Guide to a Successful Operational Risk Framework, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Warnaby, G. & Shi, C. (2018). Pop-Up Retailing : Managerial and Strategic Perspectives, Springer International Publishing AG. Winston, W. (2016). Microsoft Excel data analysis and business modeling. San Francisco: Microsoft Press. RECOMMENDED Swift L. and Piff S. (2014). Quantitative Methods for Business, Management & Finance, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Few, S. (2013). Information Dashboard Design: Displaying data for at-a-glance monitoring, Burlingame: Analytics Press. Freeman J. et al. (2014). Statistics for Business and Economics, London: Cengage Learning Provost, F. & Fawcett, T. (2013) Data Science for Business: What You Need to Know about Data Mining and Data-Analytic Thinking, San Francisco: O’Reilly Media Page, S. (2021) The Model Thinker: What you need to know to make data work for you, New York: Hachette Book Group BRIEF FOR THIS UNIT (coursework brief) You are business consultants recently hired by a firm that provides analysis services to external investors. You have been given a task to present an assessment of four companies described by your manager as “beauty companies”: L’Oréal, The Estée Lauder Companies, Coty, and Revlon. You are expected to produce a report about those four companies by assessing and comparing their performance; however, no further information or data is given. 1 Reading Lists should be in accordance with the Reading Lists policy as issued by Academic Services. This policy also forms part of Annex 5 of the Quality Assurance Handbook. Page 6 of 11 You are encouraged to analyse their performance using secondary data and the PESTEL model. Your manager prefers storytelling with data – put your findings in a research poster along with an executive summary. Your clients generally have a particular interest in companies with a strong focus on sustainability and digitalisation. In your executive summary, please highlight which company you recommend investing in – regardless of their performance in the stock market. ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENT FOR THIS UNIT Definition of what assessment requirement means: Assessment requirement means what kind of thing/s a student is expected to hand in so the tutor can evaluate how well the learning outcomes have been achieved. The purpose is so that the skills and knowledge gained by the student in response to the teaching can be understood by the tutor and recorded in the student’s profile in UCA administration. Assessment requirement – By the deadline, you should submit a group report consisting a research poster and an executive summary (up to 5 students per group), including the following items: Research poster (1 – 2 pages) – An overview of the beauty industry – Provide a PESTEL analysis and risk analysis for each of the company, this can be either in a global perspective or at a local level – Use secondary data such as the companies’ annual report or the Glassdoor website to analyse the organisational performance of the four companies – There is no requirement on format, paper size, or colour – please make use of your creativity – There are many templates you can consider, see for example: http://www.buffalo.edu/brand/resources-tools/ub-templates-and-tools/research-poster.html – Data visualisation is the key part of the poster, you have the freedom to choose the business data that you think is relevant Executive summary (1,000 words) – Write down the key findings from your research poster – Any key stats or facts that are not captured in the research poster – Conclusion and recommendation The above two components (executive summary and poster) need to be combined into one document for Turnitin submission. Only one submission per group – choose a group representative to up