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    Introductory Case Study

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    WENJIA ZENG
    The document discusses the benefits and challenges of using big data. It notes that 71% of managers surveyed believe organizations using big data will gain a competitive advantage. However, determining how to get value from big data is identified as a key challenge. When hiring data professionals, the document recommends looking for candidates with strong analytics backgrounds, industry experience, communication skills, and the ability to find useful insights from messy data. Realistic test problems can help evaluate candidates' expertise in applying data to solve business problems.

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    Introductory Case Study

    Uploaded by

    WENJIA ZENG
    45 views2 pages
    The document discusses the benefits and challenges of using big data. It notes that 71% of managers surveyed believe organizations using big data will gain a competitive advantage. However, determining how to get value from big data is identified as a key challenge. When hiring data professionals, the document recommends looking for candidates with strong analytics backgrounds, industry experience, communication skills, and the ability to find useful insights from messy data. Realistic test problems can help evaluate candidates' expertise in applying data to solve business problems.

    Original Description:

    Big Data for Dummies

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    The document discusses the benefits and challenges of using big data. It notes that 71% of managers surveyed believe organizations using big data will gain a competitive advantage. However, determining how to get value from big data is identified as a key challenge. When hiring data professionals, the document recommends looking for candidates with strong analytics backgrounds, industry experience, communication skills, and the ability to find useful insights from messy data. Realistic test problems can help evaluate candidates' expertise in applying data to solve business problems.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    45 views2 pages

    Introductory Case Study

    Uploaded by

    WENJIA ZENG
    The document discusses the benefits and challenges of using big data. It notes that 71% of managers surveyed believe organizations using big data will gain a competitive advantage. However, determining how to get value from big data is identified as a key challenge. When hiring data professionals, the document recommends looking for candidates with strong analytics backgrounds, industry experience, communication skills, and the ability to find useful insights from messy data. Realistic test problems can help evaluate candidates' expertise in applying data to solve business problems.

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    Case Incident 2

    Big Data for Dummies

    Robbins and Judge 2019: 70

    Do you need big data? Maybe the question is better phrased as: Can you afford not to use big
    data? The age of big data is here, and to ignore its benefits is to run the risk of missed
    opportunities.

    Organizations using big data are quickly reaping rewards, as a survey of 2,022 managers
    worldwide indicated recently. In fact, 71 percent of respondents agreed that organizations
    using big data will gain a “huge competitive advantage.” These managers also saw the need
    for big data: Fifty-eight percent responded that they never, rarely, or only sometimes have
    enough data to make key business decisions. Furthermore, they’ve witnessed the benefits: 67
    percent agreed that big data has helped their organization to innovate. So why did only 28
    percent find that their access to useful data significantly increased in a year?

    According to Amy Braverman, a principal statistician who analyzes NASA’s spacecraft data,
    the problem is in interpreting the new kinds and volumes of data we are able to collect. “This
    opportunistic data collection is leading to entirely new kinds of data that aren’t well suited to
    the existing statistical and data-mining methodologies,” she said. IT and business leaders
    agree: in a recent survey, “determining how to get value” was identified as the number 1
    challenge of big data.

    With strong need combating the high hurdle for usability, how should a company get started
    using big data? The quick answer seems to be to hire talent. But not just anyone will do.
    Here are some points to ponder when hiring data professionals:

    1. Look for candidates with a strong educational background in analytics/statistics.


    You want someone who knows more than you do about handling copious amounts of
    data.
    2. The ideal candidates will have specific experience in your industry or a related
    industry. “When you have all those Ph.D.s in a room, magic doesn’t necessarily
    happen because they may not have the business capability,” said Andy Rusnak, a
    senior executive at Ernst & Young.
    3. Search for potential candidates from industry leader organizations that are more
    advanced in big data.
    4. Communication skills are a must. Look for a candidate “who can translate Ph.D. to
    English,” says SAP Chief Data Scientist David Ginsberg. He adds, “Those are the
    hardest people to find.”
    5. Find candidates with a proven record of finding useful information from a mess
    of data, including data from questionable sources. You want someone who is
    analytical and discerning.
    6. Look for people who can think in 8- to 10-week periods, not just long term. Most
    data projects have a short-term focus.
    7. Test candidates’ expertise on real problems. Netflix’s Director of Algorithms asks
    candidates, “You have this data that comes from our users. How can you use it to
    solve this particular problem?”

    Sources: M. Taes, “If I Could Have More Data…,” The Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2014, R5; S. Thurm, “It’s a Whole New Data
    Game,” The Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2015, R6; and J. Willhite, “Getting Started in ‘Big Data’,” The Wall Street Journal, February
    4, 2014, B7.

    Questions
    1 Let’s say you work in a metropolitan city for a large department store chain and your
    manager puts you in charge of a team to find out whether keeping the store open an
    hour longer each day would increase profits. What data might be available to your
    decision-making process? What data would be important to your decision?

    2. What kinds of data might we want in OB applications?

    3. As Braverman notes, one problem with big data is making sense of the
    information. How might a better understanding of psychology help you sift
    through all this data?

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