Business Analytics and Informed Business Decisions

Many times organizations will make decisions based upon what other organizations are doing at the time or based upon the latest business trend. Think about the dot-com bubble as businesses soared and perhaps were also part of the major bust. Many organizations felt that they needed to join the crowd and have an online presence, only to realize within a couple of years that the decisions were made in haste, which resulted in many companies filing for bankruptcy. This era also had some companies that did not follow the trend only to realize within a couple of years that they were losing out on a new market, such as the online trading industry. This is why doing some research in the beginning can really help organizations make decisions based upon what is truly good for the organization.

Using the University online library resources and the Internet, research ways of making informed decisions.

Respond to the following:

• Why do you think managers, or business decision makers, get caught up in following the crowd versus making decisions that are truly going to add value to the business? For example, some businesses may make decisions that drive only short-term gains at the cost of future growth. Can such a blind leap be a good thing for the business? Is it worth the risk?
• How can managers ensure that they are not following a trend but instead doing what is truly best for the organization?
• Have you seen your organization make these mistakes? What were the mistakes? How could these mistakes have been avoided or improved upon?
• How do you think business can learn from the mistakes of others or business decision mistakes such as the dot-com era?