BUS607: Data-Driven Decision-Making

Welcome to BUS607: Data-Driven Decision-Making

Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.

Course Description

This is a graduate-level course. Explore the foundation of business analytics and how to make decisions based on data by exploring how organizations data-driven decision-making to create a competitive advantage. Learn how to translate analytics results into illuminating visualizations to tell a data-driven story that leaders can use to make decisions.

Course Introduction

Today's world of business relies more on data than at any other time in history. Data can help companies generate smarter business decisions, capture information, and enhance their overall decision-making processes.

Today is a challenging time for businesses. Leaders and managers are responsible for delivering services and products to customers and stakeholders, which requires them to make strategic and operational decisions every day. It isn't easy to find a company or leader who wouldn't want to use data to make decisions, since data is much more reliable than intuition. Without data, managers may base decisions on biases and false assumptions that cloud judgment and ultimately lead to poor decision-making.

For example, Google created a department of People Analytics to help make human resource (HR) decisions using data. Google used data from performance reviews and employee surveys to answer its most challenging questions. Its data revealed that managers with specific performance characteristics improved employee happiness, which increased longevity at Google and, in turn, improved employee productivity.

This course includes the following units:

• Unit 1: Introduction to Data-driven Decision-Making
• Unit 2: Transforming to a Data-Driven Decision-Making Enterprise
• Unit 3: The Role of Leadership
• Unit 4: Types of Data
• Unit 5: Deriving Data Insights
• Unit 6: Creating Effective Visualizations
• Unit 7: Database Marketing and Customer Relationship Management
• Unit 8: Data-Driven Uses and Misuses

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• describe the importance of relying on data analytics to drive organizational decision-making;
• distinguish between the three continuums needed to successfully implement data-driven decision-making;
• explain the role of leadership and its importance in data-driven decision-making;
• differentiate between data types and describe the various levels of analytics;
• analyze the analytical process for organizing and summarizing data used to drive decision-making based on customer trends;
• apply best practices for creating effective visualizations for different audiences;
• describe business strategies that can be improved through data-driven decision-making; and
• analyze how insights revealed from business data are used to drive business strategy.

Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.

Course Materials

The primary learning materials for this course are readings, lectures, and videos.

All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you to understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course by clicking on Resources in the navigation bar.

Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score

Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the final exam. Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you may take it again as many times as you want, with a 7-day waiting period between each attempt. Once you have successfully passed the final exam, you will be awarded a free Course Completion Certificate.

There are also end-of-unit assessments in this course. These are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take these as many times as you want until you understand the concepts and material covered. You can see all of these assessments by clicking on Quizzes in the course's navigation bar.

Tips for Success

BUS607: Data-Driven Decision-Making is a self-paced course, which means that you can decide when you will start and when you will complete the course. There is no instructor or set schedule to follow. We estimate that the "average" student will take 40 hours to complete this course. We recommend that you work through the course at a pace that is comfortable for you and allows you to make regular progress. It's a good idea to also schedule your study time in advance and try as best as you can to stick to that schedule.

Learning new material can be challenging, so we've compiled a few study strategies to help you succeed:

• Take notes on the various terms, practices, and theories that you come across. This can help you put each concept into context and will create a refresher that you can use as you study later on.
• As you work through the materials, take some time to test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned is important for your long-term memory and will make you more likely to retain information over time.

Technical Requirements

This course is delivered entirely online. You will be required to have access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and have consistent access to the internet to either view or download the necessary course resources and to attempt any auto-graded course assessments and the final exam.

• To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, you will need to be logged into your Saylor Academy account and enrolled in the course. If you do not already have an account, you may create one for free here. Although you can access some of the course without logging in to your account, you should log in to maximize your course experience. For example, you cannot take assessments or track your progress unless you are logged in.

For additional guidance, check out Saylor Academy's FAQ.

Fees

This course is entirely free to enroll in and to access. Everything linked in the course, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are all available for no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and course completion certificate.