The Essence and Definition of Business Intelligence - Case Study Example

? al Affiliation Definition of Business intelligence Business intelligence is a new field of investigation of the application of human cognitive faculty as well as artificial intelligence technologies to the management and decision process in solving business problems (Williams and Williams, 2007). It also means information valued for its currency and importance. Thus, it is the expert knowledge based information system which utilizes technology in efficient management of companies and private business. Problem definition Hope Taxi Company has been experiencing a number of problems in its business operations. Workers have developed frequent absenteeism behavior whose impact has negatively affected business returns. Further, the management has witnessed massive customer complains on matters related to over-speeding and use of abusive language by drivers as well as other Company employees. Owing to the gravity of these problems, I opted to develop a business intelligence system that will track the entire business operations and send reports to the human resource department for action. The design was made by creating a link through which company workers would sign in whenever they report to work. I thought this would help monitor and curb late coming especially on the part of drivers. In order to manage the problem on work ethics among the drivers, I developed an intelligence tracking system to monitor over speeding and use of abusive language. The tracking system was fixed onto all vehicles in order to ensure that all conversations taking place inside the car is recorded and easily retrieved whenever it was required. The data collected was useful in gathering and analyzing data that would be useful in undertaking major business decisions. I thought this was going to assist the executive make informed business decisions and better the company’s financial returns while enhancing sound behavior among its workforce. In order to store vital information that would guide decision making in future, I modified the system that would be in position to store knowledgeable information. This would help the management make reference should a similar problem arise in future. It was important for the developed system to keep and manage important information concerning daily business operations. This was particularly important in keeping information about potential competitors, customer problems, probable partners and internal business operations that would ensure effective decision making for improved returns. The system was designed in a manner that will integrate data about strategies that might be taken by business competitors from which such decisions will be utilized to curb stiff competition will be made. Throughout the design process I made sure the system was able to incorporate upcoming technological innovations in order to remain updated all through. It also had the ability to not only gather the information but make good use of it. This was possible because the system could sift large volumes of data and process what was relevant translating it into useful information and knowledge from which pertinent actions could be carried based on the analysis. I made sure that this vital web based information resource combine the available resources under the disposal of Hope Taxi Company was utilized to give the company the best returns possible. Information collected throughout the journey could be collected and utilized immediately a complaint was launched by a customer. This fastened up cases involving abusive drivers as well as those who were fond of over-speeding while passengers were on transit. I was in a position to monitor the functionality and content of data collected more frequently whenever an alert showed up. The business intelligence system that I created resulted into operative excellence because it enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations. In addition, the design enabled business flexibility to change by collecting and analyzing profit trends and informing the executive on the need to change course to save the company from collapse. My system would therefore foresee upcoming challenges and prepare for those challenges in advance. I believe the system would help the company achieve its mission and vision through innovation and flexibility to change. Since the system incorporates the entire business operations up to and including financial analysis, it would help promote financial performance and value addition to the various departments. Drivers and well as other employees of Hope Taxi Company were forced to adhere to proper work ethics by designing their own ways of dealing with their customers. My system had the ability to access internal and external data through a creation of an ad-hoc network that would be used to undertake departmental brainstorming and joint meeting whenever a need arises. The ad-hoc system would help solve problems affecting Hope Taxi Company within the minimum time possible since the system had a knowledge bank. The system gave end users the ability to solve problems affecting them without the need of involving the management. My system would allow the workforce search for vital information such as change in fare rates, meetings and change of work schedules without physically meeting with the executive. By so doing information transfer was hastened this in turn boosted work efficiency and increased profits. I remember at one point that we tried searching information using business information system and it was quite easy and fast. This was easy because the system was linked to different resources in an ad-hoc upon which requests for data would be sent by a simple click on the link. The ad-hoc was designed in a manner that would be able to collect data upon request from any data bank within the ad-hoc system. Since the entire system is linked in an ad-hoc system, data is centralized and collected and controlled more easily as compared to fragmented systems. The system that I developed for Hope Taxi Company ensured data and vital information was stored centrally in such a way that sensitive data was only accessed by the top management. After a thorough review of the requirements of Hope Taxi Company I realized that the company needed a system that would monitor the moves and activities of its workforce as well as its financial status on an annual basis. Before I embarked on its design, I had to refer to the structure of the company’s leadership and various managerial levels. This was particularly important because it would inform me on the type of design to ensure maximum security of data. After a careful analysis of these requirements, I realized that a Business intelligence system was the best solution. This according to me was the best choice as it would allow integration of the entire business processes while it was flexible to changes or amendments. It was simple to adjust the system whenever a different idea cropped up. In addition, the platform for this design allowed for customization in case there was need for better business activity. I realized then Hope Taxi Company may not be in a position to employ a permanent IT technician any soon, for this reason, the system developed would be easily customized to enhance better running of the business even in absence of an IT technician. It would also save a credible amount of recurrent expenditures on salaries of its employees. Apart from enhanced flexibility, the system would effectively react to uncertainty without affecting the stability of the system or the need of an IT expert. One major benefit of the system was that it ensured that the end users were empowered through involvement. This is because the system could allow development of applications even when they have little or no knowledge about IT. It is important to note that the system easily allowed users and customers to provide important feedback concerning the quality of Hope Taxi Company services by interacting directly with the system. From their feedback, suggested improvements were incorporated into the system to enhance customer satisfaction. Improvement of the Hope Taxi Company’s services through implementation of the system meant a direct communication between customers and the management on one hand and the workers on the other hand. I liked the system because it could bring together all parties onto a discussion table where fruitful communications would take place on matters of business. The discussions can be used to come up with a substantive conclusion and give future recommendations in order to abate similar problems in future. One advantage that I realized was that the system had the capability of minimizing time wastage in addressing customer complains. This is because the management had a real time access to the information collected. It helped ensure that individual workers acted responsibly and became responsible for their deeds. It was evident from the system analysis that many companies fail to achieve their desires because of their disorganized structures. This system was designed to eliminate problems related to disorganization by carefully linking all departments without duplicating roles of various managerial levels. Further, business intelligence system contributes to rapid response in case of shifting market complexities. Rapid response to change due to shifting markets was made possible through improvements of excellence perspective and managerial skills. This can be made possible through spontaneous rapid response and fast implementation of managerial decisions. Decision making was made faster and hence the competitive ability of the company. Service delivery went a notch higher, more customers yearned for another service and cases reduced significantly. As discussed earlier, the end users would be involved in the use of the system. As a result, the company benefited from creativity and diverse knowledge due to more number of users. The users became part of software development team enhancing existing opportunities while generating new ones. This practice resulted into increased innovation rates, competitive advantage and value of services provided by Hope Taxi Company. The system helped develop motivation among workers while giving satisfaction of customers due to quality service delivery. The information generated by the system was considered more accurate, flexible and involving. This helped enhance service satisfaction and information reliability when it comes to decision making. It is worth noting that the system was capable of improving productivity by minimizing delay time in service delivery. For instance, drivers and other workers were able to sign in and out of work at designated times more faster than it could have been with the pen and paper method. This was considered a major contributor to increased financial gains that were witnessed on the onset of system use. Conclusion In conclusion, it was important to leverage the current business activities with investments to ensure less money was spent on operational expenses. This was made possible because the system was flexible and could only require a small amount capital for purposes of running the business (Williams and Williams, 2007). From the experience gained by developing a business intelligence system for Hope Taxi Company, I have been able to gain insightful experience towards helping the Human Resource department solve similar problems among various organizations since it enables the executive understand workers and working environment complexities. I also realized that improved flexibility and efficiency of knowledge of workers due to business intelligence incriminates other benefits for instance the automation of unstructured decision making process. Finally, when workers were empowered and involved in the development of the system, they worked better and the company benefited as indicated by financial records. References: WILLIAMS, S., & WILLIAMS, N. (2007): The profit impact of business intelligence. Amsterdam, Elsevier/Morgan Kaufmann. http://www.myilibrary.com?id=74696. Read More