Essay: Business Intelligence

1.1 Definition of Business Intelligence
Business intelligence refers to the technology, techniques, or tools that are used to transform business data into reliable and meaningful information (Ranjan 2005). This technology helps business to derive information necessary in decision-making (Pant 2009). It also enables that senior management to analyze business and even develop strategic business opportunities.
1.2 Ways to make Business Intelligence Effective
For this technology to work effectively, the need for the technology has to be defined in advance. This helps to ensure that the technology will be highly utilized. Another key aspect to making it work is to ensure that the business has enough data available for this technology to work. Little and low quality data will only render a BI technology ineffective. The senior management should create a culture that incorporates this technology. This will help ensure that users accept and operate the technology (Lloyd 2011).
2.0 Data the Job can Collect in the Various Areas of BI
Business intelligence is utilized in the following categories; operational, tactical and strategic BI (Ranjan 2005). The data below can be collected at each of this category (Lloyd 2011).
2.1 Operational BI
 Data on customers served
 Data on sales and purchases made within a certain period
 Data on the complaints and compliments made by customers
 Data on the tips realized each day
 Data on service delivery
2.2 Tactical BI
 Level of sales during certain periods
 Proceeds realized on daily basis
 Losses made due to operational hitches
 Data on competitors
2.3 Strategic BI
 Data on performance levels in certain periods
 Productivity levels of the firm
 Employee performance trends
 Data on operations and tactics of competitors
 Emerging issues and trend in the fast food business
3.0 Important Business Decisions that can be made from the Information deduced from the above data
A business intelligence system helps management to make decisions based on the information it provides (Lloyd 2011). Below are some of the decisions that McDonalds can make based on the information deduced from the data collected:
3.1 Operational BI
 Decisions on how to carry out operations effectively
 Decisions on sales and marketing strategies to increase the level of sales
3.2 Tactical BI
 Decisions on what level of inventory is to be made each time and the reorder level efficient for the business
 Decisions on how to increase sales level with low expenses incurred
3.3 Strategic BI
 Decisions on how to maintain high productivity
 Strategic decisions on how to gain competitive advantage in the market
4.0 Implementation of the above Decisions
4.1 Operational BI
The organization, using the information gathered by the BI system, can improve day-to-day operations by improving the workflow in the business. They may also integrate most of the department to ensure that every employee understands all the operations of the business. The business can implement increasing sales by revising their prices and producing more of what the customers want. The management can also hire or assign a team the task of analyzing sales and marketing strategies that would work best for the company and then implement them (Chen, Chiang & Storey 2012).
4.2 Tactical BI
The organization can implement the decision on the reorder level as well as inventory required by analyzing the sales and purchase trends in each store. Based on the analysis, the management can come up with the best conclusion relating to this decision (Chen, Chiang & Storey 2012).
4.3 Strategic BI
The business can improve their performance through checking employee productivity and performance. This will help capture the problem leading to unmet goals. It will also help the management to implement the best ways of improving productivity like training and motivation of employees. The organization can also implement working strategies like SWOT analysis to gain competitive advantage (Chen, Chiang & Storey 2012).
5.0 Conclusion
Business intelligence is a very effective technology of implementing information from the analysis provided by this technology. Businesses can easily interpret and analyses large amounts of data that is stored in the business. This technology has made work easy for the management as well as employees by simplifying the process. This technology is essential and applicable effectively if some key aspects are put into consideration while implementing the technology. Each level of this technology enables a firm to make particular decisions relating to the data collected in each level. These decisions can in turn be implemented in the business.