UNIT 12. DATA

 

STARTING POINT

Task 1▐ Discuss the questions.

·          How do you interact with data in your daily lives?

·          How data influences your choices and behaviors?

·          What are some potential risks or challenges associated with relying heavily on data-driven decision-making in business?

·          How can businesses ensure data security and privacy?

 

READING

Task 2▐ Read the blog post abstract about the importance of data in business. Do you share the same point of view?

 

Why Is Data Important for Your Business?

www.grow.com

Today, gathering data to help you better understand your customers and business is relatively easy. In fact, it’s become so easy there’s the danger of having too much data to deal with.

In a recent article, data and analytics guru Bernard Marr said: “While the average small business has less self-generated data than big players. . .this doesn’t mean big data is off limits. In fact, in many ways, big data is more suited to small businesses, because they’re generally more agile and able to act more quickly on data-driven insights.”

A Forbes article discussing a survey from Deloitte, notes that “49 percent of respondents said analytics helps them make better decisions, 16 percent say that it better enables key strategic initiatives, and 10 percent say it helps them improve relationships with both customers and business partners.”  But to take full advantage of data and analytics, you need to know how to get the most value from your data.

So what, exactly, does that mean? Here’s a look at five ways data can help companies.

Data helps you make better decisions

As the Deloitte survey respondents made clear, even small startups generate data. Any business with a website, a social media presence, and accepts electronic payments of any kind is collecting data about customers, user habits, web traffic, demographics, and more. All that data is filled with potential if you can learn to get at it.

Businesses can harness data to make decisions about: finding new customers, increasing customer retention, improving customer service, better managing marketing efforts, tracking social media interaction, predicting sales trends. In sum, data helps leaders make smarter decisions about where to take their companies.

Data helps you solve problems

After experiencing a slow sales month or watching a poor-performing marketing campaign, how do you pinpoint what went wrong? Tracking and reviewing data from business processes helps you uncover performance breakdowns so you can better understand each part of the process and know which steps need to be fixed and which are performing well.

Data helps you understand performance

Simply put, data helps you see performance. Sports teams are a great example of businesses that collect performance data to make their teams better. There isn’t a professional team, today, that does not employ a team of data collectors and analysts to help support and improve play on the field. They are always updating data about who’s doing what well and how that can help the team excel, overall.

Have you ever wondered how your team, department, company, marketing efforts, customer service, shipping, or other parts of your company are doing? Collecting and reviewing data can show you how all of this is performing, and more.

Data helps you improve processes

Data helps you understand and improve business processes so you can reduce wasted money and time. Every company feels the effects of waste. It depletes resources, squanders time, and ultimately impacts the bottom line.

Data helps you understand consumers

Without data, how do you know who your customers are? Without data, how do you know if consumers like your products or if your marketing efforts are effective? Without data, how do you know how much money you are making or spending? Data is key to understanding your customers and market.

However, it can be easy to get lost in all the data you have if you don’t have the right tools to help you understand it. Today, running your business with the help of data is table stakes. If you’re not using data to uncover insights that will guide your business into the future, you will become a business of the past. Fortunately, the advances in data processing and visualization make growing your business with data easier than ever. And there are tools available to do it.

 

Task 2▐ Choose the correct answer.

1. According to the post, which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way data can help businesses make better decisions?

A. Finding new customers

B. Predicting sales trends

C. Improving customer service

D. Reducing operating costs

 

2. What does the post suggest is the main reason why small businesses are well-suited for big data?

A. They have more resources to manage large amounts of data

B. They are more experienced in data analysis

C. They are more agile and can act quickly on data-driven insights

D. They have a stronger focus on data-driven decision making

 

3. Which of the following is identified in the passage as a danger of having too much data?

A. It can lead to inaccurate decision-making

B. It can be overwhelming to manage

C. It can be too expensive to store and maintain

D. It can distract from the core business operations

 

4. What percentage of respondents in the Deloitte survey said that analytics helps them better enable key strategic initiatives?

A. 16%

B. 25%

C. 49%

D. 10%

 

5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way data can help businesses understand their performance?

A. Tracking social media interactions

B. Reviewing business processes

C. Comparing departmental performance

D. Predicting future sales trends

 

6. The post suggests that using data to run a business is now considered a:

A. Optional tool for growth

B. Competitive advantage for larger companies

C. Necessary requirement for survival

D. Complex challenge for small businesses

 

7. Which of the following is NOT identified as a way data can help businesses solve problems?

A. Uncovering performance breakdowns

B. Improving customer service

C. Identifying areas that need to be fixed

D. Tracking and reviewing business processes

 

VOCABULARY

Task 3▐ Match each term related to data in business with its corresponding definition.

Terms:

1.                  Data

2.                  Big Data

3.                  Data Analytics

4.                  Data Mining

5.                  Data Visualization

6.                  Data-driven Decision Making

7.                  Data Quality

8.                  Data Warehouse

9.                  Data Governance

10.              Data Security

 

Definitions:

A. The process of examining large datasets to uncover patterns, trends, and insights that can inform business decisions.

B. The practice of managing the availability, usability, integrity, and security of data within an organization.

C. Techniques used to extract useful information from large datasets, often using statistical analysis and machine learning algorithms.

D. The systematic process of gathering, storing, and analyzing data to guide organizational decision-making.

E. The practice of ensuring that data meets specific criteria for accuracy, reliability, and completeness.

F. A centralized repository where data from various sources is stored, organized, and managed for analysis and reporting purposes.

G. The process of transforming raw data into visual representations, such as charts, graphs, and dashboards, to facilitate understanding and interpretation.

H. The protection of data from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction, often through encryption, authentication, and access controls.

I. A vast volume of structured and unstructured data that cannot be easily processed or analyzed using traditional methods.

J. The set of policies, procedures, and controls established to manage and regulate the use of data within an organization.

 

GRAMMAR USE ▐ Quantifiers

Quantifiers are words or phrases used to indicate quantity or amount in business English. They help specify the extent or degree of something, such as how much, how many, or how often. Understanding how to use quantifiers correctly is essential for effective communication in professional contexts.

1.                 Quantifiers for Countable Nouns: Use quantifiers like some, many, few, several, and numerical expressions (e.g. two, three) with countable nouns.

Example: We received some applications for the job opening.

2.                 Quantifiers for Uncountable Nouns: Use quantifiers like much, a lot of, little, a great deal of, and numerical expressions with uncountable nouns.

Example: We need to gather much information before making a decision.

 

Task 4▐ Complete the sentences with the appropriate quantifier.

1.        The company received __________ inquiries about the new product.

2.        The manager provided __________ feedback on the proposal.

3.        We need to allocate __________ resources to the project.

4.        The training session covered __________ key topics.

5.        The company experienced __________ challenges during the transition.

6.        The survey received __________ responses from customers.

7.        The team encountered __________ obstacles during the implementation phase.

8.        The project requires __________ attention to detail.

9.        We received __________ applications for the internship program.

10.   The budget allows for __________ flexibility in spending.

 

VIDEO Task 5▐ Watch the video about the importance of data analytics [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O_yzih2cay8H0qRtK_MbkWVKXK97GGs0/view?usp=sharing] and answer the questions.

 

1. How can data analytics help organizations identify patterns?

2. What role do data analytics tools play in marketing campaigns?

3. Why is it important for organizations to have an effective data strategy?

4. What factors should be considered when designing an appropriate analytics framework?

5. How can organizations effectively manage supply and demand for analytic services?

6. What is the recommended approach for allocating analytics resources within an organization?

7. Why is it crucial to have someone with overall responsibility for analytics monitoring performance and taking action?

 

DISCUSSION

Task 6▐ Work in small groups. Choose any block of the questions for discussion.

Importance of Data:

·        Why is data important for businesses today?

·        Can you think of any industries where data might be especially crucial? Why?

Types of Data:

·        What types of data do you think are most valuable to businesses? Why?

·        How might different departments within a company use different types of data?

Data-Driven Decision Making:

·        What are the benefits of making decisions based on data rather than intuition?

·        Can you provide an example of a business decision that was improved through the use of data?

Challenges with Data:

·        What challenges do businesses face when collecting and using data?

·        How can businesses ensure the data they collect is accurate and reliable?

Ethical Considerations:

·        What ethical issues might arise from collecting and using consumer data?

·        How can businesses balance the benefits of data collection with the need to respect customer privacy?

Future of Data in Business:

·        How do you think the role of data in business will evolve in the next 10 years?

·        What new technologies or trends do you think will impact how businesses collect and use data?

Data Security:

·        Why is data security important for businesses?

·        What measures can businesses take to protect their data from breaches or cyber-attacks?

 

WRITING

Task 7▐ Write a short reflection paper on what you learned about the role of data in business, any new insights you gained, and how you might apply this knowledge in their future careers.