Model of Business Intelligence on Decision †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Model of Business Intelligence on Decision. Answer: Introduction It is important for organizations to not only realize the need for business intelligence (BI), but also to effectively integrate it within its decision making process in order to create and sustain the organizational competitive advantage (Ahmad, 2015). Researchers argue that an effective system could improve the decision making process and enhance knowledge sharing within the employees through sharing information and best practices. BI could be used to gather information about the external environment and the competition among the markets, including, competitors, new technology, customer behavior and market forces (Eidizadeh et al., 2017). As the SunPower Corporation faces problem related to decision making, it is important to the decision makers at the company to use Business intelligence (BI) tools to enable them from taking the right decisions. The company should create a project plan which aims at overcoming its decision making problems, provide recommendations depending on the reports of the BI tools, systems and applications. The following section discusses the project scope, objectives, functional and non-functional specifications, feasibility study, limitations and resource specifications. First: project scope The SunPower corporation needs to realize the importance of operating BI, DSS and the KM applications within its business to support the decision making process. DSS could be combined with operations research to reduce the cost and achieve flexibility in managing business operations (Bakhrankova, 2010). For example, the Honda case which resulted in a complex decision making process of having only one shift or two shifts, such business tools could assist in solving complex problems. The following section discusses the usability of business intelligence BI tools, decision support systems (DSS) and knowledge management (KM). Business intelligence (BI) is widely used within organizations nowadays, it is mainly used to combine data, storage and knowledge management by using analytical tools in order to present information reports to decision makers (Ahmad, 2015). The advantage of BI, is its speed in processing data to enable managers to take the accurate and right decision. BI includes a variety of analytical programs. BI is designed to transfer data to information and information to knowledge, this process adds value to the business (Eidizadeh et al., 2017). The right decisions lead to organizational success, as the organization can lead an excellent business performance based on accurate information. The fast development of IT resulted in producing decision support systems (DSS) that enables the managers to solve decision problems. DSS can support both individual, group decisions and the organizational decisions as a whole (Liu et al., 2017). Knowledge management is a strategy used by an organization to increase its competitiveness. Researchers argue that KM is the best way to achieve competitive advantage (Eidizadeh et al., 2017). The project has two main objectives, firstly, to apply the business information tools, systems and approaches at the enterprise level to support the decision making process. The SunPower Corporation can use different BI tools, systems and information intelligence approaches to simulate its decisions from various functional areas, for example, the case of NASA, which asked for cells for a solar powered airplane (Helios), the cells were successfully produced, but NASA asked for cost reduction. BI tools can assist in creating different scenarios with different costs to managers to select the most appropriate scenario. Secondly, to diversify the business information tools to include the data mining tools, which are considered the most widely applied tools, as they can add value to the business processes, clarify the buying pattern of the customer and profitability, through mining the data warehouse to support the decision making process (Ahmad, 2015). These two objectives should be fulfi lled within a specific time frame to ensure the success of the project. Third: functional and non-functional specifications The decision makers at the SunPower should decide the functional and non-functional specifications of the BI tools and knowledge applications that could most fulfill the project objectives. Regarding advancements in the systems thinking, there is a growing need for information system, which resulted in many approaches utilizing the DSS tools in managing operations while focusing on particular problems. These needs resulted in creating the evolutionary complex systems (ECS) that provides simulation models (Baldwin et al., 2010). Accordingly, the consequences of different decisions related to different functional areas can be simulated to enable taking the right and most effective decisions. There are many internal BI tools, including, data mining, query and reporting, OLAP, data virtualization. These tools enable organizations to aggregate, filter and summarize data (Harrison et al., 2015). Knowledge based systems are used by organizations to provide better knowledge processing, it enables managers to better understand the problem and gain new knowledge. Knowledge creation is linked to decision making. Also, they enable the knowledge sharing process. Automating the decision making process by using knowledge based systems, reduces the time needed to make decisions and the cost of doing activities related to decision making, which are considered critical factors in making right decisions (Rouhani et al., 2016). Third: feasibility study The SunPower Corporation main target was to commercialize solar concentrator21 technology, but by referring to relevant environmental aspects, it was found that the PV alternative is lower cost, also they are not suitable for many small distributed remote applications. By realizing these information, managers decided to change their production decision. The knowledge management strategy within SunPowerm started to consider the external environment aspects which led to more efficient and effective decision. In order to develop a realistic feasibility study, the company needs to share knowledge to add value. BI assists in the knowledge sharing process among employees within the organization. Knowledge sharing assists in transferring knowledge practices and problem solving processes, its benefits affect the current and future activities. BI assists in transferring knowledge among business units to create new knowledge (Eidizadeh et al., 2017). From the economic perspective, knowledge sh aring is considered a source of organizational power as a knowledge asset by itself does not guarantee power. The power of knowledge sharing creates an organizational competitive advantage due to transferring the tacit knowledge, which is unique and can't be imitated by competitors. SunPower Corporation could be empowered through the knowledge sharing with its new partner Swanson, to exchange their expertise in semiconductor manufacturing as they are considered experts in transferring RD to manufactured products. Forth: resources specifications The mapping process of the KM cycle uses tools and technologies, which are considered the project resources in the case of SunPower Corporation. KM should identify the required tools and resources to be used in each phase in the KM cycle (Kumar Islam, 2014). KMapping is considered a new approach to knowledge management. The KMaps are used to discover the sources of knowledge, either explicit or tacit. Also, they are used to facilitate the process of locating experiences within the organization. KMaps supports effective communication among employees (Lee Fink, 2013). KMapping in SunPower Corporation, requires development of prototypes that matches the requirements of the software available in the organization. Implementing a knowledge strategy should be based on an established road map of the organizational knowledge to enable the organization to achieve its strategic goals. The KS should consider all of the organizational operations, including, knowledge creation, transfer and application in order to create an organizational competitive advantage. Different aspects to be considered in formulating the knowledge management strategy include, structure, the prevailing type of knowledge, culture and the employee behavior. The environmental aspects also should be considered (Donate Canales, 2012). Accordingly, the project is limited to apply the required tools that can effectively fulfill the company goals within the planned strategy. Conclusion: Business intelligence (BI) is widely used within organizations nowadays, it is mainly used to combine data, storage and knowledge management. The fast development of IT resulted in producing decision support systems (DSS) that enables the managers to solve decision problems. The SunPower corporation needs to realize the importance of operating BI, DSS and the KM applications within its business to support the decision making process. Knowledge based systems are used by organizations to provide better knowledge processing, it enables managers to better understand the problem and gain new knowledge. SunPower Corporation can use different BI tools, systems and information intelligence approaches to simulate its decisions from various functional areas. Organizations need to share knowledge to add value. BI assists in the knowledge sharing process among employees within the organization. From the economic perspective, knowledge sharing is considered a source of organizational power. KMapping is considered a new approach to knowledge management. The KMaps are used to discover the sources of knowledge, either explicit or tacit. KMapping in SunPower Corporation, requires development of prototypes that matches the requirements of the software available in the organization. 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