ISA 235 Final Exam Miami University - Mo - Fall 2025
Data - -raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object
-Information - -data converted into a meaningful and useful context
-Business Intelligence - -information collected from multiple sources such as suppliers,
customers, competitors, partners, and industries that analyzes patterns, trends, and
relationships for strategic decision making
-Knowledge - -includes the skills, experience, and expertise, coupled with information and
intelligence, that creates a person's intellectual resources
-Big data - -a collection of large, complex datasets, which cannot be analyzed using
traditional database methods and tools
-4 characteristics of big data - -variety, veracity, volume, velocity
-structured data - -has a defined length, type, and format and includes numbers, dates, or
strings
this data is storied in things like a relational database or excel spreadsheet.
ex.) customer address
accounts for about 20% of data
-unstructured data - -is not defined and does not follow a specified format and is typically
free-form text
ex.) emails, tweets, and text messages
accounts for about 80% of the data
-Analytics - -the science of fact-based decision making
-Business Analytics - -the scientific process of transforming data into insight for making
better decisions
-Data Scientist - -extracts knowledge from data by performing statistical analysis, data
mining, and advanced analytics on big data to identify trends, market changes, and other
relevant information
-business unit - -segment of a company representing a specific business function
ex.) HR, marketing, accounting
, -data silo - -occurs when one business unit is unable to freely communicate with other
business units, making it difficult or impossible for organizations to work cross-
functionally
-Data democratization - -the ability for data to be collected, analyzed, and accessible to all
users
the goal is to allow all employees the ability to collect and analyze data without requiring
outside help
-System - -a collection of parts that link to achieve a common purpose
-Systems thinking - -A way of monitoring the entire system by viewing multiple inputs
being processed or transformed to produce outputs while continuously gathering feedback
on each part
-MIS
(Management Information Systems) - -a business function, like accounting and HR, which
moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate
decision making and problem solving
MIS incorporates systems thinking to help companies operate cross-functionally
-MIS skills gap - -the difference between existing MIS workplace knowledge and the
knowledge required to fulfill the business goals and strategies
-Business Strategy - -a leadership plan that achieves a specific set of goals or objectives
such as increasing sales, decreasing costs, entering new markets, or developing new
products/services
-competitive advantage - -a feature of a product or service on which customers place a
greater value than they do on similar offerings from competitors
-SWOT analysis - -evaluates an organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats to identify significant influences that work for or against business strategies
-Porter's Five Forces Model - -analyzes the competitive forces within the environment in
which a company operates to assess the potential for profitability in an industry
its purpose is to combat competitive forces by identifying opportunities, competitive
advantages, and competitive intelligence
if the forces are strong -> increase competition
if the forces are weak -> decrease competition
, -Porter's three generic strategies - -generic business strategies that are neither
organization nor industry specific and can be applied to any business/product/service
-Business Process - -standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task, such as
processing a customers order
-Value chain analysis - -views a firm as a series of business processes that each adds value
to the product or service
useful tool for determining how to create the greatest possible value for customers
-Primary value activities - -acquire raw materials and manufacture, deliver, market, sell,
and provide after-sales services
-inbound logistics
-operations
-outbound logistics
-marketing and sales
-service
-Support value activities - -these support the primary value activities
-firm infrastructure
-human resources management
-technology development
-procurement
-IoT
(internet of things) - -a world where interconnected, internet-enabled devices or "things"
have the ability to collect and share data without human intervention
-Operational level - -employees develop, control, and maintain core business activities
required to run the day to day operations
structured (operational) decisions are made frequently and almost repetitive in nature
-managerial level - -employees are continuously evaluating company operations to hone
the firms abilities to identify, adapt to, and leverage change.
managerial decisions cover short and medium range plans
-semistructured decisions - -occur in situations in which a few established processes help
to evaluate potential solutions, nut not enough to lead to a definite recommended decision
-Strategic level - -managers develop overall business strategies, goals, and objectives as
part of the company's strategic plan
Data - -raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object
-Information - -data converted into a meaningful and useful context
-Business Intelligence - -information collected from multiple sources such as suppliers,
customers, competitors, partners, and industries that analyzes patterns, trends, and
relationships for strategic decision making
-Knowledge - -includes the skills, experience, and expertise, coupled with information and
intelligence, that creates a person's intellectual resources
-Big data - -a collection of large, complex datasets, which cannot be analyzed using
traditional database methods and tools
-4 characteristics of big data - -variety, veracity, volume, velocity
-structured data - -has a defined length, type, and format and includes numbers, dates, or
strings
this data is storied in things like a relational database or excel spreadsheet.
ex.) customer address
accounts for about 20% of data
-unstructured data - -is not defined and does not follow a specified format and is typically
free-form text
ex.) emails, tweets, and text messages
accounts for about 80% of the data
-Analytics - -the science of fact-based decision making
-Business Analytics - -the scientific process of transforming data into insight for making
better decisions
-Data Scientist - -extracts knowledge from data by performing statistical analysis, data
mining, and advanced analytics on big data to identify trends, market changes, and other
relevant information
-business unit - -segment of a company representing a specific business function
ex.) HR, marketing, accounting
, -data silo - -occurs when one business unit is unable to freely communicate with other
business units, making it difficult or impossible for organizations to work cross-
functionally
-Data democratization - -the ability for data to be collected, analyzed, and accessible to all
users
the goal is to allow all employees the ability to collect and analyze data without requiring
outside help
-System - -a collection of parts that link to achieve a common purpose
-Systems thinking - -A way of monitoring the entire system by viewing multiple inputs
being processed or transformed to produce outputs while continuously gathering feedback
on each part
-MIS
(Management Information Systems) - -a business function, like accounting and HR, which
moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate
decision making and problem solving
MIS incorporates systems thinking to help companies operate cross-functionally
-MIS skills gap - -the difference between existing MIS workplace knowledge and the
knowledge required to fulfill the business goals and strategies
-Business Strategy - -a leadership plan that achieves a specific set of goals or objectives
such as increasing sales, decreasing costs, entering new markets, or developing new
products/services
-competitive advantage - -a feature of a product or service on which customers place a
greater value than they do on similar offerings from competitors
-SWOT analysis - -evaluates an organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats to identify significant influences that work for or against business strategies
-Porter's Five Forces Model - -analyzes the competitive forces within the environment in
which a company operates to assess the potential for profitability in an industry
its purpose is to combat competitive forces by identifying opportunities, competitive
advantages, and competitive intelligence
if the forces are strong -> increase competition
if the forces are weak -> decrease competition
, -Porter's three generic strategies - -generic business strategies that are neither
organization nor industry specific and can be applied to any business/product/service
-Business Process - -standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task, such as
processing a customers order
-Value chain analysis - -views a firm as a series of business processes that each adds value
to the product or service
useful tool for determining how to create the greatest possible value for customers
-Primary value activities - -acquire raw materials and manufacture, deliver, market, sell,
and provide after-sales services
-inbound logistics
-operations
-outbound logistics
-marketing and sales
-service
-Support value activities - -these support the primary value activities
-firm infrastructure
-human resources management
-technology development
-procurement
-IoT
(internet of things) - -a world where interconnected, internet-enabled devices or "things"
have the ability to collect and share data without human intervention
-Operational level - -employees develop, control, and maintain core business activities
required to run the day to day operations
structured (operational) decisions are made frequently and almost repetitive in nature
-managerial level - -employees are continuously evaluating company operations to hone
the firms abilities to identify, adapt to, and leverage change.
managerial decisions cover short and medium range plans
-semistructured decisions - -occur in situations in which a few established processes help
to evaluate potential solutions, nut not enough to lead to a definite recommended decision
-Strategic level - -managers develop overall business strategies, goals, and objectives as
part of the company's strategic plan
