1. Course Description
The power of data analytics in business is widely acknowledged; despite this, many firms have difficulty reaping the benefits. Why? They face two main challenges: (1) understanding what analytics can and cannot do when making business decisions, and (2) integrating analytics into every aspect of the organization, rather than relegating it to a separate corner of the firm.
This course, Business Analytics, is designed to equip students with clear data analytic logics and rigorous methods for analyzing business data. There are three major parts that constitute the Business Analytics course:
(1) Business Logics. The first part of this course will introduce the general business logics, on the basis of classical theories from the economics, sociology, and psychology, and the newly-developed business perspectives in order to nurture students’ business sense and analytic mindset for business data;
(2) Data Analytic Methods. The core of Business Analytics course is the data analytic methods. This course begins with basic data management and progresses to statistical inference through regression analysis. The purpose of this section is to enable students develop basic data literacy and an analytic mindset that will help they make strategic decisions based on data;
(3) Data Analysis Projects. The in-class data analysis practice is a signature of this course. During the learning process, students will deal with real world business data and need to perform necessary analyses to develop solutions for real problems in business management. Students are required to finish a business data analysis project by group and deliver an oral presentation and a written report by the end of this course. The topic of data analysis project can be self-initiated by students or the research puzzles provided by professor Zhou.
This Business Analytics course is organized in a workshop format, which means the data analysis practice is closely connected to the lectures. In the first class, professor Zhou will offer three on-going research projects on business data: (1) Shopping window display study, (2) movie design study, and (3) business sustainable development strategy design. Students, by group, can select one of these three projects as their term project or self-initiate another project that has to be approved by professor Zhou.
2. Learning Objectives
After taking this course, students should be able to:
Prepare data for statistical analysis, perform basic exploratory and descriptive analysis, and apply statistical techniques to analyze data;
Apply descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics to business modeling and decision-making;
Demonstrate orally, and in writing, the ability to explain simple analytical models and results. |