Big Data
Big data is everywhere and will solve every problem – or so proponents claim. Whether it is analyzing millions of Google word searches to understand the spread of the flu, or baseball data to predict a player’s salary worth, or telephone call data to detect terrorist conspiracies, big data is supposed to solve the problem just by crunching the numbers. Perhaps the proponents are correct. Some firms are utilizing big data to gain meaningful insights about their customers and modifying the marketing mix to best fit with the target market’s demand. But big data has critics too. Some believe the analysis of big data is leads to erroneous conclusions. On common error is assuming that correlation is causation. Other critics complain about the intrusive nature of big data and how only big firms can afford to gather, analyze, and leverage big data. Whether the proponents or critics are right one thing is clear – big data is a hot topic in e-commence.
This assignment is one associated with the third learning goal of this course, the future of e-commerce. Big data may be changing e-commerce, but how? Who will benefit from a change? Who will be harmed? How will big data impact e-commerce for the firm selected in this example? The goals of this assignment are to demonstrate the importance of big data to e-commerce, the difficulties of creating/analyzing a viable data set for e-commerce, and the costs of both creating/analyzing data and not creating/analyzing data. Analyze the responsibilities of e-commerce organizations, including facilitating firms, in protecting individuals’ privacy. Papers should fully incorporate these learning goals throughout the document.
Please find a recent example (within the most recent 12 months) or a firm that has utilized big data. The example can be either positive or negative; there are some flops along with successes. Research the background of the selected use of big data. Minimally, discover what information was used, how the information was gathered, and how the data was analyzed. Then, please use the background information to answer the following questions:
1- What problem was resolved (or not) using insights from big data? In answering this question, please describe the situation, how measurement and collection was done, what was learned, etc. This is the problem identification portion of this assignment.
2- Who are the relevant stakeholders and what are their viewpoints in this situation?
3- What could the company do next? Develop a range of viable alternative courses of action for the firm to further leverage the data and analytical capabilities. Specifically examine what the firm can to enhance their value proposition to customers and other stakeholders. Evaluate the impact of each alternative on each stakeholder group using the viewpoints as evaluative criteria.
4- Finally, make a recommendation as to which alternative the company should implement. Explain why this is the most viable alternative.
This assignment will require a 4000 word (approximately 10 pages) write-up that is due at the time specified. No late papers will be accepted – each assignment has a unique due date and must be turned on at that specific due date. No make-up assignments will be offered. In the event that an assignment is missed or is late, a zero will be recorded for the assignment.
All documents must contain correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and be professional in appearance. The student’s name should not appear anywhere other than the cover sheet. Use of first (using the “I” pronoun) or second person (using the “you” pronoun) is expressly prohibited. Documents not following these guidelines will not be evaluated and a zero will be recorded for the assignment. No exceptions. Do not turn in a first-draft quality paper. This is an excellent opportunity to practice communicating in a written format.
Analysis will require use of multiple resources in addition to the text. These sources must be appropriately noted within the body of the document and a full citation as an end note to the document. Minimally, the end note citation must contain the author, date of publication, publication name, and page numbers. Be very skeptical of sources (such as web sites or unnamed authors) without this information! The bibliography does not count toward the length limit.
The written analyses will be evaluated based on demonstration of content mastery and evidence of critical thinking.v