Assignment:
Description
You are the head of analytics at an established company (e.g., grocery, financial services, pharmaceutical, or another industry of your choice), and your company (note: this can be a fictional company or a specific company of your choice) is facing a difficult situation. The revenue from your major offering is declining. On technical merits, your offering is at least as good, if not better than your competitors'. Your supply chain is able to keep pace with the demand for your offering, but there have been sporadic stock-outs at your major distributors. However, when you look at the advertising from your competitors, it is more creative and compelling than your company's.
You need to diagnose the situation. What are the major trends in the market? Is the market growing, stable or shrinking? What are the trends in your share of the market? You know that your company is losing revenue, but what are the trends in profitability? Are there issues with your supply chain that need to be addressed?
• What internal and external data would you need to diagnose the situation? What kinds of analyses would you run and what key metrics would you report to your CEO?
You have heard the CMO assert that customers like your competitors' offering better than your company's. How would you test this assertion?
• What data would you need to diagnose the situation? How would you access these data? What kinds of analyses would you run and what key metrics would you report to your CMO?
You head of HR shows you the results of latest engagement survey, which clearly shows that there is a risk of bleeding talent from the organization. HR is doing everything that they can to try to address colleague concerns, but that may not be enough.
• How would you help the head of HR develop succession plans for the senior roles in the organization? What data would you need to diagnose the situation? Would you need any external data, and if so, what kinds of data? What kinds of analyses would you run and what key metrics would you report to the head of HR?
To complete the final part of this assignment, identify the ways in which analytical leaders in your field are making use of analytics. Consider the types of ways that they have prioritized the use of analytics. Then, research 2 to 3 organizations that are leading the use of analytics in a field other than your chosen profession. Answer the two questions below.
• What do you learn from other companies in your industry? What can you adapt from other industries that use more data for greater impact?
• You are being bombarded by issues and questions. You are only a team of one. You must diagnose the situation for the CEO. You have the capacity to focus on only one area... i.e., marketing (customer preference) or HR (succession planning for senior roles). How would you go about choosing where to focus?