Applebee’s Travelocity, and Others: Data Mining for Business Decisions

1)      What is the business benefits of taking the time and effort required to create and operate data warehouses such as those described in the case? Do you see any disadvantages? Is there any reason why all companies shouldn’t use data warehousing technology?

Data’s as described in the case are, gold. Gold benefit makes the business much capable and strong. Data ids the source of information and information’s are the most important tools for taking business decisions and actions. Efficiency and smooth operation of activities is one of the main reasons why to make and keep data warehouses. It enhances the effectiveness of the performance by providing necessary information’s on time. Business can be more productive, systematic and competitive by maintaining such data warehouses.

Information provided by such warehouses are based upon the past experiences and behavior so to completely base today’s decision upon those data may not always be the good idea. It consumes time and takes lots of effort to manage and maintain such data warehouses. So it may not be the good idea for...... Click below to read all.

every organization to maintain such data warehouses. As per the complexity and necessity of data, as well as by comparing benefits from the warehouses with the cost and effort it will take to manage those warehouses, organizations should decide weather to go for such data warehouses or not.

2)      Applebee’s noted some of the unexpected insights obtained from analyzing data about “back-of-house” performance. Using your knowledge of how a restaurant works what other interesting questions would you suggest to the company? Provide several specific examples.

Restaurant business is based upon direct customer relations. If any mistakes happen there is no looking back. Unexpected things are more likely to happen in such business because they are performed on the spot with direct contact with its customers. So it’s very important for this business to make its customers happy by living up to their expectations and preparing themselves to face the unexpected outcomes.

·         How long it would take a customer to leave the seat after getting seated so that the seat could be used by next customer?

·         How they will manage if they have the special guests in rush hour?

·         How will they manage to operate if their employees couldn’t make it to the work at last hour?

·         What if customer is looking for some unknown dish?

3)      Data mining and warehousing technologies use data about past events to inform better decision making in the future. Do you believe this stifles innovative thinking, causing companies to become too constrained by the data they are already collecting to think about unexpected opportunities? Compare and contrast both viewpoints in your answer.

The main motive of maintaining data warehouses is to use past data and information in future whenever companies faces similar kind of situation. Data warehouses facilitates the future decision making process. Past and future are two different scenarios regarding environment and situation. So it may not always be fruitful to decide about future activities based upon past records. In future there may be the completely different surrounding and condition so decisions they went good in past may not go good in present.

In spite of all these possibilities it’s always better to have an idea about what has been done about the similar kind of situations in past. Basing up a decision doesn’t mean totally implementing the same decision. Rather than being 100% wrong by predicting what to do, it’s better to be at least 10 % right by taking a clear assumption in mind. If data are kept properly in a systematic pattern then the user can always benefit from it.

Advertisement