DATA Fuels Inventions And Life

In today’s advanced world with technology and marketing where ever we go, the most underappreciated and valuable part of our system is: DATA. All decisions we make and events we choose to observe involve data.

Data is used every day by companies and people. Data helps a company determine how much of a product they need to stock based on the previous sales data. A person will check the weather and watch the news. Believe it or not, weather and news services are all providing data. Weather and news is data, also known as content.

When it comes to an insurance company setting rates, they must sort through millions and millions lines of data to determine the best rate for a group of people within a given demographic.

Data can be more than just simply making a decision. Data can be used to create phenomenal inventions that have significantly changed our society and how actions are taken. For example, it has changed how we deal with medical issues and emergencies, and has even helped with the development of robotics.

In terms of medical issues and emergencies data has been funneled into computer systems within databases and has allowed medical professionals to quickly input symptoms of a patient and determine a diagnosis. It has also allowed research teams to come together and determine further causes of various diseases and to come closer to solving them. Data has allowed us to even start to understand the DNA code.

From the video, Robot Evolution, these robotic devices are created that are able to jump around. They may be simple right now, but as Data is pulled together, these devices are able to become much more advanced. Simply, by incorporating more and more data into the main system of these robots we are able to allow a robot to look up a condition, and then respond to a condition in accordance with the instructions of the data.

In the documentary of IDEO, Innovation through data analysis, this is a prime example of how analysis of enormous amount of data has led people to not only see the world in a different light, but to also experience the world in a different way. IDEO invents almost 90 new products every year, of these products most help make our lives significantly easier.

IDEO sits down in focus groups and plans new products based on what is going on in the world. Taking all this information and determining what people need and want, and putting it all together to make products that make our lives easier significantly changes everything.

The computer was derived from simple concepts of trying to for example, decrypt codes. But eventually it turned into an advanced system that allows us to communicate, do business, purchase items, and so much more. Computers have literally changed how the world works for us. We can order a product from the comfort of our home and not talk to one person.

Loads of data and research has come together to create these tools and inventions that have improved our lives and changed our world.

The Meaning and Impact of Data: From Individuals to Companies

Decision-making is a process of exploring the possibilities, and merging with a group or themselves in order to come up with a solution. Using data to make a decision can be explained in numerous ways.  Corporations, schools, students, teachers, scientists, researchers, innovation teams, and individuals use data to make decisions every day.  Making a decision based on data is common for everyone that is human.  We make decisions from what we read, write, see, and hear.

In dealing with the question of, how enormous amounts of data leads people to change their concept of how the world works involves sources like the media, press, and face-to-face conversations. Making sense of data and information to make a decision is in our human nature.  Some examples of the decision that we make are weather reports seen on TV, the prices of what food is in grocery stores, what school to go to, and what doctor to see.  Using the information that is available to us guides us through life.  During our days as humans we can decide not to deicide, and make decisions that we think are sometimes right and wrong.   

Thinkers and feelings are two categories of what kind of decision maker someone is.  A thinker may use things such as there reason, logic, and objectives in order to make a decision.  In order for a feeler to make a decision they use their, heart, and values.  This relates to the specific data that an individual chooses to believe or use.    

In the business culture data and decision-making is a very important skill to have not only to help others but individuals that are making a decision.  This brings up the topic of problem solving within a business, and a lot of the time this is put on the CEO, management, and team leaders.  In a professional environment using data to problem solve and make a decision requires recognizing the task at hand.  In a business and corporation it is important not to make decisions that will hurt the company. Sociology of Management, a current course I am taking discusses how good corporations make decisions that help and at times hurt a business. How the Mighty Fall, by Jim Collins one of he required books for class explains decision making and how data/information from successful and unsuccessful companies can help other corporations succeed. Decisions making has two major stages, problem identification and problem solutions.  Problem identification is “information about environmental and organizational conditions that are monitored to determine if performance is satisfactory in order to diagnose the cause of shortcomings, while the problem solution is a stage where alternative courses of action are considered and one alternative is selected and then implemented”.  How does this relate to the topic of how data leads people to change notions of how the world works?  Well, to make a decision in business there are steps that need to be taken to insure that the right decision is made. 

Data is collected from several parts of a company in order to hire the right people in order to put the right people in charge. Data is also collected to show and give other businesses a format to follow when hiring the right people. This is seen in a study done by Jim Collins, in How the Mighty Fall.  He describes two companies, Hewlett Packer (HP) and International Business Machines (IBM).  Both companies hire new CEO’s in order to achieve excellence after the corporations have fell tremendously in the early 1990’s.  HP hired Carly Fiornia, because the board at HP wanted a powerful, glamorous, exciting and celebrity leader.  In 1999, right before Fiornia was hired she was announced as the most powerful woman, right above Oprah Winfrey.  Fiornia did not succeed the expectations of the company because even though she was so powerful she didn’t use the right techniques and steps.  Fiornia made rash and fast decisions that helped the company in the short-run, but then hurt HP in the long run.  She was too busy with creating new slogans, and attracting media such as The Wall Street Journal, and even did a TV commercial.  She was eventually fired because the company began to fall.  In contrast to HP, the newly hired CEO of IBM, Louis V. Gerstner wanted to first concentrate on the task at hand and began to meet with management face-to-face to collect data in order to organize a plan for success.  He took a much different approach then Fiornia where his priorities revolved around basic activities, such as making sure the right people were in key seats.  He wanted to “regain profitability, increase cash flow, and put the costumer back at the center of everything” (Collins).  He took a much more pedestrian method, and declined to many interviews, and stories that media wanted to do on him because he saw that it would hurt the company and take it off track. 

When compared to Fiornia, and asked why he didn’t feel a sense of crises? He stated, “I have a sense of urgency that never changes whether we’re doing well or poorly.”  This is the right way to do things because he saw the large picture of things, while Fiornia didn’t.  In conclusion Gerstner increased profitability by slow and gradual change, while Fiornia used a more erratic pattern of change that did not work.    

This is just one example of many that show how data can change the way people’s notions of the world; in this case it was a company atmosphere.  Reviewing data, forming hypothesis, and creating the right plans of action helps not only companies but also every day people in society.  Both IBM and HP wanted to become great companies and they hired new CEO’s to help them do this.  Both companies collected data and information that helped them succeed and not succeed.  When a company fails the blame cannot only be put on the CEO’s/ leader but it is the data that the board of that company used.  Data is used to move toward a goal of creating positive change, and the decisions from that data can also be unsuccessful.
Why Data Matters

Innovation, invention, and implementation are also aspects within a company where data.  These are three aspects that companies use to become an effective and powerful force.  In order to become a successful competitor in the corporation world, companies must take risks, accept failure and work from their failures, and get everyone from small employees to large to participate in plans and implement them.  It is a company as a whole, and not just one person that collects data that they see important.  Getting the whole company involved in data collection is very important in decision-making because it is a deciding factor of a successful corporation.

1000 Ways to Think About Decisions- Analyze This

Should I buy an HP, IBM, Dell or ACER? When seeking out a mini-laptop as a trusty note-taking device, I was sure I wanted an Acer. However, I was only sold on Acer because it was the only mini-laptop I knew existed. Once at Best Buy, I was clearly wrong. Surrounded also by IBM, HP, and Dell, I was faced with a decision. I ultimately ended up with the HP, but my decision was not based on superior technical ability, battery life, memory, or anything that perhaps someone more computer-savvy may have considered. Instead, my decision was solely based on HP’s color option. Pink plaid with matching case? SOLD.

So what drives our decisions? The decision making process is complex and usually relies on a healthy combination of gut feeling and knowledge. Regarding products and consumer choice, though, decisions rest more on knowledge than perhaps conceived. This is a result of data analysis, which impacts our decision making whether we like it or not.

What exactly is data analysis? Data analysis is a spread of information analyzed to come to a conclusion about a product. Is it good? Do we like it? Do we need it? Thanks to data analysis, predictions on these answers can fairly accurately be made.

In the case of Dr. Howard Moskowitz, the product was tomato sauce. Moskowitz was involved in seeking out the ‘perfect’ sauce. To do so, he polled America with 45 varieties of sauce. Once the data was analyzed, he found three major preference groups: plain, spicy, and chunky, chunky holding majority rule. Prego got hold of this information, and appalled that chunky-sauce-lovers were not being serviced, emerged on the market with Prego chunky sauce. The decision to do so was based on data analysis, and $600,000,000 later, I’d say this was a good decision.

With that in mind, does data analysis change our preconceived notions of how the world works? I’d say yes. Data gives us choices, which many times exceed our expectations. Did America ever fathom that tomato sauce could be anything other than just tomato sauce? No. The result of data impacted the product design, giving people the option to decide. Chunky sauce for all!

Decisions are, after all, only possible when options are available. Look at the magazine Consumer Reports. This magazine chronicles a tremendous amount of products, providing detailed information comparing price, quality, durability, consumer preference, etc. Data has absolutely changed the way we perceive the world works. It brings awareness to options and information that previously we may have overlooked. We live in a society that craves information; we love to weigh our options. We love to predict our outcomes.

But what happens when data gets complicated? We can’t possible analyze every product and every decision. What if the numbers are manipulated? Data analysis absolutely influences our decisions, but like everything else, we have to know when to take information with a grain of salt. We can look to data for information, but we can’t ignore the gut feeling that has fueled our decisions for years.

 I chose my HP based on color. Somewhere along the line, data was analyzed as to what consumer’s preferences may be. For some, it may be battery life, but for me it was color. I certainly had the option to consult data if I so had chosen, but instead I relied on my trusty gut feeling. I like pink plaid, so I liked the HP. Data analysis influences us, and at times is helpful, informative, and verifies the outcome of our decision. This is good, but at the end of the day we need to remember that we our human, and no amount of numbers, statistics or information, can replace the emotional response so pertinent to the decision making process. Perhaps data analysis can eliminate a lot of mistakes, but to me, this would take something precious away from our nature as humans.

Either way, data analysis influences us. Take it, or leave it- the choice is yours.

Mallory.

Research can change even the most stubborn of minds, including mine.

In today’s society, everyone seems to think they are right in whatever they think or do. Obviously this can’t be true but the stubbornness of people these days is astounding. No one is willing to do the research to check their facts; they just automatically think they’re right and you’re wrong and that’s that. Well, this is just not so. Coming from one of the most stubborn people on this planet, I too have fallen into the trap where research has proven me wrong and therefore changed my view about the importance of research.

Let’s start with an example that can relate to everyone. Let’s start with the world. It is common knowledge that the world was first believed to be flat. Even this piece of information is false. No one had ever stated that they believed the world to be flat. One originally thought the world to be dome shaped or a sort of pillar of salt. This was proved wrong by Magellan but completely unintentionally. Magellan decided to see if one could sail around the world and in the process learned that the world is indeed round.

On a more personal level, I pride myself in being a music snob. I’ll admit that if I have made my mind up about a band or piece of music then it takes a lot to convince me otherwise. Now, until very recently I believed The Mama’s and the Papa’s to be quite lame. They were a band my mother listened to in the glory days and since my mother refuses to listen to my music I just wrote them off immediately. My dad, someone who I almost always agree with on the topic of music, tried to tell me otherwise. He explained that many of the bands that I currently enjoy would not be in existence if it were not for The Mama’s and the Papa’s. He also explained that “Creeque Alley” was an extremely historical song in the realm of music. I, of course, did not believe him until I started watching movies such as “Taking Woodstock” and “Almost Famous.” And then once I finally did some research on the subject I actually realized that I can learn a lot from this band and they are now one of my all time favorites.

Research, while it may be tedious, is important when it comes to knowing your stance on a topic. Most people are set in their own ways and I include myself in that statement, but if we don’t have facts to back up our arguments they mean nothing. And it is through finding these facts that we can possibly change our whole outlook on the subject. Whether it is discovering things about the world by accident or music you never gave a chance, research makes decision-making more clear and accurate if only we take the time to learn.