Business Data Insights: Marks and Spencer Decision Making Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of data insights for business decisions, using Marks and Spencer as a case study. It explores the types of data collected, including big data and first-party data, and how information is captured and stored using various technologies like OCR and different database solutions. The report examines the impact of technological development on data's role in business decision-making within the retail sector, highlighting the strategic importance of data in day-to-day operations and its contribution to competitive advantage. Furthermore, it discusses methods to improve data capture and utilization, such as mobile data capture solutions and the strategic use of customer buying process data to enhance the shopping experience and overall business performance. The report concludes by emphasizing the value of data-driven decision-making for organizations in the retail sector and beyond.

DATA INSIGHT FOR
BUSINESS DECISIONS

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3
State what type of data is collected..........................................................................................................3
Describe orthodox research and how this is different from big data........................................................4
Explain how information is captured and stored with key references to types of data and management
information..............................................................................................................................................4
Describe the impact of technological development on the role and use of data in business decision
making process within your chosen sector...............................................................................................5
How information and data is used within the day to operations of organizations within that sector and
what is its strategic importance to the organization within its sector.......................................................6
How data capture and use can be improved in a given sector or organization.........................................6
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Data insights refer to the knowledge that an organization gains from analyzing the
different sets of information about a particular topic or situation. The analysis of the information
provides useful insights that further help the company in making informed decisions and thus,
reduces the risks. Data insight is important because it contributes to the overall performance of
the company and ensures that the different business operations are conducted smoothly (Black,
2019). Organization chosen for this report is Marks and Spencer, which is a British multinational
retailer of clothing and household products. The company was founded in the year 1884 by
Michael Marks and Spencer and Thomas Spencer. The presentation includes the type of data
which is collected and used by the organization. There is also an explanation of how information
is captured as well as stored with key references to the different types of databases. Lastly, the
impact of technological development on the role and use of data in the business.
MAIN BODY
State what type of data is collected
Marks and Spencer is a multinational organization that operates across various
geographic locations. The company collects different types of data in order to stay relevant and
up to date about the latest trends in the market as well as the different strategies of the
competitors. First party data helps the respective company in understanding the needs of the
customers in an effective manner. The company collects both big data as well as first party data.
Big data can be defined as a collection of data that is large in volume and keeps on growing with
time at an exponentially. Big data is highly complex and large in size which cannot be managed
by the traditional tools of data management. The respective company collects big data as it helps
in create new and innovative opportunities of growth as well as information about the buyers,
suppliers, preferences of consumers as well as about the products and services.
Besides big data, the company also collects 1st party data, which it collects directly from
its customers. The data is collected from subscriptions, various platforms of social media
wherein the customers comment on the pictures as well as videos that are uploaded by the
marketers of the company (Griva and et.al., 2018). First party data is also collected from the
visitor’s activity on the website of the company and this has helped the company in gathering

data about the behavior as well as interests of the customers. There are other ways that the
company uses in order to gather first-hand information such as offline surveys, customers
feedback etc. This provides useful insights and helps the company in making informed decisions.
All of the data that is gathered is stored in a Customer Relationship Management database. With
the effective use and implementation of the collected data, Marks and Spencer has been able to
gain a competitive advantage.
Describe orthodox research and how this is different from big data
Orthodox research can be defined as a research wherein the researcher adheres to
accepting the norms (Hair Jr, Page and Brunsveld, 2019). On the other hand, big data can be
defined as a collection that is huge in terms of volume. Such type of data continues to grow with
time as the operations of the company expand in the coming years. In an orthodox research, the
researcher complies to the different norms in order to conduct the research in an effective
manner. Big data is the data that is a massive amount of data that is used by an organization in
order to make informed decisions and gain a competitive advantage in the market. The main
different between an orthodox research and big data is that the amount of data in the research is
much less than big data, which is huge in terms of volume.
Explain how information is captured and stored with key references to types of data and
management information
Information capture is important for an organization and can be defined as the process of
collecting forms, paper documents as well as e-documents and transforming the same into
accurate, digital information and delivering the same into databases and business applications so
that they can be put into action immediately. The different methods for capturing information
include manual keying, OCR or Optical Character Recognition, Intelligent Character Reading,
Barcode or QR Recognition etc. OCR is a technology that is used to capture data and enables the
respective organization to recognize characters that are produced through the machine as a part
of the data capture and extraction process. On the other hand, ICR refers to the computer
translation of characters that are hand written or printed. The process of intelligent character
reading is more difficult as compared to OCR (Hazen and et.al., 2018). There are different types
of data that is captured by the company, as discussed. First party data is usually captured through

social media platforms, email, surveys, CRM systems etc. The different types of data such as big
data and first party data are managed with the proper use of different types of technologies.
There are different ways in which the various types of captured information can be
stored. For example, due to its huge volume and size, big data has to be stored in Apache
Hadoop, which is a java-based software that is mainly used in order to store large amounts of
data in the form of a cluster. As per the viewpoint of Diana Bathena, other ways in which Big
Data can be stored, include Microsoft HDInsight, which is also one of the Big Data storage
solutions that is offered by Microsoft (Top big data tools used to store and analyse data, 2020).
NoSQL and Hive are other options that are used for storing large amounts of data. As far as first
party data is concerned, it can be stored in the form of spreadsheets in different databases or on
cloud. Office tools such as Excel can be used in order to store the first-party data.
Describe the impact of technological development on the role and use of data in business
decision making process within your chosen sector
Technological development can be defined as the overall process of inventing,
innovating, and diffusing the different processes or technology (Liang and Liu, 2018).
Advancements in technology have transformed the way in which businesses conduct their
operations effectively. Marks and Spencer has implemented latest technology at its workplace in
order to promoted informed decision-making. The retail sector is one of the most dynamic and
competitive sectors with a large number of organizations operating within it. Also, since the
company is a multinational organization and operates across different geographic regions, it
captures a lot of data from different customers. The data that is gathered or captured, it stored in
databases or on cloud. The data is then analyzed with the help of latest technological tools in
order to gain useful insights about the preference as well as behavior of the customers. This
further helps the management of the company to make informed decisions and develop new and
improved strategies.
Technological development has impacted the role as well as use of data in business
decision making of the respective company, Marks and Spencer in a positive manner. This is
because it has improved the process of collection of data that is needed in order to make useful
decisions (Mikalef and et.al., 2018). Not only this, it also provides useful links between a central
database as well as the local retail outlets. This has helped Marks and Spencer to collect the latest

data related to sales and thus, make decisions based on the same. As a result, the company has
been able to gain a competitive advantage in the global market and also has been able to attract a
greater number of customers.
How information and data is used within the day to operations of organizations within that sector
and what is its strategic importance to the organization within its sector
Information as well as data play an important role in an organization in helping it achieve
organizational goals and objectives. Both information as well as data play an important role in
the day-to-day operations organizations across different sectors, including retail. In the retail
sector, when the cashier scans the barcode printed at the back of an item, the data that is
collected, is used in managing the inventory, loyalty programs, bookkeeping as well as
maintaining supplier records. The information is stored in the databases and helps the
management in gaining useful insights about the products and services as well as the latest trends
of the market (Saggi and Jain, 2018). The respective company, Marks and Spencer uses the data
and converts the same into information that is useful to create advertisements that match the
preferences as well as needs of the customers. Advancements in technology have made it easier
for the companies to collect data and constantly generate new information.
The information and data that is collected by the organization is of strategic importance
to it as it helps in the company in planning its strategies as well as making informed decisions.
The level of competition in the retail sector is very high and therefore, it is very important for the
respective company to store and use the information collected by it in an effective manner so as
to stand out in the market serve the needs of the customers. This will also help the company in
maintaining records that can be used in the future for financial purposes. Apart from this, the
information can also help the company in identifying the potential risks and threats that can
impact the overall performance and profitability of the company in the industry (Schneckenberg
and et.al., 2017). Another reason why the information is of strategic importance to the
organization in the retail sector is that the company is able to communicate with its customers
more effectively.
How data capture and use can be improved in a given sector or organization
Data capture is important for any organization and can help it in developing effective
strategies as well as making informed decisions. But there are different ways in which data

capture as well as use can be improved in the retail sector. Organizations such as Marks and
Spencer, that operate in the retail sector can use mobile data capture solutions in order to assist
the customers skip the check-out line thereby increasing the floor space (Zhang and et.al., 2017).
A self-check-out app can be developed that enables the customers to process their orders on their
own through smart phones. This is useful because it helps them in saving time in the store and
the company is also able to create a more flexible sopping experience for them.
On the other hand, as far as the use of data is concerned, the company can use the same in
order to track the buying process of customers and then make decisions in order to improve the
in-store shopping experience of the customers (Vidgen, Shaw and Grant, 2017). The data can
also be used for gaining useful insights which organization can use to cut costs as well as
improve its overall product offerings. This can also help in improving the overall sales of the
company and helping it stand out in the market against competitors. Apart from this, in order to
improve the use of data the company can gather feedbacks from its customers or even combine
different data sources. Monitoring and reviewing the collected data from time to time can also
help the company in improving the way in which information is used and benchmark against
competitors.
CONCLUSION
From the presentation, it can be concluded that data insights are very useful and valuable
for the overall success of an organization. This is because they assist the company in developing
effective strategies and making informed decisions. data can be collected through first party,
second party or third party. It should be analyzed effectively in order to enhance the overall
understanding about the preferences and needs of the customers. Also, the data or information
that is gathered by the company is stored either in databases or various software. Developments
in technology has made it easier for organizations in the retail sector to collect data and use the
same to make informed decisions. Therefore, it can be said that the data that is gathered by the
organization can be used for managing the inventory, understanding the consumer behavior and
planning new strategies.