Shawn
Watching the video certainly gave me a better understanding of business
intelligence systems. I did not know how business intelligence systems are
currently used in the Army, so I did some research to see how they are
applied in my job. Currently I work in an area in the Army that is responsible
for ensuring that future Army vehicle and equipment contracts meet our
capability needs. One of the Chief of Staff of the Army’s priorities is to
streamline the acquisition process in regards to vehicle and equipment
contracts. The Army has developed the Army Contracting Business
Intelligence System (ACBIS) as a means to be reduce wasteful spending and
speed up the acquisition process. Through the use of real time operational
contract data the ACBIS has helped the Army make better procurement and
contracting decisions (Miller, 2012.) The use of the ACBIS has also forced the
Army to be more accountable with their spending of tax payer dollars.Through
the ACBIS, congress now has access to the Army’s contacting data and can
analyze their decision making process as well as approve future contracting
decisions much quicker (Schwartz, 2016.)
References:
Miller, J. (2012, September) Army Contracting Command Easing the Burden
on Contracting Officers. Retrieved from: https://federalnewsradio.com/ask-thecio/2012/09/army-contracting-command-easing-burden-on-contractingofficers/
Schwartz, M. (2016, January) Using Data to Improve Defense Acquisitions:
Background, Analysis, and Questions for Congress. Retrieved from:
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R44329.pdf
Linan zhao
The video involves a discussion on Business Intelligence Systems (BI
System). The BI expert correctly defines a BI system as an information
system that provides useful information by analyzing vast amounts of data
and identifying trends, relationships, and patterns (Pearson Education, Inc.,
2016). The trends, relationships, and patterns help knowledge employees in
making decisions. Although the BI expert works in a Pizza business, he
correctly informs his conversation partner that the system can be utilized in
other fields such as football. Organizations working in different industries are
benefiting greatly from the use of BI systems. The systems use complicated
mathematical models to generate vital information. Powerful BI systems can
spot relationships that no one could have thought existed. The introduction of
Database Management Systems (DBMS') enabled organizations to
accumulate big data, and BI systems help utilize the data (Nedelcu,
2013). According to the BI expert, the role of the BI team is to acquire the
needed data, analyze the data, and publish the results of the analysis. He
explains that data comes from numerous sources. In the case of the Pizza
business, the sources include sales, inventories, and data bought from third
parties. Data is acquired for defined purposes. A business may purchase
consumer data to understand what consumers need and work on satisfying
the need (Pearson Education, Inc., 2016). Although very brief, the discussion
gives an excellent introduction to what a BI system is and its purpose.
References
Nedelcu, B. (2013). Business intelligence systems. Database Systems
Journal, 4(4), 12-20.
Pearson Education, Inc. (2016). Smart Pearson Player. Retrieved from
Rebecca
Data Aggregation, Security, and Privacy
Many companies serve as big data brokers, Acxiom being a primary example.
Although consumers have issues with the security and privacy of their data,
and although the industry has faced multiple investigations by the FTC, data
brokerage firms continue to develop new avenues for quickly absorbing
massive amounts of data. Though consumers can request to opt-out,
personal data is not deleted but rather "suppressed"
(https://www.quora.com (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.).
Further, consumers may acquiesce and sometimes even willingly provide
information in trade for conveniences gained - think of online shopping,
refilling presriptions by phone, and the like. But as explained by Makela
(2016), consumers may have no understanding of the issues created by this
collection of data. It is one thing to consider giving your information for a
specified purpose, and quite another to realize your data may be collected for
purposes that are not yet identified. For many, our information could be stored
in the cloud longer than we are alive (Makela, 2016). Big data is characterized
by volume, velocity, and variety which results in a continual transfer of data
being collected simply because is it easy and legal to collect, often without
regard for a particular current use or undefined future use. Consumers should
at the very least be aware that any information they share for the sake of
convenience may then be shared with other parties later for a variety of uses,
some of which will not be defined until another company realizes an
opportunity to at best use, and at worst, exploit the data. Companies like
Acxiom may operate within the law, but the scope of their activities can be
deeemd both unethical and an unnecessary violation of security and privacy.
References
Makela, C. (2016). Big Data: You are adding to . . . and using it. Journal of
Family and Consumer Sciences, 108(2), 2326, http://dx.doi.org/10.14307/JFCS108.2.23 (Links to an external site.)Links
to an external site.
https://www.quora.com/How-does-Acxiom-get-data (Links to an external
site.)Links to an external site.
beth
A data aggregator is a company that acquires and purchases consumer and
other data from public records, retailer, Internet cookie vendors, social media
trackers, and other sources and uses it to create business intelligence that it
sells to companies and the government. There are currently four major data
aggregators in the U.S.—Infogroup, Factual, Acxiom, and Localeze (Liles,
2017). Three are free for a business to update and verify their listings with
Localeze charging a fee. Data aggregators push important contact information
to various websites, including search engines like Google.
On August 15, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit released its
latest opinion in the Spokeo Inc., v. Robins case, allowing Thomas Robins to
sue Spokeo, possibly setting the stage for a second appeal to the Supreme
Court (Matheson, 2017). The 9th Circuit opinion’s intensive focus on the
specific facts alleged by Robins is the key take-away of the case. The court’s
fact-specific approach signals its growing willingness to recognize the validity
of intangible harms as actionable privacy violations. Its readiness to find a
privacy harm even when the allegedly incorrect information is “complimentary”
to the data subject is particularly telling. The article goes on to state that
organizations that collect, analyze and provide personal data profiles for use
by others are now on notice that errors in those reports – even those that to
some may seem flattering for inconsequential – may be harmful to data
subjects and create legal liability. This ruling should increase organizations’
responsibility to verify data accuracy, allow data subjects the opportunity to
correct or repair inaccuracies, and evaluate the privacy consequences of
using personal data for reporting.
Works Cited
Liles, J. (2017, April 5). What are Data Aggregators? A Look at How Local
Business Data Gets Distributed Online. Advice Local. Retrieved July 3, 2018,
from https://www.advicelocal.com/blog/data-aggregators-localbusiness/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Matheson, L. (2017, September 12). Spokeo ruling means even 'good' errors
are bad. IAPP. Retrieved July 3, 2018, from https://iapp.org/news/a/spokeoruling-means-even-good-errors-are-bad/
Week 6 reflection
http://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com/assets/mymislab-2016-intro_MIS-imis_2016_topic_07
Too Intelligent?
There's an Ethics Guide in Chapter 9 called Unseen Cyberazzi that talks
about data aggregators. They’re not the only companies that have a lot of
information about us. Let’s talk about the questions that are posed at the end
of the guide, with particular emphasis on the security and privacy issues.
Weekly Reflections – (Located
in the Discussion Board Area)
Students are required to make an entry in the Weekly Reflections thread in
the Discussions area of Canvas. Students should write about the most
important lessons they learned in the videos for Weeks 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7, 8 and
their assigned text readings for Week 9. The reflections should discuss the
most important concepts presented and and how you might apply these
concepts in your present or future job situations. The reflection is expected to
assist you in actively internalizing the concepts you have learned and thinking
about future application in managing information systems. This weekly entry
should be a minimum of 200 words and be substantive and should cite a
minimum of one reference. You should also respond to one of your
classmate's posts by the Saturday due date with a minimum of 50
words. This is a total of 2 posts required each week.
•
•
•
•
First watch the posted video for the chapter
Post a minimum 200-word reflection by Thursday night
Cite at least one reference that supports the thoughts in your reflection
Respond with a minimum 50-word post to a classmate’s reflection by the
Saturday deadline
Note that no makeup work or credit will be given for missed discussions
or reflections for any reason since this is a participation grade and must
be current to be of use in assessing students’ progress.
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