sion makers need to understand how that market is changing and to what extent the business can contribute to those changes. Such an understanding will lend itself to good tactical decisions. Finally, everyone involved in the decision-making process must understand what the company needs to do in order to be successful in that market as this will result in effective operational decisions (Unseem, 2005).
In the end, all levels of decision-making — strategic, tactical and operational, require access to accurate information. By having accurate information, leaders and managers will be better equipped to make decisions that are based on facts, sound reasoning and intelligence. This information can also be thought of as business intelligence. Effectively employing business intelligence will enable leaders to provide managers with the right information at the right time. Having the right information will ensure that decisions will be based on facts and allow for decisions to be made more quickly. Moreover, because business intelligence relies on factual information, it encourages a rational approach to management (Abukari, 2003).
Importance of Business Intelligence
Most businesses exist to provide goods and services to their customers and this requires decisions on how to deliver those goods, pricing, the handling of unsatisfied customers, and how to treat repeat or high volume customers (Rhode, 2005). Such decisions require "mission critical business intelligence" and there are technologies that enable businesses to understand "customer buying behaviors and preferences," "product pricing and promotion" and "product assortment." By evaluating this information, a business is better able to make operational decisions (Ross, 2007, p. 25)....
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