As artificial intelligence takes over human jobs, we must focus on the work only humans can do. One such skill is strategic thinking. All the big corporations want people who have this skill working with them. This skill helps the company plan its future actions and solve its problems.
Don’t be discouraged if you believe you lack this skill. You can learn it through knowledge and practice. To become an expert in this skill, you can consider doing your MS in Business Analytics from the USA.
What is Business Analytics?
Plain data may only be useful for a company if it’s relevant. The data has to be analyzed and presented in a format that is easy to understand for the management. Business analytics is the field where data is turned into insights. This is achieved through tools and techniques like forecasting, data visualization, data mining, and predictive modeling.
A business analyst has to use compiled data to make future decisions for the company. It can be used for understanding future trends, creating business models, identifying patterns and relationships from data, etc.
Who is a Strategic Business Thinker?
Do you have the ability to become a strategic business thinker? A strategic thinker is someone who-
- Attempts to understand factors that influence business decisions
- Uses information to predict the future
- Considers multiple variables at the same time
- Learns from the experience of the company and uses the lessons in making future decisions
- Learns from failure and applies the lessons in the future course of action.
Becoming a good strategic business thinker is a process. These skills can be developed during college even if you don’t have these skills.
As you keep learning, you will become better at these skills. You learn many of these skills while pursuing courses like MS in Business Analytics. These courses will develop strategic skills through theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Especially if you study this course in the US, you get to network with individuals across the globe and work with international companies.
First, let’s understand how business analytics and strategic thinking are related.
The Relation Between Business Analytics and Strategic Thinking
Strategic thinking means making future decisions wisely after considering various internal and external factors. It means thinking with a long-term view of the business. Instead of making decisions randomly, strategic thinking encourages thinking about the customers, stakeholders, political factors, business competition, and so on before making decisions.
Business analytics can help with this skill in multiple ways.
1. Market trends
A company must consider the present and future market trends before making strategic decisions. Business analytics can help collect and analyze the data required to decide which future trends will be the most important.
2. Measuring progress
Deciding the strategic goals is the first step, but you still need to see if you’re progressing toward them. Through business analytics, you can track the progress of multiple goals. Techniques like data visualization can be especially useful.
3. Finding new opportunities
Companies are always looking for new markets to go into and new products to launch. However, businesses cannot launch products randomly. They need the data to support their demands and the company’s abilities. Business analytics and strategic thinking can work wonders together in this area.
Why Should You Consider MS in Business Analytics from the US?
To become an excellent strategic thinker and business analyst, you must have knowledge, exposure, and experience. When you go to the US for your Masters in Science, you get all these three things in one place.
Doing your MS in Business Analytics in the US is a great way of combining strategic thinking and business analytics. Here’s why we think so-
1. Global Exposure
There’s no place like the US for global business exposure. You will meet students worldwide, which will widen your horizons. Plus, you can work with the best companies because of the globally recognized college degree.
2. Hands-On Learning
The MS in Business Analytics course, like the one offered by the University of Arizona, focuses on practical experience and knowledge. You learn to solve real-life problems and can practice your strategic thinking skills.
3. Hybrid learning mode
Studying in the US can be expensive for many. But thanks to technology, you can now finish your courses partly online and partly on campus. You get the best of both worlds through these courses. You get to attend the university in person for a few months. But you can complete the rest of the course from home and save on living costs.
Overview of MS in Business Analytics From Eller School
Eller School at the University of Arizona offers a great hybrid course for MS in Business Analytics. Here are some basic details about the course. You can find the details on Great Learning’s website.
| Learning Mode | 6 months Hybrid 12 months On Campus |
| Duration | 18 months |
| Visa Eligibility | 3-year STEM OPT USA Visa |
| University | Eller College of Management, The University of Arizona |
| Location | Chandler, Arizona |
Exams like TOEFL and GRE are not required for this course. Due to the hybrid mode, you save a lot of money compared to the fully on-campus MS courses.
Summing Up
Business analytics and strategic thinking complement each other in many ways. Business analytics is very valuable for companies because it helps them make sense of their gathered data. Techniques like data visualization and mining truly bring business data to life and make it extremely useful for companies. If you can master both these skills, you will become a valuable prospective company employee.
Doing your MS in Business Analytics is the first step towards this. When you study in America, you get worldwide exposure. Your professional network expands across continents, and you get to work with the best companies.
