BUSINESS ANALYTICS, AI, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
Today, the sheer quantity of data, disruptive technologies, and the proliferation of data-driven business models make data literacy an essential skill at all levels of the organization. Advances in AI, including the emergence of a new suite of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, promise new frontiers in productivity for those who know how to leverage them to their competitive advantage.
Not just for the technically savvy, business analytics or data analytics, is a discipline that everyone from the C-Suite to analytics experts must understand and leverage to improve strategic and tactical results and seize new business opportunities. Georgetown Custom Education has developed business analytics programs that teach participants—at all levels and in a variety of functional areas and industry sectors—how to be data-driven leaders and to use datadriven AI insights to improve business models, reduce risk, and drive innovation.
CUSTOM CURRICULUM BUILDS ANALYTIC MINDSET
Georgetown’s Custom Executive Education team has deep experience partnering with organization leaders to develop targeted programs to address specific enterprise challenges. Participants in our business analytics programs emerge with an analytics mindset. They also learn how to structure functional data analytic teams use for more effective datadriven decision making. Through its AI, Analytics and Future of Work Initiative, Georgetown is positioned at the forefront of innovation as AI applications gain traction in a variety of industries.
Our programs use data, scenarios, and case studies related to the organization’s own real-life experience so that participants can readily apply what they learn in their workplace. Top research faculty and experienced practitioners blend theory with practice informed by the latest technology. Modular programs, delivered in-person, remotely, or in a hybrid format, can be tailored to all management levels and industry sectors. Learning in a cohort model assures the integration of best business analytics practice throughout the organization, whether the goal is to weave data analytics throughout the enterprise or to focus on a targeted need.
AMAZON WEB SERVICES AND GEORGETOWN PARTNER TO ACCELERATE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Also setting Georgetown apart is the ability to marshal the resources of the whole University and to call on industry partners to provide specialized instruction. For example, Georgetown paired senior executives from Amazon Web Services with professors from its schools of business and public policy to deliver a course on digital transformation. The two-day course was designed to equip senior government officials, both civil servants and elected officials, with the latest knowledge of digital technologies and business practices. The goal was to accelerate the use of technology to deliver government services to serve citizens more effectively. The program grounded government officials in change management, including a hands-on simulation to better understand power and influence within the context of change. Issues related to digital transformation, such as data governance and privacy, and cybersecurity were covered. Senior AWS executives taught alongside Georgetown professors to provide officials with a roadmap for digital transformation.
WHY GEORGETOWN? The Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative (GUEI), which serves all of Georgetown University through the McDonough School of Business, embodies the future of work by providing an entrepreneurial learning environment for the leaders of today and tomorrow, including through our custom programs.
AI, ANALYTICS, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK INITIATIVE
Georgetown’s AI, Analytics, and the Future of Work Initiative addresses how technology is transforming the economy, society, and the nature of work. Under the leadership of Professor Alberto Rossi and guided by a visionary board, the initiative is a resource for business leaders, policymakers, and academics as well as the Georgetown University community.
Focused on understanding the theory and practice that will underpin the future of work, it conducts and disseminates research that explores the promises and pitfalls of AI, technology and the workplace, and the implications of digital technology on inclusive growth. With its rich tradition, global orientation, and access to policymakers in Washington, DC, Georgetown is well-positioned to shape the discussion around the future of work and the use of AI and data analytics for the common good.
“At Georgetown, we envision a world where technology is deployed to improve everyday life, make people more productive members of society, and serves the common good.” Alberto Rossi, Professor of Finance, Georgetown McDonough School of Business.”
Alberto Rossi, Director of the AI, Analytics, and Future of Work Initiative
Alberto Rossi is a Professor of Finance and the Director of Georgetown’s AI, Analytics, and Future of Work Initiative. His research interests include fintech, household finance, asset pricing, and machine learning. His recent work studies how robo-advisors can help individuals make better financial decisions and how to use machine-learning algorithms to predict stock market returns. He has deep experience in analyzing big data and has collaborated with major brokerage houses, fintech firms, and asset managers around the world. A former economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC, Prof. Rossi has published in the leading academic journals.
Finra Case Study
FINRA LEVERAGES DATA ANALYTICS TO ENHANCE DECISION MAKING
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, oversees U.S. brokerdealers to protect investors and safeguard the integrity of US financial markets. Having partnered with Georgetown Custom Education since 2017 on programs to educate its regulatory and compliance professionals, FINRA turned again to Georgetown to design a program in business analytics to develop an analytics-informed culture and workforce.
Georgetown designed and delivered an eight-week immersive program that builds knowledge and fluency in advanced analytics terms, concepts, and tools. The program, Analytics at Georgetown, also helped FINRA leverage new, disruptive technologies—big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and data visualization—to inform decision making. Using data-driven approaches, participants learned how to ask the deeper questions that lead to more precise, actionable answers.
The course was designed for FINRA staff who are just beginning to use or support analytics and business staff aiming to move to more powerful analytics platforms. The cohort was composed of data and analytics experts and a large majority (85%) who need to use data and advanced analytics but are not experts. No prior data or analytics experience was required.
“FINRA has worked with Georgetown since 2017 to provide regulatory and compliance professionals with an in-depth understanding of the foundation, theory, and practical application of securities laws. We asked Georgetown to design a comprehensive Business Analytics program that would help us integrate data weave data analytics into the fabric of our organization in ways that would advance strategic priorities for people who are data analytics experts as well as the 85% who use data and advanced analytics, but are not experts.”
FINRA Leader & Participant
WHY GEORGETOWN? Georgetown is home to the largest artificial intelligence center in the United States, with a multi-faceted focus on the intersection of AI, policy, and its impact on national security.
Finra Case Study Continued
The hybrid program featured three-hour sessions, twice a week for eight weeks. Participants met on Georgetown’s campus for weeks 1 and 8, with six weekly sessions delivered virtually. The classes used lectures, case studies, and experiential and applied learning to build knowledge, culminating in an interactive capstone session where participants integrated what they had learned. The cohort solved problems in teams using analytic tools and methods, finding practical solutions and building their technical skills and confidence. Using survey data, the sessions were structured to ensure that the participants met co-workers that they didn’t already know to enhance networking and reinforce a data mindset culture.
Jennifer Logg, Faculty Fellow, AI, Analytics and Future of Work Initiative
Jennifer Logg, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Management and a Faculty Fellow at Georgetown’s AI, Analytics and Future of Work Initiative. Her research examines why people fail to view themselves and their performance realistically. She studies how people respond to advice and feedback from algorithms, which can help them improve their accuracy. She has spoken on algorithms with decision makers in the U.S. Senate, Air Force and Navy and collaborated on the Good Judgment Project, funded by the US intelligence community’s IARPA.
PROGRAM TOPICS INCLUDE:
↗ Overview of Data Analytics and Practice
↗ Tools and Techniques in Analytics
↗ Using AI for Competitive Advantage
↗ Developing an Analytics Mindset
↗ Critical Thinking, Strategic Thinking, and Creativity
↗ Data Collection, Data Types, and Analytics
↗ Data Collection and Experimental Design
↗ Data Visualization and Communicating Insights
↗ Using Data to Lead Change
↗ Graph Databases and Understanding Relationships
↗ Natural Language and Large Language
Processing and Text Mining
↗ Sentiment Analysis
↗ Applying Analytics Techniques
TOP FACULTY BLEND THEORY WITH PRACTICE
Under the guidance of Georgetown’s Custom Executive Program team, faculty and practitioners can design modular programs in data and business analytics that address an organization’s own application needs and challenges. Flexible program design allows time between modules to reinforce theory with practice on the job.
A hallmark of Georgetown’s programs is the emphasis on leadership. For example, a session focused on using data to lead change puts participants in a leadership position “hot seat”, requiring them to propose a solution to a challenge in a memo to their boss and record a short video explaining it to their team. Participants learn to master different modes of communications around business analytics issues whether they are technical analysts, those who manage analyst teams, or senior leaders who set strategy using analytics.
WHY GEORGETOWN? Georgetown takes a global perspective on the future of work. In 2023, Georgetown McDonough’s Baratta Center for Global Business hosted an inaugural Future of Global Business Conference—with featured speakers from across industries including data experts, policymakers, and corporate and government representatives.
MEET OUR BUSINESS ANALYTICS FACULTY
“Those who can design and implement data strategy and communicate and manage the technical side have an edge in the job market. Today, technology has made it possible for organizations to collect and store extremely large datasets which are recognized as valuable assets that can drive strategic business decision-making and propel business growth.”
Sudipta Dasmohapatra, Professor of the Practice, Academic Director for the Master of Science in Business Analytics Program
”As we all grapple with the workplace, policy and regulatory implications of AI technology, Georgetown is convening thought-leaders from business, education, and government to respond to the opportunities and challenges of this unprecedented transformation.”
Gregory Lyon, Assistant Teaching Professor in Business Analytics, Assistant Director of the MS in Business Analytics Program
Dr. Sudipta Dasmohapatra is the Academic Director of the MS in Business Analytics and Professor of the Practice at Georgetown McDonough School of Business. She has extensive experience in teaching, research, and practice in data science and analytics, specifically in data management, unsupervised and supervised modeling, design of experiments for direct marketing, A/B and multivariable testing, and digital analytics. With more than 10 years’ experience in consulting, she has worked with numerous industry partners, government, and non-profit organizations on a variety of business analytics and data science projects..
Gregory Lyon is the Assistant Director of the MS in Business Analytics Program and Assistant Teaching Professor in Business Analytics at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. He has served as a data science and analytics expert for projects ranging from survey research to global workforce development to regulatory compliance and has taught programming, business analytics, statistics, natural language processing, and data science. He also oversees and leads projects in cloud computing and analytics, and teaches courses focused on building and optimizing cloud architecture for data analytics and management. He holds multiple top industry-standard certifications in cloud computing
“Consumer analytics is my area of interest. I have recently focused on using quantitative methods to understand the financially vulnerable debt repayment decisions, using data from budgeting apps, fintech companies, and experiments. The research shows that getting consumers motivated may be just as important as getting them to internalize the optimal way to manage their finances.”
Simon Blanchard, Beyer Family Term Professorship and Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor
“There have been dramatic changes in technology, a broadening of the definition of business’s role in society, and the globalization of business. We are well into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and it’s exciting to help students and companies work effectively in a world where AI and other technology is dramatically altering what’s possible.”
Michael O’Leary, Teaching Professor and Senior Associate Dean, Graduate & Executive Degree Programs
Trained both in consumer psychology and quantitative methods, Assistant Professor Simon Blanchard studies consumer decision making using a combination of experimental research and statistical modeling. His expertise encompasses consumer behavior, digital marketing, and consumer finance. Past clients and partners range from startups to multinationals and require the use of research methods as varied as data scraping, survey design, ad copy testing, psychometric development, conjoint measurement and analysis, and predictive analytics.
Since 2022, Professor O’Leary has headed Graduate & Executive Degree Programs at Georgetown and earlier led Georgetown’s Custom Education Program. He has taught and directed executive education programs for a wide variety of US and global organizations. His classes focus on teams, leadership, change, and global business, and his research deals with high-performing teams (especially virtual ones), multitasking, multi-teaming, and teams dealing with resources constraints. He is co-author of “Lessons for NonProfit and Start-Up Leaders: Tales from a Reluctant CEO” (2017, with Maxine Harris).
MEET OUR BUSINESS ANALYTICS FACULTY
“Covid-19 has accelerated the digital transformation by creating a dynamic in which both remote work and the use of automation/ AI-based systems will increase. These factors will have a meaningful impact on employees and the dignity of work itself.”
Jason Schloetzer, William and Karen Sonneborn Term Associate Professor of Business Administration
My recent book, “Digital Globalization”, explores how the new politics of globalization are prompting governments to increase restrictions on cross-border data flows which will require countries to move toward coordinated regulation.”
Steven Weymouth, Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor of International Political Economy
Jason Schloetzer is Associate Professor of Business Administration and teaches managerial accounting and control. His research examines how executives collect and use information to motivate employees and improve firm performance. His work often relies on data collected from companies where he has collaborated on research projects in the technology, financial services, oil and gas, heavy vehicle manufacturing, industrial coatings, consumer products, and public relations sectors.
Stephen Weymouth is Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor of International Political Economy. He teaches courses on international business, nonmarket strategy, and the implications of artificial intelligence for business and society. His research examines the political environment of globalization and technological change. He is also interested in governance of the digital economy, trade and exchange rate politics, and identity and political behavior.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Georgetown Custom Executive Program team, faculty and practitioners can tailor a business analytics program that educates participants in the ways of extracting data from databases and free text and to recognize patterns in data. Patterns lead to insight, and insight underpins better predictive modeling, improved decision making, and clearer communications among stakeholders. Here are some of the learning outcomes participants can expect.
Analyze data to reveal insights that improve decision making
Visualize data to reveal latent patterns
Communicate data insights to nontechnical and technical workforce
Develop a common business analytics language and mindset
Draw insights from graphic databases
Use historical data to make better models and predictions
Lead datadriven change management
Improve experimental design
Build functional teams to manage data and business analytics
Mine free text for better decision making
Stay abreast of latest datamining and generative AI technologies and their uses
Bridge gaps between technical and non-technical workforce
Enhance understanding and ability to lead as “Future of Work” becomes reality
