Descriptive analytics, as defined by the online HBS blog (2021), is a powerful analytical approach that focuses on elucidating the factors that led to a particular outcome. It involves analyzing historical and current data to gain insights into trends and patterns related to the specific outcome under investigation. This statistical method enables decision-makers to comprehensively understand how the business has evolved over time by examining a wide range of past data and comparing it to established benchmarks.
In the context of the case study on Coca-Cola European Partners (CCE), descriptive analytics plays a pivotal role in shedding light on the organization's HR transformation journey. By leveraging historical and real-time data, CCE's centralized HR reporting and analytics team gained a deeper understanding of their HR performance and the impact of their initiatives. Through careful analysis and interpretation of various data sources, including internal databases, financial reports, and customer feedback, CCE was able to uncover meaningful patterns and relationships.
Descriptive analytics offers a means to summarize and interpret the collected data, thereby identifying key performance indicators (KPIs), tracking progress toward business objectives, and pinpointing areas for improvement. By harnessing this analytical approach, CCE could effectively measure the impact of their HR practices, assess their alignment with organizational goals, and drive data-informed decision-making. This comprehensive analysis of historical data provided CCE with a solid foundation for their HR analytics program and allowed them to make informed strategic choices to optimize HR performance.
To conduct descriptive analytics, businesses need to gather and organize relevant data from diverse sources, ensuring a comprehensive representation of the factors influencing the outcome. Through the application of statistical techniques and data visualizations, such as histograms, scatter plots, and heat maps, businesses can effectively analyse the data, identify trends and patterns, and communicate their findings to stakeholders. In the case of CCE, these visualizations played a vital role in conveying the insights gained from descriptive analytics to the leadership team, enabling them to grasp complex information more easily and make informed decisions regarding HR practices.

Please could you add in-text referencing to the above text. use the following site: Online HBS. (2021). Types of Data Analysis. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from https:// Give two different versions of responses. Please separate the responses with 6 asterisk symbols: ******.
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