Course

BUSN 5760 Applied Business Statistics                                                                                                           Revised 8/5/2008

Term

Fall 2008, Spring 2009

Instructor

Name:   Dr. Donald Westerfield

Phone:   314-968-7155

Email:    westerdn@webster.edu                    Homepage:  mercury.webster.edu/westedon

Catalog

Description

The student examines the application of statistical analysis, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis in business decision making. The course should focus on the utilization of statistical methods as applied to business problems and operations.

Prerequisites

None

Course Level Learning Outcomes

Outcome

1.     Students can describe basic statistics concepts and apply proper sampling methods.

2.     Students can compute basic descriptive statistics.

3.     Student can describe a normal distribution and apply the concepts of the normal distribution to that of sampling distributions.

4.     Students can construct confidence intervals for both numerical and categorical data, and can apply to a real-world business scenario.

5.     Students can use numerical or categorical data to assess the validity of statements made in a business setting.

6.     Students can perform simple and multiple regression analysis. 

7.     Students can test statistical hypotheses.

8.     Students can apply various advanced forecasting techniques.

 

Materials

Levine, Berenson, Stephan, Krehbiel   Statistics for Managers Using Microsoft Excel   5th  ed.  (Prentice-Hall, 2007) ISBN: 0-13-229545-1

Grading

 

 

Exam 1

25%

Exam 2

25%

Exam 3

30%

Class Activities/Participation

10%

Assigned Homework

10%

The GRADUATE catalog provides these guidelines and grading options:

·          A/A–   Superior graduate work (90-100)

·          B+/B/B–   Satisfactory graduate work (80-89)

·          C   Work that is barely adequate as graduate-level performance (71-79)

·          F   Work that is unsatisfactory (Below 71)

·          I   Incomplete work

·          W   Withdrawn from the course

 

Activities

Use 5th Edition of text for these Assignments. Use methods from Excel Companion sections of the text and also by hand calculator.  TI-30Xa  is recommended.  Both hand calculator and Excel Companion (hard copy) solutions are required in order to receive credit for any assigned problem. Incomplete solutions receive no credit.

 

·          Due 2nd Week – 3.3(a-d: For Z-scores, see p.111, p.143 & p.247), 3.7(a-d),  3.31(a-b), 3.33(a-b)  [Study Box Plots (p. 124-125, p.144) & Fig. 3.3 and 3.5], 5.19 (a-d), 5.27(a-d), 5.31(a-e), 5.33(a-d), 5.37(a-c)   [Study Binomial (pp. 189-195, 213  & Fig. 5.2) , Poisson (pp. 197-200, 213  & Fig. 5.4]

·           

·          Due 3rd Week –  6.3(a-d, See p. 247), 6.5(a-d), 6.9(a-d) , 6.13(a-c);   7.17(a-d, See p. 247), 7.21(a-d),  7.23(a-c), 7.31(a-c, Hint: P=.5), 7.35(a-c), 7.51(a-e)

·           

·          Due 4th Week – (Hint: See pp. 322-323 for Confidence Intervals)  8.1, 8.7(a-d), 8.17(a-c),  8.27(a-b), 8.31(a-c) , 8.41, 8.43(a-b),  9.29(a-d),  9.45(a-d) ,  9.57(a-b), 9.71(a-d)

·           

·          Due 5th Week  - (Hint: See pp. 414-419)  10.7(a-b), 10.9(a-d),  10.13(a-c),  10.25(a-d), 10.33(a-c), 10.43, 10.47, 10.49(a-c)

·           

·          Due 6th Week -     11.5, 11.7(a-c), 11.11(a-d) 

·           

·          Due 7th Week -  12.5(a-d),  12.7(a-c), 12.13(a-b), 12.21(a-e),  12.33(a-d)  12.35,  12.41

Policy Statements:

University Policies

University policies are provided in the current course catalog and course schedules.   They are also available on the university website. This class is governed by the university’s published policies. The following policies are of particular interest:

Academic Honesty

The university is committed to high standards of academic honesty. Students will be held responsible for violations of these standards. Please refer to the university’s academic honesty policies for a definition of academic dishonesty and potential disciplinary actions associated with it.

Drops and Withdrawals

Please be aware that, should you choose to drop or withdraw from this course, the date on which you notify the university of your decision will determine the amount of tuition refund you receive. Please refer to the university policies on drops and withdrawals (published elsewhere) to find out what the deadlines are for dropping a course with a full refund and for withdrawing from a course with a partial refund.

Special Services  

If you have registered as a student with a documented disability and are entitled to classroom or testing accommodations, please inform the instructor at the beginning of the course of the accommodations you will require in this class so that these can be provided.

Disturbances

Since every student is entitled to full participation in class without interruption, disruption of class by inconsiderate behavior is not acceptable. Students are expected to treat the instructor and other students with dignity and respect, especially in cases where a diversity of opinion arises. Students who engage in disruptive behavior are subject to disciplinary action, including removal from the course.

Student Assignments Retained

From time to time, student assignments or projects will be retained by The Department for the purpose of academic assessment.   In every case, should the assignment or project be shared outside the academic Department, the student's name and all identifying information about that student will be redacted from the assignment or project.

Contact Hours for this Course

It is essential that all classes meet for the full instructional time as scheduled.   A class cannot be shortened in length.   If a class session is cancelled for any reason, it must be rescheduled.

 

Course Policies

Classes will be held as scheduled below.  Those wishing to observe various holidays will be permitted to turn assigned work in the following week, with prior arrangement with the Professor.  Students will not be counted as present with respect to Class Participation grades.

 

 

This syllabus may be revised at the discretion of the instructor without the prior notification or consent of the student.  The schedule below presents an approximate expectation of course progress.  The instructor reserves the right to add, delete, or modify any weeks of this schedule.  The instructor also reserves the right to change the overall course grade weighting.  Any changes will be announced in class.

 

If you miss class, you are responsible for getting notes and assignments.  No late homework will be accepted, and missed quizzes will receive scores of  zero unless prior approval to miss class is obtained from the instructor.  Makeup exams may  be scheduled only in cases of extreme emergency and only if arranged in advance of the scheduled exam date.

 

 Use of electronic signaling, telecommunications, or recording devices during class during class hours in the classroom is strictly prohibited. Use of such devices during class will be grounds for your removal from class or for the device to be taken from you until the end of the class.  Failure to comply with the Professor's directives concerning the devices will be grounds for your removal from class and from this course. 

 

Students taking unauthorized/unscheduled breaks may face academic penalty or be dropped from the class roll.

 

Class Participation Grade is based on: Interaction with team members during problem solution sessions, voluntary contributions to current material being discussed in class, questions and answers that benefit the whole class, contributions to class during computer interactive sessions in class, helpful suggestions regarding statistical methods and procedures related to group and individual assignments.  Class attendance is necessary, but not sufficient for a Class Participation grade.

 

All assignments must be turned in at the beginning of class on the due date.  Only original hard copies using Excel Companion methods will be accepted for credit for the computer portion.  Incomplete, unstapled, late, and problems out of sequence assigned will not be accepted for credit. Excel Companion solutions must be accompanied with hand calculator solutions.  The hand calculator solutions may be handwritten.  With prior approval by the Professor, some late assignments may be accepted, but at a discounted grade. Problems turned with answers only will not be accepted for credit – full derivations must be shown for each problem.

Recommended calculator:    Texas Instruments  TI-30Xa

 

Weekly Schedule

Week 1

Topics:

*       Introduction and Data Collection – Ch. 1

*       Presenting Data in Tables and Charts – Ch. 2

*       Numerical Descriptive Measures – Ch. 3

*       Probability  (Just skim)    -  Ch. 4

*       Binomial and Poisson Distributions.  -  Ch. 5, Sec. 5.3,5.4 & Excel Companion pp. 211-215

Week 2

Topics:

*          

*       Normal Distribution   - Ch. 6

*       Problems Assigned in Week 1 – Use “Excel Companion” sections

*       Sampling Distributions– Ch. 7       

 

Week 3

Topics:

*       Review  Chs. 1-3, 5-7 for First Exam

*       Problems Assigned in Week  2 - Use “Excel Companion” sections 

*       FIRST EXAM  -   (25% of Grade) Covers Chs. 1-7, except Ch. 4

Week 4

Topics:

*       Confidence Interval Estimation - Ch. 8; Use Excel Companion

*       One  Sample Tests - Ch 9;  Use Methods Excel Companion

*        Two Sample Tests - Ch 10;  Use Excel Companion

*       Problems Assigned in Week 3 - Use “Excel Companion” sections

Week 5

Topics:

*       Analysis of Variance  -  Ch. 11;  Use Excel Companion

*       Problems Assigned in Week 4 - Use “Excel Companion” sections  

Week 6

Topics:     Review Chs. 8 – 11 – Chs. 8-11 covered on Exam 

           Problems Assigned in Week 5

           EXAM  -  (25)% of Grade)

Week 7

Topics:

*       Chi-Square and Nonparametric Tests  -  Ch. 12

*       Simple Linear Regression  -  Ch. 13

*       Multiple Regression  -  Ch 14 & 15 (Concepts only)

*       Problems Assigned in Week 6 - Use “Excel Companion” sections

Week 8

Topics:

*       Time Series Analysis  -  Ch. 16; Sec 15.1-15.4,

*       Decision Making – Ch. 17 ( Skim for concepts)

*       Quality and Productivity Mgt.  -  Ch. 18 (Discussion Only)

Week 9

Review Chapters since last Exam  -  Chs 12 – 18 on Final Exam

FINAL EXAM -  (30%)

 

Note:  Some voluntary Review Sessions may be scheduled.  Classes will be held on scheduled nights,    without  regard to holidays.

 Copyright © 2005 – 2008, School of Business & Technology, Webster University.  All rights reserved.

 

 

 

Author’s Homepage:       http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_levine_statsexcel_5/   then click on Chapter number  to obtain powerpoints, sample tests, other materials.

 

Dr. Westerfield’s Homepage:    http://mercury.webster.edu/westedon