Ebook: Basic Business Statistics: A Casebook

Preface Statistics is seldom the most eagerly anticipated course of a business student. It typically has the reputation of being a boring, complicated, and confusing mix of mathematical formulas and computers. Our goal in writing this casebook and the companion volume (Business Analysis Using Regression) was to change that impression by showing how statistics yields insights and answers interesting business questions. Rather than dwell on underlying formulas, we show how to use statistics to answer questions. Each case study begins with a business question and concludes with an answer to that question. Formulas appear only as needed to address the questions, and we focus on the insights into the problem provided by the mathematics. The mathematics serves a purpose. The material in this casebook is organized into 11 "classes" of related case studies that develop a single, key idea of statistics. The analysis of data using statistics is seldom very straightforward, and each analysis has many nuances. Part of the appeal of statistics is this richness, this blending of substantive theories and mathematics. For newcomers, however, this blend is too rich, and they are easily overwhelmed and unable to sort out the important ideas from nuances. Although later cases in these notes suggest this complexity, we do not begin that way.

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This book provides a set of case studies that can supplement any business statistics text. Developed at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, it is used for the beginning statistics course for MBA students. The casebook provides the latest in data analysis techniques, and includes a discussion of JMP and Minitab commands.

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This book provides a set of case studies that can supplement any business statistics text. Developed at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, it is used for the beginning statistics course for MBA students. The casebook provides the latest in data analysis techniques, and includes a discussion of JMP and Minitab commands.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Overview and Foundations....Pages 1-4
Statistical Summaries of Data....Pages 5-39
Sources of Variation....Pages 41-63
Standard Error....Pages 65-92
Confidence Intervals....Pages 93-106
Sampling....Pages 107-126
Making Decisions....Pages 127-153
Designing Tests for Better Comparisons....Pages 155-168
Confounding Effects in Tests: A Case Study....Pages 169-184
Covariance, Correlation, and Portfolios....Pages 185-212
A Preview of Regression....Pages 213-226
Back Matter....Pages 227-244

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This book provides a set of case studies that can supplement any business statistics text. Developed at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, it is used for the beginning statistics course for MBA students. The casebook provides the latest in data analysis techniques, and includes a discussion of JMP and Minitab commands.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Overview and Foundations....Pages 1-4
Statistical Summaries of Data....Pages 5-39
Sources of Variation....Pages 41-63
Standard Error....Pages 65-92
Confidence Intervals....Pages 93-106
Sampling....Pages 107-126
Making Decisions....Pages 127-153
Designing Tests for Better Comparisons....Pages 155-168
Confounding Effects in Tests: A Case Study....Pages 169-184
Covariance, Correlation, and Portfolios....Pages 185-212
A Preview of Regression....Pages 213-226
Back Matter....Pages 227-244
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