Office Hours

Office Hours: 8:15-10:00 a.m. MWF or by appointment

TEXT: Berenson, Levine, & Krehbiel Basic Business Statistics, 10thEdition, Prentice Hall, 2006.

PREREQUISITE: MATH 150,

CATALOG DESCRIPTION:

BUSA 231: Exploration of applications to managerial decision-making, claim validation, and research through scanning the environment, collecting data, designing and conduction analyses, and presenting and generalizing conclusions. Students engage in active learning to convert data into information through the use of probability, descriptive and inferential statistical procedures, simple modeling, and forecasting

Prerequisite(s): Busa 130 and Busa 160. Credits: 3

TIME: The class meets Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 - 2:15 pm.

PHILOSOPHY:

Statistics has application to all areas of business, and is useful in many of your college courses. I want you to be able to use statistics for accurate analysis of data, to gain insights that are only truly known from the correct application of appropriate statistical techniques, to be able to use statistics to argue persuasively, and to never be fooled by statistics that have been computed to mislead the naive and uninformed.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

General Competency: It is to be assumed throughout that all statistical methods can and will be accomplished using a personal computer (usually accessing Minitab software), with the rare exception of software limitations. However, using the definitional formula and working problem without the aid of a computer is the best method to truly understand how the concept works. The personal computer will also be used as a simulation tool to reinforce theoretical concepts through empirical investigation.

1. Comprehend and differentiate statistical theories and content

Descriptive statistics

Probability

Probability distributions, sampling, sampling distributions

Association

Hypothesis testing

Estimation

2. Develop problem-solving skills

Recognize the problem

Describe its nature

Analyze data needs

Obtain and organize relevant data

Evaluate various analytical avenues and select the most promising

Generate a solution

Logically present and defend the solution

3. Apply statistical analyses to functional areas of business

4. Develop abilities to advocate and persuade using statistical information

SKILLS/CONTENT KNOWLEDGE EXPECTED OF EACH STUDENT

Be aware of a wide range of applications of statistics and other quantitative methods in business.

Define statistics.

Differentiate between descriptive and inferential statistics.

Classify variables by level of measurement and understand why doing so is important.

Recognize the difference between grouped and ungrouped data.

Construct raw data and grouped data frequency distributions.

Construct a histogram, a frequency polygon, a frequency curve, an ogive, a pie chart, a dot plot, a box plot, and a stem-and-leaf plot.

Distinguish between measures of location, measures of variability, and measures of shape.

Understand conceptually the meanings of mean, median, mode, and range.

Compute mean, median, mode, range, variance, standard deviation, and mean absolute deviation on ungrouped data.

Differentiate between sample and population variance and sample and population standard deviation.

Understand the meaning of standard deviation as it is applied using the normal distribution.

Understand conceptually skewness and kurtosis.

Comprehend the different ways of assigning probability.

Utilize the different types of probability.

Select the appropriate law of probability to use in solving problems.

Solve problems using the laws of probability, including the additive law, the multiplicative law, and the law of conditional probability, particularly using

the relative frequency type probability.

Revise probabilities using Bayes' theorem.

Distinguish between qualitative, discrete quantitative variables and continuous quantitative variables.

Identify the type of statistical experiments that can be described by the binomial distribution and know how to work such problems.

Appreciate the importance of the normal distribution.

Recognize normal distribution problems and know how to solve such problems.

Determine when to use sampling instead of a census.

Distinguish between probability and nonprobability sampling.

Distinguish between random and nonrandom sampling.

Decide when and how to use various sampling techniques.

Understand the impact of the Central Limit Theorem on statistical analysis.

Use the sampling distribution of X-bar.

Know the difference between point and interval estimation.

Estimate a population mean from a sample mean.

Estimate a population proportion from a sample proportion.

Estimate a population variance from a sample variance.

Estimate the minimum sample size necessary to achieve given statistical goals. Understand the logic of hypothesis testing and know how to establish null and alternative hypotheses.

Understand Type I and Type II errors, effect size, and statistical power.

Test hypotheses about a single population mean and a single population proportion.

Compute a coefficient of correlation and interpret it.

Derive a simple regression equation; be able to interpret and apply it.

Learn how to revise probabilities with sample information (simple Bayesian analysis).

COMPUTER SKILLS

You will be expected to learn to use the Minitab statistical software with minimal guidance.

Assignment

Date	Subject
Tue Aug 27	Ch 1. Introduction
Th Aug 30	Ch 2. Presenting Data and Charts
Tue Sep 4	Ch 2. Presenting Data and Charts
Th Sep 7	Ch. 3 Descriptive Statistics	Highway Problem
Tue Sep 11	Continue Descriptive Statistics
Th Sep 13	Continue Descriptive Statistics
Tue Sep 18	Continue Descriptive Statistics
Th Sep 20	Ch. 4 Probability	Play Roulette
Tue Sep 25	Continue Probability
Th Sep 27	1^st Exam
Tue Oct 2	Continue Probaility
Th Oct 4	Ch. 5 Discrete Probability
Tue Oct 9	Continue Discrete Probability	Wheel of Fortune
Th Oct 11	Continue Discrete Probability
Tue Oct 16	Fall Break
Th Oct 18	Continuous Probability
Tue Oct 23	Continuous Probability
Th Oct 25	Ch. 6 Normal Curve	Survey Problem
Tue Oct 30	Continue Normal Curve
Th Nov 1	2nd Exam
Tue Nov 6	Continue on Sampling
Th Nov 8	Ch. 7 Sampling Distributions
Tue Nov 13	Continue on Sampling
Th Nov 15	Ch. 8 Interval Estimation
Tue Nov 20	Continue Interval Estimation
Th Nov 22	Ch 9. Hypothesis Testing
Tue Nov 27	Continue Hypothesis Testing
Th Nov 29	3^rd Exam
Tue Dec 4	Continue Hypothesis Testing
Th Dec 6	Last class
Tue Dec 11	FINAL EXAM

Grading

Activity	Value of Final Course Grade
Highway Safety Problem	5.00%
1st Exam	20.00%
Probability Problem	5.00%
2^nd Exam	20.00%
Survey Problem	5.00%
3^rd Exam	20.00%
Final Exam	25.00%

TOTAL	100.00%

Topical Coverage Grid

Topical Coverage	Covered
Ethical Issues	Yes
Global Issues	No
Political	No
Social	No
Legal	No
Regulatory	No
Environmental	No
Technological Issues	Yes
Diversity	No
Written Communication	Yes
Oral Communication	No

Attendance Policy

You are expected to attend all classes, more than three absences are considered excessive unless the absences have been authorized by the Provost’s Office. Therefore, at the discretion of the instructor, a maximum of three percent per absence (above three) penalty (off of the final course grade) may be assessed.

Grading Scale

A 93+ D+ 67-69

A- 90-92 D 63-66

B+ 87-89 D- 60-62

B 83-86 F BELOW 60

B- 80-82

C+ 77-79

C 73-76

C- 70-72

There will be NO make-up exams, except when an exam is missed due to an absence that has been authorized by the Provost’s Office. Failure to take an exam means a zero, if an emergency arises and I authorized absences, the final will count for the missed exam. Group Projects are due on or before the due date at the beginning of class. A grade of zero may be assigned if the work is not turned in on time.

Americans with Disabilities Act

"Samford University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students with disabilities who seek accommodations must make their request through Disability Support Services. This office is located in Counseling Services on the lower level of Pittman Hall, or can be reached by calling 726-4078 or 726-2105. A faculty member will grant reasonable accommodations only upon notification from the Disability Support Services."

If You Need Help: If you find that you are having particular difficulty with any of the material in this course:

1. DO NOT let it build up. The material is very cumulative in nature and you are likely to find yourself only falling further behind.

2. DO come and see me, either during the assigned office hours or by making an appointment. Be forewarned: I expect that you have read the appropriate sections of the textbook and reviewed your notes BEFORE you come to my office.

Etiquette:

Success in business requires that you understand and adhere to the corporate culture. This culture can vary from company to company and even within a company. Certain behavior can hinder one’s career or even end it with a company. The culture in this class requires that you remove your hat upon entering class. Cell phones will be turned off upon entering class. Taking a cell phone call during class is a serious violation of the corporate culture of this class and will not be tolerated.

Multitasking reduces your ability to concentrate and learn, it also disengages you from classroom discussions. In the classroom you should focus your attention on the lecture and or discussion. Surfing the web, reading and or writing emails are not appropriate. I have the ability to monitor your computer and you need to remember that any thing that you have on the screen of your computer is subject to display in the class. If you are typing or receiving emails I have the ability to project them to the big screen in the front of the classroom for all to read.

Academic Integrity

We value a campus community that encourages personal growth and academic development in an atmosphere of positive Christian influence. We affirm the necessity of academic standards of conduct that allow student and faculty to live and study together. We value the fair and efficient administration of these standards of conduct.

- Samford University Code of Values

No form of academic dishonesty will be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to cheating on exams, misrepresentation, presenting as your own the work of another, etc. Appropriate action will be taken against anybody caught violating Samford University's Academic Integrity Policy as it appears on page 96 of the student handbook. Please read and familiarize yourselves with this policy.