BUS 308

http://www.homeworkmotivator.com/prod
ucts/bus-308?pagesize=12

BUS 308 STATISTICS FOR MANAGERS ENTIRE COURSE ( UPDATE COURSE SEPTEMBER
2013)
BUS 308 Week 1
DQ 1
Language.
Numbers and measurements are the language of business.. Organizations look at results, expenses, quality levels,
efficiencies, time, costs, etc. What measures does your department keep track of ? How are the measurescollected,
and how are they summarized/described? How are they used in making decisions? (Note: If you do not have a job
where measures are available to you, ask someone you know for some examples or conduct outside research on an
interest of yours.)
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two of your classmates by providing
recommendations for the measures being discussed.
DQ 2
Levels.
Managers and professionals often pay more attention to the levels of their measures (means, sums, etc.) than to the
variation in the data (the dispersion or the probability patterns/distributions that describe the data). For the
measures you identified in Discussion 1, why must dispersion be considered to truly understand what the data is
telling us about what we measure/track? How can we make decisions about outcomes and results if we do not

understand the consistency (variation) of the data? Does looking at the variation in the data give us a different
understanding of results?
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two classmates by commenting on the
situations that are being illustrated.
Week 1 Assignment
Problem Set Week One. All statistical calculations will use the Employee Salary Data set (in Appendix
section).
1. Using the Excel Analysis ToolPak function Descriptive Statistics, generate descriptive statistics for the salary data.
Which variables does this function not work properly for, even though we have some generated results?
2. Sort the data by either the variable G or GEN1 (into males and females) and find the mean and standard deviation
for each gender for the following variables: SAL, COMPA, AGE, SR, and RAISE. Use Descriptive for one gender and
the fx functions (AVERAGE and STDEV) for the other.
3. What is the probability distribution table for:
a. A randomly selected person being a male in a specific grade?
b. A randomly selected person being in a specific grade?
4. Find:
a. The z score for each male salary, based on the male salary distribution.
b. The z score for each female salary, based on the female salary distribution.
5. Repeat question 4 for COMPA for each gender.
6. What conclusions can you make about the issue of male and female pay equality? Are all of the results consistent?
If not, why not?
For additional assistance with these calculations reference the Recommended Resources for Week One.
Week 2
DQ 1

t-Tests.
In looking at your business, when and why would you want to use a one-sample mean test (either z or t) or a
twosample t-test? Create a null and alternate hypothesis for one of these issues. How would you use the results?
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two classmates by commenting on the
potential differences in the results and how that might affect decision making.
DQ 2
Variation.
Variation exists in virtually all parts of our lives. We often see variation in results in what we spend (utility costs each
month, food costs, business supplies, etc.). Consider the measures and data you use (in either your personal or job
activities). When are differences (between one time period and another, between different production lines, etc.)
between average or actual results important? How can you or your department decide whether or not the variation is
important? How could using a mean difference test help?
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two classmates and comment on the
use of the test.
Week 2 Assignment
Problem Set Week Two. Complete the problems below and submit your work in an Excel document. Be
sure to show all of your work and clearly label all calculations. All statistical calculations will use the Employee Salary
Data set (in Appendix section).
Problems
1. Is either that male or female salary equal to the overall mean salary? (Two hypotheses, one-sample tests needed.)
2. Are male and female average salaries statistically equal to each other?
3. Are the male and female compa average measures equal to each other?
4. If the salary and compa mean tests in questions 2 and 3 provide different equality results, which would be more
appropriate to use in answering the question about salary equity? Why?
5. What other information would you like to know to answer the question about salary equity between the genders?
Why?

Week 3
DQ 1
ANOVA.
In many ways, comparing multiple sample means is simply an extension of what we covered last week. What
situations exist where a multiple (more than two) group comparison would be appropriate? (Note: Situationscould
relate to your work, home life, social groups, etc.). Create a null and alternate hypothesis for one of these issues. What
would the results tell you?
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two classmates by commenting on
why you agree or disagree with the statistical test that your peers have described as appropriate in this scenario.
DQ 2
Effect Size
Several statistical tests have a way to measure effect size. What is this, and when might you want to use it in looking at
results from these tests on job related data?
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two of your classmates and
Week 3 Assignment
Problem Set Week Three. Complete the problems below and submit your work in an Excel document.
Be sure to show all of your work and clearly label all calculations. All statistical calculations will use the Employee
Salary Data set (in Appendix section).
1. Is the average salary the same for each of the grade levels? (Assume equal variance, and use the Analysis ToolPak
function ANOVA.) Set up the data input table/range to use as follows:
Put all of the salary values for each grade under the appropriate grade label.
ABCDEF
2. The factorial ANOVA with only two variables can be done with the Analysis ToolPak function two-way ANOVA with
replication. Set up a data input table like the following:
Grade

Gender A B C D E F
M
F
For each empty cell, randomly pick a male or female salary from each grade. Interpret the results. Are the average
salaries for each gender (listed as sample) equal? Are the average salaries for each grade (listed as column) equal?
3. Repeat question 2 for the compa values.
Grade
Gender A B C D E F
M
For each empty cell randomly pick a male or female compa from each grade. Interpret the results. Are the average
compas for each gender (listed as sample) equal? Are the average compas for each grade (listed as column) equal?
4. Pick any other variable you are interested in and do a simple two-way ANOVA without replication. Why did you
pick this variable, and what do the results show?
5. What are your conclusions about salary equity now?
Week 4
DQ 1
Confidence Intervals.
Earlier we discussed issues with looking at only a single measure to assess job-related results. Looking back at the
data examples you have provided in the previous discussion questions on this issue, how might adding confidence
intervals help managers understand results better?
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two classmates by commenting on
whether or not you think changing the confidence intervals will result in a different outcome. Explain if you agree or
disagree with the role of a confidence interval in the interpretation of the answer.
DQ 2

Chi-Square Tests.
Chi-square tests are great to show if distributions differ or if two variables interact in producing outcomes. What are
some examples of variables that you might want to check using the chi-square tests? What would these results tell
you?
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two classmates by commenting on
how this information might be used to make business decisions.
Week 4 Assignment
Problem Set Week Four. Lets look at some other factors that might influence pay. Complete the
problems below and submit your work in an Excel document. Be sure to show all of your work and clearly label all
calculations. All statistical calculations will use the Employee Salary Data set (in Appendix section).
1. Is the probability of having a graduate degree independent of the grade the employee is in?
2. Construct a 95% confidence interval on the mean service for each gender. Do they intersect?
3. Are males and females distributed across grades in a similar pattern?
4. Do 95% confidence intervals on the mean length of service for each gender intersect?
5. How do you interpret these results in light of our equity question?
Week 5
DQ 1
Correlation.
What results in your departments seem to be correlated or related to other activities? How could you verify this?
Create a null and alternate hypothesis for one of these issues. What are the managerial implications of a
correlation between these variables?
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two classmates by
explaining whether or not you think that there is a relationship between the variables discussed.

DQ 2
Regression.
At times we can generate a regression equation to explain outcomes. For example, an employees salary can often be
explained by their pay grade, appraisal rating, education level, etc. What variables might explain or predict an
outcome in your department or life? If you generated a regression equation, how would you interpret it and the
residuals from it?
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates posts. Respond to at least two classmates by commenting on
how this information might be used to make business decisions.
Week 5
Final Paper
The final assignment for this course is a Final Paper. The purpose of the Final Paper is for you to culminate the
learning achieved in the course by creating a sales report. The Final Paper represents 25% of the overall course grade.
Writing the Final Paper
Identify an issue in your life (work place, home, social organization, etc.) where a statistical analysis could be used to
help make a managerial decision. Develop a sampling plan, an appropriate set of hypotheses, and an inferential
statistical procedure to test them. You do not need to collect any data on this issue, but you will discuss what a
significant statistical test would mean and how you would relate this result to the real-world issue you identified. Your
paper should be three to five pages in length (excluding the cover and reference pages). In addition to the text, utilize
at least three sources to to support your points. No abstract is required. Use the following research plan format to
structure the paper:
Step 1: Identification of the problem
Describe what is known about the situation, why it is a concern, and what we do not know.
Step 2: Research Question
What exactly do we want our study to find out? This should not be phrased as a yes/no question.
Step 3: Data collection
What data is needed to answer the question, how will we collect it, and how will we decide how much we need?

Step 4: Data Analysis

Describe how you would analyze the data. Provide at least one hypothesis test (null and alternate) and an associated
statistical test.
Step 5: Results and Conclusions
Describe how you would interpret the results. For example, what would you recommend if your null hypothesis was
rejected and what would you do if the null was not rejected?
A quick example: Concern if gender is impacting employees pay. H0: Gender is not related to pay. H1: Gender is
related to pay. Approach: Multiple regression equation to see if gender impacts pay after considering the legal factors
of grade, appraisal, education, etc. If regression coefficient for gender is significant, will need to create residual list to
see which employees show excessive variation from predicted salaries when gender is not considered

http://www.homeworkmotivator.com/prod
uct/bus-308-statistics-for-managers-entirecourse-update-course-september-2013

BUS 308 WEEK 1 PROBLEM SET WEEK ONE

All statistical calculations will use the Employee Salary Data set (in Appendix section).
1. Using the Excel Analysis ToolPak or StatPlus:mac LE function descriptive statistics, generate and show the
descriptive statistics for each appropriate variable in the sample data set.
a. For which variables in the data set does this function not work correctly for? Why?
2. Sort the data by Gen or Gen 1 (into males and females) and find the mean and standard deviation for each gender
for the following variables:
a. sal, compa, age, sr and raise. Use either the descriptive stats function or the Fx functions (average and stdev).
3. What is the probability for a:
a. Randomly selected person being a male in grade E?
b. Randomly selected male being in grade E?
c. Why are the results different?

4. Find:
a. The z score for each male salary, based on only the male salaries.
b. The z score for each female salary, based on only the female salaries.
c. The z score for each female compa, based on only the female compa values
d. The z score for each male compa, based on only the male compa values.
e. What do the distributions and spread suggest about male and female salaries?
f. Why might we want to use compa to measure salaries between males and females?
5. Based on this sample, what conclusions can you make about the issue of male and female pay equality?
6. Are all of the results consistent with your conclusion? If not, why not?
http://www.homeworkmotivator.com/product/bus-308-week-1-problem-set-week-one

BUS 308 WEEK 2 PROBLEM SET WEEK TWO

Problem Set Week Two. Complete the problems below and submit your work in an Excel document. Be sure to show
all of your work and clearly label all calculations. All statistical calculations will use the Employee Salary Data Set.
Included in the Week Two tab of the Employee Salary Data Set are 2 one-sample t-tests comparing male and female
average salaries to the overall sample mean.
1. Based on our sample, how do you interpret the results and what do these results suggest about the population
means for male and female salaries?
2. Based on our sample results, perform a 2-sample t-test to see if the population male and female salaries could be
equal to each other.
3. Based on our sample results, can the male and female compas in the population be equal to each other? (Another 2sample t-test.)
4. What other information would you like to know to answer the question about salary equity between the genders?
Why?
5. If the salary and compa mean tests in questions 3 and 4 provide different results about male and female salary
equality, which would be more appropriate to use in answering the question about salary equity? Why? What are your
conclusions about equal pay at this point?
http://www.homeworkmotivator.com/product/bus-308-week-2-problem-set-week-two

BUS 308 WEEK 3 FINAL OUTLINE DRAFT

http://www.homeworkmotivator.com/product/bus-308-week-3-final-outline-draft

BUS 308 WEEK 3 PROBLEM SET WEEK THREE

Problem Set Week Three. Complete the problems below and submit your work in an Excel document. Be sure to show
all of your work and clearly label all calculations. All statistical calculations will use the Employee Salary Data set (in
Appendix section).
1.

Based on the sample data, can the average(mean) salary in the population be the same for each of the grade
levels? (Assume equal variance, and use the analysis toolpak or StatPlus:mac LE function ANOVA.) Set up
the input table/range to use as follows: Put all of the salary values for each grade under the appropriate
grade label. Be sure to include the null and alternate hypothesis along with the statistical test and result.
2. The table and analysis below demonstrate a 2-way ANOVA with replication. Please interpret the results.
3. Using our sample results, can we say that the compa values in the population are equal by grade and/or
gender, and are independent of each factor?
4. Pick any other variable you are interested in and do a simple 2-way ANOVA without replication. Why did
you pick this variable and what do the results show?
5. Using the results for this week, What are your conclusions about gender equal pay for equal work at this
point
http://www.homeworkmotivator.com/product/bus-308-week-3-problem-set-week-three

BUS 308 WEEK 4 PROBLEM SET WEEK FOUR

Problem Set Week Four. Lets look at some other factors that might influence pay. Complete the
problems below and submit your work in an Excel document. Be sure to show all of your work and clearly label all
calculations. All statistical calculations will use the Employee Salary Data set (in Appendix section).
1.

How do you interpret these results in light of our equity question? One question we might have is if the
distribution of graduate and undergraduate degrees independent of the grade the employee? (Note: this is

the same as asking if the degrees are distributed the same way.) Based on the analysis of our sample data
(shown below), what is your answer?
2. Using our sample data, we can construct a 95% confidence interval for the populations mean salary for
each gender. Interpret the results. How do they compare with the findings in the week 2 one sample t-test
outcomes (Question 1)?
3. Based on our sample data, can we conclude that males and females are distributed across grades in a
similar pattern within the population?
4. Using our sample data, construct a 95% confidence interval for the populations mean service difference
for each gender. Do they intersect or overlap? How do these results compare to the findings in week 2,
question 2?
5. How do you interpret these results in light of our question about equal pay for equal work?
http://www.homeworkmotivator.com/product/bus-308-week-4-problem-set-week-four

BUS 308 WEEK 5 FINAL PAPER

The final assignment for this course is a Final Paper. The purpose of the Final Paper is for you to culminate the
learning achieved in the course by creating a sales report. The Final Paper represents 25% of the overall course grade.
Writing the Final Paper
Identify an issue in your life (work place, home, social organization, etc.) where a statistical analysis could be used to
help make a managerial decision. Develop a sampling plan, an appropriate set of hypotheses, and an inferential
statistical procedure to test them. You do not need to collect any data on this issue, but you will discuss what a
significant statistical test would mean and how you would relate this result to the real-world issue you identified. Your
paper should be three to five pages in length (excluding the cover and reference pages). In addition to the text, utilize
at least three sources to to support your points. No abstract is required. Use the following research plan format to
structure the paper:
Step 1: Identification of the problem
Describe what is known about the situation, why it is a concern, and what we do not know.
Step 2: Research Question
What exactly do we want our study to find out? This should not be phrased as a yes/no question.
Step 3: Data collection
What data is needed to answer the question, how will we collect it, and how will we decide how much we need?
Step 4: Data Analysis
Describe how you would analyze the data. Provide at least one hypothesis test (null and alternate) and an associated
statistical test.
Step 5: Results and Conclusions

Describe how you would interpret the results. For example, what would you recommend if your null hypothesis was
rejected and what would you do if the null was not rejected?
A quick example: Concern if gender is impacting employees pay. H0: Gender is not related to pay. H1: Gender is
related to pay. Approach: Multiple regression equation to see if gender impacts pay after considering the legal factors
of grade, appraisal, education, etc. If regression coefficient for gender is significant, will need to create residual list to
see which employees show excessive variation from predicted salaries when gender is not considered

http://www.homeworkmotivator.com/product/bus-308-week-5-final-paper

HomeworkMotivator.com