Quantitative Analysis for Business
September 22, 2013
Dr. John Kwagyan
Introduction
Statistics is a tool used in businesses for planning and measuring the various activities a business is engaged in. Descriptive and inferential statistics are two different types of statistics used in a business. Statistics is the most widely used quantitative method in business. Statistics describes a set of data and then it draws a conclusion from the data such as an estimate, decision, or prediction.
Statistics In Business
Statistics is the science of data. It involves collecting, classifying, summarizing, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting numerical information (McClave, Benson, & Sincich, 2011). Studying statistics is important because it allows businesses and government to make decisions and draw conclusions. Some examples are gathering the statistical data for monthly unemployment figures, the failure rate of startup companies, and the proportion of female executives in a particular industry (McClave, Benson, & Sincich, 2011).
Types of Statistics
Descriptive statistics utilizes numerical and graphical methods to look for patterns in a data set, to summarize the information revealed in a data set, and to present the information in a convenient form (McClave, Benson, & Sincich, 2011). For example, a business could use descriptive data to take a measurement of the income levels between male and females in each job category. Inferential statistics utilizes sample data to make estimates, decisions, predictions, or other generalizations about a larger set of data. For example, a sample of shoe sizes in a elementary school could be used as data for a sneaker company attempting to attract the audience of elementary students.
Conclusion
Businesses use statistics for measurements and planning activities within the operations of a company. Descriptive and Inferential statistics are two different types
References: McClave, J. T., Benson, G. P., & Sincich, T. (2011). Statistics For Business and Economics (11th ed.). : Pearson.