This chapter introduces statistics and its uses in business. It discusses how statistics can help summarize data, draw conclusions from data, make forecasts, and improve business processes. Descriptive statistics are used to collect, summarize and present data, while inferential statistics allow conclusions to be drawn about a larger group based on a sample. The book is organized around these four uses of statistics and introduces key terms like population, sample, parameter and statistic.

1. Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-11-11-1Statistics for Managers using Microsoft Excel6th EditionGlobal EditionChapter 1Introduction

2. 1-2Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationLearning ObjectivesIn this chapter you learn:How business uses statisticsThe basic vocabulary of statisticsHow to use Microsoft Excel with this bookCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-2Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-2

3. 1-3Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationWhy Learn StatisticsCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-3Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-3Make better sense of the worldInternet articles / reportsMagazine articlesNewspaper articlesTelevision & radio reportsMake better business decisionsBusiness memosBusiness researchTechnical journalsTechnical reports

4. 1-4Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationIn Business, Statistics Has Many Important UsesCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-4Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-4To summarize business dataTo draw conclusions from business dataTo make reliable forecasts about business activitiesTo improve business processes

5. 1-5Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationTwo Different Branches Of Statistics Are Used In BusinessStatistics The branch of mathematics that transforms data into useful information for decision makers. Descriptive StatisticsCollecting, summarizing, presenting and analyzing dataInferential StatisticsUsing data collected from a small group to draw conclusions about a larger groupCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-5Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-5

6. 1-6Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationThese Two Branches Are Used In The Important ActivitiesTo summarize business dataDescriptive methods used to create charts & tablesTo draw conclusions from business dataInferential methods used to reach conclusions about a large group based on data from a smaller groupTo make reliable forecasts about business activitiesInferential methods used to develop, quantify, and improve the accuracy of predictive modelsTo improve business processesInvolves managerial approaches like Six SigmaCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-6Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-6

7. 1-7Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationDescriptive StatisticsCollect datae.g., SurveyPresent datae.g., Tables and graphsCharacterize datae.g., The sample meanCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-7Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-7

8. 1-8Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationInferential StatisticsEstimatione.g., Estimate the population mean weight using the sample mean weightHypothesis testinge.g., Test the claim that the population mean weight is 120 poundsDrawing conclusions about a large group of individuals based on a smaller group.Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-8Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-8

9. 1-9Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-9Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-9Basic Vocabulary of Statistics

10. 1-10Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-10Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-10Basic Vocabulary of Statistics

11. 1-11Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-11Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-11Population vs. SamplePopulationSampleMeasures used to describe the population are called parametersMeasures used to describe the sample are called statistics

12. 1-12Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationThis Book Is Organized To Show The Four Uses Of StatisticsCopyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-12Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education1-12To summarize business data (Chapters 2 & 3)To draw conclusions from business data (Chapters 4 – 12)To make reliable forecasts about business activities (Chapters 13 – 16)To improve business processes (Chapter 18)

13. 1-13Copyright ©2011 Pearson EducationIn this chapter, we haveIntroduced the basic vocabulary of statistics and the role of statistics in turning data into information to facilitate decision making

14. Examined the use of statistics to: