Names patient #infectious diseaseage1yes692yes353yes604yes555yes496

1. NamesPatient #Infectious
DiseaseAge1Yes692Yes353Yes604Yes555Yes496Yes607Yes72
8Yes709Yes7010Yes7311Yes6812Yes7213Yes7414Yes6915Yes
4616Yes4817Yes7118Yes5519Yes4920Yes6021Yes7222Yes702
3Yes7624Yes5625Yes5926Yes6427Yes7128Yes6929Yes7130Ye
s6131Yes7032Yes5533Yes4534Yes6935Yes5436Yes4837Yes60
38Yes6139Yes5040Yes5941Yes6042Yes6243Yes6344Yes5345Y
es6446Yes5047Yes6948Yes5249Yes6850Yes7151Yes6952Yes5
953Yes5854Yes6955Yes6556Yes6157Yes5958Yes7159Yes7160
Yes6861Yes4962Yes7363Yes6464Yes8165Yes71
The relationship between training outsourcing and employee
commitment to organization
Sanghamitra Chaudhuria* and Kenneth R. Bartlettb
aTraining Administration, State of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN,
USA; bDepartment of Organizational
Leadership, Policy, and Development, University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN, USA
(Received 5 March 2013; accepted 30 December 2013)
In many countries, the human resource practice of training
outsourcing has emerged as
one of the fastest growing segments of the broader business
process outsourcing
industry. In spite of the growing popularity in professional
practice, training outsour-
cing continues to be subjected to critical review and ongoing
debate with most
attention focused on the decision to ‘outsource’ or ‘not to

2. outsource’. However,
there exists a shortage of research on training outsourcing as a
human resource
development (HRD) practice and the potential relationships
with desired organizational
outcomes including employee commitment. This exploratory
international study
extends previous research that has examined the relationship
between training and
organizational commitment by focusing exclusively on
outsourced training. Data were
collected from information technology firms in two countries:
India and the United
States. Results showed positive relationships between specific
measures of employee
perceptions of quality, usefulness and supervisor support for
outsourced training with
organizational commitment. Recommendations are made for
future research as well as
for professional practice to guide HRD practitioners invol ved in
the rapidly growing
global practice of training outsourcing.
Keywords: human resource development; training outsourcing;
organizational com-
mitment; employee attitudes; social exchange theory
Over the past two decades a number of global environme ntal
shifts have resulted in the
emergence of several new human resource (HR) practices within
organizations operating
internationally. Numerous previous studies have shown that HR
practices and specifically
human resource development (HRD) influence organizational
performance both directly
and indirectly through individual work-related attitudes, such as

3. commitment, motivation
and satisfaction (Guest 1997, 1999; Huselid 1995; Joo and Shim
2010; Kooij et al. 2010).
In order to remain competitive organizatio ns need to adopt HR
practices that continue to
foster performance. There is a constant need to develop and
implement improved HR
practices with a corresponding imperative for research to
understand the relationship of
these practices on desired organizatio nal outcomes. This is even
more pressing for
international organizations in the dynamic information
technology (IT) industry where
the rate and impact of change, pressures for performance and
the need for heavy invest-
ment in HRD are noted (Kuo et al. 2010; Kuruvilla and
Ranganathan 2010). Kooij et al.
(2010) suggested that high commitment HR practices, including
training and develop-
ment, aim to elicit a strong bond of attachment to the
organization, leading to improved
job performance and other positive outcomes. Training is often
singled out as one of the
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Human Resource Development International, 2014
Vol. 17, No. 2, 145–163,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2014.886444
© 2014 Taylor & Francis
mailto:[email protected]
most important investments for enhancing intellectual capital
vital for the organization’s

4. competitive sustainability (Bulut and Culha 2010). The benefits
of training are not limited
to improved performance with other advantages such as
empowerment, self-efficacy,
effectiveness and profitability confirmed by research (Aguinis
and Kraiger 2009).
In more recent years organizations have sought to confirm if
desired outcomes result
from the adoption of new approaches to the management and
development of HRs. One
practice drawing a great deal of attention from HR scholars and
practitioners is out-
sourcing. In simple terms, Perry (1997) defined outsourcing as
turning over to another
organization’s employees to carry out tasks previously
performed by one’s own employ-
ees. Feeney, Lacity, and Wilcox (2005) suggested that
outsourcing has now become a
megatrend in many industries.
Organizations have outsourced core and non-core human
resource management
(HRM) and HRD activities (Babcock 2004; Greer, Youngblood,
and Gray 1999), although
this has been more recent compared to the outsourcing of IT,
sales and marketing, and
facility operation and maintenance. The primary reason stated
for this later adoption was
that HR was often considered too sensitive to be outsourced
(Shen 2005). Cook (1999)
defined outsourcing of HR activity as ‘having a third-party
service provider or vendor
furnish, on an ongoing basis, the administration of an HR
activity that would normally be
performed in-house’ (4). Research has shown that 93% of HR

5. departments outsourced at
least some of their work (Greer, Youngblood, and Gray 1999;
Gurchiek 2005). Although
more contemporary research has found that many ongoing
outsourcing contacts are
discontinued with either the selection of a different vendor or
bringing the work back-
in-house, referred to as back sourcing (Whitten, Chakrabarty,
and Wakefield 2010).
Training and development is a HR functional area in which
outsourcing is prevalent
(Anderson 2008; Bassi, Cheney, and Van Buren 1997; Chiang,
Chow, and Birtch 2010);
yet, there are few studies related to outcomes of HRD
outsourcing.
Training and development outsourcing has been viewed as an
effective management
strategy, especially in organizations operating in highly
competitive international business
environments. Although evidence has suggested that the amount
of training and develop-
ment outsourcing may be increasing (Babcock 2004), there is
considerable variation in
how firms have utilized this HR practice (Csoko 1995). While
some firms have achieved
positive outcomes from outsourcing training, others report that
they failed miserably
(Baker 1996). Shih and Chiang (2011) recently concluded that
scholars appear to hold
differing opinions of the effects of training outsourcing.
Two competing perspectives dominate existing studies on
training outsourcing. The
first view considers training outsourcing as a value-creating
activity that may bring cost

6. savings and operational flexibility (Cooke, Shen, and McBride
2005; Klass, Mc Clendon,
and Gainey 2001), whereas the second perspective believes that
some training activities
should not be outsourced as it leads to declining innovation
(Kotabe 1992) and reduced
performance (Gilley and Rasheed 2000). Ongoing debate over
the most appropriate
perspective to explain training outsourcing and inconclusive
research findings may result
in ineffective outsourced HRD practices.
Research has focused on making the right outsourcing decisions
(Sanders et al. 2007)
in order for the relationship between the organization and the
vendor to continue.
Simmonds and Gibson (2008) provided a four-step outsourcing
framework to ensure
success by making the right decision in terms of what to
outsource (prioritize), engaging
the right providers (select) and putting measures in place to
build (trust) and maintain a
strong, trusting, effective relationship (monitor). The
importance of trust has specifically
gained much attention for maintaining and managing
relationship between the suppliers
146 S. Chaudhuri and K.R. Bartlett
and the parent organization (Gainey and Klass 2005; Leimbach
2005) in order for the
relationship to continue.
An additional and often overlooked area of debate in the

7. literature relates to percep-
tions towards outsourced training. Employers appear to have
diverse and perhaps con-
flicting opinions regarding the benefits of in-house and
outsourced training. There is
evidence that employers increasingly perceive that the use of
outside service providers is
more efficient and less expensive than maintaining a full-
service in-house training and
development facility and programme (Galanaki and
Papalexandris 2007). Furthermore,
some employers believe that outsourced training providers have
knowledge and compe-
tencies that may not exist in-house (Galanaki and Papalexandris
2007). However, the
perception of employees towards outsourced training has
received little research.
From the employee perspective, training outsourcing may be
viewed as a change in
strategy and process for learning and development activities
that may lead to considerable
shifts in work processes, control and organizational design
(Lever 2002), which in turn
can potentially impact employee attitudes. Stroh and Treehuboff
(2003) suggested that
outsourcing, regardless if considered successful or failed, can
have a considerable influ-
ence on employee morale. Some have argued that outsourcing
does not nurture employee
engagement with reduced feelings of belongingness towards the
organization often the
result (Punia and Sharma 2008). Therefore, if organizations
want to utilize training
outsourcing effectively, a greater understanding is needed on
the potential influence it

8. may have on employee attitudes. Previous research has
highlighted that individual work-
related outcomes are impacted by employee perceptions of HR
practices, and these may
differ significantly from managerial perceptions (Guest 1999;
Huselid 1995). This study
investigated the outcomes of training outsourcing as perceived
by employees, and more
specifically how training outsourcing may be related to
employee attitudes, particularly
organizational commitment.
Research on organizational commitment has attracted
significant attention in the past
five decades. International interest in organizational
commitment has increased as a result
of globalization, greater cultural diversity in the workplace, and
as more is understood of
the relationship with various measures of performance (Kamarul
and Raida 2003; Meyer
et al. 2012; Riketta 2002). A paradox unfolding within today’s
global workforce has been
noted in that organizations increasingly rely on committed
employees while they simulta-
neously introduce many changes that have the potential to
reduce commitment levels
(Meyer and Parfyonova 2010). Examples of organizatio nal
change strategies are often
related to reduced commitment, including downsizing,
restructuring, mergers and acquisi-
tions and outsourcing (Dierendonck and Jacobs 2012; Sverke,
Hellgren, and Näswall
2002).
The study of commitment aims to understand the multiple forms
of psychological

9. attachments or bonds that individuals develop in the workplace
(Klein, Molloy, and
Brinsfield 2012). Organizational commitment describes the
various types of attachment
or psychological links that a worker may feel towards their
employing organization (van
Knippenberg and Sleebos 2006). Perhaps the most significant
advancement in the
definition and conceptualization of organizational commitment
resulted from the work
of Meyer and Allen (1991). They viewed commitment as a
‘psychological state that
characterizes the employee’s relationship with the organization,
and its implications for
the decision to continue membership with the organization’
(67). They delineated the
construct into three dimensions of commitment: affective,
continuance and normative;
although several have raised questions with the theoretical
uniqueness of continuance
commitment resulting in numerous studies selecting only the
affective and normative
Human Resource Development International 147
dimension as the prime indicators of organizational commitment
(Kuvaas 2006;
Solinger, van Olffen, and Roe 2008).
Previous research has shown that several aspects of training
activity including access
to training, perceived benefits of training and organizational
support for learning are
related to organizational commitment (Ahmed and Bakar 2003;

10. Bartlett 2001; Bartlett
and Kang 2004; Bulut and Culha 2010; Ehrhardt et al. 2011).
Perceived organizational
support towards training has also been found to be correlated
positively with organiza-
tional commitment (Eisenberger, Fasolo, and Davis-LaMastro
1990; Shore and Wayne
1993). Furthermore, employees who received greater amounts of
training relevant and
useful to their jobs perceived the work environment to be more
supportive (Narayan and
Steele-Johnson 2007). Research conducted in international
context has also supported a
relationship with HRD and organizational commitment. Joo and
Shim (2010) reported in
their study on Korean employees that organizational learning
culture has a significant
influence on employee commitment and their turnover
intentions. Given a growing
concern on the desire for higher levels of employee
commitment, a greater understanding
is also needed on employees’ perceptions of training
outsourcing and the potential
relationship to organizational commitment that may exist
between the frequency of
participation in outsourced training, quality of outsourced
training, usefulness and rele-
vance of outsourced training, customization of outsourced
training and supervisory sup-
port towards outsourced training.
Problem statement
In the academic literature, training outsourcing has received
little research attention with
most previous studies primarily concentrated on broadly

11. examining the organizational
benefits and risks of HR outsourcing in general. The few studies
on training outsourcing
have tended to focus on the relationship between firms and
vendors (Gainey and Klass
2003, 2005). Since employees are always at the receiving end of
outsourced training, it is
noteworthy that the employee perspective on the impact of
outsourcing on employment
relations has usually been overlooked in existing studies
(Kessler, Coyle-Shapiro, and
Purcell 1999).
While there is much rhetoric on the possible impact of trai ning
outsourcing on
workplace attitudes (Shih and Chiang 2011), there is a lack of
research that explores
possible relationships between outsourced training and
employee attitudes. Some who
advocate for training outsourcing highlight reduced costs,
improved effectiveness and
efficiency in training delivery and corresponding benefits to
employee satisfaction and
loyalty (Galanaki, Bourantas, and Papalexandris 2008).
Conversely, others warn that
training outsourcing undermines core values and control of
HRD, resulting in reduced
employee morale (Belcourt 2006; Cooke, Shen, and McBride
2005). This overall shortage
of research and conflicting conclusion on the nature of the
relationship of outsourcing
training and workplace attitudes is problematic as organizati ons
are confronted by diver-
gent opinions and unsubstantiated claims on how employees
perceive outsourcing of
training activities. Additionally, there is a very limited body of

12. literature that looks into
the organizational commitment of software professionals (Paul
and Anantharaman 2004).
This is concerning as the IT services sector is noted for high
rates of turnover (Gupta
2001; Kuruvilla and Ranganathan 2010; Kuo et al. 2010). At the
same time outsourcing of
training services within the IT sector is an organizational
learning strategy often consid-
ered to provide employees with opportunities to upgrade their
skills on a continuous basis
in order to adapt and adopt new technology (Paul and
Anantharaman 2004). The IT
148 S. Chaudhuri and K.R. Bartlett
industry and international firms that operate in this sector were
therefore selected as an
appropriate context to examine the possible relationship
between outsourced training and
employee commitment. The knowledge gained from this
exploratory study could prove
useful for firms considering outsourcing of training functions
and more specifically for
those organizations already engaged in outsourcing training to
better understand how
employees perceive this practice.
Theoretical framework
Transaction cost economics (Williamson 1996) and the
resource-based view of the firm
(Barney 1991) have traditionally been used as underlying
theoretical perspectives to

13. explain outsourcing (e.g. Klass 2003; Klass, Mc Clendon, and
Gainey 2001; Lever
2002). These theories have been most frequently used in prior
research to explore the
initial outsourcing decision (Klass, Mc Clendon, and Gainey
1999, 2001; Lepak, Bartol,
and Gardner 2004). Transaction cost economics (Williamson
1996) conveys the idea
whether services or goods should be made internally or
procured from outside based on
the relative costs of production and transaction, whereas
resource-based view of the firm
(Barney 1991) offers the perspective that in order to remain
competitive, resources
should be developed in-house. However, given the focus of this
research on the post-
decision implantation and the relationship between perceptions
of training outsourcing
and organizational commitment, an alternative theoretical
perspective was selected.
Social exchange theory (Blau 1964) and psychological contract
theory (Rousseau
1990) are potentially more appropriate for examining employee
attitudes in the context
of a changed employment contract resulting from the
implementation of an outsourcing
HR strategy.
Many researchers have suggested that positive and beneficial
actions by employers
result in the establishment of high-quality mutual exchange
relationships, which, in turn,
obligate employees to reciprocate (Konovsky and Pugh 1994;
Shore and Wayne 1993).
Conversely, a shift in the terms of the employment relationship
by the employer is likely

14. to result in changed employee perceptions that may lead to a
breach in the perceived
reciprocal relationship (Robinson 1996). In the most general
terms, training outsourcing
means that an employer is hiring a third-party service provider
or a vendor to deliver
training activities that would normally be provided in-house
(Cook 1999). If the training
vendor provides excellent service, the employee may see this as
an investment or
improvement in the quality of the employment relationship.
Applying the lens of social
exchange theory suggests that outsourced training may increase
employees’ level of
commitment towards an organization. By contrast, if the vendor
fails in meeting employee
training expectations, the quality of the employment
relationship may decline with
associated levels of lower commitment.
One additional aspect of social exchange that might
theoretically relate to employee
commitment following training outsourcing occurs when the
exchange relationship is
perceived to no longer be balanced. Tsui et al. (1997) identified
this situation occurring
when high performance expectations are held by employers
while they make minimal
investments in their employees. This may happen when firms
hire specialized external
trainers from outside organizations to provide quality and
relevant training which employ-
ees perceive as an investment in their development with
subsequent reciprocated higher
levels of commitment. In contrast, when firms use outside
vendors for all types of training

15. and fail to monitor the quality and relevance of outsourced
training, employees may feel a
reduced level of commitment towards their organization.
Moreover, the fact that training
Human Resource Development International 149
is outsourced may result in increased or decreased frequency of
training events which may
also influence levels of employee commitment.
Research questions and hypotheses
The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of
employee perceptions
regarding outsourced training and the possible relationship with
organizational commit-
ment. The focus of this study was on the employees who
participated in outsourced
training during the last one year. The overarching research
question was: ‘is there a
relationship between outsourced training and employee
organizational commitment?’
This was further refined into five research hypotheses.
Hypothesis development
For the purpose of this study it was necessary to consider key
aspects of HRD participa-
tion that were most likely related to employee organizational
commitment. The first
variable was frequency of participation in outsourced training.
Participation in training
events is only possible when employees perceive that adequate

16. opportunities for training
are available. Previous studies have shown that higher levels of
HRD participation have a
strong to moderate relationship with different forms of
commitment (Ahmed and Bakar
2003; Bartlett 2001; Newman, Thanacoody, and Hui 2011).
Applying the lens of social exchange theory, it can be argued
that availability of
training can have considerable impact on employee commitment
as it supports an
organizational climate of development. Higher levels of
availability and participation in
training are likely to produce higher levels of organizational
commitment from employ-
ees. Prior studies have measured availability of training by
frequency of participation or
number of training programmes attended (Bartlett 2001;
Tharenou 1997). Companies
provide or support participation in training to ensure that
employees have the needed
skills and knowledge to perform. Previous research has
consistently shown that
employees view firm-sponsored learning as an investment
(Backes-Gellner and Tuor
2010 ) with a range of workplace attitudes linked to the overall
perceptions of organiza-
tional awareness, support and provision of needed training and
development for the
employees to perform their current job and enhance future
career opportunities
(Chambel and Sobral 2011).
Based on existing literature and application of the reciprocal
investment perspective
embedded in social exchange theory, it was thought that

17. positive relationships between
outsourced training and affective and normative commitment
would exist. Consequently
the following hypotheses were developed.
Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship between
frequency of participation in
outsourced training and affective and normative commitment.
A wide variety of constructs related to training and development
have been examined in
studies that have explored links between HRD and
organizational commitment (Ahmed
and Bakar 2003; Bartlett 2001; Ehrhardt et al. 2011; Newman,
Thanacoody, and Hui
2011). Since the key construct of interest for this study was
outsourced training, only
those aspects of training most relevant to HRD provided by
external vendors were
examined. Perceptions that employees may hold towards
outsourced training were divided
into four operational measures including perceptions of the
quality of outsourced training,
150 S. Chaudhuri and K.R. Bartlett
usefulness and relevance of outsourced training, customization
of outsourced training and
supervisory support towards outsourced training.
Galanaki, Bourantas, and Papalexandris (2008) found that the
quality of outsourced
training was most affected by the overall availability of training
services in the external

18. market. Shaw and Fairhurst (1997) reported that maintaining
service quality in outsourced
training was one of the greatest problems encountered by client
firms. Recent research
found that the relationship between training and organizational
commitment can be
strengthened if employees perceive specific training activity as
relevant and high quality
in nature (Ehrhardt et al. 2011). From an employee’s
perspective, if the quality of training
provided by the outsourced vendor is high, the employee could
perceive this as an
investment by the employer in securing the right vendor and,
therefore, the employee
could be more committed to the organization. This leads to the
following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: There is a positive relationship between employee
perceptions towards
the quality of outsourced training and affective and normative
commitment.
Previous studies have suggested that employees may have
opposing views on the per-
ceived usefulness and relevance of outsourced training (Cooke,
Shen, and McBride 2005).
One possible scenario that could result is when employees
perceive training to be less
relevant or useful if their organization is purchasing off-the-
shelf training from external
vendors as compared to in-house-designed and delivered
training. Alternatively, employ-
ees may perceive an external vendor as being able to provide
the latest training materials
and delivery options that exceed the perceived usefulness and
relevance of in-house

19. training. Therefore, if the outsourced training is highly relevant
and useful, employees
may perceive this as an investment by the employer, and as a
result they could be more
committed to the organization. This leads to the following
hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between employee
perceptions towards
usefulness and relevance of outsourced training and affective
and normative
commitment.
The third aspect of training examined in this study was
employees’ perceptions towards
customization of outsourced training. Customization of training
reflects the degree to
which an external vendor makes an investment in time and
money to deliver training to
meet the unique needs of each individual firm (Gainey and
Klass 2003). If training is
adapted and individually tailored to meet the organization’s
strategic learning needs and
culture, employees may feel greater commitment and have more
motivation to participate
in training. In contrast, organizations should be cautious of
overrelying on ‘off-the-shelf’
training solutions that may offer cost advantages but could fail
to meet the specific
learning needs of the intended audience (Kaeter 1995; Sanders
et al. 2007). Paul and
Anantharaman (2004) found that when customized learning and
training opportunities
were made available for employees, it created a sense of
attachment towards the organiza-
tion. This leads to the following hypothesis:

20. Hypothesis 4: There is a positive relationship between employee
perceptions towards
customization of outsourced training and affective and
normative commitment.
The final aspect of training examined considered perceptions
towards supervisory support
for outsourced training. Tracey and Tews (2005) defined
supervisory support as the extent
Human Resource Development International 151
to which supervisors encouraged training participation,
knowledge acquisition and at the
same time provided ample recognition to employees involved in
these activities. Previous
studies have shown supervisory support to be instrumental in
fostering the transfer of
newly acquired knowledge and learned skills to workplace
(Kozlowski and Huts 1987;
Nijman et al. 2004). Supervisory support towards training has
also been found to have
significant relationships to a range of outcome variables (Noe
and Wilk 1993) including
employee satisfaction with supervisors, improved commitment
and reduced turnover
(Dawley, Andrews, and Bucklew 2008; Eisenberger, Fasolo, and
Davis-LaMastro
1990). Outsourced training could be expensive for high-
performing work environments
in dynamic industries and jobs, such as those in IT where
external training may offer
access to cutting-edge knowledge on latest technologies and

21. state-of-the-art HRD delivery
options. If the supervisor is invested and believes that
outsourced training would enhance
job performance and career advancement, they may actively
encourage employees to
attend training from external training providers. This could
enhance the commitment of
employees who attend the training because of strong supportive
supervisor and recogni-
tion that the best training may not be offered in-house. This
suggests that supervisory
support could be an important feature for employee
participation in outsourced training.
Therefore, the following hypothesis was examined.
Hypothesis 5: There is a positive relationship between employee
perceptions towards
supervisory support for outsourced training and affective and
normative commitment.
Method and procedure
This section provides a description of the research methods for
this study with details on
the sample, instrumentation and procedures for data analysis.
As training outsourcing was a key construct of interest in this
study, the target
population only included those organizations engaged in
outsourcing at least some of
their HRD training activities. Previous research has identified
that outsourced training
activity occurs at higher levels in global firms, with the IT
industry often noted as a heavy
user of external training vendors (Lacity, Khan, and Willcocks
2009; Niosi and Tschang

22. 2009). Therefore, the decision was made to limit this study to
global IT firms actively
engaged in training outsourcing. Personal contacts were used to
identify firms meeting the
selection criteria and two organizations agreed to participate.
The first organization was a well-established firm and market
leader in software
consulting based in the United States, and the second
organization was a relatively
newer-established firm headquartered and operating primarily in
India. The US-based
organization employed around 120,000 people worldwide,
operated in 145 countries and
had over 370,000 customers, including all 100 firms listed on
the Fortune 100. The
second organization was a software consulting firm based in
India with approximately
1000 employees. Established in 1998, the organization was
well-known for core compe-
tencies in the areas of e-governance and energy sector IT
systems integration. Their major
customers include the multinational and local firms, government
agencies in both India
and other nations, and non-governmental organizations
operating throughout India and
other developing nations.
Both firms reported a variety of experiences with outsourcing
training. Each firm
encouraged supervisors to …
STA3215 Advanced Statistics and Analytics – Option 2
Introduction:
As a healthcare professional, you will work to improve and
maintain the health of individuals, families, and communities in

23. various settings. Basic statistical analysis can be used to gain
an understanding of current problems. Understanding the
current situation is the first step in discovering where an
opportunity for improvement exists. This course project will
assist you in applying basic statistical principles to a fictional
scenario in order to impact the health and wellbeing of the
clients being served.
This assignment will be completed in phases throughout the
quarter. As you gain additional knowledge through the didactic
portion of this course, you will be able to apply your new
knowledge to this project. You will receive formative feedback
from your instructor on each submission. The final project will
be due on week 5.
Scenario:
You are currently working at NCLEX Memorial Hospital in the
Infectious Diseases Unit. Over the past few days, you have
noticed an increase in patients admitted with a particular
infectious disease. You believe that the ages of these patients
play a critical role in the method used to treat the patients. You
decide to speak to your manager and together you work to use
statistical analysis to look more closely at the ages of these
patients. You do some research and put together a spreadsheet
of the data that contains the following information:
· Client number
· Infection Disease Status
· Age of the patient
You need the preliminary findings immediately so that you can
start treating these patients. So let’s get to work!!!!
Background information on the Data:
The data set consists of 65 patients that have the infectious
disease with ages ranging from 35 years of age to 81 years of
age for NCLEX Memorial Hospital. Remember this assignment
will be completed over the duration of the course.

24. In this module you will begin working on Phase 2 of your
course project. Using the same data set and variables for your
selected topic, add the following information to your analysis:
1. Discuss the importance of constructing confidence intervals
for the population mean.
· What are confidence intervals?
· What is a point estimate?
· What is the best point estimate for the population mean?
Explain.
· Why do we need confidence intervals?
2. Based on your selected topic, evaluate the following:
· Find the best point estimate of the population mean.
· Construct a 95% confidence interval for the population mean.
Assume that your data is normally distributed and σ, the
population standard deviation, is unknown.
· Please show your work for the construction of this confidence
interval and be sure to use the Equation Editor to format your
equations.
· Write a statement that correctly interprets the confidence
interval in context of your selected topic.
3. Based on your selected topic, evaluate the following:
· Find the best point estimate of the population mean.
· Construct a 99% confidence interval for the population mean.
Assume that your data is normally distributed and σ, the
population standard deviation, is unknown.
· Please show your work for the construction of this confidence
interval and be sure to use the Equation Editor to format your
equations.
· Write a statement that correctly interprets the confidence
interval in context of your selected topic.
4. Compare and contrast your findings for the 95% and 99%
confidence interval.
· Did you notice any changes in your interval estimate? Expl ain.
· What conclusion(s) can be drawn about your interval estimates
when the confidence level is increased? Explain.

25. In this module you will begin working on Phase 3 of your
course project. Using the same data set and variables for your
selected topic, add the following information to your analysis:
1. Discuss the process for hypothesis testing.
· Discuss the 8 steps of hypothesis testing?
· When performing the 8 steps for hypothesis testing, which
method do you prefer; P-Value method or Critical Value
method? Why?
2. Perform the hypothesis test.
· If you selected Option 1:
· Original Claim: The average salary for all jobs in Minnesota is
less than $65,000.
· Test the claim using α = 0.05 and assume your data is
normally distributed and σ, the population standard deviation, is
unknown.
· If you selected Option 2:
· Original Claim: The average age of all patients admitted to the
hospital with infectious diseases is less than 65 years of age.
· Test the claim using α = 0.05 and assume your data is
normally distributed and σ, the population standard deviation, is
unknown.
· Based on your selected topic, answer the following:
3. Write the null and alternative hypothesis symbolically and
identify which hypothesis is the claim.
3. Is the test two-tailed, left-tailed, or right-tailed? Explain.
3. Which test statistic will you use for your hypothesis test; z-
test or t-test? Explain.
3. What is the value of the test-statistic? What is the P-value?
3. What is the critical value?

26. 3. What is your decision; reject the null or do not reject the
null?
3. Explain why you made your decision including the results for
your p-value method or the critical value method.
3. State the final conclusion in non-technical terms.
Please show your work for the construction of the test-statistic
and explain your process for finding the p-value and critical
value. Be sure to use the Equation Editor to format your
equations.