BUS308 Statistics for Managers   Discussions To participate in the following discussions, go to this week's Discussion link in the left navigation. Language Numbers and measurements...

BUS308
Statistics for Managers

Discussions
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week's Discussion link in the left navigation.

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 measures collected, 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.
   
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.