MBA 627 - Applied Business Statistics
Course Meets:
face-to-face
Instructor:
TBD
Office: TBD
Phone: TBD
Email: TBD
Office Hours:
Schedule TBD
Additional Office Hours by Appointment
It is also possible to schedule online chat appointments.
I. Rationale/Purpose
The purpose of the course is twofold:
1. to prepare students to appreciate the role statistics plays in data analysis and decision
making in various business environments; and
2. to familiarize students with the probability and statistical tools, used in the rest of the
MBA program, for interpreting data and making predictions.
II. Course Aims and Objectives:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Describe a set of data using histograms, scatter diagrams and summary statistics and
understand basic probability and distributions.
2. Compute statistics from sample data to support confidence interval estimation,
hypothesis testing and regression analysis.
3. Infer the statistical precision of insights derived from confidence interval estimation,
hypothesis testing and regression analysis.
4. Construct effective models of decision making situations, possibly including forecasting.
5. Discuss different notions of optimality when decisions have uncertain outcomes.
6. Analyze the risks of decision making.
III. Required Materials
Applied Statistics in Business and Economics, 3rd edition, by Doane and Seward,
published in 2011 by McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Supplementary Readings are also available on Blackboard, at http://www.khanacademy.org
and at http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat/.
IV. Course Policies
Statement on Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Western Carolina University is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for
students with documented disabilities. Students who require reasonable accommodations
must identify themselves as having a disability and provide current diagnostic
documentation to Disability Services. All information is confidential. Please contact Disability
Services for more information at (828) 227-2716 or 144 Killian Annex. You can also visit the
office’s website: http://www.wcu.edu/12789.asp
Late Assignments: All assignments must be posted to Blackboard by Midnight on the date
they are due. Late assignments will be accepted up to one week past their due date for half
credit.
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Attendance: Attendance is required. Students are allowed to miss the equivalent of one
week’s classes throughout the semester. Additional unexcused absences may result in the
reduction of the course grade.
CoursEval
Students are encouraged to participate in the CoursEval on-line course evaluations.
Statement on Academic Integrity (including plagiarism):
Students, faculty, staff, and administrators of Western Carolina University (WCU) strive
to achieve the highest standards of scholarship and integrity. Any violation of the
Academic Integrity Policy is a serious offense because it threatens the quality of
scholarship and undermines the integrity of the community. While academic in scope,
any violation of this policy is by nature, a violation of the student code of conduct (see
Article IV.B.1.a.)
Violations of the Academic Integrity Policy include:
 Cheating - Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study
aids in any academic exercise.
 Fabrication – Creating and/or falsifying information or citation in any academic
exercise.
 Plagiarism - Representing the words or ideas of someone else as one’s own in any
academic exercise.
 Facilitation - Helping or attempting to help someone to commit a violation of the
Academic Integrity Policy in any academic exercise (e.g. allowing another to copy
information during an examination)
 (Refer students to the Student Handbook for information about the process)
Writing Center
The University Writing Center provides one-on-one help with any part of the writing process,
including brainstorming, avoiding plagiarism, documenting sources, organizing ideas,
attending to grammar/punctuation concerns, and putting the finishing touches on a final
draft. Visit http://writingcenter.wcu.edu for location, hours, and useful on-line resources. Call
227-7197 to make an appointment. Predictable times for high demand come at midterm and
end of the semester.
Catamount Academic Tutoring Center
The CAT Center provides small-group tutoring for many 100 and 200-level classes and
workshops to help students improve their study skills. Tutoring sessions are designed to
help students improve their study techniques and understanding of course material. CAT
Center tutors are WCU students who are recommended by the faculty and trained in
effective tutoring practice via an Internationally Certified Tutor Training course. Students
should sign up for appointments in advance using the online scheduling system
(http://www.wcu.edu/9441.asp), by calling 227-2774, or by visiting the center in 30 Hunter
Library (ground floor). Students are expected to arrive for tutoring sessions on time and
prepared with class notes, readings, assignments, and a list of questions they have about
the material. Students who wish to improve their studying techniques, time management,
test taking, or other academic skills should take advantage of the CAT Center's Academic
Skills Workshops; the schedule is available at http://www.wcu.edu/9442.asp.
V. Course Structure & Format
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Modules may include lectures, assignments, readings, videos, podcasts, discussion and
exams. All assignments will be available and submitted through Blackboard.
In a typical module students will:
1) Read assigned chapters
2) Attend class lectures and speaker presentations
3) Learn to use technology to assist in solving problems
4) Practice solving problems and interpreting results
VI. Grading Procedures:
Assignment
Percentage
of Grade
Quizzes
Assignments
Tests (3 @ 15%)
Final Exam
Student’s
score
20%
20%
45%
15%
100%
Letter grades will be assigned as follows based on the percentage of total available
points achieved:
Percentage Grade Letter grade
90-100
A
80-89
B
70-79
C
0-70
F
Letter grades will be assigned according to the following Grading and Quality Point
System.
Grade
Interpretation
Quality Points
A
Excellent
4.0
B
Good
3.0
C
Satisfactory
2.0
U
Unsatisfactory
I
Incomplete
W
Withdrawal
The grades of A, B, C, and F indicate gradations in quality from Excellent to
Unsatisfactory. There are NO +/- grades.
Assignments will generally require the use of computers and will be submitted via Blackboard.
Beyond these formal assignments, other homework problems will be assigned from the text.
Although these will not be formally submitted, it is also to your advantage to work these
problems as they will serve as the basis for quiz problems
Students must be familiar with the class attendance, withdrawal, and drop-add
policies
and procedures.
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VI. Topics:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5-6
Week 7
Week 8-9
Week 10-11
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Topic
Organizing Data
Numerically Summarizing Data
Probability
Decision Analysis
Distributions
Confidence Intervals
Hypothesis Testing – 1 population
Hypothesis Testing – 2 populations
ANOVA
Regression
Forecasting
Approach
Assignment
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