Business Statistics (BMGT 230 and BMGT 230B)
SYLLABUS
SPRING 2012
Instructor: Dr. Radu Lazar
Office: 4348 Van Munching Hall
Office hours: MW 3:30p.m.-4:30p.m.,Tu 9:30a.m.-11:30a.m., and also by appointment
Phone: 301-405-9977 (please email me instead of leaving voicemail)
Email: rlazar@rhsmith.umd.edu
TA’s:
Armin Bagheri bagheri.armin@gmail.com Reyner Fouch (reynerfouch@gmail.com)
Aalap Trivedi (atrived1@umd.edu)
Leanna Gong (leannagong@yahoo.com)
Sherry Feng (sherry.feng@verizon.net)
Michael Lu (mlu@umd.edu)
Qiao Yin (qiaoqiaoyin123@yahoo.com)
Nick Connelly (nick.connelly@live.com)
Brian Weinblatt (brianwei@umd.edu)
TA office: 4468 Van Munching Hall
TA office hours: TBA
If you need help with the class you can see me or any of the TA’s during the above office hours.
Lecture: Where and When
Sections 0101 - 0107: M, W 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m., Van Munching Hall 1524
Sections 0201 – 0207: M, W 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Van Munching Hall 1524
Section 0301 – 0307: M, W 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m., Van Munching Hall 1524
You should attend the section in which you are enrolled.
Course description and objectives
This is an introductory course in statistics whose main goal is to promote understanding of statistical
reasoning and using numerical information to make judgments and decisions. You will learn to make
sense of graphical and numerical presentations of data, to judge the reliability of results from studies,
surveys and experiments, and to realize that in an uncertain world randomness and variation are to be
expected. The methods and concepts studied will be presented in the context of the real-world
problems in business and other real-world scenarios that the methods can help students understand.
Even though a bit of elementary probability will be introduced the math will be kept at a level such that
calculus is not required, so even the math-phobes may find the topics enthralling.
Required textbook
Business statistics: a first course with CD and MYLAB by Norean R. Sharpe, Richard D. De Veaux and Paul
F. Vellman, Pearson ISBN 978-0-3-2150609-2
You can buy a cheaper loose-leaf version of the textbook (recommended) Business stat W/MML/MSL
SAK(LOOSE-LEAF), ISBN 978-0-3-2169319-8, Sharpe, De Veaux & Velleman
I do not recommend buying a used textbook because you will still need to buy an access code which will
end up being more expensive.
The textbook should come with a code for MyStatLab, an online course management system, which
includes a plethora of course materials for this class, and also an electronic textbook. (if the online
textbook is good enough for you then you can just buy the MyStatLab which is cheaper than the
hardcopy or the loose-leaf version of the textbook). In this case, you should look for MyStatLab Online
Course for Business Statistics: A First Course (access code required) Sharpe, De Veaux &
Velleman©2011, Pearson, On-line Supplement, ISBN-10: 0321506081, ISBN 13:9780321506085
MyStatLab is required for this class because it will be the place where you complete the online
homework assignments. You can register at http://pearsonmylab.com. The course ID is lazar81102.
Course website
The website for this course is hosted on Blackboard and can be found at https://bb.rhsmith.umd.edu . A
university LDAP ID and password are required to access Blackboard courses; additional information can
be obtained at https://ldap.umd.edu/cgi-bin/chpwd. Students are required to maintain their current
email address in Testudo as Blackboard uses this address to send course-related email messages. Since
email addresses are imported from Testudo into Blackboard, I cannot update email addresses from
within Blackboard; for more information visit the site http://rhsmith.umd.edu.
Software
We will be using StatCrunch which comes with the textbook. It is an online user-friendly piece of
software that can be accessed at http://www.statcrunch.com. You will have to use the same user name
and password as those for MyStatLab.
Calculator
A basic 5-function calculator is necessary for this course. Programmable calculators (i.e. TI models) will
also be allowed but you are responsible for knowing how to use them.
Grading
Your grade will be determined by a weighted average of homework, discussion activities and exams as
follows:
Discussion session activities
10%
Homework
10%
Midterm Exam 1
24%
Midterm Exam 2
24%
Final Exam
32%
Suppose that a student obtained the following scores:
Discussion session score (70)
Homework score (90),
Midterm1 score (80),
Midterm 2 score (90)
Final score (80)
The student’s course average will be computed as follows:
Course average=0.1*70+0.1*90+0.24*80+0.24*90+0.32*80=82.4%
If your course average is greater than or equal to 90% then your grade will not be lower than an A-.
If your course average is greater than or equal to 80% then your grade will not be lower than a B-.
If your course average is greater than or equal to 70% then your grade will not be lower than a C-.
If your course average is greater than or equal to 60% then your grade will not be lower than a D-.
Exams may be curved depending on the class performance.
The Smith School recommends a class-average of approximately 2.80 as a target grade point average
for 200-level BMGT core courses, and range between 2.7 and 2.9.
Examinations
There will be two midterm exams (75 minutes each) and a two-hour final exam. The final exam will be
(partially) cumulative with the emphasis on the material not yet tested.
Exam
Midterm 1
Midterm 2
Final
Location
TBA on Blackboard
TBA on Blackboard
TBA on Blackboard
Time
6:00p.m. - 7:15p.m.
6:00p.m. - 7:15p.m.
7:00p.m. – 9:00p.m.
Date
Wednesday, February 29
Wednesday, April 4
Saturday, May 12
The exams will not be given during the regular lecture time and will be common to all sections of BMGT
230. Students who have legitimate conflicts with the scheduled exam times will be permitted to take
the exams during the regular class time as the class will not be held on the exam days. You must let me
know in advance about such conflicts and my prior approval is required. The midterm exams will not be
given on any other day.
Missed examinations
If you miss an exam for a legitimate reason such as documented illness, religious observance,
participation in a university activity at the request of a university official then you will be approved for
taking a make-up exam. You must let me know in advance of your absence or, if this is not possible, as
soon as possible afterwards. No make-up exam will be given without prior approval. All make-up exams
for midterm 1, midterm 2, and final will be given on Friday, May 11.
Examination guidelines
You will be allowed one 8.5x11 reference sheet with formulae and notes but no examples on both sides
for each midterm and two such sheets for the final. Remember to bring your own calculator for all tests
(sharing is not permitted). You will not be allowed to use cell phones, smart phones, ipods and iphones
during any of the exams. Your UMPC ID will be required for all exams. You will not be allowed to take
the exam if you are more than 15 minutes late. You will not be allowed to leave the exam room without
submitting your completed exam after the exam has begun. All exams will consist of multiple choice
questions, and you will be required to record your answers on Scantron sheets (provided during the
exam) using No. 2 pencils which you must bring.
Accommodations for Students with special needs
Any student with special needs should bring to my attention as soon as possible, but no later than the
second week of class.
Homework
There will be weekly homework assignments (except for the first week). They will be available on
MyStatLab from 9 a.m. on Monday and due at 8:30 a.m. on the following Tuesday. No late homework
submission will be accepted. You have to do the homework assignments on your own, working together
in groups is not permitted. The lowest two homework scores will be dropped in order to accommodate
for homework that you are unable to complete due to technical glitches, illness, religious observance,
late registration or any reason beyond your control. If you have technical problems with the homework
you should call tech support at 18006776337 or email/chat at www.247pearsoned.com
Discussion section activities
The discussion sections will comprise of two parts. In the first part of the discussion section the TA’s will
review the material taught in class and do some examples. In the second part, class will be divided into
small teams. Each team will work on an assignment consisting of one or more problems and submit the
answers to the TA at the end of the discussion section. The TA will grade each team’s assignment based
on the following system: you will receive 3 points for a correct answer, two points for an almost correct
answer, and one point for an attempt. Nobody will receive any credit if she/he is not in the classroom at
the time the assignment is handed out. The lowest two scores will be dropped in order to
accommodate for the activities that you are unable to complete due to technical glitches, illness,
religious observance, late registration or any reason beyond your control.
Course support
Please take advantage of my office hours and the TA’s office hours. Do not fall behind since it would be
difficult to do well in this class otherwise. (Statistical topics build on each other). You should read the
textbook (do not skip the solved examples in each chapter), my notes, explore the resources on
MyStatlab, do the homework assignments, attend class and the discussion sessions. (Note: I will not post
the answers for the practice exercises online, you will have to come to class to get them.) Each class
before an exam will be devoted to reviewing the material required for the exam. I will also try to be
available as much as possible.
Academic integrity
The University of Maryland’s Code of Academic Integrity is designed to ensure that the principles of
academic honesty and integrity are upheld. All university students are expected to abide by the code.
All acts of academic dishonesty will be handled according to the Code. Additional information can be
found at http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/code.html.
On each exam you will be asked to write out and sign the following pledge: `` I pledge on my honor that I
have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this exam “
Since BMGT230 is a very large class please be respectful of everyone else in the classroom. Please switch
off your cell phones while class is in session.
The DEADLINE for reporting any inaccuracies in homework/discussion/exam scores is MAY 10
Tentative schedule (subject to change except for the test dates)
January 25
January 30
February 1
February 6
February 8
February 13
February 15
February 20
February 22
February 27
February 29
March 5
March 7
March 12
March 14
March 19
March 26
March 28
April 2
April 4
April 9
April 11
April 16
April 18
April 23
April 25
April 30
May 2
May 7
May 9
May 11
Syllabus, MyStatlab, Chapter 1 - Statistics and Variation
Chapter 2 - Data, Chapter 3 – Surveys and Sampling
Chapter 4 - Displaying and Describing Categorical Data
Chapter 5 - - Displaying and Describing Quantitative Data (without section 5.10*)
Chapter 6 - Correlation and Linear Regression
Chapter 6 - Continued
Chapter 7 - Randomness and Probability (without section 7.9*)
Chapter 7 - Continued
Chapter 8 - Random Variables and Probability Models
Review
Midterm 1 (6:00p.m. – 7:15p.m., rooms: TBA)
Chapter 8 – Continued (without the geometric, Poisson, and uniform model)
Chapter 9 - Sampling Distributions and Confidence Intervals for Proportions
Chapter 10 - Testing Hypotheses about Proportions
Chapter 10 – Continued (without section 10.10*)
Spring Break
Chapter 11 - Confidence Intervals and Hypothesis Tests for Means
Chapter 11 - Continued
Review
Midterm 2 (6:00p.m. – 7:15p.m., rooms: TBA)
Chapter 12 - Comparing Two Groups
Chapter 12 – Continued (without section 12.6*)
Chapter 13 - Inference for Counts (if time permits)
Chapter 13 - Continued
Chapter 14 - Inference for Regression
Chapter 14 - Continued
Chapter 14 - Continued
Chapter 15 - Multiple Regression including ANOVA
Chapter 15 - Continued
Review
Reading Day
May 12
Final Exam (7:00p.m. – 9:00p.m., rooms: TBA)
Note: Not all sections of the listed chapters will be covered. It is your responsibility to keep track of the
material that will be taught. Any change to the schedule, including the sections covered will be
announced in class and on Blackboard