STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS - MNS 601 Special Project STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS - MNS 601 Special Project Name:_________________________________________ Date: ____________ Part A: Description of Business Context Write a brief summary of the business context (e.g., manufacturing, marketing, finance, etc.) including the name of the company or organization. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Part B: Problem/Issue State the business problem/issue to be addressed using statistics and why this problem/issue is important to the company/organization. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Part C: Statistical Procedure Explain the statistical procedure (NOTE: Focus on ONE statistical procedure only) 1. Independent variable: a) What is the variable: ___________________________________________ b) How it is measured, i.e. what units or categories are used (e.g., revenue measured in \"dollars\"; height measured as \"short, average, tall\") _______________________________ c) Level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio): ________________________________________ 2. Dependent variable: a) What is the variable: ___________________________________________ b) How it is measured, i.e. what units or categories are used (e.g., revenue measured in \"dollars\"; height measured as \"short, average, tall\") _______________________________ c) Level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio): ________________________________________ MNS 601 Special Project 1 3. Name of the procedure/formula (e.g., ANOVA, ChiSquare, Hypothesis Test using z formula, Regression Analysis, etc.). NOTE: The procedure/ formula must be one that was covered in the course: __________________________________________________________________ 4. Describe the statistical rationale/justification for choosing this procedure/formula: _______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 5. Describe how the data are collected by the business/organization: __________________________________________________________________ 6. Describe how the data are analyzed (i.e., identify the steps in the statistical procedure): ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Part D: Decision/Interpretation Explain the type of business decision that the company/organization would make as a result of this statistical analysis. ________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ MNS 601 Special Project 2 STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS - MNS 601 Special Project (Example #1) Name: Student A Date: ____________ Part A: Description of Business Context Write a brief summary of the business context (e.g., manufacturing, marketing, finance, etc.) including the name of the company or organization. The economic crisis affected many industries, particularly the automobile manufacturing industry. As gas prices soared and jobs were lost, consumers demanded more fuelefficient vehicles. The companies that suffered the most were the ones that continued to produce gasguzzling vehicles such as trucks and SUVs, among these manufacturers was Ford Motor Company (Ford). Ford lost sales quickly during this period and needed a solution soon or risk complete failure like some of its unlucky competitors. Part B: Problem/Issue State the business problem/issue to be addressed using statistics and why this problem/issue is important to the company/organization. An example of Ford's response to the fuelefficient vehicle market was the new Focus SE, a model that claims to get 40 MPG. It is important for car manufacturers, such as Ford, to accurately assess MPG in order to maintain the integrity of the company's product as well as to continue attracting future customers. Therefore, the use of statistics will either validate or invalidate Ford's claim that the new Focus SE gets 40 MPG. Part C: Statistical Procedure Explain the statistical procedure (NOTE: Focus on ONE statistical procedure only) 1. Independent variable: a) What is the variable: Type of Car b) How it is measured (e.g., revenue measured in \"dollars\"; height measured as \"short, average, tall\") Car make and model c) Level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio): Nominal 2. Dependent variable: a) What is the variable: Mileage (MPG) b) How it is measured (e.g., revenue measured in \"dollars\"; height measured as \"short, average, tall\") Miles per gallon (MPG) MNS 601 Special Project 1 c) Level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio): Ratio 3. Name of the procedure/formula (e.g., ANOVA, ChiSquare, Hypothesis Test using z formula, Regression Analysis, etc.). NOTE: The procedure/ formula must be one that was covered in the course: Hypothesis test (One sample t test) 4. Describe the statistical rationale/justification for choosing this procedure/formula: Need to test the hypothesis that the population mean for the Ford Focus SE is 40 MPG. A ttest is appropriate here because the following assumptions for a ttest are met in this problem, specifically the standard deviation of the population is unknown and the dependent variable is at the interval or ratio level of measurement. 5. Describe how the data are collected by the business/organization: Ford testdrove a random sample of Ford Focus SE cars and calculated the MPG for each vehicle. 6. Describe how the data are analyzed (i.e., how the statistical procedure is performed): The null and alternative hypotheses are defined (H0: u = 40 MPG, H1: u 40 MPG); an alpha level is set; the mean MPG for the sample of cars is calculated; the calculated t value is determined using the formula t = (sample mean - population mean) (s / n); the calculated t value is compared to the critical t values (found in the ttable); if t calculated < t critical H0 is accepted and if t calculated > t critical H0 is rejected. Part D: Decision/Interpretation Explain the type of business decision that the company/organization would make as a result of this statistical analysis. If H0 is accepted, Ford can confidently market the Ford Focus SE as having a mileage rating of 40 MPG. If H0 is rejected, Ford would not be able to advertise the Ford Focus SE as having a mileage rating of 40 MPG and may decide to perform additional quality tests on the model to identify any deficiencies. MNS 601 Special Project 2