Quantitative analysis provides the data for making decisions.

Some major league baseball teams have used Sabermetrics

(and similar data analysis measures) to quantify the value of a player to his salary. For example, is a .250 hitter with a strong base-stealing background getting paid

$5 million per year worth more in terms of salary dollars as compared to a .330 hitter with slower speed who is getting paid $15 million per year? Is Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees worth more than Joe Maurer of the Minnesota Twins? Is Ryan Dempster of the Chicago Cubs more valuable than Tim Hudson of the Atlanta Braves? Statistics are gathered and analyzed on all aspects of the game: hitting, fielding, injuries, leadership, coachability, age (and expected lifetime contributions), and much more.

Now take that concept to the business marketplace.

Can quantitative measures be placed on IT workers? Is a systems analyst who manages six major projects in a year worth more than an analyst who manages twelve much smaller projects? Is a project leader who is known for effectively managing teams worth more than one who frequently has disagreements with his or her team? Is a developer who can write 1,000 lines of Java code in a week worth more or less than a developer who writes 500 lines of Visual Basic code? When we discussed tangible and intangible benefits, the authors suggested putting a dollar amount on to intangible benefits if possible.

Questions

1. How could you put quantitative measures on the qualitative efforts of a systems analyst?

2. What might be some of the costs in implementing a statistical analysis of employees?

3. What data might be needed to do such a statistical analysis on employees?

4. Could this system replace the conventional human resources department roles for recruiting and evaluating corporate talent?