- Robert A. Donnelly |
- Serina Haddad |
Title overview
For introductory business statistics courses.
Reduces intimidation in learning business statistics
Business Statistics is written in a conversational tone designed to alleviate the anxiety that many business students experience when taking a statistics course. The authors’ straightforward approach clearly explains each concept and its importance directly to students. Abundant margin notes clarify topics; a variety of applications and Your Turn practice opportunities in each chapter help students see business statistics in action, both in the classroom and the world around them.
The 4th Edition enhances its focus on using technology to learn statistics, delving into Excel® native functions and the Data Analysis Add-in along with guidance on how to use PHStat. Business examples are updated throughout, including AI usage in American businesses; the probability of a future BP-like oil spill; the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business operations, employment and the supply chain, and many more.
Hallmark features of this title
- A conversational writing style and straightforward tone draw students into the material without talking down to them.
- A step-by-step approach to complicated problems breaks down tough topics and shows the steps involved in bite-size portions.
- Business examples that reflect current business systems, technologies and applications grab students' interest.
- Clear author comments and additional learning aids like highlighted text and equation sections help clarify specific topics.
- A “Learn It, Do It, Check It” cycle has students read an example, work a similar problem, and then check their answer to confirm their understanding.
- End-of-chapter problems vary in difficulty level and type and provide instructors with flexibility.
New and updated features of this title
- Updated data sets in problems, examples, and Your Turns include the latest available data. Outdated/obsolete examples and data sets have been replaced with more timely topics and data sets relevant to current business systems, technologies and applications. Updated examples include:
- Estimating the probability of a future BP-like oil spill occurring again and how that could improve risk management and safety planning
- Comparing satisfaction scores for smartphone brands to help businesses better understand consumer preferences; calculating AI usage in American businesses and how it reveals increasing reliance on AI for efficiency and decision-making
- Examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business operations, employment, and the overall supply chain; exploring how the growth of e-commerce has reshaped employment trends and increased demand for technology; and many more.
- Guidance on how to use PHStat is provided, as it offers statistical tools that are not available in Excel's Data Analysis ToolPak.
- Content changes include additional detailed steps for using Excel to create graphs (Ch. 2); additional explanation and key formulas on using Excel to calculate binomial and Poisson probabilities (Ch. 5); a new subsection on the different types of sampling and cognitive biases, plus an exercises section and chapter questions that cover sampling and biases (Ch. 7); and many others.
Key features
Features of MyLab Statistics for the 4th Edition
- Excel Simulation support for data analysis: A series of data analysis simulations help students learn basic analysis processes like summary statistics, graphing, PivotTables and more.
- Credly Badging for Excel: Upon successful completion of an “Excel Data Analysis for Decision-Making" Excel Grader project, students earn a Credly Badge of the same title, which they can add to their LinkedIn profiles.
- Dynamic Study Modules continuously assess student performance and activity, then use data and analytics to provide personalized content in real time, to reinforce concepts targeting each student’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Over 190 new videos include objective level support and Your Turn examples.
- Integrated Review can be used to help students who enter without a full understanding of prerequisite skills and concepts. Integrated Review MyLab courses provide a full suite of supporting resources, plus additional assignments and study aids for students who will benefit from remediation. Assignments for the integrated review content are preassigned in MyLab.
- New Microsoft Excel-specific Learning Aids: MyLab problems integrate technology-specific help for problem solving with data analysis, including screenshots and click path support for Excel analysis. Students get the software use support they need, keeping them focused on problem solving.
Table of contents
- 1. An Introduction to Business Statistics
- 2. Displaying Descriptive Statistics
- 3. Calculating Descriptive Statistics
- 4. Introduction to Probabilities
- 5. Discrete Probability Distributions
- 6. Continuous Probability Distributions
- 7. Sampling and Sampling Distributions
- 8. Confidence Intervals
- 9. Hypothesis Testing for a Single Population
- 10. Hypothesis Tests Comparing Two Populations
- 11. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Procedures
- 12. Chi-Square Tests
- 13. Hypothesis Tests for the Population Variance
- 14. Correlation and Simple Linear Regression
- 15. Multiple Regression and Model Building
- 16. Forecasting
- 17. Decision Analysis (online)
- 18. Nonparametric Statistics (online)
Appendices
- A. Tables
- B. Answers to Selected Even-Numbered Problems
Photo Credits
Index
Author bios
About our authors
The late Robert (Bob) A. Donnelly, Jr. was a professor at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware with more than 25 years of teaching experience. He taught classes in statistics, operations management, spreadsheet modeling and project management at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Bob earned an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, after which he worked for several years as an engineer with the Diamond Shamrock Corporation in a chlorine plant. Despite success in this field, Bob felt drawn to pursue a career in education. It was his desire to teach that took him back to school to earn his MBA and PhD in Operations Research, also from the University of Delaware. Bob also taught in the MBA program at the International School of Management in Paris, France. He thoroughly enjoyed discussing research methods and business statistics with both his French and American students.
Bob's working experience gathered prior to his teaching career gave him many opportunities to incorporate real-life examples into classroom learning. His students appreciated his knowledge of the business world as well as his mastery of the course subject matter. Many former students sought Bob's assistance in work-related issues that dealt with his expertise. Typical student comments focused on his genuine concern for their welfare and his desire to help them succeed in reaching their goals.
Serina Haddad, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida with more than 10 years of teaching experience. She earned her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from the University of Central Florida (UCF) and taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in business statistics, data analytics, management information systems and operations management. She was awarded the prestigious Arthur Vining Davis fellowship among other teaching excellence awards. Her research interests include Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), applied business analytics, and organizational systems development. She is an active researcher and has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and presented her research at national and international conferences. Prior to her teaching career, Serina worked in the corporate world and took on roles in statistical quality control, customer relationship management, institutional development, and business process reengineering, and was also a corporate trainer. Her experience as a corporate trainer was pivotal in helping her discover her true passion in teaching. That realization led her to where she is today, dedicated to the profession she loves.
In addition to teaching, she currently thrives as a versatile freelance consultant, trainer, and digital content developer. She has worked with many organizations including Junior Achievement, State University of New York, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, and Pearson. Serina is one of the main authors of Excel Grader projects in Pearson MyLab Statistics, and coauthor to Business Statistics, 3rd Edition with R. Donnelly.