Statistics for Business and Economics Global Edition

Statistics for Business and Economics Global Edition

Introduction
What are the projected sales of a new product? Will the cost of Google shares
continue to increase? Who will win the next presidential election? How satisfied were you with your last purchase at Starbucks, Best Buy, or Sports
Authority? If you were hired by the National Nutrition Council of the United
States, how would you determine if the Council’s guidelines on consumption
of fruit, vegetables, snack foods, and soft drinks are being met? Do people
who are physically active have healthier diets than people who are not physically active? What factors (perhaps disposable income or federal funds) are
significant in forecasting the aggregate consumption of durable goods? What
effect will a 2% increase in interest rates have on residential investment? Do
22 Chapter 1 Using Graphs to Describe Data
credit scores, current balance, or outstanding maintenance balance contribute to an increase in the percentage of a mortgage company’s delinquent accounts increasing? Answers to questions such as these come
from an understanding of statistics, fluctuations in the market, consumer
preferences, trends, and so on.
Statistics are used to predict or forecast sales of a new product, construction costs, customer-satisfaction levels, the weather, election results,
university enrollment figures, grade point averages, interest rates, currencyexchange rates, and many other variables that affect our daily lives. We
need to absorb and interpret substantial amounts of data. Governments,
businesses, and scientific researchers spend billions of dollars collecting
data. But once data are collected, what do we do with them? How do data
impact decision making?
In our study of statistics we learn many tools to help us process, summarize, analyze, and interpret data for the purpose of making better decisions in an uncertain environment. Basically, an understanding of statistics
will permit us to make sense of all the data.
In this chapter we introduce tables and graphs that help us gain a better understanding of data and that provide visual support for improved decision making. Reports are enhanced by the inclusion of appropriate tables
and graphs, such as frequency distributions, bar charts, pie charts, Pareto diagrams, line charts, histograms, stem-and-leaf displays, or ogives.
Visualization of data is important. We should always ask the following
questions: What does the graph suggest about the data? What is it that
we see?
1.1 DECISION MAKING IN AN UNCERTAIN ENVIRONMENT
Decisions are often made based on limited information. Accountants may need to select
a portion of records for auditing purposes. Financial investors need to understand the
market’s fluctuations, and they need to choose between various portfolio investments.
Managers may use surveys to find out if customers are satisfied with their company’s
products or services. Perhaps a marketing executive wants information concerning
customers’ taste preferences, their shopping habits, or the demographics of Internet
shoppers. An investor does not know with certainty whether financial markets will be
buoyant, steady, or depressed. Nevertheless, the investor must decide how to balance
a portfolio among stocks, bonds, and money market instruments while future market
movements are unknown.
For each of these situations, we must carefully define the problem, determine what
data are needed, collect the data, and use statistics to summarize the data and make inferences and decisions based on the data obtained. Statistical thinking is essential from initial
problem definition to final decision, which may lead to reduced costs, increased profits,
improved processes, and increased customer satisfaction.

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