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Statistics in Business

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Submitted By darris49
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Statistics in Business
QNT/351
February 5, 2014

Statistics in Business Most people think of numbers when they hear the word statistics. Statistics have been around since the beginning of mankind. It is not just about the numbers, but how they are used to interpret data and trends to predict future success. Statistics are an important aspect of peoples’ daily lives and are extremely valuable in the business world. Definition, Types, and Levels Statistics is the science of data and involves gathering, summarizing, classifying, evaluating, organizing, and describing mathematical data (McClave, Benson, & Sincich, 2011) to aid in making more efficient decisions (Lind, Marchal, & Wathen, 2011). There are two types of statistics: descriptive and inferential. Descriptive statistics refers to methods of summarizing, organizing, and presenting data (Lind, Marchal, & Wathen, 2011). Inferential statistics are methods used to gauge a substance of a community on the basis of a selection (Lind, Marchal, & Wathen, 2011). There are four levels of statistics: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. Nominal classifies and counts measured observations, ordinal is used to rank data according to relative value, interval has the same features as ordinal but includes constant size differences, and ratio is the highest level of statistical measurement, specifically for quantitative data (Lind, Marchal, & Wathen, 2011). All types and levels have a significant role in business. Role of Statistics in Business Statistics has a very vital role in business and managerial decision-making because it provides the tools for data collection and critical thinking (McClave, Benson, & Sincich, 2011). Critical thinking is the thoughtfully prepared development of skillfully and actively conceptualizing, interpreting, orchestrating, applying, and classifying

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