Basic Statistical Ideas for Managers (with CD-ROM)

Designed for the one-term MBA or undergraduate introduction to business statistics course, this text places emphasis on data and the common techniques and methods used to analyze them in business. It introduces concepts using practical examples and illustrates them with computer output from MINITAB, Excel, and JMP. The book integrates a business decision-making case into each chapter for motivational and illustration purposes and includes a business case assignment at the end of each chapter. These cases revolve around realistic business settings with realistic data sets that put students in the role of managers who need to make business decisions based on data. Review problems requiring students to use previously learned concepts also appear throughout to promote understanding of the relationships among statistical methods.

J. Brian Gray is professor of statistics in the Applied Statistics Program and in the Department of Information Systems, Statistics, and Management Science at the University of Alabama.