Introduction to Business Analytics | 4 Credits

Apply statistical techniques using spreadsheets to business applications in different functional areas.

Competencies:

1. Apply hypothesis testing, correlation, regression, and multiple regression to business applications
2. Apply techniques for clustering, non-parametric tests, and time-series to business applications

Prerequisites

• BAMA 300x Business Analytics I

This course gives students domestic sales records containing detailed information including store number, sales region, item number, item description, unit price, units sold, and date of sale. Students will work with the data using spreadsheet technologies such as Microsoft Excel to apply a number of spreadsheet formulas on the data, aggregate the data using pivot tables, summarize data, and create charts and tables with summary data. Students will also apply measures of central tendency (mean, median and mode) as they relate to sales data. They also arrive at measures of variability (e.g., range, standard deviation, and variance) on different segments of sales data and calculate measures of relative positon (e.g., percentiles, quartiles, and interquartile ranges). Students demonstrate an understanding of these statistical concepts and how to compute them with formulas in spreadsheets. Students will then use this information to complete a written report for the CEO as well as a PowerPoint presentation for the Board of Directors. Students will also demonstrate their editing capabilities by revising a colleague’s memo and complete an evaluation/reflection of the primary deliverables.

Required text (effective August, 2022 and later): Joshua N. Milligan, Learning Tableau 2020: Create effective data visualizations, build interactive visual analytics, and transform your organization, 4th Edition. ISBN-13: 978-1800200364, ISBN-10: 1800200366.

Successful completion of this course satisfies credit equivalents in the following competency areas: Information Systems (0.5), Business Statistics (0.8), and Business Communication (0.7).

• Construct and utilize spreadsheets effectively.
• Compute measures of central tendency, location, and variability.
• Write clearly for target audiences, purposes, and contexts.

In this course, students are given a hypothetical business scenario. Students need to analyze the data needs and arrive at a database design including database entities, attributes, and relationships for the scenario. They have to construct a database and populate it with data. In addition, students need to demonstrate mastery of designing and running queries and reports in the database to obtain meaningful information needed for business decision making.

Required text: None.

• Develop information systems for decision making.

Prerequisites

• BAOS 300x Sales Data Analysis and Communication Using Spreadsheets and Statistics