QBA 337 - Applied Business Statistics

PREREQUISITES: QBA 237

COURSE OBJECTIVE: It is important that business students have the ability to apply statistical methods to business decision-making situations. This course introduces the student to a variety of descriptive and inferential methods and focuses on the appropriate use of statistics and the interpretation of results. The objective of this course is to develop the ability to make appropriate applications of statistical methods to business problems. The SAS statistical computer package is utilized for analyses.

COURSE CONTENT OUTLINE: Statistical Inferences About Means and Proportions for Two Populations, Inferences About Population Variances, Tests of Goodness of Fit and Independence, Analysis of Variance and Experimental Design, Simple Linear Regression, Multiple Regression, Regression Analysis: Model Building, Nonparametric Methods, Statistical Methods for Quality Control. (For some areas, only selected content is covered.)

EXAM SCHEDULE: Please note the exam dates, as no make-ups will be given.

HOMEWORK: Homework assignments are posted on my web site and will be assigned throughout the semester. The homework problems are your practice for the exams. The problems will not be collected, but we will go over them in class.

GRADING SCALE: A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69; F=0-59.

GRADE COMPUTATION: ((Exam I + Exam II + Exam III + (2*Final Exam))/5) All exams are on a 100 point total basis. Maximum total is 500/5 = 100 or a perfect score. The Final Exam is worth twice a regular exam; it is comprehensive. If due to an excused absence a student misses one regular exam, the student's Final Exam will be worth 3 times a regular exam (instead of 2 times a regular exam) to give a total of 500 points possible for the course.  When requesting an excused absence for an exam, it is the student's responsibility to call or email notification of the request prior to the exam and provide supporting documentation. Additionally, graded exams are kept on file for only two weeks.  Please note that due to FERPA (Federal Education Right to Privacy Act), grades cannot be provided by phone or email.

COURSE MATERIALS:  My web address (courses.missouristate.edu/NancyKeith/) contains the syllabus, lecture notes, course overview, homework assignments, and exam outlines.  A printed copy of abbreviated statistical tables is provided as a handout in class.  Additional statistical tables are located at www.statsoft.com/textbook/sttable.html .

STATISTICS TUTORING: Not available during the summer. (Free statistics tutoring is available in the Stat Lab.  Assistance is provided with course material and homework.  Hours of operation will be posted on Blackboard.)

COMPUTER POLICY: Each student is responsible for learning to use PC SAS (Statistical Analysis System).  PC SAS 9.2 is installed in the Glass Hall open computer labs.  Each student may receive a personal copy of PC SAS for home use by providing Missouri State Computer Services (Glass Hall Lab) with one DVD-R and one CD-R for PC SAS 9.1 or three DVD-R's for PC SAS 9.2. There are minor differences between the two versions of PC SAS.  Based on the operating system on your home computer, you may require version 9.1 rather than 9.2.  Please ask for assistance from the Glass Hall open computer lab personnel in making the appropriate choice for your operating system.    

DROP POLICY: If you drop this class by the drop deadline (May 31, 2011) then you will receive a  grade of “W.” You may not drop after the drop deadline. If you do not properly drop the class by the drop deadline, then you will receive the grade earned as of the end of the semester. Non-attendance will NOT result in being dropped from the class.  It is your responsibility to understand the University’s procedure for dropping a class. If you stop attending this class but do not follow proper procedure for dropping the class, you will receive a failing grade and will also be financially obligated to pay for the class. You should verify that a course you have attempted to drop electronically has been immediately removed from your schedule (otherwise, the class has not been dropped). If the drop is not reflected on your class schedule, then you should immediately notify the instructor and seek assistance from the Office of the Registrar to see if the class can be dropped. You should also retain verification of the drop once it has been reflected on your class schedule. “W” grades will NOT be assigned if a class is not properly dropped by the last date to drop a class. The last date to drop the course and to receive a “W” grade is May 31, 2011. For information about dropping a class or withdrawing from the university, contact the Office of the Registrar at 836-5520.

TECHNOLOGY POLICY: Unless specifically advised to do so, students are not permitted to use the following items during any quiz or test period:  wireless palm pilots, dictionaries or dictionary devices, laptops, PDAs, or Internet connections.  Only calculators that do not accept coded input are allowed.  In addition, recordings of classroom lectures are prohibited without prior permission of the instructor.

COBA CELL PHONE POLICY: "The College of Business Administration expressly prohibits the use of cell phones, pagers or similar communicative device while students are in scheduled classes.  These devices should be turned off or put in a silent mode and stored completely out of sight.  Students are not to leave class to respond to any attempted contact.  Punishment for violation of this policy is at the discretion of the professor.  In a regular class, professors may ask violators to leave class immediately.  Students are expected to do so without comment or recourse.  Offending students must receive permission from the head of the department in which the course is taught in order to return to class.  In a testing situation, violators could conceivably be found to be in violation of the University's Academic Integrity code and be subject to punishment outlined in that document.  Exception to this policy is possible in unusual circumstances, but must be the result of prior approval of the professor."

UNIVERSITY CELL PHONE POLICY: “As a member of the learning community, each student has a responsibility to other students who are members of the community.  When cell phones or pagers ring and students respond in class or leave class to respond, it disrupts the class.  Therefore, the Office of the Provost prohibits the use by students of cell phones, pagers, PDAs, or similar communication devices during scheduled classes.  All such devices must be turned off or put in a silent (vibrate) mode and ordinarily should not be taken out during class.  Given the fact that these same communication devices are an integral part of the University’s emergency notification system, an exception to this policy would occur when numerous devices activate simultaneously.  When this occurs, students may consult their devices to determine if a university emergency exists.  If that is not the case, the devices should be immediately returned to silent mode and put away.  Other exceptions to this policy may be granted at the discretion of the instructor. ”

TESTING POLICY: If a student arrives late for any exam, it is at my discretion whether the student will be permitted to take the exam.  If the student is not permitted to take the exam, the student will receive an exam grade of 0.  Please note that there are no makeup exams.  Further if a student leaves the classroom during an exam, the student forfeits the right to complete the exam.

CLASSROOM SAFETY: Every student has the right to feel safe in the classroom environment.  No weapons are allowed in Glass Hall.  If a student is disruptive, uses violent language, threatens violence, or has a weapon, the student will be removed from the classroom and will be dropped from the course.  Violations of classroom safety should be reported to the MSU Department of Safety and Transportation at 836-5509.   

FAILURE TO PAY FEES: If a student is dropped from the course for failure to pay Missouri State fees but continues to attend the course, the student will receive an automatic F.

VIOLATION OF DISCIPLINARY CODE 15: Unauthorized access or use of University computers, computer systems or computer networks may result is dismissal, suspension, or a lesser sanction.