19.01.2015 Views

Statistics for Decision- Making in Business - Maricopa Community ...

Statistics for Decision- Making in Business - Maricopa Community ...

Statistics for Decision- Making in Business - Maricopa Community ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Are we confident <strong>in</strong> accus<strong>in</strong>g a lung cancer patient of be<strong>in</strong>g a smoker Accord<strong>in</strong>g to this<br />

data, perhaps.<br />

The moral of the story is: analyze the situation from a variety of lenses. What appears to be true<br />

might be an illusion of what we see immediately! Sometimes, however, it is about what the<br />

naked eye does not detect. This is what makes good analysts.<br />

Homework Problems - 3.1<br />

1. A classmate of yours was absent when this section was discussed. Expla<strong>in</strong> to her what a<br />

probability is <strong>in</strong> your own words.<br />

2. In a study per<strong>for</strong>med by Cambridge University <strong>in</strong> the United K<strong>in</strong>gdom, it was found that,<br />

“One out of three people is overwhelmed by the latest breakthroughs <strong>in</strong> technology.”<br />

(SOURCE: http://www.gev.com/2011/07/study-one-out-of-three-people-overwhelmedby-technology/).<br />

Primarily, <strong>in</strong>dividuals are overwhelmed by how much <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation is<br />

available through the use of social networks and smartphones, to name just two. Expla<strong>in</strong><br />

what is meant by this and expla<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> terms of probabilistic reason<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

3. In a 2007 survey conducted by DDB Worldwide, an <strong>in</strong>ternationally known advertis<strong>in</strong>g<br />

company, the follow<strong>in</strong>g question was asked of a random group of 217 participants: “Is<br />

consistency <strong>in</strong> brand<strong>in</strong>g becom<strong>in</strong>g any more or less important” The follow<strong>in</strong>g table<br />

displays the results:<br />

Response Number of respondents<br />

More important 143<br />

Less important 74<br />

F<strong>in</strong>d the probability that a respondent believes that consistency <strong>in</strong> brand<strong>in</strong>g is:<br />

a. More important, then expla<strong>in</strong> what this means.<br />

b. Less important, then expla<strong>in</strong> what this means.<br />

4. The probability that a visit to a primary care physician‟s (PCP) office results <strong>in</strong> neither<br />

lab work nor referral to a specialist is 35%. Of those com<strong>in</strong>g to a PCP‟s office, 30% are<br />

referred to specialists and 40% require lab work.<br />

Determ<strong>in</strong>e the probability that a visit to a PCP‟s office results <strong>in</strong> both lab work and<br />

referral to a specialist. (Video Solution)<br />

5. A public health researcher exam<strong>in</strong>es the medical records of a group of 937 men who died<br />

<strong>in</strong> 1999 and discovers that 210 of the men died from causes related to heart disease.<br />

Moreover, 312 of the 937 men had at least one parent who suffered from heart disease,<br />

and, of these 312 men, 102 died from causes related to heart disease.<br />

<strong>Statistics</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Decision</strong>-<strong>Mak<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> Bus<strong>in</strong>ess © Milos Podmanik Page 87

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!