Danielle's Blog

Statistics is divided into two categories: inferential statistics and descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics involves organizing, analyzing and summarizing information from a set of data in a study, while inferential statistics involves the techniques of using information about a sample to make conclusions about the larger population. Descriptive statistics also relate to the description of the main features of data in a particular excel assignment study.
Statistics are very essential in business decision making. According to Williams, statistics are very essential in facilitating the much needed confidence necessary for dealing with uncertainty. The availability of data allows for the achievement of more informed decisions. For instance, statistical analysis on consumer groups can facilitate the attainment of accurate and cost effective view of business, as opposed to collecting data on all the consumers in the market.
Salleh also explains that the owners of businesses are faced with many situations whereby the outcomes are unknown and unpredictable. Knowledge and results of statistics steer management decisions and prevent the occurrence of poor production and customer service. Thus, statistics are important in making informed decisions from a set of alternatives which may affect the productivity of business.
Sales and marketing managers make use of statistics to determine the characteristics of population, identify the characteristics of market segments and structure their goods and services to suit the needs of the business. An added example of where statistics can be used in problem solving situations is during sports recruiting. Sports recruiters engage statistics to identify the potential athletes as well as to study their opponents in order to predict the best players, and performance of the opposition. Statistics are also necessary in the determination of insurance premiums as well as reinsurance arrangements, which allows an insurer to arrive at an effective insurance plan specific to the insured.