Presentation of an organisations annual report

Assignment Help Other Subject

Reference no: EM132302810 , Length: word count:4000

Foundation Skills in Data Analysis Assignment

Assignment 1 - Analysing the Visual Presentation of an Organisation's Annual Report

This assignment assesses the following Graduate Learning Outcomes and related Unit Learning Outcomes:

Graduate Learning Outcome (GLO)

GLO1: Discipline knowledge and capabilities: appropriate to the level of study related to a discipline or profession

Unit Learning Outcome (ULO)
ULO1: Apply the fundamentals of quantitative reasoning to solve real-world problems

Overview

For this assignment, we will use the ideas and concepts introduced in Module 1 to evaluate the presentation of information.

The evaluation will centre on the suitability of Charts, Tables and/or Graphs used to represent, or visualise, data. The source document containing these Charts, Tables and/or Graphs will be a published report from a Government or significant Organisation of your choice. An example of an annual report containing suitable Charts, Tables and Graphs can be found at the end of this document under "Supporting Materials".

There are many suitable reports that you can use for your evaluation such as those from reputable international organisations (e.g. World Health Organisation (WHO), the European Union (EU), World Trade Organisation (WTO), etc.), Australian government departments or NGO's (e.g. Education Departments, water authorities, etc.). Note: Do not source any annual reports from the ASX (i.e. ASX listed Australian company annual reports).

When selecting a report to evaluate, ensure that the document is publically available and has a wide selection of Charts, Tables and Graphs. Several links are provided under "Supporting Materials" to assist you in your search for these reports.

Scenario

In this assignment you will undertake two distinct tasks divided as Part A and Part B.

- First, you will develop a list of generic evaluation criteria that critique valid practices when developing, or constructing, Charts, Tables and Graphs (i.e. visualisations), i.e. Part A.
- Second, you will use the criteria you have just developed to evaluate the suitability of the Charts, Tables and Graphs (i.e. visualisations) utilised in a publically available report of your choice (subject to the conditions presented in these instructions) i.e. Part B.

Requirements

Part A: Develop Evaluation Criteria

Your evaluation criteria need to be objective, in that they stipulate the rules you would use in establishing whether a Chart, Table or Graph utilised in your selected Report, is appropriate for the data being presented. You need to make sure that each of your criterion is written in such a manner that a reasonable person can readily understand, or appreciate, the message being conveyed. You are expected to address approximately 20 criteria.

Note: Do not simply "copy" criteria from textbooks etc. This would result in zero marks. You need to create your own criteria.

You should also group your criteria by visualisation type. For example, you might choose "Common", "Chart", "Table" and "Graph", or some other suitable grouping. You are not restricted to these specific headings. It's also important that you number each separate criterion as you will need to refer to its specific number when completing Part B.
An example of an appropriate criterion:

Line Charts should be used when analysing trends over time. To be effective, the time series should be placed on the x-axis with the measure on the y-axis.

An example of an unacceptable criterion:
Line Charts should have nice colours.

This example fails on two counts. It has an inadequate description (or explanation) and, it is subjective (i.e. the authors opinion).
• Part B: Report Evaluation
Select 10 to 12 diverse Charts, Tables or Graphs from your chosen Report (but not including any "Infographics") and evaluate these visualisations using the criterion you have developed in Part

A. It would not be unusual for an individual visualisation from your report to refer to multiple criteria. Further, any given visualisation you select may conform to some of your criterion but be in contravention of others, and this would need to be reported.
It is expected that each of your criterion would be used at least once when evaluating your chosen Charts, Tables or Graphs.

Note: In your submission, include an image of the Charts, Tables and Graphs that you have selected and make sure to associate them back to the specific criterion by using the criterion number you have presented in Part A.

Guidelines

1. The following word counts should be used as a guide for this assessment. Criteria: Qty 20 with 20 to 30 words in each (i.e. 400 to 600 words)

Evaluation: Qty 10 with 100 to 120 words in each (i.e. 1000 to 1200 words), or Qty 15 with 100 to 120 words in each (i.e. 1500 to 1800 words)

Therefore, using the above guidelines, your assignment should be no less than 1600 words and no more than 2400 words (i.e. 2000 words plus or minus 20%)

2. For this assignment, we are only interested in the Charts, Tables and Graphs contained in your selected published report. Again, do not include any items commonly known as "Infographics".

Assignment 2 - Regional Business Confidence

This assignment assesses the following Graduate Learning Outcomes and related Unit Learning Outcomes:

Graduate Learning Outcome (GLO) -

Critical thinking: evaluating information using critical and analytical thinking and judgment.

Unit Learning Outcome (ULO)

Manipulate and summarise data that accurately represents real world problems.
Interpret and appraise statistical output to assist in real-world decision making.

Overview - The purpose of this assignment is to investigate a dataset which will enable you to answer questions posed in an email. In order to answer the questions posed in the email, you will need to analyse data, interpret the results, and then draw appropriate conclusions.

The aims of the assignment are to:

provide you with some examples of the application of data analysis
test your understanding of the material presented in the relevant topics
test your ability to analyse data and interpret your results
test your ability to effectively communicate your results to others

Before attempting the assignment, make sure you have prepared yourself well. At a minimum, please read the relevant sections of the prescribed textbook and review the materials provided in Modules 1 and 2.

Scenario -

You are Nick Black, a specialist analyst for Business Intelligence (BI). BI are data analytics research service consultants that provide data modelling solutions to large organisations and governments, as well as supporting various niche research projects across a variety of industry sectors. Australian rural communities make a considerable contribution to the Australian economy yet very little research has been done on the specific business communities that support the rural sector. For example, little is known about the market place confidence and expectation of businesses that exist in the townships that support these rural communities.

BI has been contracted because some rural municipal authorities have identified a need to focus expenditure and related activities to assist in business growth. One such municipal authority is the Ballarat City Council. In an effort to understand the marketplace confidence of the Ballarat businesses that support their local community, BI has taken a random sample of 150 businesses in the region. As well as asking them for useful demographic characteristics, BI have asked questions about trading patterns, business confidence and business expectations. You have received an email from the Ballarat City Council that contains specific questions that you must answer.

Analysis of Business confidence and expectation -

1. Can you provide an overview of the number of people that local businesses employ in our region?

2. Can you estimate the proportion of all businesses in our region that do have a growth strategy?

3. The Creswick/Clunes Chamber of Commerce recently indicated that the proportion of businesses registered in their region that do have a growth strategy was 76%. They then went on to suggest in a confidential report that any proportion less than this value contributed to a significant reduction in the revenue generated in the region.

a. Is there any evidence to suggest that the proportion of our local businesses that do have a growth strategy could be less than this suggested figure and thus impacting on revenue in our region?

b. Can you estimate the average number of staff for businesses with and without a growth strategy and can we therefore conclude that businesses with a growth strategy have a higher number of employees on average, and might therefore be more successful?

4. I have been told that our local business managers are rather young. This seems at odds with a recent report that stated the average age of managers in Australian businesses was 50 years of age. Can you please determine if the average age of our local business managers is indeed less than 50 years?

5. Over the years we have observed that an average of 10 businesses open each year. What is the likelihood that next year:

a. More than 15 businesses will open?

b. The number of businesses that open will be 5 or less?

6. Finally, when we conduct this survey again next year, we would like to be able to:

a. Estimate the average number of people that local business employ to within 4 employees, and,

b. Estimate the percentage of business with a growth strategy to within 2%.

Are you able to advise us on the sample size required that satisfies both these criteria?

Attachment:- Foundation Skills in Data Analysis.rar

Reference no: EM132302810

Questions Cloud

Explain why the company supply chain strategy is successful : Analyze and explain why the company's supply chain strategy is successful. As part of that, examine the effect of the selection and management of suppliers.

Discuss what external factors contribute : Discuss what external factors contribute to how we make decisions about IT security and what measures need to be taken to stay updated on these external factors

Analyze why dell supply chain strategy is successful : Analyze why Dell's supply chain strategy is successful. Describe the main supply chain challenges that Dell is now facing and provide strategies to effectively.

Which change model you would follow for short-term change : In 3 - 5 pages, explain which change model you would follow for the short-term change and which you would follow for the long-term change. Provide rationale.

Presentation of an organisations annual report : MIS770 – Foundation Skills in Data Analysis - Deakin business school - Analysing the Visual Presentation of an Organisations Annual Report - Regional Business

Describe the culture of your organizational behavior issues : Describe the culture of your organizational behavior issues and what challenges are present. Discuss the systems that are the most appropriate to introduce.

Review the given problem based on capitalism : In this assignment, you will explain the role capitalism plays in corporate decision making. Use at least two (2) quality references that are properly cited.

Explain why and how the policy failed : Imagine you are interviewed by a reporter from the New York Times about President Clinton's Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

Briefly describe the business logics model : Briefly describe the business logics model. Briefly describe what can result in enhanced financial performance. Your paper should be a minimum of 2 pages.

Reviews

len2302810

5/10/2019 2:09:48 AM

Overall Assignment Presentation (Marks: 6) 6 points All of the assignment Requirements/ Instructions/ Guidelines have been dealt with meticulously. Faultless presentation 5.5 – 6 Marks

5/10/2019 2:09:25 AM

Part B: Memorandum (Marks: 12) This part is the written response by Mira to the questions posed by Selina. 12 points Provides outstanding descriptions and conclusions that are carefully considered and insightful. The written communication is very professional, logical and easy to follow. 9.5 – 12 Marks

5/10/2019 2:09:11 AM

Part A: Data Analysis (Marks: 12) This part relates to the various visualisations in the form of charts, tables & graphs etc. created by Mira which formed the basis of her response to Selina. Excellent 12 points Skilful and comprehensive analysis of data using many different techniques. Uses data visualisations to produce novel insights. An excellent presentation of the analysis.

5/10/2019 2:08:42 AM

• Use plain language and keep your explanations simple, clear and succinct. Avoid the use of technical or statistical jargon. As a guide to the meaning of “Plain Language”, imagine you are explaining your findings to a person without any analytical training (e.g. someone who has not studied this unit). What type of language would you use in this case? • Marks will be lost from your written response if you use technical terms, poor grammar, present irrelevant material, or have poor presentation/organisation. • In your written response, you should use key summary measures to make your conclusions, however, do not refer your reader to the diagrams that your .xlsx file contains. That is, your written response needs to be a stand-alone document. • All Microsoft Excel output associated with each question in your written response is to be placed in the corresponding spreadsheets (Q1, Q2 … etc) in your submitted Microsoft .xlsx file.

5/10/2019 2:08:33 AM

• Your written response should be no longer 2,000 words (the approximate equivalent). Do not include a Table of Contents, Charts and Tables, nor Appendices in your written response. • Suggested Word formatting for the Memorandum: Single-line spacing; no smaller that 10- point font; page margins approx. 25mm, and good use of white space. • Your written response must have a cover sheet containing your particulars and Unit details. • Set out your written response in the same order as in the originating email from Nick Black, with each section (question) clearly marked. There is NO MINIMUM word count.

5/10/2019 2:08:16 AM

• Before doing any analysis, classify your data as numerical or categorical. • Most questions will require you to complete either a confidence interval or a hypothesis test. Go through each of the questions asked by the Ballarat City Council and decide which technique is the most appropriate. Below are some hints regarding the most appropriate technique: ? Do we have to make an estimate, and therefore need a confidence interval? ? Are we testing a theory or claim, and therefore need an hypothesis test? • To answer some questions you may need to make certain assumptions about the dataset we are using. • For Question 5, you will need to calculate the probability using an appropriate probability distribution table. You could then use Excel to confirm your answer. You do not need the MIS770 A2 Business Confidence Data.xlsx dataset to answer this question.

5/10/2019 2:08:07 AM

The analysis required for this assignment involves materials covered in Modules 1 and 2. The corresponding seminars will also provide useful materials. Note that many variables included in the data set are represented using both numbers and text. For all questions in the email, you can assume that: • a 95% confidence level is appropriate for confidence intervals and • a 5% level of significance (that is, alpha (a) = 0.05) is appropriate for hypothesis tests. Although questions can be completed using Excel (for example using the templates presented in the MSXL worksheets in your tutorials), we strongly recommend that you do the analysis using a pen and paper approach too, as this will help you confirm your results and give you greater insight into the examination.

Write a Review

Required(*) Message

User Account

All Pages