Reference no: EM132300004 , Length: word count:2000

Assignment - Regional Business Confidence

Graduate Learning Outcome
GLO4: Critical thinking: evaluating information using critical and analytical thinking and judgment

Unit Learning Outcome
ULO2: Manipulate and summarise data that accurately represents real world problems
ULO3: 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.

To: Nick Black

From: Ballarat City Council

Subject: Further analysis of Business confidence and expectation

Dear Nick,

With the exception of the first question, in which I only require a summary of the sample data, please provide conclusions for all of our regional businesses. That is, I have been led to believe that because your data was collected randomly, you can use your dataset to make inferences about all of our regional businesses. With that in mind, I hope you are able to assist me.

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? I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Ballarat City Council

Comment on the data provided
Many variables within the data set are recoded both numerically and categorically.

Guidelines for Data Analysis
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 (α) = 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.
• 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?

Attachment:- Regional Business Confidence.rar