14 OMBA Homework-1-Solutions

Part I Applied Business Statistics Assignment #1 Solutions 1. Descriptive Statistics Output: a. Table created from Data Analysis drop down Descriptive Statistics menu AGE COURSES USED OWN KNOW SEX(0,1) MIN Mean 29.54 0.935 0.605 0.5 3 0.604 0.354 Median 25 1 1 0.5 3 1 0 Standard Deviation 10.38 0.77 0.50 0.51 1.33 0.49 0.48 Minimum 18 0 0 0 1 0 0 Maximum 57 3 1 1 5 1 1 Count 48 31 38 38 27 48 48 b. Table from copied cells with results using statistical functions (note: the columns will be the variables and the rows will be different statistics, make sure to add labels). AGE COURSES USED OWN KNOW SEX(0,1) MIN Mean 29.5417 0.93548387 0.60526 0.5 3 0.60417 0.35417 Median 25 1 1 0.5 3 1 0 Standard Deviation 10.384 0.77181534 0.49536 0.50671 1.33012 0.4942 0.48332 Minimum 18 0 0 0 1 0 0 Maximum 57 3 1 1 5 1 1 Count 48 31 38 38 27 48 48 c. Discussion of one interesting result: There are several you could mention. Here is a sampling of some options: o The fact that the mean Age is lower than the median suggests that the distribution is positively skewed. So, they have several younger workers and a few older workers. o The fact that the Counts are not the same suggests several missing values. Now why might these values be missing? This may be a big issue. o On average, those responding to the questions took about one computer course, a little over 60% have used a computer, 50% own a computer, and state an adequate knowledge of computers. o The amount of variation in the Courses variable is fairly high since the standard deviation is almost the size of the mean. Said another way, the coefficient of variation is .77/.935 = .824; the standard deviation is 82.4% the size of the mean. This is fairly high. o About 60% of the employees are female and a little over 35% are minority.

Copyright © Arizona Board of Regents Page 2 of 5 2. PivotTables a. Basic frequency counts table: b. Row percents table: c. Mean of Know as third variable: d. Interpretation of Table 2c: The overall average reported knowledge of computers is 3.0 (which is “adequate” on the knowledge scale) but the table indicates that this mean varies by subgroup. The average stated knowledge is higher both for those employees who report owning a computer and for males. This can be seen in the row and column marginal means — 2.5 vs. 3.4 for females and males and 1.3 vs. 3.6 for those who report not using and using a computer. The employees who both use a computer and are male report the highest level of knowledge (mean=3.8). Finally, employees that did not report whether they use a computer or not, also did not report their knowledge, so the last row is empty (I removed it from the table). SEX Have you used a computer? Female Male Grand Total No 8 7 15 Yes 8 15 23 No Answer 3 7 10 Grand Total 19 29 48 SEX Have you used a computer? Female Male Grand Total No 53.3% 46.7% 100.0% Yes 34.8% 65.2% 100.0% No Answer 30.0% 70.0% 100.0% Grand Total 39.6% 60.4% 100.0% Average of KNOW SEX Have you used a computer? Female Male Grand Total No 1.4 1.0 1.3 Yes 3.3 3.8 3.6 Grand Total 2.5 3.4 3 3. a. Pie Chart Do You Own a Computer? Most Employees Do Not Report Owning a Computer No Response 20.8% No 50% Yes 50% Yes 39.6% No 39.6% Or even better…

Part II: Solution to POS Associates Case: Report on Green Thumb Training Requirements Executive Summary Green Thumb staff employees will require a significant amount of training in order to properly use our point-of- sale cash registers. This conclusion is in conflict with the initial recommendation prepared by Wendy Cambridge. In order to assess the level of training needed to operate the POS Associates equipment, Wendy administered a brief questionnaire in which Green Thumb employees self-reported about their computer knowledge. Wendy’s analyses of these data indicated a relatively high level of computer knowledge. However, she grouped all Green Thumb employees together (staff and management) rather than focusing on the staff who will be using the POS equipment. When we reanalyze the data for the staff separately, we find that these employees report a low level of computer knowledge. In addition, several of these staff employees did not respond to the questions relating to computer knowledge. Assuming that these employees did not respond due to being uncomfortable stating their lack of knowledge, then the actual computer competence may be even lower than the data suggest. Analysis The purpose of this report is to assess the computer knowledge and training needs of Green Thumb employees and to evaluate Wendy Cambridge’s initial analyses and recommendations. The data used in this report are based on questionnaire developed and administered by Wendy to assess the computer knowledge of the Green Thumb employees (see Appendix A for questionnaire form). This questionnaire consists of some demographic information (sex, age, etc.) and some questions to evaluate computer knowledge (rating of computer knowledge, number of computer classes, etc.). The main problem in the initial analysis was to collapse the responses over job category rather than focusing primarily on the staff employees who will be primarily responsible for operating the POS equipment. In this reanalysis, the employees will be broken down into two groups: staff and management (including store and headquarters management). Once we separate the results into two groups we will see that the computer knowledge is low for staff but relatively high for management; when these results are aggregated as in the initial analysis, the average computer knowledge is overstated. For example, see the results in the table below. Table: Results from Questionnaire Administered to Green Thumb Employees Staff Management Overall Mean Mean self-reported computer knowledge (1=no knowledge to 5=expert) Mean number of computer courses taken Percentage who have used a computer Percentage who own a computer In terms of average self-reported computer knowledge, staff stated that they had little knowledge (mean=1.75) whereas management indicated that they had better than adequate knowledge (mean=4). If we aggregate these two groups, it appears that all employees have adequate knowledge (mean=3). The other questions assessing computer experience tell a similar story: staff have little experience compared to management but the overall average indicates a moderate level of experience. Again, since the staff will be the individuals using the POS equipment, it is important to focus on their computer knowledge: they report low knowledge, 1.75 4 3 0.5 1.4 0.94 34.8% 100.0% 60.5% 21.7% 93.3% 50.0%

Page 5 of 5 Copyright © Arizona Board of Regents have taken few computer courses, few (34.8%) have used a computer, and even fewer own a computer (21.7%). The store staff is ill-prepared to use the POS Associates equipment without extensive training. The next problem in the initial analysis was relying on data that included a large number of non-responses. Wendy’s recommendation for minimal training was partially based on her interpretation that the Green Thumb employees were “reasonably computer literate.” However, many of the staff did not respond to the questions assessing computer knowledge. That is, 52% of the store operations staff did not answer how many computer courses they have taken, 64% did not answer the questions which required them to self-rate their computer knowledge, and almost a third of the staff did not indicate whether they have used a computer or if they owned a computer. In contrast, all members of the Green Thumb management responded to these questions. We can speculate that the reason these staff employees did not answer these questions is because they have very little computer experience and did not want to disclose that information. They were possibly embarrassed or maybe even feared for the jobs. If we assume that the non-responses should have indicated low computer experience, then the computer knowledge of the staff is even lower than the current data indicate. Recommendations Based on my analysis, I recommend breaking the training program into two groups. The first group will consist of the Headquarters Management and the Store Management; they are the people who have the most computer experience and will not be operating the new POS equipment in general. They will need a brief explanation on how the new system works with minimal training such as Wendy originally suggested. The second group will be the Store Operations staff; they are going to be using the new system everyday, yet they have the least experience with computers. They are going to need a more intensive training program. Implications The initial business implications of my recommendation for Green Thumb would be a high cost of implementation with a long term pay-off. POS Associates is able to provide a sophisticated system to clients ready for a large scale expansion. If Green Thumb is seriously pursuing such a long term, larger expansion, then this investment will pay off in future years. The initial high cost of the additional training sessions would cover the investment into POS Associates’ systems and insure that education would be provided for the company to take advantage of the new technologies. The benefits of these additional training costs should be justified to Green Thumb in terms of increased employee satisfaction, consumer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.