Clare Morris has taught quantitative methods to students of business, from HND to PhD level, at institutions including Bristol Polytechnic, Warwick Business School and Cardiff Business School. She is currently Professor and Dean of Student Experience and Quality Enhancement at the University of Gloucestershire.
Table of Contents
Guided Tour
Preface
Acknowledgements
Note to the reader
Introduction: Why quantitative methods?
PART 1: NUMBERS - HOW WE HANDLE THEM
1. Tools of the trade: basic numeracy skills
2. Spreadsheets and other computer-based resources
PART TWO: NUMBERS - A MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
3. Obtaining the figures: data and data collection
4. Presenting the figures: tables and diagrams
5. Summarising the figures: measures of location and spread
6. Measuring changes: index numbers
PART THREE: NUMBERS - A BASIS FOR DEDUCTION
7. A firm foundation: elementary probability
8. Patterns of probability: some distributions
9. Estimating from samples: inference
10. Checking a theory: hypothesis testing
11. Making it better: statistics and quality improvement
12. Looking for connections: correlation
13. Spotting the relationship: line fitting and forecasting
14. Multiple regression
PART 4 NUMBERS - A TOOL OF PLANNING
15. Planning an inventory policy: stock control and simulation
16. Forecasting: time-series, semi-log graphs and exponential smoothing
17. Allowing for interest: financial mathematics
18. Planning production levels: linear programming
19. Planning a project: network analysis
20. Quantitative methods in the student research project
Appendices
1 Suggestions for further reading
2 Random sampling numbers
3 Cumulative binomial probabilities
4 Cumulative Poisson probabilities
5 Areas under the standard normal curve
6 Percentage points of the X2 distribution
7 The correlation coefficient
8 The t-distribution
9 Solutions to selected exercises
Index