Core Course Requirements
NCC 5010 - Statistics for Management
Amr Farahat
Course Synopsis
This course provides the foundations of probability theory, statistics, and decision analysis required for a manager to interpret large quantities of data and to make informed decisions under uncertainty. Topics covered:
- Descriptive statistics (numerical and graphical summaries)
- Probability theory (basic probability laws, random variables, and the binomial and normal distributions)
- Decision analysis (decision trees, decision criteria, and the value of information)
- Sampling theory and practice
- Hypothesis testing (formulating hypotheses, tests for mean and proportion, Type I and Type II errors)
- Regression (simple and multiple regression)
How to Exempt the Statistics Core Course
To exempt the Statistics core course you must take the exemption examination.
Description of the Examination
The examination is brief, covering the above topics. A sample exemption exam is on reserve in the Management Library, and is also available in electronic form by following this link: Sample Exam (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
Please contact Amr Farahat for clarifications about the sample exam.
Results of the Exam
For each student, the three possible results of the examination are:
- Fail:student is required take the course
- Exempt with substitution:student may either take the core course or an approved substitute to fulfill the core requirement.
- Exempt:student passed the exam and is not required to take additional classes in this field.
In no case will credit be given for an exempt course. With permission of the core course instructor, a student may choose to take the core course (for a letter or on a S/U basis) after passing an exemption exam.
Preparation for the Exam
Students who want to refresh their skills prior to the examination should consider reviewing a standard business statistics textbook, e.g. one of the books listed below (available on reserve at the Management Library):
- "Complete Business Statistics", by Aczel and Sounderpandian, 5th edition, McGraw-Hill;
- "Statistics for Business and Economics", by Anderson, Sweeney, and Williams, 9th edition, Thomson;
- "Statistics for Managers Using Microsoft Excel", by Levine, Stephan, Krehbiel, and Berenson, 4th edition, Prentice-Hall.
