This course provides an analytical framework to help you evaluate key problems in a structured fashion and will equip you with tools to better manage the uncertainties that pervade and complicate business processes. The course aim to cover statistical ideas that apply to managers. We will consider two basic themes: first, is recognizing and describing variations present in everything around us, and then modeling and making decisions in the presence of these variations. The fundamental concepts studied in this course will reappear in many other classes and business settings. Our focus will be on interpreting the meaning of the results in a business and managerial setting.
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About this Course
Learner Career Outcomes
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Skills you will gain
Learner Career Outcomes
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a world leader in research, teaching and public engagement, distinguished by the breadth of its programs, broad academic excellence, and internationally renowned faculty and alumni. Illinois serves the world by creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and finding solutions to critical societal needs.
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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Course Orientation
In the course orientation, you will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.
Module 1: Hypothesis Testing
Watch any infomercial and you hear many outrageous promises. Use this cream and your skin will look 80% firmer! Use this supplement and you will lose 10 pounds in the first 10 days! Are they telling you the truth? Are they all lying? The only way to know the answer to any of these questions is to scientifically test the claim being made – that is what we call hypothesis testing and what we will learn in this module.
Module 2: Statistical Inference Based on Two Samples
Does the medicine a person is taking to treat his condition really work better than a sugar pill? Is the new chip-enabled credit card more secure than the magnetic card? How do you know whether the claims being made about anything being “better than” or “faster than” a competitor are true? In this module we will learn to make this comparison.
Module 3: Simple Linear Regression
Does your job involve a lot of sitting? If so, you are at higher risk of coronary heart disease. How do I know this? We got to know the relationship between coronary heart disease and sitting when researchers studied a cohort of London bus drivers and bus conductors from 1947 to 1972. If you want to know more, then read on!
Module 4: Multiple Linear Regression
You are trying to predict next month’s sales numbers. You know that dozens, maybe even hundreds, of things like the weather, competitor’s promotions, rumors, etc. can impact the number. You talk to five people and each one has an idea about what makes the biggest impact, and the only thing they offer is “trust me.” Do you wish there was a better way of doing this rather than relying on blind faith? Well, there is. We can use Multiple Regression to sort through this mess and bring the focus to factors that really do matter.
Reviews
TOP REVIEWS FROM INFERENTIAL AND PREDICTIVE STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS
I find the use of Excel after the lecture to be more useful in the real life. The professor has a slower speaking speed so you may need to use 2x the speed.\n\nThe content is super useful.
Very good introductory Statistics course. The topic selection is very pertinent to meet the need of a manager to analyze data and to make decision. Quality of teaching is GREAT.
Great course! Incredibly well organized and clear. I was terrified of Stats before I took this class, now I feel confident and am seeing my entire world differently. Thank you!
Very well produced. The modules are clear and easy to follow. Maybe I missed it but it would be good to supply all the related example data in Excel to be able to practice.
About the Managerial Economics and Business Analysis Specialization
In order to effectively manage and operate a business, managers and leaders need to understand the market characteristics and economic environment they operate in. In this Specialization, you will build a solid understanding of the operation of markets and the macro-economic environment with real-world examples. You will be able to identify firm and country-level economic factors that impact business decisions, develop an analytical framework using statistical tools, and apply economic theory and data in the analysis of business environment and trends to make effective business decisions.

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