Discover Applied Statistics for Business in Rice’s Course 2

Learn statistics online. Guide data-driven business decisions.

From causation vs correlation to Chebyshev’s theorem, see how statistics are applied to common business scenarios to improve decision-making.

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DESCRIPTION

Basic Data Descriptors, Statistical Distributions and Application to Business Decisions (Course 2)

The ability to understand and apply business statistics is a requisite in making correct and relevant interpretations of data. Lack of knowledge could lead to erroneous decisions that result in negative consequences for a firm.

This is the second course of the specialization in Business Statistics and Analysis, and it is designed to introduce you to practical workforce applications of business statistics. It begins with descriptive statistics, which provide a way to make sense of large amounts of data by highlighting key patterns, trends, or outliers. We will then cover probability or uncertainty along with the concepts of samples and populations. This will lead us to several statistical distributions, along with their Excel functions, that can be used to model or approximate business processes. You will get to apply these descriptive measures of data and statistical distributions using easy-to-follow Excel based examples.

Who should attend:

Data analysts, business analysts, statisticians, or market researchers looking to refresh or upskill in Excel and applied business statistics methods
Early- or mid-career professionals looking to build foundational data analysis skills using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets (tools easily accessible within business environments)
High school or college math students interesting in exploring potential career options and practical business scenarios
Prospective MBA students looking to get prepared before starting Business School

You will be able to:

Understand, calculate, and interpret descriptive measures of data
Understand the notion of causation versus correlation
Understand continuous versus discrete distributions
Explain random variables and probability
Understand samples and population
Understand the backbone of all inferential statistics: the Central Limit Theorem

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MEET YOUR RICE PROFESSOR

Sharad Borle

Sharad Borle has been a marketing professor with Rice University since 2003. He received an M.S. and Ph.D. in marketing from Carnegie Mellon University, an MBA from XLRI Institute of Management in India, and a B.Tech in electronics engineering from Banaras Hindu University also in India. Prior to his academic career Professor Borle worked in India in the Department for International Development, Suzuki Motor Corporation and Network Limited.

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