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Everyone encounters statistics on a daily basis. They are used in proposals,
reports, requests, and advertisements, among others, to support assertions,
opinions, and theories. Unless you´re a trained statistician, it can be
bewildering. What are the numbers really saying or not saying? Better Business Decisions from Data: Statistical Analysis for Professional Success provides the answers to these questions and more. It will show you how to use statistical data to improve small, every-day management judgments as well as major business decisions with potentially serious consequences.

Author Peter
Kenny - with deep experience in industry - believes that "while the methods of
statistics can be complicated, the meaning of statistics is not." He first
outlines the ways in which we are frequently misled by statistical results,
either because of our lack of understanding or because we are being misled intentionally.
Then he offers sound approaches for understanding and assessing statistical
data to make excellent decisions. Kenny assumes no prior knowledge of
statistical techniques; he explains concepts simply and shows how the tools are
used in various business situations.

With the arrival of Big Data, statistical processing has taken on
a new level of importance. Kenny lays a foundation for understanding the
importance and value of Big Data, and then he shows how mined data can help you
see your business in a new light and uncover opportunity.

Among other things, this book covers:

How statistics can help you assess the
probability of a successful outcome
How data is collected, sampled, and best
interpreted
How to make effective forecasts based on
the data at hand
How to spot the misuse or abuse of
statistical evidence in advertisements, reports, and proposals
How to commission a statistical analysis
Arranged in seven
parts - Uncertainties, Data, Samples, Comparisons, Relationships, Forecasts, and
Big Data - Better Business Decisions from Data is a guide for
busy people in general management, finance, marketing, operations, and other
business disciplines who run across statistics on a daily or weekly basis.
You´ll return to it again and again as new challenges emerge, making better
decisions each time that boost your organization´s fortunes - as well as your
own.

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The Scarcity of Certainty
Sources of Uncertainty

Probability

Sampling

The Raw Data

Descriptive Data

Numerical Data

Levels of Significance

General Procedure for Comparisons

Comparisons with Numerical Data

Comparisons with Descriptive Data

Types of Error

Cause and Effect

Relationships with Numerical Data

Relationships with Descriptive Data

Multivariate Data

Extrapolation

Forecasting from Known Distributions

Time Series

Control Charts

Reliability

Data Mining

Predictive Analytics

Getting Involved with Big Data

Concerns with Big DataReferences and Further Reading

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Peter Kenny, educated at Birmingham and Oxford Universities, was employed by the National Coal Board (later British Coal), first as a research scientist then as manager of various engineering departments. At the time of his early retirement, he was British Coal´s Reliability Manager, reporting to the Chief Engineer. Since then, he has taught mathematics and science subjects in colleges of further education, and as a private tutor. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Member of the Institute of Materials, a Chartered Physicist and a Chartered Engineer. He has published many technical papers and general interest articles. He holds the LAMDA Diploma in public speaking, which is also the subject of his book A Handbook of Public Speaking for Scientist and Engineers.

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