Relating Statistics to Business Administration

The main role of an administrator in any given sphere is to make decisions and to execute them directly or indirectly through observing those who are instructed to carry out the implementation. In business, the role of an administrator is found in and out of an office. Though the description of the job of a business administrator tends to vary considerably from one company to another, there are general principles that characterize functions of a business administrator from other offices in the business field. In the business environment, there are so many areas that call for services of an administrator. They include constructing, buying and supplying, tendering, hiring and so on, depending on the nature of business. All these areas need attention of a business administrator. Therefore, we do not have a clear-line stipulating the role of a business administrator (Rossi, 1996). It is possible for a business administrator to serve as a tender administrator, a procurement manager or even a construction administrator depending on the form of business. In all this an administrator should be in a place, when it is possible for him or her to predict beyond the current position of business its future.

It is the responsibility of an administrator to communicate and accomplish goals of a managerial body, since a managerial team depends on the advices of an administrator in cases, when he is a management consultant (Rossi, 1996). For the above roles of a business administrator, it is crucial for this office holder to be equipped with decision-making skills in order to make logical decisions. For these decisions to be considered official, they must be supported by scientifically proved facts, against which business goals are set. Here, the theory of decision-making found in statistics is needed. The process of decision-making requires critical thinking that is supported by the fact from a scientifically conducted research to solve problems in the system of business. The statistical knowledge that a business administrator has to be familiar with is a time-series analysis.

In the time-series analysis, these skills play particularly a significant role in decision-making. Before a managerial team agrees on their way forward in any business decision, a scientific forecasting process must be executed by a managerial advisor (business administrator) to provide a reliable platform that is supported by all. Therefore, an administrator uses the current business position to forecast the future position of business and give the way forward for business. For example, when an administrator is a construction advisor to a managerial team, he should be in a place to foresee the future position of the construction with some degrees of certainty (Taylor, 2008). Probability is a level of certainty, by which a researcher can predict the future results of a given process, in this case a business. For an administrator to be certain of the course of action, there must be a method of making this possible. The most notable collection of skills is that of calculating probabilities based on statistics. No one can determine outcomes of a system with 100 % certainty. In a business, where the management has to win confidence of shareholders there are to be mechanisms in place to enable the management to convince an investor of their financial security in investing in their business; these skills are covered under probability, which is based on statistics studies (Mandela, 1996). A research is an essential tool in studying the position of a business.

It is the responsibility of a business administrator to assign duties as a personnel manager and allocate resources to various sectors of business in procurement and awarding of tenders. The skill of designing an assignment model to get the most qualified person assigned a job he fits is a prerequisite for an administrator. In addition, the skills necessary to create a transportation model for efficient utilization of scarce resources in the operation of business are prerequisites for a business administrator to be efficient in his or her operations. The above mentioned skills are covered under an operation research and a division of statistics. For an optimum practice, a business-oriented student has to learn statistics principles (Rachev, 2003). Since the description of the job of a business administrator has no clear boundaries, in some sectors he may be called to model a marketing campaign and to sell and buy models. All these models demand that a business administrator should acquire skills in linear modeling. Linear modeling is intensively covered in statistics as one of the main topics constituting statistics. Linear modeling allows one to predict an impact of one variable given one or more other variable(s). In case of promotion and marketing models, a business administrator, using these skills can determine a rate of growth of sales based on the intensity of advertisements. Using other factors that affect demand of a commodity, it is possible to design a buying model for a given commodity in a business. For example, a marketing administrator needs to design a model of a consumer choice before introducing a new commodity in the market. This process needs to be supported scientifically by statistical theories (Weiers, 2010). Before venturing into a new investment, decision makers in any serious business have to conduct an investigation to get feasibility of this venture. Since resources available to fulfill economic needs are scarce, it requires an investor to evaluate all available options before committing these resources.

It is important to conduct a survey to settle for the most feasible option of a business venture. Since a business administrator is at the centre of decision-making, it is essential to acquire basic skills on how to conduct such a survey. In statistics, there is a section that covers a sample survey, which outlines the process involved in conducting a survey. A research is also best covered in statistics under the subject of experimental designs. Conducting a research includes collecting data and compiling. Afterwards, a data analysis is performed using such statistical packages as SPSS and Excel to extract relevant information from the data. The information obtained through scientific methods and analyzed skillfully using appropriate analytical tools results in sound decision-making and success of a business venture. Experimental designs allow an administrator to conduct a reliable survey into the market of a new product before hitting the road on it production. Equipped with this understanding, a business reduces the risk of losing, in particular, losing trust of investors. Experimental designs make it economically feasible to conduct a research into a new enrollment, since an administrator needs only a small amount of information from the entire market to reach an assumption over it (Alexander J. McNeil, 2005).

A decision-making theory is a topic covered in statistics; it is based on a hypothesis testing theory. To execute a research or a survey, a researcher has to come up with a set of guiding statements, on which research questions will be answered. In making a conclusion, a hypothesis is approved or disapproved. For example, when conducting a research into a consumer behavior, a marketing administrator has to hypothesize a possible scenario of consumer behaviors. It’s against this assumed background information that a research is conducted to verify a hypothesis of a business advisor. This statistical expertise is inherent in decision-making in a business; this is the basis of success in a business. It is essential to have confidence in making a correct decision and to avoid nerve-racking and difficulties that accompany decision-making. It is fundamental for effective and reliable decisions in a business. According to Walter Kaufmann, “decidophobia” is a fear accompanying decision-making responsibilities. Any manager with responsibilities of making efficient decisions and determining the course of actions of business cannot claim to be immune of this fear. The only conviction a decision maker can command in his job of making decisions is based on scientifically approved approaches founded in statistics, such as hypothesis testing, experimental designs, sample survey and others (Alexander J. McNeil, 2005).

In addition, business statistics is a course in business administration that equips students with skills to utilize statistical methodologies and theories when executing an analysis of data. It provides an administrator with the capacity to perform analysis using computer-based tools, which are commonly installed on personal computers, such as Excel. To effectively compete in the market, a business has to come up with a model that allows the introduction of quality into services or goods produced by it. Furthermore, a decision-maker must develop a system of continuous improvements at different stages of production. A scheme that is based on statistical principles, particularly experimental designs, ensures a high yield of operation that can depend on and face the competition in the market and position a company in state of the least risk of losses. A well-designed study assures robust productivity and quality at all levels of productivity, saving scarce resources that have been put under the custody of an administrator by investors. The quality of a product offered by any business in the market must be tailored into goods and services in the production process. A business manager must prepare a careful and effective research and optimal schemes of work that yield robust results to the sustainability of a business and improvement in the size of a market share commanded by a business (Rossi, 1996). A business administrator can make optimal decisions, when it is possible for him or her to utilize all available data and information effectively and in a meaningful way.

 Descriptive statistics equips an executive with the information required for analyzing and interpreting data to make sound decisions. When making a short-term or long-term planning in a business, statistics must be incorporated, as it provides a foundation of business expectations in the midst of uncertainties that cloud decision-making. Descriptive statistics provides clear concepts of measures of spread, such as a mean, a mode and a median, a variance and standard deviation. This statistics is essential for the process of making decisions as stipulated in the job of business administrators. Data collected from the field of study offer minimal information to a researcher (administrator) .Thus, there is a need for analyzing this data making sense of it by extracting relevant information from raw data. Business statistics provides a student with methods used for organizing and presenting information in an understandable manner (Maddala, 1996).

Conclusion

In conclusion, decision-making is an integral part not only of a business but also of all daily human activities. To make valid decisions, it requires the right skills and tools. In business, these skills and tools are engineered in statistics as it has been explained in this paper. For a business manager to perform his duties with efficiency and effectiveness, he has to be equipped with information on statistics. Therefore, statistics is a cardinal field of business administration; it is because of statistics that all key decisions are made in a business.