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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kolluri, Bharat, author. | Panik, Michael J., author. | Singamsetti, Rao, author.
Title: Introduction to quantitative methods in business : with applications using Microsoft Office Excel / Bharat Kolluri, Michael J. Panik, Rao Singamsetti.
Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2017] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016017312 | ISBN 9781119220978 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119220992 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Business mathematics. | Management--Mathematical models. | Microsoft Excel (Computer file)
Classification: LCC HF5691 .K71235 2017 | DDC 650.0285/54--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016017312
ISBN:9781119220978
To our Wives
Vijaya, Paula, and Andal
A proper understanding of Economics as well as Business disciplines, such as Finance, Marketing, and Operations, requires a basic knowledge of linear and nonlinear relationships and, in general, the fundamental techniques of quantitative methods. The following techniques are some of the examples:
Indeed, a student's ability to model a business situation and apply these quantitative techniques via Microsoft® Office Excel® and other computer software has to be an essential component of any modern business curriculum. In this book, we have incorporated Excel as a tool for problem solving. We have included specific instructions for the usage of Excel Add-ins in selected chapter examples and exercises. For the most part, there are not many texts that adequately deal with these techniques at a beginning or foundational level. To rectify this deficiency, we start first with principles – we develop a solid foundation in arithmetic operations, functions and graphs, and elementary differentiation (rates of change) and integration. Once this foundation is built, we then develop both linear and nonlinear models of business activity and their solutions. And, at all times, the meaning of the solution is fully discussed.
The intended audience includes students enrolled in undergraduate courses in business programs proper, or even in pre-MBA programs, who need a review of, or first exposure to, the basics of mathematics and statistics so that they can move on to the more advanced courses in their curriculum. In this regard, our objective is to close the skills gap that many students have in the quantitative area.
This textbook has many strengths:
In fact, the aforementioned (Excel-based) computer software enable students to perform an assortment of tasks such as graphing, formulas usage, solving equations, and data analysis. More specifically, these are
In this text, each quantitative technique is illustrated with many examples that are fully solved and that are accompanied by a variety of practice problems emphasizing business applications and designed to gauge the student's understanding of the concepts involved. Given the nature of the subject matter, the text is organized into six chapters, with the first three chapters dealing with the use of mathematical modeling and quantitative techniques in business. The next three chapters deal with business applications of descriptive statistics, probability, and probability distributions.
In terms of topics covered, this text is not at all encyclopedic and, with respect to its size, is quite manageable and should not intimidate or overwhelm students. Our objective is to simply do a few things well and to provide a semester's worth of material that can readily be taught at a reasonable and unhurried pace.
Chapter 1 reviews the basic mathematical concepts and methods with business applications. Chapter 2 deals with linear and nonlinear applications of quantitative techniques in business. Optimization techniques, both unconstrained and constrained, are presented in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 covers descriptive statistics, including measures of location and variability. Chapter 5 includes probability, probability distribution, rules of probability, and contingency table applications. Finally, Chapter 6 introduces both discrete and continuous random variables, expected values, and decision making with payoff tables, and presents general types of distributions such as the binomial distribution and its applications. Throughout the text, special emphasis is placed upon providing many examples that deal with real data. Abbreviated solutions to odd-numbered exercises are presented at the end of the textbook.
Why such an emphasis on “tools?” For those who follow employment issues, it has been estimated that the typical worker/professional will hold an average of seven jobs during his/her working career – and at this point in time, at least half of those jobs have not been even invented yet. The moral of this point is that students need, in terms of their skill set, to be flexible and nimble. Clearly, a firm grounding in analytical tools makes one highly trainable and adaptable. To build any modern “skills edifice,” one needs a solid foundation.
But this is only part of the story. In the latest issue of Economic Letter (Vol. 9, No. 5, May 2014) published by the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, it was mentioned that “the number of people performing low-skill, low-pay manual labor tasks has grown with the number undertaking high-skill, high-pay, non-routine principally problem-solving jobs.” Middle-skill jobs have been lost in this U.S. labor market polarization or hollowing-out. It is the cognitive nonroutine jobs that are high-skilled jobs that require performing abstract tasks such as problem solving, intuition, and persuasion – jobs that typically require a college degree and some analytical expertise. Let us face it, the high-skill, high-pay jobs will not be landed by the innumerate.
Our sincere thanks go to our colleagues, Profs. Jim Peta and Frank Dellolacono at the University of Hartford, for their support and encouragement. A special note of thanks goes to our office coordinator, Alice Schoenrock, and to our graduate assistant, Lavanya Raghavan, for their timely typing of the various sections and revisions of the text. We are also grateful to our previous graduate assistant, Mustafa Atalay, for helping with the preparation of examples and solutions.
We also acknowledge the support and encouragement of Susanne Steitz-Filler, Senior Editor, Mathematics and Statistics; Allison McGinniss, Project Editor; and Sari Friedman, Editorial Program Coordinator, at John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Bharat Kolluri
Michael Panik
Rao Singamsetti
This book is accompanied by a companion website:
www.wiley.com/go/Kolluri/QuantitativeMethods
The Instructor's website includes:
The Student's website includes: