d) Create a plan for the collection of primary and secondary data for a given business problem.

They are two types of sources that can be used when conducting a research: Primary and
Secondary.
Primary sources give first-hand results that are provided by a research or study directed
specifically for the case in question.
Secondary sources usually interpretation or an analysis of a primary source.
In the case of AZE, the usual sequence would be to start by searching for potential reasons for
the low employee satisfaction, in other words secondary sources to reduce the range of
possibilities. Internet and Books are usually the best secondary sources to start the search.
The next step for AZE would be to focus on primary sources that provide more accurate and
relevant information. AZE has already identified the main problem by interviewing the
employees that actually left the firm. After acknowledging the employee satisfaction issue, AZE
has to conduct a survey that will give them a closer insight on the reasons why the employees are
not satisfied. The survey will provide AZE with relevant information that will help find solutions
for the current concerns.
e) Present the survey methodology and sampling frame used.
To create the right survey, AZE has to define its target population, the sample it is focusing on
and how they both are related with the sampling frame.
-A population is the compilation of all the people or items that are subject to the study: For
AZEs case it is All the employees.
-A sample is the particular group of the population that is being observed or studied.
-A sampling frame is the group that can be studied in a certain population.
The goal of AZE is to create a thought-through survey that will provide descriptive statistics that
will be inferred to create a more successful strategy. The survey methodology is about sampling
a certain population based on pre chosen characteristics. In the case of AZE, the population and
the sample are the same: All the employees. Having the whole population as a sampling frame is
a positive characteristic. The total number of employees in AZE is 150, it is a manageable
population plus having the opportunity to survey all the employees will give very accurate
results. After collecting the results, AZE will look at the outcomes in a general way then divide
the employees by function/level of management to have a more detailed look.
The survey will be close-ended questions mostly with some room for suggestions. It will be in a
multiple-choice format with answer based on a scale of three.
c) Design a questionnaire for a given business problem.

1) Are you a:
a. Manager
b. Driver
c. Office assistant
d. Other _______________
2) How long have you been working for AZE:
a. 1 year or less
b. 2 years
c. 3 years
d. 4 years or more: ___ years.
3) How well do you think you are paid for your job?
a. Extremely well
b. Well
c. Not Well
d. Comments:
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
4) How are the tasks that are assigned to you?
a. Extremely realistic
b. Realistic
c. Unrealistic at all
d. Comments:
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
5) How is the level of stress during your work?

a. Extremely high
b. High
c. Low
d. Comments:
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
6) How would you describe your supervisors management methods?
a. Extremely satisfactory
b. Satisfactory
c. Unsatisfactory
d. Comments:
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
7) Do you feel appreciated by your co-workers?
a. Extremely appreciated
b. Appreciated
c. Not Appreciated
d. Comments:
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
8) How satisfied are you with your over all Job?
a. Extremely satisfied
b. Satisfied
c. Unsatisfied
d. Comments:
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

9) How likely would you be willing to change your job in AZE to another in a different
company?
a. Extremely likely
b. Likely
c. Unlikely
10) Personally, What is the most important aspect that AZE should work more at? (Employeremployee relationship)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
2.
a) Create information for decision making by summarizing data using representative values, and
use the results to draw valid and useful conclusions in a business context.
As mentioned before, AZE has 150 employees. After conducting the survey, the Human
Resources Management decided to study the results in a specific way. They are going to separate
the results based on the functions: Managers, Drivers, and Assistants/other.
AZE has 20 managers, 30 hold assistance or secondary jobs and 100 truck drivers.
Questions (refer above) Managers Drivers Assistance/other
Q2 80% said 3 years or more 70% said 1 year or less 60% said 2 to 3 years
Q3
90% said Well 60% said Well 70% said Well
Q4 70% said Realistic 80% said Unrealistic 60% said Unrealistic
Q5 90% said High 80% said Extremely High 70% said High
Q6 70 % said Satisfactory 90% said Unsatisfactory 60% said Unsatisfactory
Q7 70% said Appreciated 60% said appreciated (only fellow drivers) 70% said appreciated (not
by managers)
Q8 80% said Satisfied 80% said unsatisfied 60% said unsatisfied

Q9 80% said Unlikely 80% said Extremely likely 60% said likely
Q10 No repeated suggestion Better Managers Better management
The results of the survey have clearly showed that the main unsatisfied employees are the drivers
who are followed by the assistants.
Question threes results show clearly that the money is not the motive for AZEs employees
early departures.
It is clear that the problem that AZE is facing is related to their management, especially the
quality of their managers. Most of the drivers and assistants are no satisfied with their
supervisors and think that they are given unrealistic tasks. This huge disappointment has been
clearly proven in the last three questions where it states that most of them are not satisfied with
their job and are most likely going to look for an other job.
AZE has distinctly found out what is the problem: Managers. Their strategy is failing which is
dragging the whole company down. The most considerable solution would be to start by meeting
with 20 managers, sharing the results with them and discuss what are potential changes that can
be made. The HRM will need to keep track of the new managerial strategies and see if they are
effective and are implemented in the right way.
b) Analyze the data using measures of dispersion.
Taking the example of Question 8, AZEs managers answers data look as follows:
Managers: 16 were satisfied, 1 was unsatisfied and 3 were extremely satisfied.
Let us assume that the employees had also to rank their level of satisfaction based on a scale of 0
to 20. 0 meant that the employee was not satisfied at all and 20 meant that they were extremely
satisfied.
Managers scores: 5, 10, 10, 10, 11, 11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 13, 13, 13, 14, 18, 19, 19.
Mean: 5, 10, 10, 10, 11, 11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 13, 13, 13, 14, 18, 19, 19 = 12.4
20
Median: 12
Mode: 12
Standard deviation:
(13 Square root [3/2])/5= about 3.1843

Range: 19 5 =14
Using these measures of dispersion becomes very important when it comes to evaluating the
relevance of a survey. Identifying the outliers, in this case the 5 is the main one, is very
important. It clears out the misleading data to form educated results. For the case of the example
above, the mean and the median are very close, the standard deviation is minor and there are no
significant outliers. All these results assure us that for this case scores can be a used in relevant
decision making processes.
c) Describe how quartiles, percentiles, correlation coefficient are used to draw useful conclusions
in a business context.
Data: 5, 10, 10, 10, 11, 11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 13, 13, 13, 14, 18, 19, 19.
-The first quartile (Q1) or the 25th percentile represents the number that 25% of the numbers in
the data given are smaller than.
-The second quartile (Q2) of the 50th percentile is the median. 50% are greater than it and 50%
are smaller than it.
-The third quartile (Q3) or the 75th percentile represents the number that 75% of the data is less
than.
-The fourth quartile (Q4) is the largest number in the number line, 100% are smaller than it.
In the example of the survey, quartiles will clearly show what every percentage of the employees
scored and where the majority lies. This method can also be very important when studying
ranges of income or credits.
Taken the numbers above into consideration:
Q1 = 11 Q3 = 13
Q2 = 12 Q4 = 19
The correlation coefficient is a measure that determines the linear relationship between two
related variables. It is calculated by dividing the covariance of both variables by the product of
their standard deviation.
The correlation coefficient equation is symbolized as:
It is not very relevant to the survey scenario but it can be in numerous other business cases. If we
were to compare the employee satisfaction with their output, the correlation coefficient would be
very helpful to compare, contrast and monitor the relationship. The correlation coefficient is
usually represented as a line graph with all the data plugged in as points to form a twodimensional scatter plot.

The correlation coefficient graph looks like this:

3.
a) Using the data shown above, prepare a range of graphs using spreadsheets -- bar chart,
frequency histogram, relative frequency and cumulative relative frequency and draw valid
conclusions based on the information derived.
Maximum Frequency % Cumulative Maximum Frequency % Cumulative
4,3 4 40,00% 3,3 4 20,00%
5,3 6 70,00% 4,3 4 40,00%
3,3 4 20,00% 5,3 6 70,00%
6,3 3 85,00% 6,3 3 85,00%
7,3 3 100,00% 7,3 3 100,00%
More 0 100,00% More 0 100,00%
Frequency histograms organize all the data into a simple understandable chart. In this case, the
histogram made it easier to understand how much time did it take for specific students to prepare
for the statistics test. It also shows the possible outliers in the number line. The frequency
histogram also makes it easier to compare other frequencies to the mean, which in this case is
4.64 hours. Overall, the frequency histogram organizes the data and makes any continuous
behavior clear.
b) Use trend lines in spreadsheet graphs to assist in forecasting for specified business information
and thus inform decision-making.
The line starts at (.5, 2.4) and continues to increase. The unusual part is at the point (15, 5.2)
where the line stops to increase. This phenomenon can help forecast where the usual next
duration are on the line and also shows us how from the 5.5 hours point the duration are outside
the normal and the extremes like the 7.3 can be considered as outliers.
c) Prepare a formal business report.
Title: Test preparation
Methodology: Application of Statistical methods and Skills
Abstract: This study is done compare the different durations students take to prepare for a
statistics test. The sample that will be taken in consideration will be of 20 students. After finding

out that the times were quite different, it can be assumed that the different methods of study
differed between the 20 students in the sample.
Analysis: The overall experiment showed good results. The numbers did not vary a lot were
close to the mean, which was 4.64 hours of study. They were some outliers both at the top and
the bottom, which show that some students used different study techniques.
Conclusion
The experiment was successful and all the information that were expected to be extracted were
extracted. For future trials, it would be interesting to even compare the actual marks the students
got in the test and try to find out what is the best way to study including other variables like class
attendance or disturbance.
4.
a) Use appropriate information processing tools (excel) to get your answers required below. +
b) Prepare a project plan (network) for the activity mentioned in the scenario above and
determine the critical path for this activity (for which data is given) using the technique learned
in the class.
This Gantt chart represents all the activities and how they are time related.
d) Use financial tools (excel based tools) for decision-making and find out NPV, IRR and PV of
Cash inflows (discounted cash flow). Decide on the basis of calculated NPV and IRR whether
this project should be accepted? Why? Or why not?
When the data was computed in Microsoft Excel as follows:
Year Cash flow NPV IRR PV
0 -140000 -140000,00 -140000,00 0,00
1 25000 22321,43 19143,54 22321,43
2 40000 31887,76 23454,42 31887,76
3 45000 32030,11 20205,03 32030,11
4 60000 38131,08 20629,12 38131,08
5 100000 56742,69 26327,63 56742,69
6 150000 75994,67 30240,25 75994,67

137,338.32 0,00 257107,73

The graphs under show that based on the IRR and the NPV analysis the project is profitable and
should be accepted. The IRR was 18%, which surpassed the cost that was considered at 12%.
When all the cash flow ins and outs were added the NPV was positive 137,338.32, which proves
that the project is viable.