Essentials of Statistics for Business and Economics (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac) (Available Titles CengageNOW)

ESSENTIALS OF STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS, FOURTH EDITION is an introductory stats textbook that emphasizes statistical concepts and applications. The discussion and development of each technique is presented in an application setting, with the statistical results providing insights to decisions and solutions to problems. The easy-to-follow presentation style and problem-scenario approach clearly show how to apply statistical methods in practical business situations. This brief introduction to business statistics balances a conceptual understanding of statistics with the real-world application of statistical methodology. The essentials version features selected core topics from the authors' market-leading STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS, NINTH EDITION presented in 13 chapters. It includes the highly-regarded strengths of the longer text, including the problem-scenario approach that uses real-world examples to introduce stat techniques. Methods, Applications, and Self-Test exercises include hundreds of problems based on real data. Examples and exercises throughout focus on ways that stats contribute to improving the quality of products and services. This text can also be computer integrated at the discretion of the instructor. Instruction for data analysis based on Microsoft Excel and MINITAB is included in appendices of appropriate chapters. Case problems are also provided with the text, with data sets available on disk for both MINITAB 14 and Excel formats.

Dr. David R. Anderson is a textbook author and Professor Emeritus of Quantitative Analysis in the College of Business Administration at the University of Cincinnati. He has served as head of the Department of Quantitative Analysis and Operations Management and as Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration. He was also coordinator of the College's first Executive Program. In addition to introductory statistics for business students, Dr. Anderson has taught graduate-level courses in regression analysis, multivariate analysis, and management science. He also has taught statistical courses at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. Professor Anderson has received numerous honors for excellence in teaching and service to student organizations. He is the coauthor of ten textbooks related to decision sciences and actively consults with businesses in the areas of sampling and statistical methods. Born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, he earned his BS, MS, and PhD degrees from Purdue University.

Dr. Dennis J. Sweeney is a textbook author, Professor Emeritus of Quantitative Analysis and founder of the Center for Productivity Improvement at the University of Cincinnati. He also served five years as head of the Department of Quantitative Analysis and four years as Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration. In addition, he has worked in the management science group at Procter & Gamble and has been a visiting professor at Duke University. Professor Sweeney has published more than 30 articles in the area of management science and statistics. The National Science Foundation, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Federated Department Stores, Kroger, and Cincinnati Gas & Electric have funded his research, which has been published in MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, OPERATIONS RESEARCH, MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING, DECISION SCIENCES, and other journals. Dr. Sweeney is the coauthor of ten textbooks in the areas of statistics, management science, linear programming, and production and operations management. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he earned a BS degree from Drake University, graduating summa cum laude. He received his MBA and DBA degrees from Indiana University, where he was an NDEA Fellow.

Dr. Thomas A. Williams is Professor of Management Science in the College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology where he was the first chairman of the Decision Sciences Department. He teaches courses in management science and statistics, as well as graduate courses in regression and decision analysis. Before joining the College of Business at RIT, Professor Williams served for seven years as a faculty member in the College of Business Administration at the University of Cincinnati, where he developed the undergraduate program in Information Systems and then served as its coordinator. The co-author of 11 leading textbooks in the areas of management science, statistics, production and operations management, and mathematics, Professor Williams has been a consultant for numerous Fortune 500 companies and has worked on projects ranging from the use of data analysis to the development of large-scale regression models. He earned his B.S. degree at Clarkson University and completed his graduate work at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.