Quantitative Analysis

Module Title	Quantitative Analysis
Module Code	25-4019-00L
Semester of Delivery	See Module Information Table
Mandatory/Elective/Option	See Module Information Table
Level	4
Credit Points	20

Assessment Mode Weighting	Coursework	40%
	Examination	60%

Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None

Class Contact Hours
Average Weekly	1.5

Directed Learning
Average Weekly	5

Module Leader	Muriel Eddowes
	Sheffield Business School
Module Banding	A
Approval Status	Validated

Rationale

All business organisations generate large quantities of data which can be processed to provide vital management information for the operational and strategic development of the organisation. The effective collection, processing, analysis and reporting of these data are essential to the successful operation of the business.

The accountant or financial manager plays an important part in this activity, both as a member of the management team and as a major collector of data. It is therefore incumbent on the financial manager to ensure that s/he collects reliable data as far as is possible and is proficient in the techniques available for the extraction of useful management information.

The module uses and develops basic mathematical and statistical techniques which are currently taught at GCSE. It is recognised that some students entering the institution have already studied successfully a significant proportion of the basic techniques developed in the Quantitative Analysis module but are not familiar with the application of these techniques to business problems and the provision of management information. The flexibility of the Teaching/Learning proposed will give those students with mathematics at 'A' level, an opportunity to develop and strengthen their expertise by tackling more realistic and demanding problems.

Summary of Aims

To provide students with an understanding of the basic mathematical and statistical techniques required to collect, analyse and interpret data in a finance and general business context.
To enable students to develop competencies in these techniques.
To enable students to develop the appropriate analytical and communication skills needed for the interpretation and reporting of the results of a quantitative investigation.

Anticipated Learning Outcomes

On completion of the module the student should be able to:

use basic statistical techniques to collect, organise and process relevant data;
select an appropriate statistical or mathematical technique to analyse a simple business problem;
apply the statistical or mathematical technique correctly to the problem, including building simple models of financial and economic relationships;
discuss and evaluate the results of the calculations effectively for a given context;
present the calculations, findings and evaluation in an appropriate written form;
use a computer spreadsheet to display data pictorially and to perform calculations relevant to the preceding learning outcomes.

Assessment and Feedback Strategy

Students will be given feedback on their progress in the achievement of the learning outcomes for the module via the normal tutorial activities and by formal assessment.

Regular feedback, both verbal and written, will be given using a very short assignment at the end of selected topics. The student's abilities to apply their knowledge to a business problem will be assessed via a small case study towards the end of the module. These assignments will form the summative assessment for the module (30% weighting).

Students knowledge and understanding of the module as a whole will be assessed by an unseen examination (70% weighting).

Module Assessment Criteria

In the assignments the students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of a topic by the application of the particular area of study to a simple business problem. Marks will be awarded for:

appropriateness of the application
correctness of the calculations
suitability of the discussion and reporting of the results
quality of the presentation

Each year, in the Module Guide, a detailed schedule will be provided which shows the learning outcomes to be assessed by each assignment together with the specific assessment criteria.

In the examination the questions will assess the student's ability to perform calculations using the techniques studied and their ability to explain and interpret the results of these calculations. The examination questions will focus on Learning Outcomes 2, 3 and 4 but will also include aspects of outcomes 1 and 5.

Learning Outcome	Assessment Criterion (where assessed)	Level descriptors
Learning Outcome	Assessment Criterion (where assessed)	fail	PASS	2.2	2.1	First
Outcome 1	Aspects will be assessed in both coursework and examination¹	Little or no basic knowledge of methods of collecting, organising or processing data	Some basic knowledge of methods of collecting, organising or processing data	Good knowledge of methods of collecting, organising and processing data	Appropriate and correct data collection and organisation. Good knowledge of methods of processing data relevant to the situation.	Extensive knowledge of methods of collecting organising data Imaginative and informative data processing.
Outcome 2	Aspects will be assessed in both coursework and examination¹	Little or no basic knowledge of appropriate techniques.	Some knowledge of appropriate techniques	Good knowledge of appropriate techniques	Good applied use of appropriate techniques for analysis	Wide-ranging applied use of appropriate techniques for analysis
Outcome 3	Aspects will be assessed in both coursework and examination¹	Incorrectly apply the chosen technique. Many errors both process and arithmetical	Mostly correct use of the chosen technique. Some errors both process and arithmetical	Correctly apply the chosen technique. Very few errors of process or arithmetic.	Correctly apply the chosen technique. One or two arithmetic errors only	Correctly apply the chosen technique with no errors. Tailor the application fully to the business problem.
Outcome 4	Aspects will be assessed in both coursework and examination¹	Little or no constructive discussion or evaluation of the results	Small amount of constructive discussion of results. Little or no attempt at evaluation.	Good discussion of the results in general terms. Some attempt at evaluation.	Well-structured discussion applied to the business problem. Good attempt at evaluation.	Comprehensive and well-structured discussion and evaluation applied to the business problem with appropriate conclusions drawn.
Outcome 5	Aspects will be assessed in both coursework and examination	No attempt to present work in an appropriate format. Poorly written and hard to follow. Many spelling and grammatical errors.	Some attempt to present work in an appropriate format. Able to follow but spelling and grammatical errors.	Clear presentation; easy to follow. Only minor spelling and grammatical errors.	Good presentation in an appropriate format. Very easy to follow. No minor spelling and grammatical errors.	Accomplished presentation in an appropriate and imaginative format which is helpful to the reader. No errors.
Outcome 6	Coursework¹	Virtually no use made of spreadsheet techniques.	Basic use made of a spreadsheet to display data.	Effective attempt to use a spreadsheet display data and to help with the data analysis.	Good use showing a development of basic techniques	Creative and correct use of more advanced techniques to help with data analysis

The examination questions will focus on Learning Outcomes 2, 3 and 4 but will also include aspects of outcomes 1 and 5.

Teaching and Learning Strategy and Methods

Weekly lectures will be used to introduce each topic and to discuss key points. These lectures will be aimed at students entering with a good GCSE grade in mathematics. Additional support will be provided for those students who are non-standard entrants, e.g. mature students, via guided Computer Based Learning materials.

Tutorials will be used to develop the topics and to explore the applications of the quantitative techniques to the finance and management functions of organisations. Opportunities will be available for formative feedback to be given on progress.

Students will be expected to develop their knowledge and skills further by means of guided self-study, using both written and computer based materials.

For those students who, at the beginning of the module, can demonstrate a satisfactory standard in the mathematical and statistical skills required, opportunities will be given for more independent study and the consideration of applications of a more demanding nature. Tutorials will be used to report the outcomes of the investigations and for further discussion and development of the material.

As suitable material becomes available, guided computer based learning will be incorporated. Different materials will be used to provide additional support for the less experienced student; additional practice and formative assessment of each topic; development work for the more experienced students.

Use will be made of the SHU Key Skills-On Line materials to help in the development of numerical, report writing skills and other presentation skills.

Indicative Content

Data collection, organisation and presentation; summary measures
Functions, graphs, equations, inequalities, applications
Two variable linear programming; graphical solution; introduction to sensitivity analysis
Introduction to the principles of estimation and forecasting
Two variable linear regression analysis, correlation
Simple additive component Time Series models
Financial Mathematics
Basic principles of probability
Introduction to standard probability distributions, including approximations
Use of spreadsheets for data organisation, presentation and summary measures and for simple model building; use of the solver function.

Indicative Reading List

Each year the Tutorial Guide will contain a revised list of indicative texts which are suitable to support the module. There are many suitable texts available in the Learning Centre and it is important that students find material which suits their own taste.

The list for 2002/2003 is:

1. Wisniewski, M, Foundation Quantitative Methods for Business, Pitman, new edition

2. Morris, C, Quantitative Approaches in Business Studies, 6th edition, 2003

3. Oakshott, L, Essential Quantitative Methods, Macmillan, 1998

4. Silver, M, Business Statistics, McGraw-Hill, latest edition

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