Chapter 8: Q4E (page 452)
Refer to Exercise 11.3. Find the equations of the lines that pass through the points listed in Exercise 11.1.
Short Answer
- y = x
- y = 3 – x
- y = (6/5) + (x/5)
- y = (15/4) + (9x/8)
Chapter 8: Q4E (page 452)
Refer to Exercise 11.3. Find the equations of the lines that pass through the points listed in Exercise 11.1.
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Get started for freeWhistle-blowing among federal employees. Whistle blowing refers to an employee’s reporting of wrongdoing by co-workers. A survey found that about 5% of employees contacted had reported wrongdoing during the past 12 months. Assume that a sample of 25 employees in one agency are contacted and let x be the number who have observed and reported wrongdoing in the past 12 months. Assume that the probability of whistle-blowing is .05 for any federal employee over the past 12 months.
a. Find the mean and standard deviation of x. Can x be equal to its expected value? Explain.
b. Write the event that at least 5 of the employees are whistle-blowers in terms of x. Find the probability of the event.
c. If 5 of the 25 contacted have been whistle-blowers over the past 12 months, what would you conclude about the applicability of the 5% assumption to this
agency? Use your answer to part b to justify your conclusion.
The “last name” effect in purchasing. The Journal of Consumer Research (August 2011) published a study demonstrating the “last name” effect—i.e., the tendency for consumers with last names that begin with a later letter of the alphabet to purchase an item before consumers with last names that begin with earlier letters. To facilitate the analysis, the researchers assigned a number, x, to each consumer based on the first letter of the consumer’s last name. For example, last names beginning with “A” were assigned x = 1; last names beginning with “B” were assigned x = 2; and last names beginning with “Z” were assigned x = 26.
a. If the first letters of consumers’ last names are equally likely, find the probability distribution for x.
b. Find E (x) using the probability distribution, part a. If possible, give a practical interpretation of this value.?
c. Do you believe the probability distribution, part a, is realistic? Explain. How might you go about estimating the true probability distribution for x
Question: Refer to the Journal of Business Logistics (Vol. 36, 2015) study of the factors that lead to successful performance-based logistics projects, Exercise 2.45 (p. 95). Recall that the opinions of a sample of Department of Defense (DOD) employees and suppliers were solicited during interviews. Data on years of experience for the 6 commercial suppliers interviewed and the 11 government employees interviewed are listed in the accompanying table. Assume these samples were randomly and independently selected from the populations of DOD employees and commercial suppliers. Consider the following claim: “On average, commercial suppliers of the DOD have less experience than government employees.”
a. Give the null and alternative hypotheses for testing the claim.
b. An XLSTAT printout giving the test results is shown at the bottom of the page. Find and interpret the p-value of the test user.
c. What assumptions about the data are required for the inference, part b, to be valid? Check these assumptions graphically using the data in the PBL file.
Buy-side vs. sell-side analysts' earnings forecasts. Refer to the Financial Analysts Journal (Jul. /Aug. 2008) study of financial analysts' forecast earnings, Exercise 2.86 (p. 112). Recall that data were collected from buy-side analysts and forecasts made by sell-side analysts, and the relative absolute forecast error was determined for each. The mean and standard deviation of forecast errors for both types of analysts are given in the table.
a. Construct a confidence interval for the difference between the mean forecast error of buy-side analysts and the mean forecast error of sell-side analysts.
b. Based on the interval, part a, which type of analysis has the greater mean forecast error? Explain.
c. What assumptions about the underlying populations of forecast errors (if any) are necessary for the validity of the inference, part b?
Question: The speed with which consumers decide to purchase a product was investigated in the Journal of Consumer Research (August 2011). The researchers theorized that consumers with last names that begin with letters later in the alphabet will tend to acquire items faster than those whose last names begin with letters earlier in the alphabet—called the last name effect. MBA students were offered free tickets to an event for which there was a limitedsupply of tickets. The first letter of the last name of those who responded to an email offer in time to receive the tickets was noted as well as the response time (measured in minutes). The researchers compared the response times for two groups of MBA students: (1) those with last names beginning with one of the first nine letters of the alphabet and (2) those with last names beginning with one of the last nine letters of the alphabet. Summary statistics for the two groups are provided in the table.
First 9 Letters: A–I | Last 9 Letters: R–Z | |
Sample size | 25 | 25 |
Mean response time (minutes) | 25.08 | 19.38 |
Standard deviation (minutes) | 10.41 | 7.12 |
Source: Based on K. A. Carlson and J. M. Conrad, “The Last Name Effect: How Last Name Influences Acquisition Timing,” Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 38, No. 2, August 2011.
a. Construct a 95% confidence interval for the difference between the true mean response times for MBA students in the two groups.
b. Based on the interval, part a, which group has the shorter mean response time? Does this result support the researchers’ last name effect theory? Explain.
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