Most areas of modern management involve the regular use of statistics for administration and decision making. Whether information is provided about production and sales levels or available for scheduling and planning, a number of different techniques have been developed to help managers understand the importance of statistical procedures and quantitative skills

This module discusses the meaning and nature of statistics and describes how such data can be analysed and interpreted. The key concepts of location and dispersion form the basis of the discussion, along with the validity and relevance of statistical sources. Of particular importance is the need to understand that statistics should only provide the information to support decision making, not indicate solutions on their own

Specific techniques for making forecasts of future performance are introduced with a range of appropriate examples. These allow managers to consider the nature of existing statistics and seek out trends. The mathematical concepts of correlation and regression provide a numeric approach to making forecasts

Linear programming is demonstrated as an important method for establishing optimum conditions in production, and networks are used to provide an efficient and effective means of project scheduling, with critical path analysis forming the backbone of this valuable technique

Inventory control is shown to be a valuable mathematical model for stock management and the module concludes with a discussion of the use of indices as an objective way of demonstrating change over a period of time