Statistics Coordinator Position

A Proposal to the Seniors Board

November 13, 2018

Willian Leite
Statistics Coordinator Position Proposal 1

Contents
1 Introduction 2

2 Definition of the position 3

2.1 On the importance of statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Making a boring subject a fun project for everyone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3 Methods 4
3.1 Work Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.1 Work time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.2 Mid-term and Final report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.3 Nation meetings presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3 Interview methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.4 Flexible structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.5 Statistics theory and Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

4 Goals 7
4.1 Organizing a web of variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2 Presenting clear data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.3 Making the position relevant to everyone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

5 Conclusion 9
Statistics Coordinator Position Proposal 2

1 Introduction
This proposal was elaborated with the intention to show to the Seniors board and to the
Quartel the importance of having a more objective and scientific view of the Nation’s events as
to try to have an insight on the trends and variables that might affect the outcome of different
activities.
More than just collection of data or a method of cataloguing information about the potential
customers in the nation, it is the objective of this paper to show that statistics can be used to
predict future problems and they even shed a light on the possible solutions for such outcomes.
A greater social view on it is also possible considering that statistics don’t have to be limited
to the business side, and can be carried as an instrument to grasp what the workers or active
members of the Nation expect of it.
Statistics Coordinator Position Proposal 3

2 Definition of the position

The idea of applying for a project foreman position comes from the fact that the information
to which the position would need access is not sensitive, and the primary source of information
for the forms and formulas, that is, the other foremen, would feel more relaxed if inquired by
one of their own.
The position would demand a great amount of work although scattered among several days
of the week, and given the nature of statistics, it would be necessary that the work would be
continued and carried on for as long as possible. More on that will follow in the subsequent
sections.

2.1 On the importance of statistics

In order to be able to predict future outcomes of new investments or even the eventual failure
of an on-going one, the institution must look to itself and try to find the patterns experienced
by itself or by others to assess what is to come and what should be done about it.
An entity, be it of economic nature or not, must not rely its decisions on simple assumptions,
personal belief or bias, and that is why a pragmatic approach must be taken towards building
a system that allows the entity to reliably collect data and study it.
Statistics also serve to a secondary purpose of being the base of major arguments that might
be necessary when taking tough decisions.
Sydskånska, as an entity that has existed for so long and plans to do so for even more, must
create a strategy that will guarantee its bases to stand strong in face of the challenges that are
ahead either by society as a whole or by its competitors in Lund, and the secure conservative
way of preparing such a strategy is by looking at statistical data.
One can not in good mind take long-term decision without looking at the past comparing
it to the present. Statistics show the ways to performance managements, alternative scenarios,
and research and development.

2.2 Making a boring subject a fun project for everyone

It is common to see statistics as the boring subject in school, something only seen in really
big companies or information connected to politics and economics, however it can be made a
simple and easy subject if worked right.
Assuming that the Statistics Coordinator position exists, the Seniors Board might get wor-
ried that eventually, new people would have to be found to fill up the position and that could
be hard given the technical side of it or even the toughness of the subject, however, as it will
be shown in this document, the central idea of the position is that it will be made in such a
way that the boring work will be limited to interviews and number fills in spreadsheets. All
the formulas will be ready made, and quick base meanings will be given to the results in order
to facilitate the work of future foremen.
Knowing also that the Seniors and Quratel have a lack of time in general, it is important
that such a work presented by the position to be light and concise, and the way to present
such an array of complex information in a condensed way would be given by the creation of an
Index.
Statistics Coordinator Position Proposal 4

3 Methods
3.1 Work Procedures
The main work procedures for this position would be defined differently for the first two
terms. The first term the main procedure is to come up with the grounds of the system, creating
forms and assessing levels of importance to different variables in order to create a function for
each event that generates an Index that will serve as a quick input on the "healthiness" of a
specific activity. This is only part of the procedure for the first term because if done once it only
needs to be revised once a year to guarantee every information is updated and still relevant.
Other procedures that start from Term 1 and will be carried indefinitely will involve inter-
viewing one foreman and one worker from which event, and after the event. This so in order
to get a fresh and reliable overview of the foremen perception over the activity and a simplified
view of the inputs the worker experience might bring.
Among these procedures, the future Statistics Coordinator must also work closely with the
novishforemen in order to collect data that will later on bring insights of which trends affect
the novice period in the Nation, studying for example which Student Association has a bigger
presence or even the percentage of international members. This information will then be used to
assess whether the nation should focus in growing among different types of students by course
for example.
The Statistics Coordinator will also contact sitting contractors after their experience in order
to get an overview from the sittings, to assess food and service quality as the club afterwards
too. Still on the club statistics, the Coordinator is to define and quantify different variables
that bring to clarity the influence of external and internal factors on club success chance. It is
part of the procedure to study which club has the highest average sales ticket in order to find
the reasons for that and try to point to a solution that can be replicated in other events.
Ultimately, the Statistics Coordinator must be mentally capable of generating opinions
based on the numbers collected and on the tools available, so he/she may talk to the Quratel
and to the Seniors pointing alternative solutions or even new ideas on how to maximize profit
or attendance to the events. There is a huge range of ways that the Statistics Coordinator will
be free to explore different tools and models for the calculating probabilities and to see trends
in the nation.

3.1.1 Work time

The average time of work will be that of twenty minutes for interviews of foremen and
workers, plus another 40 minutes to properly catalogue the numbers and draw the conclusion
which will be presented to the Quratel as often as possible. Given that this work is to be
performed after every event, the position will consist of work periods of 4 to 6 hours per week,
scattered among different days.
Since some weeks have more events than others and mostly those in the beginning or the end
of the term, it is likely the work shall be more intensive during these periods and quite relaxed
on others, giving the foreman great flexibility to carry on with studies and other activities.

3.1.2 Mid-term and Final report

In an ideal world, the Statistics Coordinator will produce a Mid-term report presenting the
overall outcome of the project and also the activities’ index, pointing to different trends that
Statistics Coordinator Position Proposal 5

are forming or trying to predict the rest of the term. This is important for it is through this
tool that the Statistics Coordinator may be able to improve his predictions formula. A similar
but more detailed report has to invariably be done in the end of the term to assess not only
the successes and failures of the project but also the real numbers and trends of the events.
This report should consist not only of data, but mostly of analyzed data, presenting graphs,
opinions based in credible and factual arguments reliant on crude data and the report should
also contain the methods, and possible bias or mistakes both under the Coordinator’s control
or not.

3.1.3 Nation meetings presentations

As usual the PQE has her presentation during different meetings in the nation, such as the
nation meeting. It would be interesting if some time or some small part of this presentation
would be devoted to presenting the project to the people and also presenting crude numbers so
the members know what type of research is being done and also how this data is being analyzed.

3.2 Data Collection

In order to guarantee the success of the project the Coordinator must keep a high level of
commitment, not missing any data and being extremely scientific in his/her notations about
possible mistakes or not. One of the most important parts of this project is the Data Collection
and it must be emphasized and treated as so.
The Data Collection is to be inserted in spreadsheets and or SPSS, and it is to be collected
through Google Forms, even when the interviews are performed in person. The reason for
using Google Forms even when the interview is in person is because that minimizes the human
error when transferring the data to an Excel spreadsheet or SPSS, even more when there are
so many data points to consider. The Data must not be altered and any relevant commentary
on possible errors must be informed in a specific notes or reports.

3.3 Interview methods

For the sake of the mental comfort of all the subjects involved in this project the interviews
are to be kept short. A series of forms will be prepared with a range of five to ten questions,
the questions must be simple, unambiguous and the variables used for the answers must be of
numeric and non-categorical nature for that will make the calculations easier.
The interviews are better done in the presence of the subjects and it is recommended not to
try to influence the subject with any type of explanation of questions they might not understand,
unless of course it is a language barrier impediment or something of the like. The research must
be kept neutral and unbiased.
When the interviews are not possible of being made in person, one can use the Google Forms
links through social media or email, but there must be a real effort to make the foreman - and
possibly a worker - answer the survey. In the case of sittings the best would be to call the
contractor directly and to make the questions in a way that the person does not realize she is
being part of an research. Since some people do not like being called, try calling in comfortable
times and make sure the call does not exceed three minutes. In case a contractor do not pick
up the phone, send the form through email and in this stage one can only hope the information
will be gotten.
Statistics Coordinator Position Proposal 6

3.4 Flexible structure

The structure of the project, that is, the forms, variables, interviews and even formulas must
be kept as simple and understandable as possible with the intuit of making it flexible enough
to be changed at will and demand by future Seniors, Quratel and or foremen.
Such a thing is achieved by careful understanding of the statistics principles and by thinking
in almost every way possible the outcome and influence of the chosen variables in the said
activities.

3.5 Statistics theory and Indexes

As mentioned before, it would be extremely boring and hard to appreciate such a work if it
is presented as a file filled with disconnected numbers from a huge amount of events, therefore
it is part of the Work Procedure for this position to develop a function that implies different
weights to variables according to their importance or level of influence over a giver activity.
Therefore different events will have different formulas for they are affected by different variables.
Obviously, to define the weigh of a variable in a function is no easy task, given that it is
hard to quantify how more or less influential a variable will be to an event. In order to tackle
this problem two solutions are presented. The first - and also the one that will have to be used
in the first term in case the position passes through the Seniors syndication - is making a form
to be filled by every foreman, Quratel and seniors where the subjects will give to each variable
the level of importance or influence they think such variable will have over an event. Although
a long and slow process, this may be achieved during a foreman kick-off for example. It would
be natural that opinion of seasoned foremen, seniors and Quratel would have a greater weight
in this since they know the events better. While not optimal, this is the only solution for the
first term and it will help give a good overview of what people think of the level of influence
external factors can have over their activity for example.
The second solution, and this one depends on the collection of data, is to gather all the data
collected in a term, run the calculations looking for the strongest correlations to a certain given
aim, such as maximum sales or guest attendance, and change the function to address these
variables with the weight correspondent to their true correlation with the goal in mind. This
can be then improved by revising this correlations at the beginning and end of every new term
in order to get a more and more precise overview. This would also bring to light different trends
that are usually not easily seen when one does not appreciate such mathematical methods and a
personalized and updated function like this could lay grounds for better ones that could predict
future outcomes with a high grade of precision.
Statistics Coordinator Position Proposal 7

4 Goals
4.1 Organizing a web of variables
The main goal of the position is to catalogue and analyze information. There is a range of
variables that are not considered by the Quratel or Seniors when making long term decision,
and there are numbers that could help the foremen making better decisions about their own
activities.
It is imperative that the nation invest part of its structure to make possible to its members
the opportunity of studying the nation in such depth as to give this opportunity for students
to have a practical view over business and statistics.
Among the variables proposed to be studies are those of weather influence on events, on
a systematized way to advertise and it could even contain a study over social medial real
responsiveness. As said before, these studies could help create real strategies for the Nation
that will make it not only survive over the years but also guarantee its place as a liquid strong
entity with a big business tradition.

4.2 Presenting clear data

Among the goals it is important to mention that of presenting data that is easily readable
and accessed by anyone. It is not good to produce such knowledge and keep it from hungry
eyes.
A project like this is only truly successful if a real application of its fruits are put to happen,
and this is only possible if anyone, and that is even the most "statistics illiterate" person, can
read the data inputs and analysis. That is why this document emphasizes so much the creation
of a structure with the help of the Quratel, the Seniors and the foremen, in order to create
something with which everyone is familiar and comfortable, and not only the mathematical
geeks.
The use of an Index to summarize the results of a research is only one method of making
the data more clear. It is of my own opinion that this position should allow whomever seeks it
to emit official opinions and advice to those in the position to make such changes, not because
the Coordinator would know more about the nation then other but because is his or her hands
there could be a key to a technology that has been neglected to some extent in the institution
so far.

4.3 Making the position relevant to everyone

The Statistics Coordinator must have in mind that her/his work is only valid if applicable.
All foremen, Quratel and Seniors opinion about the work and about the methods of realizing
it must be respected given that they are based in solid and relevant arguments.
Many different foremen can profit from this information by knowing the trends or the
"external formulas" that point to a successful event so they abuse the windows of opportunity
that may appear. For example, with enough data it would be possible to know what type of
food attracts more customers, what type of weather is optimal, which type of music, and the
list goes on.
While the results of such a position were first aimed to be used by those in decision making
positions, it shows the expected result of bringing information and a new sense of strategy
Statistics Coordinator Position Proposal 8

to everyone that might be interested in that, and every foremen should feel interested and
comfortable in contacting a Statistics Coordinator to know more about her/his own event.
Statistics Coordinator Position Proposal 9

5 Conclusion
Now that most of the ideas have been laid out, and the possible results from it are on the
table, I must address that such an experience for the nation, even if not applied now would be
of great use by anyone in the future. Quratel, Senior or not. The costs to keep such a position
are very low to expectations of material and immaterial profits it can bring.
In order to make a project of this extent to happen it would be necessary that the project
was carried on for at least two terms (or a full year period), and in case it is successful, renewed
for another before set as an official foreman position. That is because it still depends on several
tests and on the commitment of future foremen in the position. If it survives and collects
enough data for this two year period, the outcomes are hard to measure since this could bring
so many different good prospects to the Nation.
Further on, would be interesting to start comparing this Nation numbers with those of
other Nations, and in case they do not have them, why not export the technology? That would
definitely be for the best in the whole scene in Lund.
My recommendation also goes to making it a two foremen position. It is a lot of work - even
more on the first term given that all the forms, formulas and spreadsheets must be created from
scratch - and also because makes the data collection more reliable, both by giving a greater
time range for the data to be collected and by putting in check each others "statistics" related
decision. After the first year it would be possible to asses the issue again to make clear whether,
after the bases are built, there would still be need for two foremen in the position. My proposal
comes to an end here and I would like to thank you for the attention and to congratulate you
to go through such a pretentious documents. I finish this paragraph with sincere hopes that
you may now be able to envision the same project I do now that I solemnly believe would
benefit everyone in the nation, either by helping the growth of the institution or by validating
the mostly necessary tough decisions performed here and there.