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Online Syllabus - Business Math and Statistics
Online Syllabus - Business Math and Statistics
Syllabus
1. Module Description
The unit provides a grounding in mathematical and statistical techniques used in business and
enables students to efficiently apply the learned skills in daily duties and future learning. The
purpose of this unit is to increase students’ math and statistics knowledge and improve their
numerical skills as it applies to many aspects of business and to prepare students to study such
areas of management as finance and accounting or conduct quantitative research in business.
Through a practical methodology, students will acquire the necessary skills to understand and
use classic calculus and statistics techniques in real case business scenarios.
NOTE: The content of this module is regulated by the Malta Further and Higher Education
Authority (MFHEA).
b) C.2. Manage numerical information and statistical data and make decisions by undertaking
deductive analysis;
c) C.3. Demonstrate operational capacity for using statistical data and presenting results with
technical accuracy;
d) C.4. Develop learning skills to undertake further studies of business mathematics and
related disciplines such as finance, accounting, and big data analysis;
Skills – at the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired the following skills:
a) S.1. Demonstrates transfer of theoretical and practical knowledge of business calculus to
examine basic terms in the areas of business calculus and financial mathematics, to
interpret various methods of business calculus, types and methods of interest account and
their basic applications in practice and to independently solve problems related to simple
and compound interest account, use of compound interest account, loan and consumer
credit;
b) S.2. Demonstrate operational capacity for calculating and interpreting business statistics by
applying statistical techniques appropriate to the analysis of business problems or
situations;
c) S.3. Identify and use data to formulate responses to implementing statistical inference
using hypotheses testing and estimation, performing time series analysis and forecasting of
different variables;
d) S.4. Apply statistical procedures to analyze, and make suggestions on, a range of practical
business problems.
Judgement Skills and Critical Abilities – at the end of the module/unit the learner will have
acquired the following judgement skills and critical abilities:
a) JS.1. Analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information;
b) JS.2. Manipulate and analyze numerical data, observable facts and business data and
arrive to an informed conclusion;
d) JS.4. Make judgements on appropriate statistical techniques and evaluate their advantages
and disadvantages.
Session 5 Activity 5.1 - Group Work-Simple Formative Assessment 1: Brechner, R., Berge
Interest vs. Compound Interest: Set Exercises / Use of (2019). Contempor
-The methods of Digital Software Tools Mathematics for Bu
usage of a compound In groups of 3-4, discuss the (Excel) FA1 (15%): and Consumers, (9
interest account in the difference between simple interest Cengage Learning.
field of business (Part and compound interest (example 2) Calculation of final and 11, pg. 356-359.
I) interpretation. present value of an
investment knowing the
To be uploaded on discussion interest rate.
board on VLE (100 words).
Finding the loan amount at
Week 2
Session 6 the end of a period and the Brechner, R., Berge
amount of each payment. (2019). Contempor
-The methods of Mathematics for Bu
To be uploaded on the VLE.
usage of a compound and Consumers, (9
interest account in the Cengage Learning.
field of business (Part 12, pg. 381-387.
II)
Live
session 1 Q&A session via MS Teams (link will be shared in VLE)
Session 13 Activity 13.1 - Practical Session- Formative Assessment 3: Moore, D. S., McCa
Binomial Distribution: Set Exercises / Use of P., Duckworth, W. M
Week 4
-Binomial probability Alwan, L. C. (2016)
distributions, normal Practice of Busines
Live
Q&A session via MS Teams (link will be shared in VLE)
session 2
Session 17 Activity 17.1 - Debates and Black, K. (2017). B
Discussions/Brainstorming: Statistics: Contemp
-Experimental design, Sampling Techniques: Decision Making (9
randomness, and Wiley. Chapter 11,
sampling distributions Discuss the different sampling 442
(Part II) techniques: Simple Random
Week 5 Sampling, Systematic Random
Sampling, Stratified Random
Sampling, Cluster Sampling.
Project from last class. Individual
work.
Live
Q&A session via MS Teams (link will be shared in VLE)
session 3
Session 25 Activity 25.1 - Practical Session- Formative Assessment 5: Black, K. (2017). B
Z Test Set Exercises / Use of Statistics: Contemp
-Calculating Digital Software Tools Decision Making (9
confidence intervals, Use the z-test to test the difference (Excel and PSPP) Wiley. Chapter 10,
sample size, and in the two population means. FA5 (15%): 350
testing hypotheses for Examples on PSPP. Interpretation
one and two of the result (Make the decision). Calculation, interpretation,
proportions using z- and analysis of the
Individual work. PSPP to be correlation between two
statistic (Part II) uploaded on VLE. variables.
Session 26 Finding and interpretation of Black, K. (2017). B
the simple linear regression Statistics: Contemp
-Calculating equation. Decision Making (9
confidence intervals, Wiley. Chapter 8, p
sample size, and Construction and 257
testing hypotheses for interpretation of the
one and two confidence interval using the
proportions using z- z-test method.
statistic (Part III) To be uploaded on the VLE.
Week 8
Session 27 Black, K. (2017). B
Statistics: Contemp
-Computing and Decision Making (9
interpreting the Wiley. Chapter no 1
results of a least nos. 466-469
square
regression/correlation
(Part I)
4. Module Assessment
The assessment of this module consists of Formative and Summative assessment activities
listed in table 1 and described in table 2 below:
Table 1:
Prefinal grade is based on the Formative Assessment activities, and it is not a part of a module
final grade. Students should have over 50 points of the prefinal grade to submit
summative assessment activities representing module final grade.
Table 2:
Formative Summative
Practical Skill Assessment: Report: Assesses acquisition of
Assessment of students’ ability to practical skills of mathematics and
use Excel and statistical software. statistics and the ability to interpret
Use of Digital Software Tools: The the results (2800 words and
use of outputs and correct symbols).
interpretation produced by different
software is assessed.
Set Exercise/Case Study: Throughout the unit, students work on questions
or case studies designed to assess the application of knowledge, analytical,
problem-solving, or evaluative skills and receive timely feedback. By the end
of the unit, students will be required to submit the whole solution in writing
(2000 words) to various problems presented in the unit by using skills and
knowledge acquired.
The passing grade for the module is 60%.
Objectives:
This summative assessment aims to examine the students' knowledge of the financial
mathematics covered in this course. It includes fundamental formulas for simple and compound
interest, calculation of average rate, effective rate, and average maturity of commercial bills,
comparison of capitals at different dates, and construction of loan amortization tables. The
objective is to select investments based on economic profitability and other aspects related to
financial mathematics.
Definitions: Students will explain various concepts in their own words - 25 marks
• Case study 1: Students will select and apply mathematical formulas to find future values
for different interest rates, analyze the results, explain changes in values (e.g., interest
rates), and make business decisions. - 15 marks
• Case study 2: Students will find the compounded interest rate received from an ordinary
annuity over 20 years. - 10 marks
• Case study 3: Students will find monthly payments and interest rates under two different
plans. - 10 marks
• Case study 4: Given the interest rate and loan amount, students will find the loan
period. - 20 marks
Guidelines:
Before assessment and grading, all homework assignments submitted via the Virtual Learning
Environment (VLE) will be checked for plagiarism using embedded software. Students must
familiarize themselves with the Plagiarism Handbook available in the VLE before submitting
their first assignment.
Written assignments should be typewritten and will only be marked if submitted via VLE by the
requested time. Late submissions will not be tolerated under any circumstances!
Evaluation Criteria:
Objectives:
Guidelines:
Before assessment and grading, all homework assignments submitted via Virtual Learning
Written assignments should be typewritten and will only be marked and graded if submitted via
VLE by the requested time. Late submissions will not be tolerated under any circumstances!
Evaluation Criteria:
Refer to the Class Activities Document in the folder for more detailed information.
5. Module Requirements
A. Core Readings List
1. Barnett, R. et al. (2018). Calculus for Business, Economics, Life Sciences, and Social
Sciences, (14th ed.) Pearson.
2. Black, K. (2017). Business Statistics: Contemporary Decision Making (9 th ed.) Wiley.
3. Brechner, R., Bergeman, G. (2019). Contemporary Mathematics for Business and
Consumers, (9th ed.) Cengage Learning.
4. Halter, K. (2018). The PSPP Guide: An Introduction to Statistical Analysis (2 nd ed.)
CreativeMinds Press Group.
5. Leviden, D. (2018). Statistics for Managers Using Microsoft Excel. Pearson.
6. Moore, D. S., McCabe, G. P., Duckworth, W. M., Alwan, L. C. (2016). The Practice of
Business Statistics and Economics (4th ed.) W. H. Freeman & Company.
7. Tabesh, P., Mousavidin, E., & Hasani, S. (2019). Implementing big data strategies: A
managerial perspective. Business Horizons, 62(3), 347-358.
1. Anderson, D. R., Sweeney, D. J., Williams, T. A., Camm, J. D., & Cochran, J. J. (2020).
Modern Business Statistics with Microsoft Excel. Cengage Learning.
2. Anderson, H. (2018). Your data literacy depends on understanding the types of data
and how they're captured. Harvard Business Review, October.
3. Haeussler, E.F. (2018). Introductory Mathematical Analysis for Business, Economics
and the Life and Social Sciences (14th ed.) Pearson Education Limited.
4. Harvard Business Review (2018). HBR Guide to Data Analytics Basics for Managers.
Harvard Business Publishing.
5. Hoffmann, L.D., Bradley, G.L. (2012). Calculus for Business Economics, and the Life
and Social Sciences, (11th ed.) McGraw‐Hill.
6. Kazmier, L. J. (2019). Theory and Problems of Business Statistics. McGraw-Hill
Companies.
7. McMullen, C. (2018). Essential Calculus Skills Practice Workbook with Full Solutions.
Zishka Publishing.
8. Newbold, P., Carlson, W. L., Thorne, B. (2019). Statistics for Business and Economics
(9th ed.) Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education.