Thursday, October 31, 2019

Operations Decision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Operations Decision - Essay Example The business has of late been working under pressure due to the warning given by the state concerning the fictitious businesses operating in the country that they will all be shut down. However, the main worry of this business is how to maximize profits at the lowest cost possible (Gee, 2006). Environmental scanning means possession and usage of data about events, blueprints, trends, and associations inside an institution’s internal and outside environment. It assists the mangers make conclusions on the prospect path of the company. Scanning should establish the risks and opportunities prevalent in the environment. In strategy invention, an institution should take advantage of the opportunities and reduce the risks. A risk of an institution can be an opportunity for the other. Internal breakdown of the environment is the initial step of environmental scanning. Institutions must observe the internal institutional environment, which constitutes worker association with different workers, worker association with management, manager association with different managers, and management association with shareholders, availability of natural resources, brand sensitivity, institutional culture, major personnel, operational capacity, among many more. In addition, debates, interviews, and explorations can be applied to evaluate the internal environment. Breakdown of internal environment assists in establishing powers and weaknesses of an institution (Cross & Miller, 2009). An enterprise becomes further competitive, and there exist sudden reforms in the external environment, data from the outside environment brings vital factors to the efficiency of long-term arrangements. Since the environment is changing, it becomes important to establish the competitor’s steps and deeds. Institutions have as well to update the key competencies and interior environment as per outside environment. Environmental factors are infinite, thus institution must be lively and vigilan t to admit and regulate to the environmental reforms. The external factors will very much influence the decision-making and the plant operations than the internal operations. This is because they mainly contribute to the existence and progression of the organization. If the competition in the market is stiff for the business, then there will be no other option other than to close. The level of advancement in the business, market tastes and preferences, competition; the external environment, and so forth determines the viability of an enterprise. They lead the managers in making decisions. Low technology level in a computer business will mean production of outdated items thus the business might close; if the products produced lack customer tastes and preferences, they will get damaged and depreciate in the store (Agtarap-San, 2007). The company consisting of 100 workers and producing 6,000 computers per month, this means each worker per day produces: 6000/20= 300 computers are produc ed per day Each worker= 300/100= 3 computers per day. The daily wage per worker is $70, thus the total salary for the employees= $70x100= $7,000 per day. The total salary per month is $7,000x20= $140,000 Total sales = 6,000x $32= $192,000 Total production cost= $140,000+ $2,000= $142, 000+ X (fixed cost) X (Fixed costs) = $192,000- $142,000= $50,000+y (to make the production cost exceed the revenue) The business at this point is making losses. Total marginal cost= $30x1= $30 In the above situation,

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Religion and Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Religion and Food - Essay Example 382). Good examples are New York Jews who consume Chinese food, though according to Judaism, â€Å"Chinese food is un-kosher, and therefore, non-Jewish† (Tuchman and Levine, p. 385). In this way, one cultural tradition oppresses another. Another way, when some cultural traditions historically make a so solid connection, that one is inconceivable from another. Such kind of connection has African Americans and European Americans within American nation. According to Doris Witt, a history of these relationships can be studied within food. â€Å"Food is simply central issue for African Americans†, and Africans were constantly associated with food (especially, women) because of a racial question (Witt, p. 8). Another undeniable thing is a modern world wide, not only peculiar for America. It’s a general desacralization of food. Consumption of different cuisines seems okay exactly because of this tendency: when eating we no longer associate food with something spiritual. Singer describes Krishna’s eating tradition and particularly, prasadam when food is firstly proposed to a godhood and then eaten with blessing (p. 197). However, the most visual example is desacralization of food in Christian tradition. For example, nowadays not many of us keep up fasting and feasting, yet it’s â€Å"at the very heart of Christian tradition† (Bynum, p. 2). Could it be, that while losing each individual cultural identity among variety of different others we instead form something global and common? When having same issues and values, will there be more understanding? Can food reconcile the world? Singer, A. E. â€Å"Conversion Through Foodways Enculturation: The Meaning of Eating in an American Hindu Sect† in Brown, L. K. and Mussell, K. (Eds.) Ethnic and Regional Foodways in the United Stated: The Performance of Group Identity. Univ. of Tennessee Press,

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Reflective Skills Essay

Reflective Skills Essay Reflective Skills Essay Do people develop professional skills only at their workplace? I would be writing about the skills and knowledge I have gained in the last 10 15 years. You dont have to work in an organization to gain skills and knowledge. Even while at home you can learn something that might help you at your workplace. Sometimes people dont realize that they have developed skills that can be used effectively in their workplace. In this essay I am going explain the skills and knowledge I have developed through work, education and other activities how this could help me in a workplace. First Im going to talk about the skills I have developed from my hobbies and day to day activities. Its actually surprising to know how much you can learn while having fun. After that Im going to talk about the skills I am developing academically at present. Playing cricket is one of my biggest hobbies and as a cricketer I am a wicket keeper. Being a wicket keeper, my role isnt just to collect missed deliveries and score runs but is also to motivate and inspire the team every minute so that my team members dont get sluggish in their respective roles and perform towards success. Once familiarized with the team I can act as a good motivator. This skill can not only help me to motivate other employees in my workplace but it also gives me the ability to work with little or no supervision as I can motivate myself to work towards achieving my goal. In todays workplace, team leaders have to encourage and motivate their teams in order to perform well. A strong motivator can act as the backbone of the team. This skill is one of the essentials required to be a good leader in any kind of workplace. Employers are also looking out for people with creative minds. By nature I am a very creative person. I look at things in a very different prospective. Usually I would take an original idea and expand upon it using my creativity, which can also sometimes lead to something else completely new. It has to do with thinking beyond the obvious. This is the secret to how the minds of creative people work. For instance, with music, the first type of genre was baroque music played during the 1600s and from that evolved a lot different genres. In todays date we have more than 400 music genres. This was possible only because of some creative minds who thought of doing things differently. Employers want their employees to have the ability to solve problems using their creativity and reasoning skills. An innovative problem solver can take an organization, irrespective from which industry, to the next level. One of my other favorite hobbies is travelling and I would often find myself in a situation of convincing some friends to come along. Usually I would succeed 9 out of 10 times, as they say I always manage to get things my way. This can also be called the art of diplomacy. Now having employees with the ability to persuade people can be very useful for an organization as they can face situations in which they might have to persuade a client or a trade union to reach an agreement. This skill can also be related to the sales ability of an employee. Travelling has also shown me that I can be a responsible person as I would make all the plans in detail, do the math for the expenses to be occurred, make sure every one is having a good trip and everything else is under control. One of the basic yet most important skills is to communicate effectively with other people. Everyone has been naturally practicing this skill since they were able to speak, listen or write, yet communication gap between the employers and employees still seems to be one of the major concerns in many organizations. In order to have a productive workplace, they should always be effective communication between the employee and employer. Successful communication is critical in business. I have developed good communication skills over the time. I can easily converse and make the other person understand and communicate with me either verbally or written. Along with this my listening skills are good as I listen to the other person patiently and then engage in communication with what that other person was speaking about. I can improve upon this skill by practicing more. A few other basic skills that I have acquired are computing and numeracy. Schools in India never allowed the use of calculators. I always wondered why we couldnt use calculators while schools across the world were allowed, but now when I look back, I realize why. Doing basic calculations mentally, without the use of a calculator has helped me sharpen my numeracy skill. Each day, people use simple math skills in their jobs and personal live in order to complete projects and other job duties. A recent large scale survey in the UK showed that people who have better literacy and numeracy skills tend to have better wages and come to work more often. One way of improving this skill is by avoiding the calculator when whenever a need of calculation arises. My interest in IT has enabled me to carry out all the basic computing tasks at ease. I always had an interest for it and I utilized everything taught at school like Web designing, HTML, QBASIC, SQL and a lot more. Almost every job now requires some basic understanding of computer hardware and software, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and email. Lack of IT knowledge can affect the performance and future prospects of an employee. While I did my schooling in India, our knowledge gained was always tested in the unseen exam format. After joining university I was exposed to new tasks like conducting presentations and writing report. When I was first assigned to conduct a presentation I was a bit nervous as I had never done this before in front of people I dint know. Later I was advised to practice in front of a mirror and it did work. My second presentation went better than the first. Being able to conduct a presentation with confidence is a very important skill to develop especially in the field of HR. One effective way by which I can improve upon this skill is by preparing my self well in advance so that I dont get nervous and referring to books and articles relating to improving presentation skills Another skill I developed while conducting presentations and writing reports in university is Teamwork. Working in teams is probably one of the most vital skills required to succeed in a workplace, especially with regard to how you communicate with the people you work with. 9 out of 10 jobs require you to work with teams. Working in teams with a diverse group of people has helped me understand how to communicate with my different co-workers and understand their views when solving a problem. Teamwork has a lot of benefits to offer, one of it being it helps to generate a lot of different ideas which leads to a creative solution and it definitely speeds up the process. Having more projects involving teamwork will surely prepare me once I start working at a professional level where my skill would be tested. Since Ive started an independent life after shifting to the UK I learnt how to be organized. Being organized has a lot of benefits attached to it. It has proven to be both cost and time effective. It also helps to boost confidence and give more energy to work. Employers would love to have all their employees being organized in their work.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Female Protagonists Essay -- essays research papers

The desire for freedom is a similar aspect of the female protagonists Louise Mallard, Mathilde Loisel, and Emily Grierson.In Kate Chopin's, "The Story of an Hour," Guy DE Maupassant's, "The Necklace," and William Faulkner's, "A Rose for Emily," the female protagonist's have a desire for freedom. The stories are about three women living in patriarchal societies. Each character longs for freedom in a different way, but because of the men in their lives they are unable to make their own life decisions.In "The Story of an Hour," Louise Mallard is a repressed married woman that has a heart condition. The reaction to her husbands presumed death is a sign that she is unhappy. After hearing the tragic news she goes up stairs to her room and looks out an open window and notices "new spring life", "the delicious breath of rain", and "countless sparrows twittering in the eaves." As she looks out the window among the storm cl ouds, she stares at patches of blue sky. "It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought." Louise is not grieving over her dead husband or having negative thoughts about her future. She realizes that she will have freedom through her husbands death and whispers over and over, "free, free free!" Her unhappiness is not with her husband, it is with her ranking in society because she is a married woman. Becoming a widow is the only cha...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Co-Operative Bank IMC

Executive Summary The Co-operative Bank Is New Sealant's only bank that Is owned by its customers. Formerly simply a Building Society, the bank Is now looking to grow its customer base as a fully registered bank through a variety of avenues Including appealing to the tertiary student market. This report focuses on the Integrated marketing communications needed for accurately targeting the tertiary market. Firstly, It outlines a situation analysis including a PEST analysis, a competitor analysis, and the target market and the positioning of the Co-operative Bank with regards to its competitors.The communication strategy looks closely into the banks current communications offerings. This analysis focuses on how the companies message combines with its with the imagery used in its advertising. The media strategy outlines how the company has used awareness, universal and emotion strategies in its communications to target the tertiary market. Objectives are then outlined to provide scope f or the banks future MIMIC activities. Finally, the report provides recommendations (Including personal selling, promotion and public relations) and improvements to help the bank reach Its objectives In the next 12 months.As technology is always changing it is important that banks are continuing to update and make changes to their digital platforms to continue to be competitive in the market. 1. 2. 4 Environment -Environmental factors do not have a massive impact over the Co-operative bank forever climate change have some effect on the success of New Zealand businesses abilities to save and service loans. Particularly as New Zealand is an agricultural based society and climate change disrupts farming processes. 2 Competitor Analysis In the tertiary banking sector there are 5 main players that the Bank must compete with.Each has their own drawer however the reality is the base package each bank offers is very similar and in terms of costs, the banks offer students free or relatively f ree banking – See Appendix 1. On top of this each bank differentiates itself by offering extra services that are enticing to the student lifestyle. 2. 1 ASP ASP, as well as a relatively free base package, offers students free fries at McDonald's every time they use their card. This â€Å"gimmick† is attractive to students as it means offer students a large overdraft and a txt when funds are running low. 2. ANZA Ann.'s tertiary package is perhaps the least â€Å"gimmicky' of the big banks. They offer accessible branches and Tam's on campus as they are aware a student is often time poor. 2. 3 BENZ Ban's Younger is known to be extremely innovative and in tune with a tertiary audience's preference for good, simple web design. Their point of difference is an industry leading web application that makes handling finances, something that student have great difficulty doing, every simple. 2. 4 Westward Wastepaper's Student Pace, historically, has used gimmicks such as a free $ 25 upon sign up and a free pizza to engage the tertiary audience to bank with them.In the long term they also offer a â€Å"save and win† scheme that entices students to bank with them to win money on the money they choose to save. 2. 5 Kickback Kickback has perhaps the most comprehensive banking package. Their extra services include software to help manage your money, no commission currency conversion, free use of ANZA Tams on campus and free txt banking. This shows they are very much in tune with the requirements of being a student in New Zealand which supports Kickbacks main draw card of the bank being a New Zealand owned bank. 2. Co-operative Bank The Co-operative Banks student package is by contrast the least comprehensive. They offer a top interest rate of 5% however their main drawer, even for students, is still the fact that they are not Just New Zealand owned like Kickback but owned by the New Slanderer that bank with them. Growth and Maturity of the Industry New Zea land banks have enjoyed strong growth in lending since the 2008 global downturn. Profits however, are down due to â€Å"increasing regulatory pressures and strong competition in the lending market† (KEMP, 2013). Operational Revenue and Profitability At the end of 2013 financial year, the bank recorded profits before rebate at $mm (The Co-operative Bank, 2013). $1 m of this was distributed to customers. As at 31st December 2013 operating revenue reached $4. Mm (The Co-operative Bank, 2013). 5 Strategic Goals The Co-operative Bank has an overall strategic focus on â€Å"achieving long-term refillable growth, based on co-operative principles (The Co-operative Bank, 2013). 6 Target Marketing The Co-operative Bank targets those in the tertiary segment who are motivated by â€Å"good values†.These students, generally 18-25, will be those who are wary of the other big banks and the values they stand for. They will consist of students who are above the other banks â€Å"gimm icks† and would rather see their money buying some â€Å"goodness† rather than get free fries, for example, from a controversial multinational. They will have a solid â€Å"student† lifestyle with a low income, low outgoings and will nearly not have any dependents. 7 Market Positioning competitors try to outdo each other with clever marketing and competitive rates they are, compared to other industries, barely distinguishable from each other.As shown in Figure 1, the Co-operative Bank occupies a position that is relatively separated from its competitors in terms of perceived cost and on a values based analysis. Figure 1 – Positioning of New Zealand Banks This position clearly demonstrates to their target audience that they are set apart from their competitors as an alternative to banking in system where banks are driven y profits for their (often overseas) investors rather than by the values of and profits for their New Zealand owners/customers.Section 2 8 Communication Strategy Since the banks rebind in 2012 the bank has focused its communications on improving low awareness. It is spearheaded by the message â€Å"driven by your prosperity, not our profit†; this focus will help the bank achieve its goal to double its customers within 5 years (Stopper's, 2014). The key message the bank wants to convey to its target audience is that it is a values-driven bank that plays fair in a banking landscape that is thought of as the opposite.They use a brand image strategy to convey that although they are able to take calculated risks for the benefit of their customer-owners, they want their audience to know they want their activities to be transparent and â€Å"above the line†. The main symbol used by the bank is the infinity sign that consists of the 2 g's in Co-operative Bank, known as the â€Å"prosperity loop†- See figure 2. The loop is conveniently extracted from the banks name and symbolizes its goal of creating prosp erity, not profit, between the bank and its customer-owners with the benefits flowing between the two entities.This symbol associates potential customers with the brand and its objectives of â€Å"being about mutual benefit and true sustainability. (The Co-operative Bank, 2014, p. 2) Figure 2- The Prosperity Loop The loop is replicated though all forms of media advertising further insisting to its customers an ongoing sense of mutuality and support. In print media, the loop headline type treatment overlays both the heads of customers or their children and links them to the banks message, connecting a potential customer's emotion to the advertisement.The loop could so be seen to symbolism a thought bubble, further personifying the banks message. See figure 3 Figure 3- Print Advertisement This advertisement takes queues from thought leadership marketing as it shows a young, seemingly wealthy man thinking positively about the banks differentiation strategy. As this man represents a li festyle students aspire to participate in and the target market can now link him to the Co-operative bank. In theory, students will be more likely to think positively about, and possibly Join the bank.This links back to the banks goal of doubling its customer base in five years and helps the bank on their way to achieve it. Another brand association used is the companies color palette. The palette is distinctively fresh and focuses on a bright green color – see figure 4. This associates the brand with being fresh and distinctive as well as with growth. Natural context. This is important to the brands image as it reflects on New Slanderer emotions as a â€Å"clean, green† nation and may help the target market to associate with the bank as an extension of their patriotism.Also the mix of the color green as a symbol of natural growth and money is a reflection of the banks views on sustainable banking. Further, it associates this idea to the Co-operative Banks brand ND rei nforces to tertiary students that their principles will bring â€Å"growth† to their â€Å"money' in a sustainable way. This is particularly relevant to the target market who currently have low incomes but potential to growth their worth in the next few years. For them it means the bank is on their side and wants to work with them to grow their money in a sustainable way.Figure 4- Color Palette 9 Media Strategy and Appropriation The company, carrying out its awareness strategy for growth, used a broad mix of media mediums including a focus on print but also consisting of a television spot, audio advertising, and limited social media (Backbone, Linked in and Youth) to target a wide range of possible customers (Stopper's, 2014). The campaign is centered on presenting the banks differentiation from other banks as a New Zealand owned bank and the fact it is 100% owned by its customers.Although there was no media directly targeting tertiary students, the Co-operative Banks mix of mediums will have some effect on this target market. Using a universal strategy, as in this case, the bank reaches a large amount of potential customers. It also provides the bank with economies of scale. As a small bank, although not ideal, this strategy is relatively appropriate as, there is limited budget for large scale advertising. The bank has opted to pull resources together rather than loose budget to smaller and perhaps less successful strategies.This is at the cost of targeting specific demographics, such as the tertiary target market, with media strategies tailored to their particular motivations but allows the bank to target all New Slanderer who feel strongly about banking with a New Zealand bank that shares profits with its customers. The content of the advertising draws on emotional strategy and uses a lot of patriotic imagery ouch as beach scenes, trout fishing, and office and cafe culture.These are scenes of New Zealand culture that rouse patriotism in most New Sla nderer and this helps the bank not only reach people who will be interested in how the bank functions due to their patriotism but inform others of the benefits of Joining the bank. This is appropriate for the bank as it is harnessing current events (such as the class action against fees and the 2008 global downturn that have caused a cultural shift in New Zealand society in that people are more skeptical of banks) and building on the emotions they feel .It is therefore prudent for the bank to target the majority of society as the majority of society will be motivated by this emotion to Join the bank. 10 Objectives 1. Increase top-of-mind awareness level of the Co-operative bank within the tertiary market by 50% within the next 12 months 2. Increase knowledge within the tertiary market about the benefit of â€Å"owning† the bank they are banking with by 50% within the Bank within the next 12 months. 1 Improvements The weakness of the Banks current MIMIC plan lies in the fact t hat it has not tailored the plan to target specific groups such as the tertiary market. This suggests that the relationship between The Co-operative Bank and its tertiary customers is not as connected as it could be. To improve this, the bank does not necessarily have to change its message because as outlined prior, the patriotic and anti-status quo message used by its current offering will appeal to this market and also make the most of the banks industry-relative limited budget.The bank instead should work on making these messages more accessible to the tertiary market in order to improve the communication lines of the banks already strong message. Relationship Reach Include tertiary market specific imagery in print advertising There is a lack of tertiary specific imagery used by creative in the print media. There are a variety of children and young professionals and although some students may see these people as aspirations, they may also feel excluded and therefore disconnected from the banks message as the images are unrepeatable to them at their current age.Create an active twitter account that backs up the banks brand image but also feels like it is maintained by a tertiary student. It will post breaking banking news and intelligently debate key players in the banking industry. Create a presence on campus by locating brochures at campus student finance offices Make brochures available that provides step by step financial planning for students that is branded with Co-operative bank. The brochures will also provide information about the Co- operatives services.The content will be so effective that campus financial planners will recommend them to students. This will increase student's knowledge about the bank. Change billboards near tertiary institutions to have very tertiary student age appropriate creative. Add a scene to the television spot that is directly relatable to by majority of tertiary students. The advert currently has scenes that will appeal t o only a select part of the target market I. E office employees and trout fishers.Adding a tertiary related scene with strong tertiary markers will strengthen the banks relationship with students as they will feel included in their advertising. Promote banks message at campus fairs. Sponsor tertiary events 12 Promotional Mix Recommendations 12. 1 Public Relations and its community based values. Tertiary students will be selected to spend a day in the life of community organizations with a particular emphasis on organizations that purport the interests of tertiary aged students such as canteen and be followed by a documentary team..The outcome will be a documentary series posted on Community Loop's Youth. These videos will expect to be picked up by local media and be interesting enough for students to want to share on Youth. 12. 2 Personal Selling At campus events, the bank would loan its employees to event to handle the financial aspect of the event and at the same time inform stude nts of the banks offerings- supporting and promoting the banks message that it works within the community in a positive way.For example, at the â€Å"Nun Games†, Co-operative Bank employees in â€Å"community loop† uniform will handle ticket processing at the gate and have the â€Å"community loop† marquee providing shelter for students. Employees will hold conversations with students about the banks offerings and message. Such a presence evokes brand awareness within in the student community and at the same time, shows off the banks tertiary product. 12. 3 Sales Promotion The bank stands out among other banks as it does not offer students â€Å"gimmicky' promotions with its package – See appendix 1 .There is an opportunity here for the Ann. To offer a promotion to students that does not seem as lightweight and also gain attention of the students who are likely to switch to the bank because of its message. The promotion will support the banks community c entered message and feature a system wherein if you sign up you get a free stationary pack (bio-degradable and from sustainable sources) and a child from a low decide school in the local area also gets a pack.The stationary will feature the banks â€Å"Community Loop† logo. 13 Budget 13. 1 Objective-and-Task Method The bank would use an objective and task method to specify the role advertising will lay for the Co-operative brand and, the budget has been set accordingly. This method has been chosen as it allows the bank to focus on the objectives based on the needs of the bank and therefore reinforce the banks strategy rather than the needs of other factors such as what competitors are doing or how much they can afford.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

History Of Statistics Essay

Ancient Times (3000 BC – 27 BC) * Pictorial representation and other symbols were used for Statistics back in the days. (To record numbers of people, animals, etc.) * In Babylonia and China, population is already recorded. * Sumerians, record population for taxation purposes. * Egyptians, analyze population and material wealth of the country before building pyramids. * Papyrus – where early scriptures of Statistics were written. * In Biblical times, censuses were done by Moses (1491 BC) followed by David (1017 BC) * In China, during the Zhou Dynasty, censuses were done to evaluate the available people for the army and taxation (1027 to 256 BC) * Ancient Greeks (594 BC) already did censuses * Roman Empire – first one to do expensive data collection. * Servius Tullius, the 6th King of Rome, was given credit for instituting the gathering of population data, who initiated the first census. * King William I, King of England, required the compilation of data completed in 1086 called â€Å"The Domes Day Book† or â€Å"The Book of Winchester† – first book of British statistics 18th Century * Achenwall is the man noted to be the first to introduce the word â€Å"statistics† (1719-1772) * Zimmerman and Sinclair introduced and popularized the name â€Å"statistics† in their books * The method of least squares was first described by Carl Friedrich Gauss around 1794 19th Century * Laplace’s â€Å"Theories Analytique des Probabilities† of 1812 further supported and stabilized the said theory. * The meaning of â€Å"statistics† broadened, then including the discipline concerned with the collection, summary, and analysis of data. * Social scientists used statistical reasoning and probability models to advance the new sciences. * Lambert Adolfe Quetelet applied the theory of probability to anthropological measurements and expanded the same principle to different fields of science. Because of his continued emphasis on the importance of using statistical methods, he is referred to as the â€Å"Father of Modern Statistics†. * Also, he established the Central Commission for Statistics. * Francis Galton (1822-1911) developed the use of percentiles and the correlation method. * Karl Pearson (1857-1936) originated the basic statistical concepts and procedures as standard deviation, the random walk and the chi-squares. * Ronald Aylmer Fisher (1890-1962) contributed in the field of statistics the use of Fisher Test (F-Test), analysis of variance (ANOVA) and covariance in inferential statistics. 20th century * At present, statistics is a reliable means of describing accurately the values of economic, political, social, biological and physical data and serves as tool to analyze such data. Much data can be approximated accurately by certain distributions and the results of probability distributions can be used in analyzing statistical data. Statistics is widely employed in government, business, and the natural and social sciences. Electronic computers have expedited statistical computation, and have allowed statisticians to develop â€Å"computer-intensive† methods.