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Bystudying the sample, one hopes to draw valid conclusions about the larger
group.
Asample is generally selected for study because the population is too largeto study
in its entirety. The sample should be representative of the generalpopulation. This
is often best achieved by random sampling. Also, beforecollecting the sample, it is
important that one carefully and completelydefines the population, including a
description of the members to beincluded.Acommon problem in business statistical
decision-making arises when weneed information about a collection called a
population but find that the costof obtaining the information is prohibitive. For
instance, suppose we need toknow the average shelf life of current inventory. If the
inventory is large,thecost of checking records for each item might be high enough
to cancelthe benefit of having the information. On the other hand, a hunch about
the
average shelf life might not be good enough fordecision-makingpurposes.This
means we must arrive at a compromise that involves selecting a smallnumber of
items and calculating an average shelf life as an estimate of theaverage shelf life of
all items in inventory. This is a compromise, since themeasurements for a sample
from the inventory will produce only anestimate of the value
we want, but at substantial savings. What we wouldlike to know is how "good" the
estimate is and how much more will it costtomake it "better". Information of this
type is intimately related tosamplingtechniques.
Cluster sampling
can be used whenever the population is homogeneous butcan be partitioned. In
many applications the partitioning is a result of physical distance. For instance, in
the insurance industry, there are small"clusters" of employees in field offices
scattered about the country. In such acase, a random sampling of employee work
habits might not required travelto many of the" clusters" or field offices in order to
get the data. Totallysampling each one of a small number of clusters chosen at
random caneliminate much of the cost associated with the data requirements of
management.
Reg r e s s i o n a n al y s i s i s a p o w e r f u l t e c h n i q u e f o r s t u d y i n
g r e l a ti o n s h i p b e t w e e n dependent variables (i.e., output,
performance measure) and independent
variables( i . e ., i n p u t s , f a c t o r s , d e c i si o n v ar i a b l e s ) . S u m
m a r i z i n g r el a t i o n s h i p s a m o n g t h e variables by the most
appropriate equation (i.e., modeling) allows us to predict
oridentify the most influential factors and study their
impacts on the output for anychanges in their current
values.Unlike the deterministic decision-making process,
such as linear optimization bys ol v i n g
s y s t e m s o f e q u a t i o n s , Par am e t r i c s y s t e m s o f e q u a t i on s
a n d i n d e c i s i o n making under pure uncertainty, the
variables are often more numerous and moredifficult to
measure and control. However, the steps are the same. They
are:1. Simplification2. Building a decision
model3. Testing the model4. Using the model to find
the solution:
An auditor can use random sampling techniques to audit
the accountsreceivable for clients.