Tag: statistics



Statistics are becoming a competitive necessity for companies large and small. No longer the domain of a few back-office analysts, companies today require statistical knowledge as part of a well-rounded analytical background. That’s where QBA121 – Managerial Statistics II – comes in. In the course, we develop the foundational skills for statistical analysis, primarily regression modeling.

In a world surrounded by Big Data opportunities, students need to be comfortable with statistics and have the tools to analyze data to develop managerial recommendations.

The QBA121 project does just that. It allows students to explore and analyze data that interests them. The poster session gives them an opportunity to display their insights to a broad audience. Their projects reflect both their interests and the competencies they mastered during the course. Most of the students applied regression analysis to gain insight on a topic they were knowledgeable about. Statistics allowed them to expand their knowledge while grounding insights in data, rather than conjecture. In many projects initial hypotheses were only partially supported, and the data determined that multiple factors impact the dependent variable.

During the course we learned why statistics is a foundation in so many disciplines in academia. It can be applied to diverse topics that students will explore in their academic journey. Similarly, the topics chosen for the course project reflect the diversity of students’ interests.

Movies were of interest this past semester, with students identifying which movie awards are best predictors of Academy Award nominations; how a book’s genre and the author’s productivity  impact a movie’s success;  and which factors are effective predictors of Best-Actor Oscar Nominations.

Crime statistics make for effective, if not particularly uplifting, projects. Here we learned how education, poverty, population density, and law enforcement impact local crime. We also found out that the key factors determining a city’s crime index are assaults, rapes, and larceny.

Finally, sports frequently generate a lot of interest in the class. Every Monday-morning coach wants to know why his team isn’t living up to their expectations. For those that want an in-depth look at college basketball, we have some advice on which teams will succeed in “March Madness”.

To see a sample of the projects presented, please view the Spring 2016 poster session book, click here.

Please join us next semester as we showcase projects from another talented cohort.

Guest blogger: Eli Snir, Senior Lecturer in Management




On April 23rd, students enrolled in QBA 121 – the second component of Olin’s compulsory managerial statistics coursework – had the chance to present the findings of their cumulative term papers to their peers, staff, and visitors in Knight and Bauer Halls. Throughout the course, we learned a variety of statistical tools and measures, as well as how to apply these to the real world. The course even incorporated procedures in statistical software such as Excel and SPSS.

Guest Blogger: Adrian Lee is an Olin Business School sophomore studying Economics and Strategy and Operations and Supply Chain Management.

QBA 121 Poster Session 3

Adrian stands with his poster highlighting the findings from the analysis he and his partner, Andres, conducted for QBA 121.

For our term papers, we were assigned the task of developing a question about a situation in real life, and exploring that question by using our statistical tools to analyze data we found through secondary research. My partner, Andres, and I decided to look at baseball statistics – in particular, which statistics were most highly correlated with a team’s winning percentage. Through our analysis, we found that some metrics, such as slugging percentage, were much better predictors of winning percentage than others were. Since we were given free reign in our analysis, we were even able to examine peculiar variables that we were curious about. For example, we hypothesized that teams located closer to the equator would have higher winning percentages due to their warmer year-round conditions, but ended up with results that indicated that the opposite was true.

This project let us experience the kind of work that real statisticians do, and allowed us to test our own hypotheses using the material we learned in class. By applying the statistical tools I learned in QBA 121 to this project, I now see the impact that statistics can have on solving a wide array of business problems, and I am confident enough in my skills that I could use them to solve real-life problems on my own.




The Sports Statistics Club had a blast at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference that was held in February right in the heart of Boston at the Boston Convention Center.  We had five members representing Washington University: Robbie Steirn, Austin Feinstein, Grant Goldman, Michael Berkowitz, and Michael Aronson. We learned how to statistically analyze everything from the effects of Tommy John Surgery with baseball pitchers to the most efficient shots to take on the basketball court, which was led by Shane Battier, former basketball player for the Miami Heat.

MIT sports conferenceAside from the panels, we had multiple opportunities to talk to big names in sports, such as the General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, Sam Hinkie, and President of Basketball Operations for the NBA, Rod Thorn.  It was incredible to be in the same room as so many famous people in the sports world.

Austin Feinstein (CFO of STATS), stated, “The best part of the conference was not the panels.  The best part was overhearing conversations between General Managers and other professional athletes about what they thought of the panelists.”

We learned so much at the SSAC, and we can’t wait to go back next year!

Guest blogger: Robbie Steirn is a sophomore in the Olin Business School studying Finance, Operations and Supply Chain Management, and Communication Design. Robbie serves as the Sports Statistics Club’s President.