Applied Business Statistics Chapter 2 – Summarising Data: Summary Tables and Graphs

Exercises This symbol denotes data available online

i 189 156
Rental (R)
250 265 376 300
All computational exercises can be performed either manually or by using Excel.
1 Complete the sentence: ‘A picture is worth a .......................’. 350 315 290 285 225 242
2 What is the name given to the chart that displays: 324 280 212 310 395 360
(a) the summarised data of a single categorical variable? 285 225 230 255 185 193
(b) the summarised data of two categorical variables simultaneously? 325 248 340 250 285 300
(c) the summarised data of a single numeric variable?
(d) the relationship between two numeric variables? (a) Construct a numerical frequency distribution of office rentals by using the
3 What is the name given to the table that summarises the data of two categorical classes: 150 – ≤ 200; 201 – ≤ 250; 251 – ≤ 300; 301 – ≤ 350; 351 – ≤ 400.
variables? (b) Compute the percentage frequencies and cumulative percentage frequencies
4 Explain at least three differences between a bar chart and a histogram. for office rentals.
(c) From the frequency distribution, answer the following questions:
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5 What is the name of the chart that is used to display time series data?
6 X2.6 – magazines (i) What percentage of office space costs less than or equal to R200/m2?
(a) Construct a pie chart showing the percentage of 500 young female readers (ii) What percentage of office space costs at most R300/m2?
surveyed who most prefer each of the following magazines: (iii) What percentage of office space costs more than R350/m2?
(iv) If a legal company that is looking to rent office space is prepared to pay
Magazine Count between R300/m2 and R400/m2, how many buildings can they consider?

True Love
Seventeen
95
146
10 X2.10 – storage dams
The capacities (in millions of litres) of each of the four major storage dams that i
supply the water requirements of Cape Town are shown in the table below.
Heat 118
Drum 55
Storage dam Capacity (Mℓ)
You 86
Wemmershoek 158 644
(b) Interpret the findings of the pie chart. Steenbras 95 284
7 (a) Construct a percentage bar chart from the frequency table given in question 6. Voëlvlei 244 122
(b) What percentage of young female readers surveyed most prefer Heat? Theewaterskloof 440 255
8 X2.8 – job grades
The job grades (A, B, C or D) of 40 clerical employees are as follows: i (a) Construct a pie chart showing the percentage of water supplied by each storage
dam. (Use Excel’s Pie option in the Insert > Chart tab.)
B A A D B D B A D C (b) What percentage of Cape Town’s water supply is provided by:
D A B B C A D C A B (i) the Voëlvlei dam?
B A B C A A C B D D (ii) Wemmershoek and Steenbras dams together?
A A B B A D A C A D 11 X2.11 – taste test
A sample of 250 regular fruit juice drinkers were given a blind taste test of five
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(a) Construct a categorical frequency table of these job grades.
different fruit juice brands labelled A, B, C, D and E. Each person was asked to
(b) Show the frequency table in percentage terms.
indicate which fruit juice (by the alphabetic label) they most preferred. The results
(c) What percentage of employees are in job grade D?
are given below.
(d) Show the percentage frequency table as a pie chart and as a bar chart.
9 X2.9 – office rentals
The monthly rental per square metre for office space in 30 buildings in Durban
i Blind label Brand Number
central (in rand) are shown in the following table. A Liqui-Fruit 45
B Fruiti Drink 26
C Yum Yum 64
D Fruit Quencher 38
E Go Fruit 77

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Applied Business Statistics Chapter 2 – Summarising Data: Summary Tables and Graphs

(a) Construct a percentage frequency table and then show the results graphically (c) Also by inspection of the multiple bar chart, identify which car manufacturer
both as a percentage bar chart and as a percentage pie chart. (Use Excel’s Pie showed the largest percentage change (up or down) in sales from the first half

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and Column (Bar) chart options in the Insert > Chart tab). to the second half of the year.
(b) What percentage of the sample prefer Liqui-Fruit? 14 X2.14 – television brands
(c) What percentage of the sample prefer either Yum Yum or Go Fruit? A survey of a random sample of 125 households recorded the brand of televisions
12 X2.12 – annual car sales
The following table shows the number of passenger cars sold by each manufacturer
i owned.
(a) Construct a categorical percentage frequency table of TV brands owned. (Use
last year. Excel’s PivotTable option in the Insert > Table tab.)
Manufacturer Annual sales (b) Show the findings from (a) graphically as a percentage bar chart.
(c) Which brand of TV is least popular amongst households?
Toyota 96 959
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(d) What percentage of households own the most popular TV brand?
Nissan 63 172 15 X2.15 – estate agents
Volkswagen 88 028 The Estate Agency Affairs Board analysed the number of residential properties sold
Delta 62 796 by each estate agent in the second half of last year in East London. A random sample
Ford 74 155 of 48 estate agents was selected and the number of houses each sold during this
MBSA 37 268 period was recorded. The data is as follows:
BMW 51 724
MMI 25 354 5 4 8 4 6 8 8 3 5 6 4 4
7 4 5 4 4 3 3 7 5 3 7 3
For (a) and (b), use Excel’s Column (Bar) and Pie chart options in the Insert > Chart tab. 6 3 5 3 5 4 4 7 6 3 3 4
(a) Construct a bar chart to show the number of passenger cars sold by each 3 4 6 4 7 4 3 6 3 4 4 6
manufacturer.
(a) Construct a frequency count table to show the sales performance of the sample
(b) Construct a percentage pie chart to show the market share of the passenger car
of East London estate agents.
market held by each of the car manufacturers last year.
Note: Since the numeric data is discrete and in a limited data range, it is possible
(c) What percentage of the total passenger car market is held by the top three car
to use Excel’s PivotTable option in the Insert > Table tab.
manufacturers?
13 X2.13 – half-yearly car sales
The following table shows the number of passenger cars sold by each manufacturer
i (b) Construct a histogram of the frequency count distribution.
(c) What is the most frequent number of residential properties sold by an estate
agent in the second half of last year in East London?
in each half-year (first and second half) of last year.
(d) Repeat (a) and (b) using the Excel’s Histogram option in Data Analysis (Data >
Manufacturer First half Second half Annual sales Data Analysis > Histogram). Set a bin range to each discrete value of 3; 4; 5; 6;
7 and 8.
Toyota
Nissan
42 661
35 376
54 298
27 796
96 959
63 172
16 X2.16 – fast foods
Keen competition exists amongst fast-food outlets for the food spend of consumers.
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Volkswagen 45 774 42 254 88 028
A recent survey established consumers’ preferences for various fast-food outlets and
Delta 26 751 36 045 62 796
type of fast foods (chicken, pizzas, beef burgers and fish).
Ford 32 628 41 527 74 155
MBSA 19 975 17 293 37 268 Fast food outlet Count
BMW 24 206 27518 51 724
MMI 14 307 11 047 25 354 KFC (chicken) 56
St Elmo’s (pizza) 58
(a) Construct a multiple bar chart showing the number of new car sales by Steers (beef burgers) 45
manufacturer between the first and the second half of last year. (Use Excel’s Nandos (chicken) 64
Column (Bar) chart option in the Insert > Chart tab.) Ocean Basket (fish) 24
Butler’s (pizza) 78
(b) By inspection of the multiple bar chart, identify which car manufacturers
performed better in terms of new car sales in the first half of the year compared
to the second half of the year. For (a) and (b), use Excel’s Column (Bar) and Pie chart options in the Insert > Chart
tab.
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Applied Business Statistics Chapter 2 – Summarising Data: Summary Tables and Graphs

(a) Construct a percentage bar chart to show customers’ preferences for different (a) Define the random variable and the data type.
fast-food outlets. (b) Use Excel’s Data > Data Analysis > Histogram option to prepare:
(b) Construct a pie chart to show the percentage of customers who prefer each (i) a numeric frequency distribution (use bin ranges: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
food type (i.e. chicken, pizza, beef burger and fish). and 35)
(c) Write a short summary on the findings of (a) and (b). (ii) a percentage frequency distribution
17 X2.17 - airlines
A travel agency surveyed 70 passengers to identify which airline (SAA, kulula.com or
i (iii) a histogram of the distances travelled by the courier per trip.
(c) From the results, determine:
Comair) they prefer to use for domestic travel. The passenger’s type of travel, namely (i) the percentage of deliveries that were between 25 km and 30 km
business or tourist, was also recorded. (ii) the percentage of deliveries within a 25 km radius
(a) Construct a cross-tabulation (two-way pivot) table between the choice of airline (iii) the percentage of deliveries beyond a 20 km radius
and type of travel. (Use Excel’s PivotTable option in the Insert > Table tab.) (iv) below which distance 52% of the deliveries were made
(b) Show the pivot table as a percentage of each passenger type per airline. (v) above which distance the longest 24% of the deliveries were made.
(c) Display the percentage cross-tabulation (two-way pivot) table as a multiple bar (d) If the company has a policy that no more than 10% of all deliveries should
chart. be more than 30 km from their depot, are they adhering to this policy? Justify
(d) What percentage of passengers prefer to fly with SAA? your answer.
(e) Which airline is most preferred by tourists?
(f) Can it be stated that most business travellers prefer to fly with kulula.com?
20 X2.20 – fuel bills i
18 X2.18 – car occupants
A traffic survey was conducted in central Cape Town recently to establish the number
i The monthly expenditures (in rand) on fuel by 50 randomly sampled motorists
in Tshwane are given below.

of occupants per car commuting into the CBD between 8.00 a.m. and 9.00 a.m. daily 289 312 400 368 514 415 550 348 774 528
from the northern suburbs. Sixty cars were randomly selected at an entry point into 450 330 278 394 662 380 295 560 360 736
the CBD and the number of occupants was noted. The following data was recorded: 515 365 460 433 602 425 265 450 545 414
385 485 293 646 448 350 495 792 456 385
1 1 1 5 3 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 256 680 696 486 356 390 285 400 408 544
3 2 2 5 3 1 3 2 5 2 1 3
2 4 3 2 3 5 1 1 4 1 2 2 (a) Define the random variable and the data type.
1 4 1 1 1 1 2 4 3 1 1 2 (b) Use Excel’s Data > Data Analysis > Histogram option to prepare:
5 1 1 1 3 1 2 3 5 4 1 5 (i) a numeric frequency distribution with bin ranges 300, 400, 500, 600,
700 and 800
(a) Define the random variable and the data type.
(ii) a percentage frequency distribution
(b) Use Excel’s Data > Data Analysis > Histogram option to prepare:
(iii) a histogram of monthly fuel bills.
(i) a numeric percentage frequency distribution (Hint: Use the discrete
(c) What percentage of Tshwane motorists spend between R500 and R600
values as bins.)
(inclusive) per month on fuel?
(ii) a histogram of occupants per car
(iii) a less-than cumulative frequency distribution and ogive of car occupants. (d) Construct the less-than cumulative percentage distribution for fuel bills and
(c) From the results, determine: show it graphically as an ogive.
(i) what percentage of motorists travel alone (e) From the cumulative graph, approximate the percentage of Tshwane motorists
(ii) what percentage of vehicles have at least three occupants that spend less than R550 on fuel per month.
(iii) what percentage of vehicles have no more than two occupants. (f) From the graph, find the percentage of Tshwane motorists that spend more
19 X2.19 – courier trips i than R500 on fuel per month.

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The distance travelled (in km) by a courier service motorcycle on 50 trips was 21 X2.21 – car sales
recorded by the driver. The sales records of an Opel car dealer in Durban show the quarterly sales of
the Opel Corsa light passenger vehicle for the past six years. Refer to the Excel file
24 30 20 6 28 23 17 16 21 20 X2.21.
18 19 22 26 31 21 13 15 20 9 (a) Use Excel’s Line chart option in the Insert > Chart tab to construct a line graph
18 20 34 29 24 23 25 17 35 29 showing the pattern of quarterly sales of the Corsa vehicle by the dealer.
19 10 17 11 14 15 27 18 8 22 (b) If you were the dealer, would you renew your dealership of the Opel Corsa
13 28 26 18 16 27 22 25 14 24 range next year based on past sales performance? Comment.
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Applied Business Statistics Chapter 2 – Summarising Data: Summary Tables and Graphs

22 X2.22 – market shares

The following table shows the market shares for each of two makes of motor
i For the following exercises, use Excel’s PivotTable option to perform the analysis.
25 X2.25 – ROI% i
vehicles for the past 10 years. An investment analyst studies the ROI% of listed companies to structure investment
portfolios for clients. She is considering an investment portfolio comprising mining
Year Volkswagen Toyota and service sector companies. The ROI% of a random sample of listed companies from
1 13.4 9.9 each sector is recorded (and shown in the Excel file).
2 11.6 9.6 (a) Construct a one-way breakdown table of sample means and standard
3 9.8 11.2 deviations per sector.
4 14.4 12.0 (b) Interpret and compare the profile of ROI% across the two sectors. Which sector,
5 17.4 11.6 if any, produces higher average ROI%? Also which sector, if any, has greater
6 18.8 13.1 volatility in ROI%? Do any of the observed sample differences appear to be
7 21.3 11.7 statistically significant or due purely to sampling error? Comment.
8
9
19.4
19.6
14.2
16.0
26 X2.26 – product location
A supermarket retailer wants to determine whether product location within a
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10 19.2 16.9 store has any effect on the sale of a mineral water product. Both the aisle location
(front-of-store, middle-of-store, back-of-store) and shelf location (top shelf, middle
(a) Produce a trendline graph showing the trend in market share (%) for shelf) were considered. A random sample of 30 stores of equal sales potential for this
Volkswagen and Toyota motor vehicle sales over the past ten years. (Use Excel’s product were selected with each of five stores randomly assigned to one of the six
Line chart option in the Insert > Chart tab.) combinations of aisle location and shelf location. Refer to the Excel dataset for the
(b) Describe the trend in market shares for each car manufacturer over the past sales volumes recorded (in thousands of rand) of the product in each store over the
10 years. trial period of eight weeks.
(c) If you were to be offered a five-year dealership of one of these motor vehicle (a) Construct a two-way breakdown table of sample means and standard
makes, which one would you choose? Why? deviations per combination of aisle location and shelf location.
23 X2.23 – defects
The production manager of a crockery (cups, saucers, plates and bowls)
i (b) Interpret and compare the profile of sales volumes across the different
combinations. Consider whether mean sales volumes differ significantly
manufacturer recorded the inspection time (in minutes) by the quality controller on depending on aisle location? Shelf location? Or a combination of aisle location
each of 30 consignments consisting of 500 items each, and noted the number of and shelf combination. Is the variation in sales volumes consistent across the
defective items found in each consignment. Refer to the Excel file X2.23. different location combinations?
(a) Produce a scatter plot for the inspection time (x) and the number of defects Do any of the observed sample differences appear to be statistically significant
found (y). (Use Excel’s Scatter plot (with only markers) option in the Insert > or due purely to sampling error? Comment.
Chart tab.) (c) What recommendation would you make to the supermarket retailer to display

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(b) By inspection of the scatter plot, does there appear to be a relationship between the mineral water product to achieve maximum sales volumes?
the amount of time spent on inspection of a consignment and the number of 27 X2.27 – property portfolio
defective items founds in the batch? Briefly explain your answer. A property investment company that derives its revenue from the rental of properties
24 X2.24 – leverage
A financial analyst surveyed 30 JSE-listed companies and recorded the leverage i it owns conducts an annual financial performance review of its property portfolio. For
each of the 324 properties in the portfolio, the annual net profit % based on rental
ratio (percentage of capital financed by debt) and their percentage growth in net income minus operating expenses (maintenance, rates, utilities, etc.) is determined.
profits over the past year. The analyst wants to know if leverage influences profit Each property is also classified by: type of business usage ((1) commercial [i.e. offices],
growth. Refer to the Excel file X2.24. (2) industrial or (3) retail) and its regional location ((1) region A and (2) region B).
(a) Produce a scatter plot between the leverage ratio (x) and the profit growth (y) Refer to the Excel file for the sample data set.
of the JSE-listed companies. (Use the Scatter plot [with only markers] option in At the review committee meeting next week, the management have asked you to
the Insert > Chart tab. Also set the minimum scale on the x-axis to 30.) present a summary report that profiles the financial performance of properties in the
(b) Can the analyst conclude that the degree of leverage influences a company’s portfolio. The report should focus on three areas in particular:
growth in net profits (as a percentage)? In what way? Explain briefly.

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under-performing properties:
Company policy is to dispose of (i.e. sell off) under-performing properties.
An under-performing property is defined as one that has a net profit % p.a. of
5% or less;
the identification of property segments of high volatility in returns in the
portfolio; and
the identification of potential growth segments within the portfolio (for possible
future acquisition by the company based on higher average returns with
relatively low volatility of returns).
Conduct the following statistical analyses based on the sample data:
(a) For the net profit % variable, construct a numerical frequency distribution, a
cumulative % frequency distribution, and a histogram.
(Use interval widths of 2.5% starting at a lower limit of –5%.)
(b) Construct a cross-tabulation table (two-way pivot table) of the count of
properties classified by regional location and type of business usage. Also, for each
regional location, show the percentage of properties by type of business usage.
(c) Construct a two-way breakdown table of net profit % p.a. by business usage and
regional location (showing the average, standard deviation, minimum and maximum
net profit %) of properties within each segment.
Answer the following questions:
(d) Describe the profile of properties in the company’s property portfolio.
(e) Describe the performance of the company’s property portfolio by examining the
profile of net profit % across the different segments. In particular, focus on the
three areas of interest for the review meeting.
(f) Propose suitable courses of action for management in order to maximise the
financial performance of their property portfolio in the short-to-medium term.

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