QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS: AN OVERVIEW

MOTIVATION FOR USE

NEED FOR USING LOGICAL METHODS RATHER THAN BE GUIDED ENTIRELY BY INTUITION WHEN DECISIONS INVOLVE SIGNIFICANT STAKES.

OTHER TITLES FOR QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

DECISION ANALYSIS MANAGEMENT SCIENCES QUANTITATIVE METHODS

DEFINITION
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS IS THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING. IT USES DATA WHICH ARE MANIPULATED OR PROCESSED INTO INFORMATION THAT IS VALUABLE TO PEOPLE MAKING DECISIONS

BROAD CLASSIFICATION OF QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES OPERATIONAL RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

STATISTICS: DEFINTIONS
STATISTICS MAY BE DEFINED AS THE COLLECTION, PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF NUMERICAL DATA. (CROXTON AND COWDON) BY STATISTICS, WE MEAN QUANTITATIVE DATA AFFECTED BY A MULTIPLICITY OF CAUSES (YULE AND KENDALL)

IMPORTANCE OF STATISTICS IN MANAGING BUSINESS

NEED FOR EXECUTIVES TO TAKE DECISIONS WHICH IMPACT IN THE LONG RUN SCOPE FOR CONCISE PRESENTATION OF DATA MAKE INFERENCES ON A LARGE MASS OF DATA USING SAMPLES SCOPE TO MAKE PREDICTIONS TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

OPERATIONS RESEARCH: DEFINITIONS

THE OPERATIONS RESEARCH SOCIETY OF AMERICA (ORSA) DEFINED O.R. AS FOLLOWS: "OPERATIONS RESEARCH IS CONCERNED WITH SCIENTIFICALLY DECIDING HOW TO BEST DESIGN AND OPERATE MAN-MACHINE SYSTEMS, USUALLY UNDER CONDITIONS THAT REQUIRE THE ALLOCATION OF SCARCE RESOURCES. ACKOFF, A SCHOLAR IN O.R. AND CORPORATE PLANNING DEFINED O.R. AS: "OPERATIONS RESEARCH DEALS WITH THE APPLICATIONS OF SCIENTIFIC METHODS, TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS INVOLVING THE OPERATIONS OF SYSTEMS SO AS TO PROVIDE THOSE IN CONTROL OF THE OPERATIONS WITH OPTIMUM SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS."

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH

DURING WORLD WAR II, MILITARY MANAGEMENT INVITED SCIENTISTS TO ADDRESS WAR RELATED PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY LOGISTICS. DURING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, SCOPE TO APPLY SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN INDUSTRY WAS OBSERVED.

APPLICATIONS IN BUSINESS
VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEMS WASTE MANAGEMENT ADVERTISING MIX CAPACITY PLANNING EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT

POWER AND LIMITATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

POWER PROVIDES OBJECTIVITY PROVIDES INSIGHTS ON SYSTEM BEHAVIOUR HASTENS THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS OWING TO THE SCOPE TO AUTOMATE PART OF THE PROCESS LIMITATIONS LOGIC IS SOMETIMES COMPLICATED INABILITY TO INCORPORATE QUALITATIVE FACTORS

INITIATIVES IN INDIAN ORGANIZATIONS

PLANNING COMMISSION, CENTRAL STATISTICAL ORGANISATION, NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY THE CENTRAL STATISTICAL ORGANIZATION COMPILES THE INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION (THE AGGREGATE CHANGE IN PRODUCTION)BY UNDER THREE GROUPS: BASIC INDUSTRIES, CAPITAL GOODS INDUSTRIES AND INTERMEDIATE GOODS BESIDES CONSUMER GOODS INDUSTRIES. SIMILARLY, THE CENTRAL STATISTICAL ORGANIZATION COMPILES THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI)FOR URBAN NON MANUAL EMPLOYEES IN SEVERAL URBAN CITIES. THE LABOR BUREAU, MINISTRY OF LABOR, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, COMPILES THE CPI FOR INDUSTRIAL WORKERS, BOTH AT ALL INDIA LEVEL AND FOR SEVERAL CITIES. INDICES ARE OBTAINED ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND AGGREGATED FOR EACH FINANCIAL YEAR. THE BUREAU ALSO COMPILES THE INDEX FOR AGRICULTURAL LABORERS.

CONTINUED
MARKET RESEARCH FIRMS INDIA SOFT TECHNOLOGIES (P) LIMITED PROVIDES SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL SOLUTIONS TO ENGINEERING AND R&D ORGANISATIONS TATA SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS: A RECENT INITIATIVE THAT PROVIDES USER FRIENDLY DATA AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE ECONOMY

CONTINUED
NETIMPACT: AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION WITH A PUNE OFFICE DOES QA. RECENTLY A PLAN TO DEVELOP A MIX OF TRANSPORTATION MODES. CYTEL STATISTICAL SOFTWARE AND SERVICES PVT LIMITED PROVIDES STATISTICAL CONSULTING TO PHARMA COMPANIES TO OPTIMIZE THE CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.

CURRENT TRENDS
CLOUD COMPUTING: INTERNET BASED DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY, A SCALABLE APPROACH TO DATA ANALYSIS. AREAS OF APPLICATION: BANKING & FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, DETECTING CREDIT CARD FRAUDS, CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT, DISASTER RECOVERY MANAGEMENT

BIOINFORMATICS: DEFINITIONS
BIOINFORMATICS IS THE ANALYSIS OF BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION USING COMPUTERS AND STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES; THE SCIENCE OF DEVELOPING AND UTILIZING COMPUTER DATABASES AND ALGORITHMS TO ACCELERATE AND ENHANCE BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH DEFINITIOON BY NATIONAL CENTRE FOR BIOINFORMATICS INFORMATION (NCBI, 2001) BIOINFORMATICS IS THE FIELD OF SCIENCE IN WHICH BIOLOGY, COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MERGE INTO A SINGLE DISCIPLINE. THERE ARE THREE IMPORTANT SUB DISCIPLINES WITHIN BIOINFORMATICS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW ALGORITHMS AND STATISTICS WITH WHICH TO ASSESS RELATIONSHIPS AMONG MEMBERS OF LARGE SETS; THE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF VARIOUS TYPES OF DATA INCLUDING NUCLEOTIDE AND AMINO ACID SEQUENCE, PROTEIN DOMAINS AND PROTEIN STRUCTURES; AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TOOLS THAT ENABLE EFFICIENT ACCESS AND MANAGEMENT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF INFORMATION

BIOINFORMATICS IN INDIA: EXAMPLES

IN INDIA, THE BIOINFOMATICS DEPARTMENT OF THE CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED COMPUTING DEVELOPED A SOFTWARE CALLED TAXOGRID FOR APPLICATIONS IN DRUG DISCOVERY AND VACCINE DEVELOPMENT. THE TOOL OFFERS POTENTIAL FOR RESEARCH LABORATORIES OF PHARMA COMPANIES AND COMPANIES IN VACCINE DEVELOPMENT. CYTEL STATISTICAL SOFTWARE AND SERVICES PVT LIMITED PROVIDES STATISTICAL CONSULTING TO PHARMA COMPANIES TO OPTIMIZE THE CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.

BUSINESS ANALYTICS
THE SCIENCE THAT ENABLES USERS OF VAST AMOUNTS OF DATA TO EXTRACT ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS TO COPE WITH THE COMPETITIVE DEMANDS OF BUSINESSES. EXAMPLES: PERSISTENT HAS DEVELOPED APPROACHES FOR PREDICTIVE INTELLIGENCE FOR LIFE SCIENCES, HEALTH CARE AND TELECOM SECTORS.

BUSINESS ANALYTICS: EXAMPLES

SOME SECTORS: IT; INSURANCE; DEPARTMENTAL STORES
IT MAJOR INFOSYS STUDIES THE PATERNS OF POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO VISIT THEIR WEBSITE. WHEN A VISITOR DOES NOT BECOME A CLIENT, RELEVANT DEPARTMENTS ARE ALERTED FOR ACTION. MAX NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE USES AN ADVANCED REPURCHASE PROPENSITY MODEL TO IDENTIFY EXISTING CUSTOMERS WHO ARE LIKELY TO REPURCHASE. THIS ANALYTICS BASED CUSTOMER SELECTION METHODOLOGY ENHANCED THE COMPANYS REVENUE BY 80% SHOPPERS STOP STUDIED PURCHASING PATTERNS OF CUSTOMERS TO REDETERMINE THE LAYOUT. THIS HELPED TO STEP UP CUSTOMER SATISFACTION LEADING TO REPEAT PURCHASE.

EXAMPLE OF AN INDIAN ORGANIZATION

CENTRE FOR BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE & ANALYTICS PROVIDES BI &ANALYTIC TRAINING TO SEVERAL BUSINESSES IN AREAS LIKE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS, MARKET SEGMENTATION AND CREDIT RATING.