MIS770 – Foundation Skills in Data Analysis

MIS770, T2 2018 Assignment Two 1 | P a g e

Particulars
• Due: Week 9, 11pm, Thursday 13th September, 2018
• Marks: 30%
• Words: 2000
• Submission: Online to the MIS770 assignment TWO drop box in the Cloud Unit site
Email submissions will not be accepted
• Note: This assignment is to be completed individually
Assurance of Learning
This assignment assesses following Graduate Learning Outcomes and related Unit Learning Outcomes:

Overview
The purpose of this assignment is to investigate a dataset utilising the knowledge learned in Modules One
and Two. This will enable conclusions to be drawn that ultimately assist in decision making.
The assignment requires you to analyse a given dataset, interpret the results, and then draw conclusions
such that you are able to reply to specific questions being asked of you in the form of a report. (These
questions are asked in the following memorandum).
The aims of the assignment is to:
• provide you with some examples of the application of data analysis within an organisation
• test your understanding of the material in the relevant topics
• test your ability to analyse and interpret your results
• test your ability to effectively communicate the results of your analysis to others
Before tackling the assignment, make sure you have prepared yourself well. As a minimum, please read the
relevant sections of the prescribed text and listen/watch the pre-recorded material for Modules 1 and 2.
Assignment 2 – Analysis of TechnoMart Industries employee satisfaction survey
MIS770, T2 2018 Assignment Two 2 | P a g e
Scenario
TechnoMart Industries is an automobile parts manufacturer with 9800 employees (TechnoMart is a fictitious
company and meant to bear no resemblance to any existing organisation). It wishes to study its full-time
workforce by developing an employee profile that measures factors such as income, job satisfaction and
career progress. Emma Saward, the Vice-President of Human Resources, hires MDB Corporation, a consulting
firm, to survey TechnoMart employees. A survey of a random sample of 400 staff was conducted via online
questionnaire.
The questionnaire used for the survey can be found in the TechnoMart2018.xls file (All data in the
spreadsheet is fictitious). Please ensure you read that questionnaire. To understand what each variable
means, please cross-reference to the questionnaire given in the database file.
In the assignment, you play the role of Madison Thomson, an analyst at MDB Corporation. You are often
required to report outcomes of your analysis to clients who have little or no knowledge of data analysis.
Emma Saward, the Vice-President of Human Resources at TechnoMart Industries, has written to you
regarding certain matters relating to the employee satisfaction survey. Her memo to you is reproduced
below:
Memorandum

To: Madison Thomson, MDB Corporation
From: Emma Saward, TechnoMartIndustries
Subject: Analysis of TechnoMart Industries employee satisfaction survey

MIS770, T2 2018 Assignment Two 3 | P a g e
2. Comparison of union and non-union members
In addition to the overall analysis you are carrying out for work hours, I am interested in how union
members in the company compare to non-union members in regard to a few key variables. In particular, I
want you to investigate how union members and non-union members compare in regard to:
(a) Hours worked
(b)Occupation
(c) Job satisfaction
Based on the above, can you provide me with a brief summary of how the two groups compare.
3. Predicting Pre-Tax Income
Of all the variables you have collected, is there any one that stands out as a possible explanation or
predictor of those people likely to achieve a higher pre-tax income than others do?
4. Workers approaching retirement
Senior management are concerned that over the next few years the company will need to undertake a
large recruitment drive as our workforce is aging and a substantial number of employees will be
retiring. Can you provide me with an estimate of the:
(a) average age of TechnoMart employees
(b) average time our employees have been working at TechnoMart
5. Union membership
In a recent Enterprise Bargaining meeting, the union made a number of claims that I would like you to
check.
(a) It was also mentioned that our employees are very loyal to the company and that the union believed
the average length of employment at TechnoMart would exceed the industry average of 7.5 years.
Could you check if this claim is true for all employees? What about for only male employees? What
about only for female employees?
(b) There is some speculation that the union members work at least 45 hours per week. Is there any
way of confirming this?
6. Future Surveys
Finally, I am interested in your opinion about future surveys of our employees.
(a) I am concerned that a sample of only 400 employees seems too small compared to the population
of 9800. Could you explain to me how we calculate an ideal sample size?
(b) Of particular interest to me is being able to accurately estimate the size of the problem we have
with staff working excessive hours (i.e. more than 60 hours a week). In other words, in order to
accurately estimate the size of our overtime problem, do I have a sufficient number of staff in my
sample who work more than 60 hours? If not, how many should be sampled?
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Emma Saward
MIS770, T2 2018 Assignment Two 4 | P a g e
Requirements:
• Your report should be no longer than 2000 words and there is no need to include, Charts and Tables,
or Appendices in the report
• Your Charts/Graphics and Tables are only to be placed in the Data Analysis file i.e. the Excel
spreadsheet
• The report is to be written as a stand-alone document (assume Emma will only read your
report). Thus, you should not have any references in the report to your data analysis output.
Eg. “According to Table 1 in the analysis…”
• Your report must have an informative title
• Your report must contain an executive summary that explains in plain language what the report is
for and summarises the main findings. The executive summary should be no more than 2/3 page
• The body of your report must be set out in the same order as in the originating memorandum from
Emma Saward, with each section (question) clearly marked
• Use plain language and your explanations succinct. Avoid the use of technical or statistical jargon as
Emma Saward will not necessarily understand even simple statistical terms. As a guide to the
meaning of “Plain Language”, imagine you are explaining your findings to a person without any
statistical training (e.g. someone who has not studied this unit). What type of language would you
use in this case?
• Marks will be lost if you use unexplained technical terms, irrelevant material, or have poor
presentation/organization
• All Microsoft Excel data analysis output associated with each question in the Memorandum is to be
placed in the corresponding tab in the yourstudentid.xlsx file
Data Analysis Instructions/Guidelines
In order to prepare a reply to Emma’s memorandum, you will need to examine and analyse the dataset
TechnoMart2018.xlsx thoroughly.
Emma has asked a number of questions and your Data Analysis output (i.e. your charts/tables/graphs)
should be structured such that each question is answered on the separate tab/worksheet provided in your
Excel document. There are also extra tabs in TechnoMart2018.xlsx called CI, SampleSize and HT and you
should use the various templates contained in these tabs in your “Confidence Interval”, “Sample size” and
“Hypothesis Testing” answers.
In order to effectively answer the questions, your Data Analysis output needs to be appropriate.
Accordingly, you’ll need to establish which of the following techniques are applicable for each
question:
• Summary Measures (Descriptive Statistics, Inc. Outlier detection)
• Comparative Summary Measures (i.e. Descriptive Statistics for multiple values of a variable)
• Suitable tables and charts or graphics (Module One) that will illustrate more clearly, other
important features of a variable
• Scatter diagrams, Correlation analysis and Cross Tabulations (sometimes called Contingency Tables),
used to establish the relationships (dependencies) between two variables
• Confidence Intervals: You can assume that a 95% confidence level is appropriate. We use Confidence
Intervals when we have no idea about the population parameter we are investigating. Additionally, we
would use Confidence Intervals if we are asked to provide an estimate of a population parameter. You
can use the relevant Excel template provided in the dataset and copy to the applicable question tab
• Hypothesis Tests: You can assume that a 5% level of significance is appropriate. We Use Hypothesis
Tests when we are testing a Claim, a Theory or a Standard. You can use the relevant Excel template
provided in the dataset and then copy to the applicable question tab
Note: There is an Appendix at the end of each Chapter of the Prescribed Textbook which describes the basic
Excel steps associated with that Topic. Chapters 1 to 9 are applicable for this assessment.
MIS770, T2 2018 Assignment Two 5 | P a g e
Submission
Your completed assignment should be in two separate files:
• Data Analysis (Part A): An Excel document containing separate tabs/ worksheets with charts/
tables/ graphs for each question
• Report (Part B): A Word document of no more than 2000 words which is not to contain any charts/
tables/ graphs
• All interpretations should be presented in your “Report” and the excel document should only
contain your intermediate analysis and final output
The assignment is to be submitted to the MIS770 assignment two dropbox in Deakin’s Cloud Campus
before 11pm on Thursday 13th September 2018. Note: The Cloud Unit site is the ONLY method of
submission acceptable.
Please name/rename each file using the format yourstudentid.docx and yourstudentid.xlsx.
Failure to follow this naming convention may lead to a delay in receiving feedback and marks.
When you are required to submit an assignment through your CloudDeakin unit site, you will receive
an email to your Deakin email address confirming that it has been submitted. You should check that
you can see your assignment in the Submissions view of the Assignment dropbox folder after upload,
and check for, and keep, the email receipt for the submission.
If you need to request an extension, please email the Unit Chair
(lasitha.dharmasena@deakin.edu.au) by no later than Monday 10th September 2018. You will need to
provide a valid reason together with supporting documentation (e.g. doctors’ certificate, etc.) as
well as the work completed to date.
Notes:
Penalties for late submission: The following marking penalties will apply if you submit an assessment task
after the due date and time without an approved extension:
• 5% will be deducted from available marks for each day up to five days, and work that is submitted
more than five days after the due date will not be marked. You will receive 0% for the task. ‘Day’
means working day for paper submissions and calendar day for electronic submissions.
• The Unit Chair may refuse to accept a late submission where it is unreasonable or impracticable to
assess the task after the due date.
• For more information about academic misconduct, special consideration, extensions, and
assessment feedback, please refer to the document “Your rights and responsibilities as a student
in this Unit” in the first folder next to the Unit Guide of the Resources area in the CloudDeakin unit
site.
Building evidence of your experiences, skills and knowledge (Portfolio) – Building a portfolio that
evidences your skills, knowledge and experience will provide you with a valuable tool to help you prepare
for interviews and to showcase to potential employers. There are a number of tools that you can use to
build a portfolio. You are provided with cloud space through OneDrive, or through the Portfolio tool in the
Cloud Unit Site, but you can use any storage repository system that you like. Remember that a Portfolio is
YOUR tool. You should be able to store your assessment work, reflections, achievements and artefacts in
YOUR Portfolio. Once you have completed this assessment piece, add it to your personal Portfolio to use
and showcase your learning later, when applying for jobs, or further studies. Curate your work by adding
meaningful tags to your artefacts that describe what the artefact represents.
Supporting Materials
You will find the data in the file called TechnoMart2018.xlsx, on CloudDeakin for download. Please ensure
you read the relevant sheets in that file. In particular, ensure you read the sheet called “Questionnaire”.
Save a copy for your assignment purposes. Also ensure you read the information which follows.
MIS770, T2 2018 Assignment Two 6 | P a g e
Marking Rubric