8605-423 Using Quantitative Methods of Solving Management Problems

Unit Overview

8605-423 using Quantitative Methods of Solving Management Problems is a unit within the ILM Level 4 module that focuses on improving e ability of the management to utilise quantitative methods of collecting and analysing data to make effective decisions and solve problems that could be experienced within the organisation. Modern approaches to the organisation rely on effective handling of data to ensure that evidence-based practices are adopted within the organisation. This involves being able to identify sources of statistical and numerical data as well as approaches that are effective in analysing this data to ensure they solve critical problems that can be achieved within the organisational context.

In HR practices such as human resource management, budgeting and marketing, the leaders need to focus on hard techniques of examining the situation and understanding the critical factors that affect the ability of the organisation to achieve the desired goals and objectives. This unit focuses on improving the ability of the leaders to appreciate the role that quantitative methods play in information decisions as well as ensuring the learners are provided with the right skills and techniques to collect and analyse quantitative data. The main purpose of the unit is to enable middle managers to analyse data using quantitative methods to help them solve management problems that they may experience. The unit is covered in 10 hours of guided learning and has contrition of 6 credit values in the ILM Level 4 module.

Suitability of the Unit

This unit is suitable for leaders within the organisation. It is important to ensure that procedures developed within the organisations are based on evidence available to the organisation. The quantitative methods help the leaders to effectively identify, collect and analyse quantitative data to make judgments and decisions within the organisations. As such, 8605-423 using Quantitative Methods of solving Management Problems is suited to them in this position to ensure that they have the skills and capacities to analyse the data that they collect within different quantitative resources.

The unit is specifically designed to meet the learning needs of the middle managers. It provides middle managers with the ability to effectively conduct qualitative analysis of data that is collected in the form of statistics or numerical values and use this analysis to make organisational decisions and implement them. However, this unit is applicable to different stakeholders. The executive managers should also pursue the unit to help them use quantitative methods of analysis to make predictions of future changes within the market and patterns in the organisation that guide their strategic decisions making.

External consultants can also use the context to guide their capacity to provide support to decision-making within the organisation, ensuring there is efficiency in the processes. First-level managers and employees can also use the information within the unit to build their professional capability and improve adaptation to the organisation's needs and goals in their areas of responsibility and operations.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the unit, the learner should be able to:

• Identify various management problems that face the organisation and require the use of quantitative data

• Conduct effective research on the problem using relevant methods that help to collect quantitative data that is based on statistical information or numerical feedback in their areas of responsibility

• Effectively use quantitative data analysis methods to analyse the data and make interpretations based on the information collected

• Recommend various solutions to the identified management problem based on the analysed and interpreted data from the quantitative evaluation

• Conduct an effective evaluation of the performance of the recommendations based on quantitative data analysis

Key Learning Areas

8605-423 using Quantitative Methods of solving Management Problems is a unit that aims to improve the ability to understand quantitative methods within the organisation and how they can impact the process of solving management problems. The unit, therefore, includes information that covers research processes and quantitative data collection methods, as well as the process of analysing the data using quantitative techniques to achieve the desired outcomes and levels of interpreting the data. Some of the main areas of focus within the unit are:

Data Collection

This area of learning focuses on ensuring that the learners are able to identify relevant quantitative data that they can collect to support their decisions making and practices as leaders within the organisation. It focuses on developing effective research questions for the quantitative research and guiding in the process of conducting an effective quantitative research.

Aspects such as methods of sampling, methods of data collection, and types of data that are collected and processes of collecting the data are covered in this area of study, preparing the learners for effective handling of numerical and statistical data that they are required to interact within the organisation setting. This area also helps to understand the differences between qualitative data and quantitative data to ensure leaders are able to effectively employ the right strategies for quantitative research.

Quantitative Data Analysis

Learners must develop the ability to understand the various aspects of data analysis within the quantitative approaches. They are a guide to understanding the different forms of software that can be used to conduct quantitative analysis of data and ensure that they are able to effectively interact with the software to achieve the desired outcomes in data management.

Additionally, the learners are taught critical information on the tabulation of data using charts and graphs and the determination of the characteristics of the data, including central tendency and dispersion. Quantitative data focuses on statistical computations and representations of the data. It also aims at improving the ability to use probability distributions to make effective decisions. As such, the learners are introduced to the different methods of hypothesis testing and data analysis, such as correlational and regression analysis, which they can use in their daily managerial practices.

Evaluation

The unit is evaluated using written assessment to ensure the learners have mastered the information that has been taught within the unit. This assessment includes a template with questions on the topic that the learner is required to complete. These questions are structured in a way that they test the theory and practice based on the information learned in the unit.