STAT20029 - Statistics for Managerial Decisions

Showing: 2026 HE Term 2
General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit you will examine statistics, with particular focus on applications to managerial decision making. You will use statistics techniques to make informed decisions in uncertain environments within the fields of business and accounting. You will analyse and interpret data, trends and patterns as well as make inferences and use probability theory to estimate risks. Other important topics of this unit include probability and forecasting.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Anti-requisite: STAT20028.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026

Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Brisbane Melbourne Online Sydney
Term 3 - 2026 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
2. Written Assessment 20%
3. Examination 60%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

Previous Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Teaching team, Discipline Leader
Feedback:
There is a small number of quiz questions which means there is limited opportunity for students to practice the same concepts across multiple questions.

Recommendation:
Increase number of questions in question bank, especially adding variants (e.g., different case study or data set) for each concept covered.

Action Taken:
Additional variant questions were added to support repeated practice of key statistical concepts. Kahoot-style revision questions and Zoom poll questions were also used to provide short formative checks during teaching sessions. These activities gave students more opportunities to practise similar concepts across different question formats and receive immediate feedback on their understanding.
Source: Teaching team, Discipline Leader
Feedback:
While students are able to perform the necessary statistical calculations, some students find it difficult to develop an intuitive understanding of the concepts based on the calculations.

Recommendation:
Create resources that allow students to visualise the operation of statistical methods on different data sets.

Action Taken:
Visual teaching resources were developed and embedded into lectures and tutorials to support students’ conceptual understanding of statistical methods. Worked examples, visual explanations, and applied, data-based demonstrations were used to help students connect calculations to interpretation. Student responses during consultations and teaching activities indicated improved understanding of topics such as hypothesis testing and the interpretation of confidence intervals.
Source: Student evaluation data and teaching team reflection
Feedback:
Student evaluations and teaching team reflections indicate that some students would benefit from clearer weekly guidance to help them navigate Moodle resources, weekly learning activities, and expected preparation.

Recommendation:
Strengthen weekly Moodle guidance by providing a short weekly overview, clearer instructions for learning activities, and a simple checklist of what students should complete before and after each class.

Action Taken:
In Progress
Source: Student evaluation data and teaching team reflection
Feedback:
To further support student learning, more real-world examples should be included in learning materials

Recommendation:
Use applied business datasets and Excel-based examples to provide additional resources that demonstrate how to interpret statistical results and not just perform calculations.

Action Taken:
In Progress
Unit Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Analyse and work with data in a statistical framework
  2. Interpret data to make informed decisions
  3. Estimate the probabilities of various scenarios using statistics techniques
  4. Make statistical inferences based on sample observations
  5. Capture trends and make future projections
  6. Compare the implications of alternative strategies in terms of risks and expectations.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Online Quiz(zes)
2 - Written Assessment
3 - Examination
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Professional Level
Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Knowledge
2 - Communication
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills
4 - Research
5 - Self-management
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility
7 - Leadership
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Professional Level
Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8
1 - Online Quiz(zes)
2 - Written Assessment
3 - Examination