Article in Forbes or other business journal

Locate any report or periodical article that contains at least two different graphical
representations of data or use one of the supplied articles. Interpret the graphs and present your
findings in a brief PowerPoint presentation (6-10 slides).
Business administrators and managers are often called upon to interpret data that
analysts have provided to them. This requires an understanding of the data sources
(when, where, and how data is collected; formatted or stored; and used), as well as what
that data looks like and how it can be summarized. In this first assessment, you are asked
to locate any report or periodical article used in a business context of interest to you that
contains at least two different graphical representations of data. You will interpret the
graphical data representations and present your findings in a brief PowerPoint deck, as if
you were presenting during a company meeting.
In this assessment you will learn about the collection, formatting, and use of raw data, as
well as graphical and tabular methods for summarizing it. You will also get started with
the technology that you will use in this course: Microsoft Excel (including the Data
Analysis ToolPak add-in).
You have been invited to present at a departmental meeting with employees from all levels
within the organization. You have been allotted 6-10 minutes to speak.
The purpose of your speech is to explain the business context as well as two charts or
tables that you have evaluated as a business analyst of the organization.
Your business report to the group will be a slide presentation with speaker notes and
appropriate citations and references.
Complete the following:
1. Article Identification. Use one of the articles listed under Article Options
subheading below or find an article in Forbes or other business journal or an annual
report from a publicly traded company that includes at least two data graphs or
tables.
o The graphs should depict or represent data using pie charts, bar charts,
tables, scatter plots, trend lines, et cetera.
2. Read the article and identify the business context. Business context includes
organizational history, mission, product and services, environment, competitive
advantage, competition, et cetera. You can also determine business context from
additional sources (and you should).
o The company or organizational background information should help explain
why the data are relevant. This will be the introductory information for your
business report, presentation, or assessment.
3. Interpret your chosen data representations in the context of the business situation.
The following are typical questions an analyst would use to interpret the data:
o What is being measured (the variables)?
o What are the relationships among the variables?
o What are the trends in the data?
o How can the data be applied in the business context?
4. Create an effective 6-10 slide PowerPoint deck with detailed presenter’s notes
(including citations and reference slides) elaborating on each point that will be
presented at a departmental meeting. For example:
o Organization/business context.
o Relevance/importance of information.
o Source of data set and any limitations?
o Graphic of data 1 – with interpretations of graph.
o Graph of data 2 – with interpretations of graph.
o Importance of data analysis in terms of business context.
o Summary.
o Reference slides.
An effective PowerPoint presentation for this purpose typically includes:
• One title slide, APA formatted.
• 1-2 introduction slides explaining the business context.
• Several slides. You should copy and paste (insert) the graphs or tables and include
an appropriate citation. Each slide should include detailed speaker notes.
• Several slides. Include your interpretation of each graphical data representation.
• Conclusion slides in which you explain how the data may affect the business
context or how it could be applied in your business context to inform decision
making.
• Slide with at least four APA-formatted references, including the source of each
graph.
Article Options
For this assessment, you will need to choose among business articles from periodicals,
annual reports of publicly traded companies, or published business reports to find two
graphical representations of data.
A list of appropriate articles has been compiled for this assessment. You may select one
of the articles from the following list or find your own suitable business article containing
two graphical data representations.
• Huang, N. S. (2019). Investing: The best funds for your 401K. Kiplinger’s Personal
Finance, 73(12), 18-29.
• Reacting to market volatility. (2020). Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 74(2), 54-55.
• Taxpayers weigh in on the new tax law. (2020). Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 74(3),
50-51.
• Woodley, K. (2020). A holistic bet on housing. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 74(2),
31.
• Decarlo, S., Elam, D. G., Smyth, K., Agus, S., Austin, C., Hackett, R., Kowitt, B.,
Lashinsky, A., Lev-ram, M., Nusca, A., O’keefe, B., Roberts, J. J., & Wieczner, J.
(2017). 100 fastest-growing companies. Fortune, 176(4), 157-163.
• Growing, growing… gone! (2016). Forbes, 197(5), 28.
• Lim, P. J. (2018). The 50 best mutual funds and 50 best ETFs. Money, 47(1), 86-91.
• Meet the world’s richest. (2016). Forbes, 197(4), 26-27.
• Salisbury, I. (2018). How we got here. Money, 47(1), 52-57.
• Sorvino, C. (2016). Dollar days. Forbes, 197(4), 28.
Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or
higher rating on the scoring guide would look like:

• Your written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall
message, meet APA standards, and be unbiased with documented facts rather than
opinion.
• Remember to use and include at least four sources of information for your
presentation.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the
following course competencies through corresponding scoring guide criteria:
• Competency 1: Explain how data management techniques and tools are used to
support business decisions.
o Introduce the business context.
o Explain how the data can be applied to the business context.
• Competency 4: Present the results of data analysis in clear and meaningful ways to
multiple stakeholders.
o Interpret, or explain the meaning of, the two different graphical
representations of data.
o Correctly format citations and references using current APA style.
o Present content clearly, professionally, and logically for the identified
audience.
Use any of the following Capella library articles for this week’s assessment or find
appropriate articles on your own:
• Anders, G. (2017). The looming retail bailout. Forbes, 199(6), 94-99.
• Badenhausen, K. (2016). The world’s highest-paid athletes. Forbes, 197(9), 22.
• Cam, D., & Au-Yeung, A. (2017). Doctorate, degree or dropout? Forbes, 200(5), 24.
• Canal, E., Kauflin, J., & Adams, S. (2016). Shark Tank’s toothless deals. Forbes,
198(7), 24-25.
• Decarlo, S., Elam, D. G., Smyth, K., Agus, S., Austin, C., Hackett, R., Kowitt, B.,
Lashinsky, A., Lev-ram, M., Nusca, A., O’keefe, B., Roberts, J. J., & Wieczner, J.
(2017). 100 fastest-growing companies. Fortune, 176(4), 157-163.
• Growing, growing… gone! (2016). Forbes, 197(5), 28.
• Lim, P. J. (2018). The 50 best mutual funds and 50 best ETFs. Money, 47(1), 86-91.
• Meet the world’s richest. (2016). Forbes, 197(4), 26-27.
• Salisbury, I. (2018). How we got here. Money, 47(1), 52-57.
• Sorvino, C. (2016). Dollar days. Forbes, 197(4), 28.
There are select chapters from the following text throughout this course that are useful for
preparation for each assessment.
• Lind, D. A., Marchal, W. G., & Wathen, S. A. (2022). Basic statistics for business and
economics (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
o Chapter 1, “What Is Statistics?”
 This chapter explains why studying analytics and statistics is essential in
business today.
If this is your first venture into the world of analytics, the following resources can provide a solid
foundation of knowledge:
• Kenny, P. (2014). Better business decisions from data: Statistical analysis for professional
success. Apress.
o Chapter 5, “Raw Data.”
 This resource presents an overview of how data are used to make business
decisions in the professional context.
• Thomas, R., & McSharry, P. (2015). Big data revolution: What farmers, doctors, and
insurance agents can teach us about patterns in big data. Wiley.
•
o Chapters 1-9.
 These chapters give practical examples of the use of analytics.
• Watson, H. J. (2018). Successful analytics leaders. Business Intelligence Journal,
23(1), 5-11.
o This reading covers key characteristics of how leaders use analytics in
business effectively.
Data Analysis Software
To complete the assessments in this course, you will need to use data analysis software
to complete statistical calculations, create graphs and tabular summaries, and share your
results in your Microsoft Word document submissions. You will use Microsoft Excel and
Microsoft Excel Analysis ToolPak add-in. Be aware that not all statistical calculations,
graphs, and tabular summaries can be completed in this software, so you may need to do
some work outside of the software.
Microsoft Excel Data Analysis ToolPak Add-In for PC and Mac
The Analysis ToolPak add-in for Microsoft Excel is included in the standard installation of
the Microsoft Office suite; however, it does need to be activated or enabled. You can
use the instructions provided by Microsoft in the link below to load the Analysis ToolPak
add-in for Microsoft Excel. If you do not own Microsoft Excel, Capella arranges for a
significant discount for Microsoft Office for Capella learners.
The following provides an overview of the Analysis ToolPak and instructions for loading
and activating it. Note that these instructions are for 2016 and older versions of
Microsoft Excel for PC and for the 2016 version only for Mac. If you are using a different
version, you may need to search Microsoft’s website for the appropriate instructions.
• Microsoft. (n.d.). Load the Analysis ToolPak in Excel. https://support.office.com/en-
us/article/Load-the-Analysis-ToolPak-in-Excel-6a63e598-cd6d-42e3-9317-
6b40ba1a66b4?CTT=1&CorrelationId=9f089166-5317-42d4-8d41-
56b3d207e812&ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US