Quantitative business analysis serves as a crystal ball for modern managers, guiding them in the right direction when faced with difficult decisions. However, unlike fictional crystal balls, quantitative analysis rarely provides definitive answers but rather offers insights. It’s up to the manager to interpret these insights and apply them strategically, a skill that is best developed by obtaining a specialized Master of Business Administration (MBA).
For instance, Emporia State University’s Master of Business Administration with Information Systems Concentration online program establishes a solid foundation in business fundamentals, along with advanced training in data analysis. The curriculum includes a dedicated course, Quantitative Analysis of Business Decisions, where students explore leading-edge decision-making techniques grounded in real-world applications.
What Is Quantitative Analysis?
Quantitative business analysis is the process of collecting and evaluating measurable and verifiable data to better understand a business’s behavior and performance. This data helps managers understand what’s going on with their business and, more importantly, what they should do next.
Quantitative analysis relies heavily on numerical data and is critical in any vertical that involves making decisions, creating estimates, and minimizing risks to optimize performance. This includes:
- Project management: Data-driven forecasting models can help managers estimate timelines, assess risks, and allocate resources most efficiently.
- Supply chain management: Historical sales volume can help managers forecast future demand, optimize inventory levels, and enable real-time decision-making to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
- Production planning: Historical production volume can help managers identify and remove bottlenecks as well as forecast the resources needed to ensure smooth operations.
- Marketing: Insights from previous campaigns provide valuable guidance on how marketing managers can create more targeted strategies and enhance their return on marketing investment.
- Finance: Quantitative analytics is foundational in finance, supporting investment analysis, risk management, and portfolio optimization through the use of statistical models and financial algorithms.
While quantitative analysis is used in all these fields, its application and use case can vary drastically depending on the scenario. For emerging graduates choosing a career path, obtaining an MBA can be a strategic way to understand how quantitative analytics is applied in various fields, helping you determine which path is right for you. Regardless of the industry you choose, an MBA will help position you as a top candidate in the job market.
Types of Quantitative Strategies
So, what does quantitative analysis look like in practice? There are four main strategies that today’s business leaders use when attempting to gain insights from data:
- Time series analysis: Examining previous datasets to predict future performance.
- Data mining: Evaluating immense sets of data in search of hidden patterns or correlations that could be leveraged to improve decision-making.
- Linear programming: Exploring how to achieve an optimal solution with limited resources, like floor space, capital, or machinery.
- Regression analysis: Constructing mathematical models that represent how certain variables impact a business.
That said, conducting quantitative analysis is just the first step for a manager looking to improve a company. The second, more important step is understanding what the data you’ve collected tells you about a business and how you should respond. Drawing these conclusions is a complex process that requires expertise, intuition, and a detailed understanding of both business and analytics.
MBA in Information Systems
Obtaining an MBA in Information Systems helps position emerging graduates for success in the job market by teaching them core business pillars (accounting, finance, marketing, etc.), along with specialized subject matter (data analytics, quantitative analysis, etc.). For example, Emporia State University’s online MBA with Information Systems Concentration offers the following analytics and leadership-centric coursework:
- Quantitative Analysis of Business Decisions: Students learn cutting-edge quantitative strategies, including decision analysis, regression analysis for forecasting, linear and integer programming, and more. Students also learn how to use modern software solutions (Management Scientist, Excel, and SAS/SPSS) to solve quantitative business analysis problems.
- Advanced Financial Management: Students gain an understanding of the main quantitative tools used for financial analysis, financial planning and control, management of working capital, and more. This course examines the finance function of a firm from the viewpoint of the internal financial manager.
This blended education helps prepare young professionals for leadership roles in a range of industries. Students can complete this program fully online in as few as twelve months.
Learn more about Emporia State University’s online MBA with Information Systems Concentration program.
