Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling (Bpg-Other) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Now you can apply the techniques that business analysts at leading companies use to analyze and transform data into bottom line results. For more than 10 years, well-known consultant and business professor Wayne Winston has been teaching corporate clients and MBA candidates the most effective ways to use Microsoft Excel for data analysis, modeling, and decision making. This practical, business-focused guide delivers the best of Winston’s classroom experience to you in 70+ concise chapters, organized by real-world scenarios. Quickly find and apply exactly the information you need to solve a specific business problem—from asset allocation modeling to estimating exponential growth, forecasting sales, optimizing portfolios, and other critical functions. You also get all the book’s sample files on CD-ROM—ready for use in your own work.

About the Author

Wayne L. Winston teaches decision sciences at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. For more than 10 years he has taught business analysts how to use Excel to make better decisions. His clients include Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; Ford Motor Company; General Motors Corporation; Intel Corporation; Microsoft Corporation; NCR Corporation; Owens Corning; Pfizer, Inc.; Proctor & Gamble; the U.S. Army; and the U.S. Department of Defense. Wayne and business partner Jeff Sagarin developed a player rating system that the Dallas Mavericks use to identify statistical trends and evaluate players. Wayne is also a two-time Jeopardy! Champion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (February 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735619018
• ISBN-13: 978-0735619012
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,875 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #20 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Modeling & Simulation
  #21 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Software > Personal Finance
  #40 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Microsoft > Applications > Excel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Non-Traditional Uses of Excell, May 24, 2005

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is aimed at a level slightly higher than the total beginner. On page one, for instance he assumes that you understand the statement SUM(A5000:A5049) means. Then he points out that writing SUM(USSales) would make it easier to understand. He then describes how to name a range of cells -- Not exactly what I'd call advanced, but certainly above novice.

The first third, or so, of the book is on these kinds of slightly advanced procedures that you could get out of several Excell books. After that he kind of turns the approach around to things like "Estimating a Demand Curve." This is looking for what you want to do rather than just looking at a technique within Excell.

Many of his chapters have fairly sophisticated subjects, "Incorporating Qualitative Factors into Multiple Regression." In this chapter he then looks at multiple factors that might go into predicting things like predicting sales, predicting the Presidential race - with fairly surprising results.

In a couple of chapters he has a bit of fun, i.e. Chapter 73 is "Picking Your Fantasy Football Team."

Excell is quite a powerful package. It can be used for a lot of things beyond just filling out an expense account. In this book a lot of non traditional uses are described in a very light but informative manner. It is a very well done book.

47 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars CD has MANY, MANY mistakes...., August 25, 2004

By	D. Lamont "cloud" (Hackensack NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The idea behind this book is great.
The book introduces and expands on many different 'useful' formulas and tools included within Excel.
The problems at the end of each chapter allows the reader to use what was just learned in developing spreadsheets to solve realistic accounting problems.
Even the 'above average' user of Excel, I believe, will learn from this book.
The CD even has an electronic version of the book, so you don't have to carry the book around everywhere.
The main problem: the CD STINKS !!!! It has MANY, MANY errors.
From forgetting to take into account given growth rates detailed in a problem (therefore yielding incorrect answers) to just plain sloppy copying of sheets (forgetting to delete the drawings and numbers not pertinent to the current sheet).
As said in a prior review, if an updated CD were to become available, with the CORRECT ANSWERS on it, this would be a definite 5 star.
(This said, perhaps finding the errors on the CD could be a means of developing your spreadsheets skills):)

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many errors!!!, August 9, 2005

By	Harry P. "Harry P." (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I am not an advanced Excel user, but it is easy to find out that this book has many mistakes in coordinating the problem descriptions with the solutions, as well as typos in the book, when referring to certain cells. So, I do not know which of them should be corrected, but it is hard and time consuming, at least for a novice user, to understand what is going on. The solutions to advanced problems have no explanation, which on one hand is good because it makes you try to think...on the other hand though, it is such a disappointment to find out that the solutions you try to understand are wrong!! You can easily find it out by doublechecking with pen and paper...