UGANDA MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

DPAM 2014/2015

Philip Odida: 14/DPAM/000/KLA/EVE/0040

Module: Quantitative Methods in Decision Making
Module lecturer:

Kimbugwe Hassan, Consultant,

Uganda Management Institute

Individual Coursework:

7th November, 2014

The following data represents the monthly income (Shs 000) of 80 randomly selected
villagers after a poverty reduction exercise had been carried out in Goma sub-county. Before
the exercise, those in charge of the poverty reduction program had carried out a baseline
survey and established that, on average, the monthly income was Shs 26,500 per month.
Table 1.

Sample data collected from Goma sub-county.

22
16
40
15
27
49
22
17
25
14

23
33
23
14
29
23
34
21
20
24

10
24
38
24
24
16
31
21
21
21

17
10
29
22
45
24
29
24
39
38

39
47
25
52
28
23
22
35
41
23

54
31
37
13
45
23
43
37
44
28

33
42
22
48
21
29
15
19
39
53

47
22
12
27
44
13
32
36
23
37

i)
ii)

Frequency distribution table for randomly selected villagers in Goma sub-county.

Class
10 19
20 29
30 39
40 49
50 - 59

Tally
IIII IIII IIII
IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII
IIII IIII IIII I
IIII IIII II
III

F
14
35
16
12
3
80

X
14.5
24.5
34.5
44.5
55.5
173.5

fx
203
857.5
552
534
166.5
2,313

fx2
2,943.5
21,008.72
19,044
23,763
9,240.75
76,000

iii)
-

The Mean of the sample (x) is derived from the following equation:
fx/N

where fx = 2,313 and N = 80

x = 2,313/80 = 28.91
-

The Median of the sample (Md) is derived from the following equation:
L+[N/2 - cfb/fc]c
where L = 20-0.5 = 19.5; N = 80; cfb = 14; fc = 35 and
c = 29.5 19.5 = 10
Solution:
Md = 19.5 + [80/2 14/35]10
1

cf
14
49
65
77
80

= 19.5 + [40-14/35]10
= 19.5 + [26/35]10
= 19.5 + 7.43 = 26.928
Md = 26.93
-

The Mode of the frequency distribution is derived from the following equation:
Mo = L+[d1/d1 + d2]c
Where L = 19.5; d1 = 35-14 = 21; d2 = 35-16 = 19 and c = 10
Solution: Mo = 19.5 + [21/21+19]10
= 19.5+[21/40]10
= 19.5+[0.525]10
= 19.5+5.25 = 24.75
Mo = 24.75
The mean, median and mode of the frequency distribution is 28.91, 26.93, 24.75

respectively. The median of the class calculated in the above exercise (26.93), is closest to the
result of the baseline survey that established that on average, the monthly income of the 80
randomly selected villagers in Goma sub-county was 26,500 shillings.
The median computed here is the most appropriate average of the frequency
distribution because the median value is not affected by extreme values. The highest monthly
income in the sample, for instance is 54,000 shillings, while the lowest monthly income is
10,000 shillings.
iv)
The data obtained in the random sample above pertain to the measures of central
tendency, which are useful for public administration and management in the sense that they
serve as a basis for analysis in a manner that can contribute to scientifically informed decision
making. In management terms, the data serves essentially as a basis for planning, decision
making with a view to reasonable resource allocation.
v)
2

The standard deviation () of the frequency distribution above is derived from the
following equation:
= fx2/fx-(X)2 where fx2 = 76,000; fx = 2,313 and X = 28.91
= 76,000/2,313-(28.91)2
=

32.86-835.79

=-802.93
= 28.34
-

The Coefficient of variation of the incomes in the frequency distribution is derived

from the following equation:
/X

= 28.34/28.91 = 0.98

The coefficient of variation is = 98%