without attempting to make generalizations about other groups or classes. Inferential statistics permit the findings with respect to one set of relationships to be extended to other relationships, and to generalize findings and conclusions on the basis of statistical inference. Trend analysis is one widely used approach to statistical inference. Decision theory provides managers with knowledge about events and relationships, which reduce the level of uncertainty in the data upon which decisions for an organization are based.
Trend analysis is a form of forecasting. A forecast is an estimate of the future value, or future values, of a variable. To be meaningful, forecasts must project values of a variable in measurable units of the variable. A number of procedures exist, by which forecasts may be developed. Some, such as subjective opinion forecasts, are not suitable for most sophisticated applications. A somewhat more sophisticated forecasting procedure is the index based forecast. Un
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