The emphasis on mechanics in business statistics courses poses a problem for marketing research instructors who teach their course with an application emphasis. Instructors of marketing research could find students ill prepared for the course. As a result, some marketing programs require students to take a research laboratory or break the research course into two parts of 3 credit hours each. This article outlines an alternative. Repositioning (reengineering) the second course in business statistics from a problem-solving orientation to a decision-making emphasis eliminates the need for an additional research course. A 2-year experience teaching the course shows students to be better prepared for the marketing research course. In addition, how to develop and assess key business skills such as communication, problem solving, decision making, and computer use in the course is also discussed. Assessment of outcomes is presently mandated by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
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