3.0 Learning Outcomes
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, students will be able to:
- Define forecasting and differentiate it from related concepts such as prediction.
- Describe the role of forecasting in marketing strategy implementation.
- Outline the differences between qualitative and quantitative forecasting methods.
- Perform forecast calculations such as simple moving averages, weighted moving averages, and exponential smoothing.
- Use associative/causal methods of forecasting for operational decision-making.
- Calculate forecasts using time series analysis and seasonal index.
- Calculate Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD), Mean Squared Error (MSE), and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) to assess forecast accuracy.
