A company has 48 sales representatives, one for each state in the contiguous United States. Each state is divided into four regions. Each state sales representative only reports the average sales from the state he or she covers each week. The average reported is calculated from one individual data point per region. Before the New National Sales Manager was hired, the average sales reported per state each week was $95,000 with a standard deviation of $12,000. The National Sales Manager claims that under her leadership, sales have increased despite the weakening economy. A sample was taken when the manager’s annual review was being written and average sales were $105,100.

a) Based on an, can the National Sales Manager make her claim? Use and show the 5-Step Process.

b) What is the cut off point of sales that allows or would allow the National Sales Manager to make the claim?