Business Administration: Decision Analysis

Introduces the tools and techniques necessary for effective decision-making in business organizations operating in a complex and dynamic environment. Prerequisites: MATH 1212 or MATH 1234 with a minimum grade of C-; STAT 1410 or STAT 2430 with a minimum grade of C-; or PSYS 2002 with a minimum grade of C- and PSYS 2010 with a minimum grade of C-; Business Administration, Computer Science and Information Systems, and Engineering Management majors; Business Administration Minor; minimum Sophomore standing.

Prereqs enforced by the system: MATH 1212 or MATH 1234, and STAT 1410 or STAT 2430 or PSYS 2002 and PSYS 2010 with a minimum grade of C-; BSAD, CSIS, EMGT majors or BSAD minors only; Minimum sophomore standing; Open to degree and PACE students

BUS 2130 is an introductory Decision Analysis / Quantitative Methods course for undergraduates. The goals of this class are to provide students with an understanding of the role quantitative methods play in the decision-making process, to increase their awareness and understanding of different types of problems and solution approaches that are common in business, improve their decision-making and critical thinking skills, and to improve their quantitative and analytical problem-solving abilities. BUS 2130 is required for all GSB students and is like undergraduate quantitative methods courses taught at other universities. This is a mathematical course and requires students to practice setting up and solving different types of problems. Topics include 1) basic models of revenue, cost, and profit, 2) a refresher on statistical experiments and sample space and the use of basic descriptive statistics, 3) discrete and continuous random variables and different probability distributions, 4) decision analysis with and without probabilities, 5) setting up, solving, and interpreting basic linear programming models mathematically/graphically and using MS Solver (software), 5) sensitivity analysis, 6) supply chain/transportation problems (assignment, shortest-path, transshipment), 7) simple and multiple linear regression, 8) time series analysis and forecasting, and 9) scheduling tasks using PERT/CPM.

Barring some unforeseen circumstances, this class will meet in person twice a week during scheduled meeting times. I expect students to attend all classes and to be on time. Please note that class attendance is very important. I strongly recommend that students actively take notes during class. Note-taking is part of the learning process. I do not give out my class notes. I do not record the class and post lectures. I do not stream the course via Teams. I understand people miss classes for a variety of reasons. Even if you have a valid reason for missing class such as a family emergency, illness, a job interview, etc., note that you are still responsible for all the material covered during the class that you miss. Please let the Student Services staff know immediately if there are unusual/extraordinary issues such as a major illness/injury or extended hospital stay. I will work directly with Student Services to handle these situations on an individual basis. IF YOU MISS CLASS for ANY reason PLEASE CHECK THE COURSE SCHEDULE to see what we covered during class. Students are responsible for all material covered during any missed class and are responsible for keeping up with all lecture material, reading, and HW. The schedule summarizes the material covered each week, reading, HW due dates, and test dates. You should check the site frequently to make sure that you are up-to-date with the reading, class notes, and class activities. If you miss class, you should coordinate with a classmate to get the notes. We cover many topics and the class moves quickly. Inconsistent attendance and/or waiting until assignments or tests are due to attempt to learn material is not a good way to approach the class. This class requires effective time management (reading, following lecture notes, problem-solving, and experimenting with Excel and Solver without my direct guidance) and has an individual focus as opposed to a group or team focus. We are not doing group projects in this class. Students should practice solving problems on their own. If you have questions about HW or the lecture, please feel free to ask in class, come to my office hours, or email me. I am also happy to talk to students about their career path. If you contact me via email, I will do my best to respond to questions promptly, but may require a day. For example, if you have a question regarding HW and email me at 10 PM on Thursday, chances are I will not even see the email until sometime Friday morning. Please note that I do require that you come to office hours prepared. If you cannot get a HW solution, I will want to see how you have formulated the problem and attempted to solve it. We will be using MS Excel with the Solver advanced add-in extensively in this class. Your grade will depend, in some part, on a level of proficiency with this software. Students must have a computer that can run the software we use in this class (Excel with Solver). GSB faculty use Windows laptops and desktops. When I teach, I will be using the Windows interface and the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Access, Visio, etc.). MACs run a version of Excel that is similar to the Windows version, but it is not identical. Please note that I cannot necessarily resolve MAC-related Excel questions, as I do not have a MAC. I will certainly try to help, but not having the proper software installed or not being able to effectively use Excel is not an excuse for not getting work done (tests or HW). I am using Windows 10 and Office 2019 to demonstrate specific points and solution methods in class. All computers in the GSB computer labs have the MS Office suite. I will be using Microsoft (MS) Excel 2016. NOTE: For a small fee, BSAD majors may also purchase these software packages for their home computer

I will be using two software portals for evaluation: 1) WebAssign through the Cengage portal for HW (this is the book publisher’s portal), and 2) UVMs Brightspace portal for the schedule and lecture notes. • Online homework (one drop) 10% • In-class pop quizzes (one drop) 10% • In-class Test #1 19% • In-class Test #1 19% • In-class Test #1 19% • Comprehensive Final Exam 23% 100% HOMEWORK: • All HW is administered through the WebAssign portal and is graded automatically. All you need is a web browser. If you have concerns about how a particular problem is graded, please contact me. • HW is due at the designated time. Late HW receives no grade. • Students may drop one HW score. I will simply discount the lowest HW score when calculating your final HW average for the class. • You are responsible for understanding the HW assignments. The ability to complete and understand the HW will be critical for the quizzes and tests. I suggest all students spend time working on all HW assignments and go over the solutions. Please ask me if you have any questions or need clarification. • Portions of this course rely heavily on problem-solving using MS Excel. If you do not practice certain content and portions of the HW using a computer, it is possible that you will have trouble on tests and may not be able to finish tests in time. • While you do not need to submit Excel files, some assignments will require you to set up and solve problems using MS Excel. • I am happy to answer questions about HW assignments. However, I may not be able to help you if you wait until right before the assignment is due to ask me a question. IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS / QUIZZES: • The class consists of in-class assignments as well as announced and unannounced quizzes designed to keep you up to date with the material. These are attendance-based and you MUST be in class to participate. There are no makeups for missed quizzes. • Students may drop one quiz score. • Depending on the day’s lecture and what we are doing, assignments may be held at different times, may be of different lengths, or may even be presented in different formats. • If you show up late for class on a day that we have a quiz, you may not be able to take the quiz. Most quizzes will be short with time limits. EXAMS: • There will be three exams during the semester and a comprehensive final exam. • You MUST take all tests. • There are no optional test drops. For example, you cannot choose to put more weight on the final if you do not like the grade you received on one of the tests. I do not give makeup exams. Makeup exams tend to cause many problems and giving some students makeup or late exams is not fair to all the other students in class who are taking the exam as scheduled. If a student misses a test (for whatever reason), I will reweight the final exam to address the missed test. If a student misses more than one test, the second missed test will be scored as a zero. • I am happy to work with students who have university-sanctioned conflicts such as varsity sports, etc. to schedule a time to take an exam EARLY. It is the student’s responsibility to alert me to potential conflicts ahead of time and to make alternative plans with me. GRADING SCALE: A+: 97 above B+: 87-89 C+: 77-79 D+: 67-69 F: 59 below A: 93-96 B: 83-86 C: 73-76 D: 63-66 A-: 90-92 B-: 80-82 C-: 70-72 D-: 60-62 Prerequisites include BUS 1140, MATH 019 (or MATH 021), STAT 141.