Course Syllabus Part I

BA423/BA623 – Introduction to Management Science

3 credit hours

Course Description

This course introduces modeling as a tool for decision making and planning. Emphasis is on understanding the mechanics of various models and their applications to business. Topics include: optimization models, including linear programming, integer programming, and goal programming; network models; inventory control models; waiting lines; decision theory; and multi-criteria decision models. Large-scale problem solving is facilitated through use of software.

Course Prerequisites
Pre-requisite for BA 423: successful completion of BA 323A
Pre-requisite for BA623: successful completion of MBA 624

Course Objectives

A student who successfully completes BA 423/623 should be able to:

1. Formulate problems with mathematical expressions to generate solutions
2. Formulate and solve problems from various business applications with linear programming and interpret results to recommend course of action
3. Differentiate between linear and integer programming applications and use IP to optimize decisions
4. Distinguish between distribution models and network models, and apply them in the appropriate systems
5. Evaluate and choose appropriate multi-criteria decision models, and use them to recommend actions
6. Evaluate and improve operating and economic performance of waiting lines
7. Manage time and quantity of inventory ordering with deterministic and probabilistic models

Grading Scale

Topic Outline

1. Linear programming
2. Formulation
3. Computer Solutions
4. Sensitivity Analysis

1. Integer programming
2. All-integer applications.
3. Mixed-integer applications

• Distribution models

1. Transportation
2. Transshipment
3. Assignment

1. Network models
2. Minimal spanning tree.
3. Maximal flow.
4. Shortest route.

1. Inventory control
2. Deterministic models.
3. Probabilistic models.

1. Queuing Theory
2. Queue discipline and system characteristics.
3. Single vs. multiple channel systems
4. Other queuing models and Little’s Flow Equations
5. Economic analysis of queues

• Decision Analysis

1. Decision trees.
2. Application of Bayes’ Theorem to decision trees

• Multi-criteria Decisions

1. Scoring models.
2. Goal Programming
3. Analytical Hierarchy Process

Course Syllabus Part II

MBA624-MSF624 – Business Analysis for Decision Making

3 credit hours

Course Resources

Contact the Bellevue University Bookstore for textbook and other resource information. A link to the Bellevue University Bookstore is provided in the Student Services tab in Blackboard.

Course Text:

• Book: In this class, we will study 11 chapters from a book by Bernard Taylor. To purchase, you have two options listed below. Either option is acceptable.
• Option 1: Buy the hard-copy book (from online booksellers) ISBN: 978-0-13-275191-9
  Introduction to Management Science, 11/e. Bernard W. Taylor (2013, Prentice Hall). We will use 11 chapters from this book.
• Option 2:Buy the custom-made book (from BU bookstore)
  Introduction to Management Science, Custom Edition for Bellevue University (2013).
  This is a soft-cover book which contains only the 11 chapters from Taylor’s book.

Required Resources:

• Required Calculator: You will definitely need a calculator for this class. I highly recommend that you invest in a financial calculator (TI BA II Plus), which is also used in the finance and accounting classes in your program.
• Required software: Students may download the QM for Windows software for this class by visiting the book’s Companion Website at: http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_taylor_introms_11/220/56508/14466191.cw/index.html
• MS Office: You will need Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to get through this course. Office 2010 or 2007 acceptable.

Course Schedule

It is very important that you PRINT the table and review it throughout the term for due dates & deadlines.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016: Last to withdraw without Dean’s permission

Notes

Please read weekly assignment sheets for a detailed list of assignments due each week.

IMPORTANT: Each week ends on Sunday. Therefore, the Discussion Board activity for that week closes on Sunday. Your participation should take place no later than Sunday (to receive credit). To be considered for full credit, your DB activity must meet certain criteria. For details, please consult Appendix in this syllabus.

Course Activities

Not-Graded: Practice Problem Solving

Most students find it difficult to successfully complete the course if they don’t practice problem solving on a regular basis. The end-of-chapter problems must be used to practice problem solving. For every chapter, solution to all problems will be provided to you in Blackboard. A list will be given to you each week in the assignment sheet for that week. You should study those and even others which are not on the list. To effectively learn the material, I assume you will attempt solving those problems on your own prior to reviewing the provided solutions. These problems are not turned in for grading.

Graded Assignments

Students should read the Appendixes to this syllabus, as identified below.

Project(SeeAppendix A)

Please see Appendix A for details about the course project.

Individual Graded Homework(See Appendix B)

Read Appendix B about homework (multiple choice) to submit via Blackboard to be graded.

Group Cases and Participation(See Appendix C)

Please read Appendix C for detailed discussion of expectations about your participation in group assignments and how you must plan your group activity.

Weekly Discussion Board (DB) Activity(See Appendix D)

You must actively participate in the weekly discussion boards. Participation grade is based on this activity. See Appendix D for details on Expectations and Grading Criteria.

Examinations

• Both exams are take-home.
• Please plan ahead from right now to coordinate your work and home calendars with both exams so that you can retrieve and complete them on the scheduled dates.
• See course calendar (later in this document) for exam visibility and due dates.
• For both exams, the student is expected to adhere to the HonorCode, whereby no help is to be received and/or given in completing the exams.
• Exam 2 is comprehensive (cumulative), and will cover all course material. However, approximately 70% of the points will be from the material covered after the first exam.
• A grade of zero will be assigned to those who do not return the take-home exams by the specified deadlines.
• In case of medical emergency which might prevent you from completing the exam, you must e-mail and/or call your professor immediately. The Disability Services Office will validate the documentation which you must provide to them.
• Travel for pleasure or business is NOT an acceptable reason because sufficient notice is given at the start of the term to make arrangements. So, even if you are traveling during test dates, make sure you can access the internet and set the evenings aside to complete your exam. If you have studied weekly, you should be able to complete each exam in about 4 hours.

Grade Breakdown/Criteria

Last day to withdraw without Dean’s permission: Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016.

Minimum Performance Criteria

• To earn “A” or “A-” in this course, a score of 80% or higher is REQUIRED on exam 2. Thus, if your exam 2 score is below 80%, the maximum possible course grade is “B+”.
• To earn “B” or “B+” in this course, a score of 70% or higher is REQUIRED on exam 2. Thus, if your exam 2 score is below 70%, the maximum possible course grade is “B-”.
• A student whose grade on the final exam exceeds the take-home midterm exam by at least 15 points is NOT subject to the aforementioned criteria

Notes:

1. Graduate students who receive a grade of “C-” or lower, must repeat the course.
2. Graduate students must maintain at least a “B” GPA (3.0 out of 4.0) in any given term.

Late Work

1. Grades are not curved.
2. No extra credit assignments are given.
3. All assignments submitted after the deadline will earn a zero.
4. Deadlines are based on Central Standard Time (Chicago time).
5. Weeks for this class start on Monday and end on Sunday. In online classes, discussion board messages earn no credit if posted after the week has closed.

Participation

• Consult Appendix C for details on Group Participation criteria and Grading Rubric
• Consult Appendix D for details on weekly DB participation.

Students are expected to login often and contribute to the class on a regular basis, including posting to the discussion board, submitting assignments, and participating in group activities as required. If you have specific participation requirements related to your educational funding or student status, you are expected to monitor your own participation to ensure you are in compliance with those requirements.

Expectations for Students

·         Honor Code: students will not give help to anyone, or receive help from anyone in completing the exams, and graded homework and must not share questions and answers.

·         Students will log in regularly and often to complete their assignments and progress through the course.

·         Students will treat their classmates and the instructor with respect and courtesy.Students are responsible for knowing what assignments are due and when.

·         Students are responsible for keeping current with the reading assignments and participating in class, prepared, for discussing the assigned topics.

·         Students will submit all assignments on time and no later than the due date/time.

·         Students will submit only their own work and will not commit plagiarism or other acts of academic dishonesty.

• Students will contact the instructor as soon as personal problems arise that may affect the student’s ability to complete assignments on time.
• Online students may email “sensitive” and “confidential” matters to the instructor. All other questions related to course conduct and content must be posted to Blackboard.

Expectations for Faculty

• The instructor will treat all students with respect and courtesy.
• The instructor will make grading criteria clear and follow them scrupulously in evaluating student work.
• The instructor will provide feedback about student work within 10 days of due dates.
• The instructor will respond to all student phone and email messages within 48 hours.

University-wide Academic Policies

You are highly encouraged to review a set of University-wide academic policies that may impact you and your performance in this class.  Those policies are maintained by the University on the Cyberactive website, and are listed below:

• ADA Policy
• Academic Honesty Policy
• Withdrawal Policy
• Administrative Withdrawal Policy
• Computer and Network Use Policy
• Class Participation Verification Policy
• Grade Appeal

To read the content of those policies, please visit:

http://content.bellevue.edu/generic/bu/syllabus-part-three.pdf

The hyperlink is also provided in the Syllabus area of our Blackboard course.

Appendix A

Course Project

Where to submit your Project

In the discussion board, I will have a forum called “Project”. Create a new thread in there to post your report.
It is expected that all students will read all reports and that they will reply to those on which they can make some observation/comment/contribution.

Your project grade is partially determined by your “reflective” activity in the Project forum.

Grading of the Project

The following are factors that I consider when grading the projects:

• Ease vs. complexity of topic,
• Clarity of communication (i.e., problem statement, model selection, data collection, analysis, results, recommendations),
• Complexity & accuracy of problem formulation & modeling
• Soundness & interpretation of results; appropriateness of recommendations,
• Quality of writing (syntax, punctuation, run-on sentences, etc.).

Your Responsibility

• To ensure originality in your writing, you must submit your report to Safe Assign in Blackboard. Your paper must be at least 90% original. You will be given two chances to submit.
• It is expected that the person who starts a thread in the project DB will maintain control of that thread. That means if others post question to you or make comments and/or observations, you must make a good effort to reply to as many of them as possible.
• This is somewhat driven by when you post. For example, If you wait until the deadline, chances are not many people will read your report; hence you may not earn full credit.
• You are expected to read project reports posted by others and make “WORTHWHILE” replies to at least 3. These could be: questions to the author, critique of the work and choice of topic, sharing your past and present experiences, etc. I am sure many will make more than 3 replies.
• Please refrain from the following types of messages: “good job”, “thank you”, “Wow, I did not realize how wonderful this topic is”, etc.
• Your project grade is partly determined by how much activity you will have on the Project DB, and also by how well you stay active and in-charge of your own thread.
• Grade penalty will apply if this is overlooked. Your writing must use proper English, including grammar, punctuation, and spelling. You must have flow in your writing.

Purpose of Course Project

The purpose for the course project is to have the students see the big picture of the uses, benefits, and applications of course concepts and course topics in real life. To that end, three options are given from which a student can choose for completing this course requirement.

I strongly encourage you to choose option 1 because it is a hands-on application. However, I reluctantly would accept options 2 and 3. Please see below descriptions for each option. I have also included guidelines for report generation with each. Please note that these are general guidelines. I am not looking for a report that discusses only what I have suggested. I have listed the points that I feel are important in most reports. Please feel free to add to or alter the list as best fits your project.

Option 1

Application of Course Concepts and Topics to Student’s Work

The focus for this option is to have you apply one or more concept or tool from the course in a real-life setting. The expectation is that you will collect data from your place of work and report how tools covered in this course might be useful in assessing the status of the situation. You must also perform the necessary analysis, report results, and interpret findings. Finally, you must recommend a course of action justifying what must be done to manage the situation better and/or bring about improvements.

You are not obligated to disclose proprietary information. For example, if the data belongs to a particular client’s project, you can keep the identity of the project and the client confidential.

Report requirements:

1. Cover page (Name, Report Title)
2. Body of report (5 to 8 pages). This excludes cover page and appendixes. Use sections and sub-sections to organize your presentation. In this part, you must give background for your project, what the problem is and why you decided to select it, what data you collected, what analysis you performed, what results you generated, what findings you concluded, and what recommendations you are making. The actual analysis and/or computer solutions should not be included in the main body. You must include them in appendixes to the report.
3. Appendixes: Include here anything that supports your write-up of the report, such as data that you may have collected to perform the analysis, computer printouts, and/or detailed analysis. The pages of the appendixes must also be numbered in addition to the 5-8 pages of the report. As you discuss results from the appendixes in your report, you must reference the appendixes. For example in your report, you might write: “Appendix 1 shows the results for a single-queue, two-channel waiting line. Results indicate that the average time a unit waits in line is 3 minutes, and the average time a unit spends in the system is 5 minutes. This indicates ……”. Only relevant information should be included in the appendixes (i.e., only include in the appendixes what you reference in the text of your report).
4. Citations for Resources Used: If you use any publications or sources other than your book and material learned in class, please cite them in a section called References.

Option 2

Field Report on Existing Practices

This option allows you to interview an individual within an existing company (your own company is acceptable as well) to discuss and report on how the topics discussed in the course are applied, or might be applied within that company. In a short paragraph, your report must first inform the reader of the name, title, and contact information for the individual you interviewed, the name of his/her company, industry it is in, and the line of business.

Organize the report into sections, one for each topic covered in the course. For each topic, you must include information on how the topic is used, in what capacity, who (what units) uses the tool, what decisions are generally result from it or are affected by it, and give specific examples of cost savings that have resulted. If a tool is not currently practiced in the company, discuss and report what area(s) of the operation lends itself to such application, and in what capacity could the tool be used. Also, report what is required to implement the application, and comment on improvements or savings that might be expected as a result.

Due to the nature of this assignment and its requirements, the report for this option could be longer (at least 10 pages or longer to allow you to elaborate on your findings for each topic).

Option 3
Research Paper on a Selected Course Topic

Should you choose to investigate any of the course topics beyond the limited scope of the textbook, you may choose to do a research paper on that topic. You must use at least one book and 5 scholarly journal articles in your research and must reference them in your writing, and give proper citation for each.

Your research paper should take you and the reader beyond the information contained in the textbook. For the topic that you select, you may include the following:

• Historical background on its origins (who developed it, when, where, first application, etc.)
• The areas of its application, or industries where it is commonly used
• Technical models and information beyond what the textbook covers
• Assumptions for various models
• Examples
• Implications for practice

As stated earlier, feel free to modify the above list to fit your research paper. Your paper must be at least15 pages if you choose this option.

Sources:

To help you get started, here are some journals or publications that you might want to consult (in addition to the bibliography from your book). Regardless of which option you choose, researching and skimming through some literature might prove helpful and educational. This list is not exhaustive. There are many other publications and sources that you may find helpful (both online and in print) when searching the literature.

• Interfaces
• Decision Sciences
• Management Science
• Harvard Business Review
• Sloan Management Review
• OR/MS Today
• Journal of the Operational Research Society
• Industrial Engineering Research & Development
• IIE Solutions (magazine for Institute of Industrial Engineers)
• Operations Research
• Journal of Purchasing and Material Management
• Production and Inventory Management Journal
• The Wall Street Journal
• Business Week
• Industry Week
• The Academy of Management Executives

Appendix B

Weekly Graded Individual Homework

• For each chapter, you must turn in homework that is to be turned in via Blackboard and is graded automatically.
• Please use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome as your web-browser when opening, viewing, and submitting the homework. Using other browsers could result in symbols not appearing as they should.
• Early in each week, you must download (print) the homework for that week and work on it throughout the week as you study the material.
• Before the week is over, you must access the link again and submit your answers electronically. The deadline is Sunday (last day) of each week at 11:00 p.m.
• To avoid special requests, I will give a 24-hour grace period until the following day at 11:00 p.m. (Monday at 11:00 p.m.). However, this grace period is to be used only under emergency circumstances and is not to be considered the deadline.
• Your grade and answers to each set of homework will be made visible AFTER the grace period ends.
• You must observe the Honor Code in completing the individual graded homework.

Appendix C

Group Participation and Planning

Group Participation

Early in the course (perhaps during week 2) you will be assigned to a group, and each group will have a discussion forum of its own. Each group will solve several cases and/or sets of problems throughout the course. These cases must be turned in to the Case Submission Folder in Assignments area.

For each group assignment, the group must submit only “one” solution file to be graded. Therefore, a member of the group must be designated to submit on behalf of the group. It is imperative that the cover sheet of the report lists only the names of those members who made “material” contribution to the group’s solution.

Late assignments will not be accepted. So make sure the work is turned in by the due date as shown in the weekly assignment folder. This course uses Central Standard Time (CST) for its due dates and deadlines.

Planning Group Work

Almost every term, I will have one or two students who report that they are too busy to keep up with their team members because they get started on the assignment early in the week prior to its due date. My answer to those students is: Your team has the right idea!

Please remember that you cannot expect your group members to wait around for your contribution to be made a couple of days before the due-date. Assignments are due on Mondays. Almost always you have 2 weeks between the time the assignment is made and its due date! Each student should try to solve the case individually during that first week. Then “early” in the second week, they must post their solution to group DB for review by others.

If you are too busy at work, will be out of town, won’t have access to the internet, have a family obligation that will keep you from your school obligations, etc, please plan accordingly and make sure that your group does not have to suffer and do your work for you!

Your group should have its final solution ready by about Friday before the due-date. This way, the group will have enough time to put the final report together and discuss the last details on Saturday, and have it sent to me by Sunday morning.

Using such timeline and planning, these cases would not be a burden on your other obligations. Also, they will not turn into a crisis, and will not become stressors in your life and in the lives of your team members.

Appendix D

Weekly Discussion Board Participation

A component of your course grade is Participation which is determined by your activity in the weekly forums in the discussion board (DB). Participation grades will be posted within approximately 7 – 10 days after the participation window has ended for a week.

I also consider if posts are spread out over the week (e.g., you will receive fewer points if all posts are made within in 1 hr of each other).

Your participation grade is based on your involvement in the weekly discussions because active participation is an integral part of your learning (in fact, Blackboard has tools to assist the instructor for quantifying the participation level for each student). Participation points will be based on:

• Quality of your messages,
• Your contribution to the discussion with respect to relating the issues to real life problems.

Please note that in this class, a week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday. Therefore, the Discussion Board activity for that week closes on Sunday. Your participation should take place no later than Sunday (to receive credit). To be considered for full credit, your DB activity must be:

• Meaningful (thank you, I understand now, you are so smart, etc. don’t count)!
• Spread out in the week (don’t expect full credit for logging in on the last day)
• Spread out in different threads (get involved in various threads)
• Spread out on the clock! (e.g., 3 messages in a 10 min period don’t count).

Each week, one of your messages must be an Application Write-up (described below). The others can be of a Free-Format which follows guidelines listed further down in this document.

Application Write-ups

Every week, each student must research the topic for the week (internet searches are acceptable, as well as popular publications such as the Wall Street Journal or other popular business-related publications), and prepare a short write-up (150 to 200 words) to be posted to the weekly discussion board forum. Complete citation must be provided (hyper link acceptable). In most cases, this assignment will be a summary of one or more articles that you research. It must emphasize application(s) in industry, and discuss specific uses at particular organizations. It must also include time or cost savings and how the process or operation benefits from the application. Any improvements, facts or points of interest, lessons learned, etc could also be included.

Free-Format Participation

In addition to the Application Write-up, each week you must post several other messages that are substantive. A substantive post is one which is meaningful and adds value and substance to the existing discussion, to further expand the frontiers of learning and knowledge. This is where you can be creative and use critical thinking. The messages don’t need to be long; a paragraph (or more) is sufficient to convey your thoughts. They can be in the following forms:

• “HELP” Message: A question that you may have about that week’s assigned reading and material. The subject of your message should start with “HELP”, followed by a brief note on what you are asking. You may post as many HELP messages as needed.
• A message that shares work-related experiences for the topic, or plans for future use.
• A reflection and reply to other students, such as a reply to a problem solution that another student has posted, or a reply to an application write-up from another student.
• Sharing a web-site with pertinent information and current news sources. Your message must include a short explanation of what is exciting about the information at the web-site, and report why you believe it is worthwhile. This type of message counts as one posting only for the week, regardless of how many web-sites you report to the DB. You may report more than one web-site, but it will all only count as one message.
• A meaningful reply that you may have on that week’s assigned reading/material
• An epiphany that you have with the subject or how it may be useful to you
• A mistake that you might find in the book or in the solutions manual that you will post for discussion. Must elaborate on your answer and why you think it is the right solution
• An item/problem that you had difficulty to understand, but finally was able to see the light. Share the details to help others who may have similar issues with it
• Or other appropriate messages

I insist that all your content-related questions first be posted to the weekly forum (instead of to Online Office) so that your peers get a chance to respond to you first. All students are expected to visit the weekly forum regularly and do their best to answer questions posted there, and provide detailed explanations. It is said that the highest and most effective learning in an online environment occurs when the students are put in charge of their own learning, and actively engage in the discussion process to help and learn from each other.