Course Information:

Day/Time & Location:      T + Th 12:30 pm – 1:45pm – Gavett 208

T. + Th. 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm – Gavett 208

Midterm Date: Taken in Class.  February 23.

Final Date: Take home final due Wed., May 3 at noon

Professor:

Dan Keating

dan.keating@simon.rochester.edu

https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljkeating/

Office:  3-217 Carol Simon Hall

Office Hours:  M/W 12:00 – 1:00, Signup by Email

TA Information:

12:30 Class:  Rola Abouzeina, rabouzei@u.rochester.edu

2:00 Class: Annecia Williams, awill132@u.rochester.edu

Zoom:  Linked in Blackboard

Course Information

Contents:

Relation with other Courses in Undergraduate Business Program

Communication and Office Hours

Social Distancing, Online, and the Classroom

Textbooks + Software

Credit-Hour Policy Adherence

Accommodations

Tests and Assignments

Evaluation and Grading

Academic Integrity

Professionalism

Course Schedule/Roadmap

1.   Course Description

Excel is the most important software program ever developed :  The world runs on it.  In this course,          students will develop their ability to frame, structure and/or simulate problem situations using Excel. The software skills are important; the problem solving framework might be more so.

The coursework follows the FACt approach to business problem solving and we will cover diverse                   applications in operational management, supply chain, marketing and finance. Once the problem has been  formulated, a range of modeling methodologies and techniques will be employed to analyze business data  and situations and to generate conclusions and recommendations for business decision-making. We will       work heavily with Excel to create and manipulate spreadsheet models, analytical functions and visualization tools. Methodologies and modeling tools covered in the course will include optimization and linear                programming, sensitivity analysis, regression analysis using cross-sectional and time series data, and              simulation.

2.    Relation with other Courses in the Undergraduate Business Program

Relying heavily on the FACt methodology, at the end of the course, students will be able to:

•    Clearly state the business problem / opportunity

o  Identify short and long run objectives

o Consider all points of view pertaining to the problem and relate these points of view to one another and to the overall situation

•    Develop a framework for problem analysis

o Identify, and relate to the problem situation, relevant key concepts, theories, models and modeling techniques

o Deconstruct problem into sub-problems, generalize and/or specialize problem situation in order to develop diagnostic framework(s) for analysis

•   Analyze the problem, using the methodologies and software tools referenced above

•    Communicate the outcome of the analysis

o Summarize results and make recommendations for business decision-making

o Describe the robustness of the results, discuss sensitivity analysis and propose avenues for further investigation

o Visualize the data in effective graphical form

3.   Communication and Office Hours

All course materials including PowerPoint slides, class notes, class recordings, data sets, and example Excel spreadsheets will be posted on Blackboard. The most recent version of the syllabus and course schedule     will also be posted; please check Blackboard for any course announcement or schedule changes. Important announcements will also be emailed to your University email account.  Also, I’d like to talk about possibly   using Slack as a channel to communicate, together and with me.

I encourage you to reach out during my office hours.  And I ask that you schedule time in advance.  Best to send me an email to schedule time.

4.   Social Distancing, Online, and the Classroom

For now, the class is in person.  All classes will be recorded and will be posted as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours.  The school would like you to attend in person.

5.   Textbook + Software

Textbook (optional) : Spreadsheet Modeling and Decision Analysis: A Practical Introduction to Business Analytics, 8th Edition, Cliff T. Ragsdale, Cengage, 2015

Software: Microsoft Excel (using the Analysis Toolpak, an add-in included with Excel)

6.   Credit-Hour Policy Adherence

This course follows the College credit hour policy for 4 credit courses.   This course meets twice weekly for 2.5 academic hours per week. The course also includes independent out-of-class assignments for 50           minutes hours per week.

7.   Accommodations

If you would like to request an academic accommodation based on having a qualifying disability, please      contact both your instructor and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), during the first two weeks of the course.  Should you need an Accommodation concerning an exam, let’s discuss that         before the exam takes place.

8.   Tests and Assignments

Assignments will be posted online for you to download. Completed assignments should be uploaded to        Blackboard on the link provided. Late assignments will not be accepted. Assignments must reflect your own original work; plagiarism will be considered a violation of academic integrity. At the end of the semester, I   will drop your lowest assignment grade when calculating your final average.  So, there are 6 assignments,    and I’ll count 5 of them.

Spreadsheet Participation:  Starting on January 12 (the first class for each section), I’m going to ask that you upload the work you did in Excel during class.  The spreadsheet doesn’t have to be perfect: It does have to  show that you were following along.  Spreadsheets should be uploaded within 3 days of the class taking       place.

Exams:  There will be an in-class midterm and a take-home final exam/project for this course. The midterm will be in-class (see schedule on next page) and the final will be made available during the last week of class and due during finals week. Makeup tests will not be given, except in the case of officially approved and       verifiable excuses under applicable University rules.

9.    Evaluation and Grading

The course grade is based on the following breakdown:

10. Academic Integrity

Cheating will not be tolerated.  Students should read carefully the statement on academic integrity in the student handbook.  Anyone caught will be punished to the full extent allowed under the University rules. Per University rules, all students will be required to sign the following pledge on each test and the final

exam:

Academic Honesty Certification:    I affirm that I will not or did not give or receive any unauthorized help on this exam, and that all work is my own.

Link to University Academic Honesty Policy for Undergraduate Students:

https://www.rochester.edu/college/honesty/undergraduates.html

11. Professionalism

I do not take attendance, but students who miss class frequently typically do not do well in the class. The best way to do well is to come regularly, stay current with the material, ask questions where you are        confused and participate in the discussions. If you are late to class or have to leave early, please do so      quietly.  Please turn off all cell phones before class starts as this is a huge distraction for everyone.  Also, please refrain from reading your phone or device, or watching YouTube videos or checking the internet   during class as this is a distraction for everyone.

•    Treat class sessions like business meetings.

•   You are allowed to use laptops and tablets during lecture, but they should only be used for       coursework related activities and not for email, social media, or other activities not directly      related to the course. Cell phones must be turned off or silenced during class. No photography of any kind is allowed.

•    Make every effort to attend each class when it’s your turn in the classroom. You are expected to be in your seat and ready for class at the beginning of each class. Should extenuating circumstances     require you to leave early, please let the professor know before the start of class and sit in back so  you can leave with as little disruption as possible.  The difference between students who do well      and those who don’t is attendance.