MSCI101-08S2 (C) Semester Two 2008

Management Science

18 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 14 July 2008
End Date: Sunday, 16 November 2008
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 27 July 2008
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 12 October 2008

Description

An introduction to operations research and operations management for problem solving in a management context, including the process of building and using mathematical and spreadsheet models. Introduces project/event management, linear programming and simulation. It also deals with costs, decision making over time and uncertainty issues.

Learning Outcomes

The central aims of this course are for students to:
–use models to aid decision-making and planning
–understand how uncertainty affects planning
–improve critical thinking
–gain Excel spreadsheet skills

To achieve these, the course objectives are for students to:
–understand the disciplines of Operations Research and Operations Management and their role in business and other decision-making
–gain an overview of the process of developing and using a quantitative model for business decision making and planning
–appreciate the effect of uncertainty on decision-making and planning
–use quantitative models to gain insights into possible solutions which could be applied to the issue of interest
–identify underlying assumptions and approximations in simple models
–use spreadsheets to formulate and use simple models
–use simple inventory, critical path, linear programming, queueing and simulation models
–appreciate the effect of constraints and multiple criteria on decision-making
–identify appropriate model-specific techniques, use them, and interpret the results

The course develops spreadsheet skills throughout. Topics include an introduction to: the modelling process, sensitivity analysis, diagrams as models, inventory control, constrained and unconstrained optimisation, heuristic methods, costs and break-even analysis, project management, linear programming, modelling with uncertainty, decision analysis, queueing models, simulation, and multi-criteria decision making.

Restrictions

MSCI102, MSCI112

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Nicola Petty

Lecturer

Shane Dye

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Test 1 12 Aug 2008 20% Test 1
Test 2 23 Sep 2008 20% Test 2
Online Assessment 1 01 Aug 2008 3% Online Assessment 1
Online Assessment 2 19 Aug 2008 3% Online Assessment 2
Online Assessment 3 19 Sep 2008 3% Online Assessment 3
Online Assessment 4 17 Oct 2008 3% Online Assessment 4
Final Examination 48% Final Examination


For the tests and final exam students may take in one handwritten A4 sheet of notes (or a specified alternative). Calculators are required. The final examination covers all lectures and tutorials and the assigned readings.

The online assessments are mastery-based. A student passing an online assessment gains full marks towards their final grade. The assessments will be run or submitted through Blackboard. More information on each online assessment will be provided closer to the assessment date.

For the online assessments there will be no extensions or aegrotats. For the other assessment, aegrotats may be applied for as outlined in the Calendar.

Textbooks / Resources

Required Texts

Balakrishnan, Nagraj. , Render, Barry., Stair, Ralph M; Managerial decision modeling with spreadsheets ; 2nd ed; Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007 (Recommended: Any self-help guide to Microsoft Excel).

Recommended: Any self-help guide to Microsoft Excel.

Notes

Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites. However, we recommend that students are concurrently enrolled in or have completed MSCI110 or some other university mathematics and statistics (STAT111 or STAT112 and MATH108) to ensure the necessary prerequisites for 200-level MSCI courses. (Note that the Operations Research course MSCI216 requires MATH108). We also suggest that you take MGMT101 to gain an understanding of the management context in which Management Science lies.

Relationship to Other Courses:
This course introduces students to the discipline of Management Science, preparatory to further courses in Management Science, including Operations Research and Operations Management. It forms part of the requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce degree endorsements in Operations Research, Operations Management, Human Resource Development, and Strategic Management. It is important for students majoring in management or marketing, and a useful companion to mathematics, statistics, computer science, engineering, forestry, and economics.

Departmental Academic Policies
If you want a hard copy of this document, please ask the course co-ordinator. The Department assumes that you have read this document. You should also read the “Information related to courses and assessment” on page 364 of the Enrolment Handbook 2008 (also in UC Calendar under “General Course and Examination Regulations”).

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $645.00

International fee $2,685.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Management, Marketing and Tourism .

All MSCI101 Occurrences

  • MSCI101-08S2 (C) Semester Two 2008