SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY School of Business, Government, and Economics Business 3700 Quantitative Methods Spring 2018 Douglas Downing 12:30-1:20pm MWF Office: 216 McKenna Hall McKenna 113 Phone: 281-2890 email: ddowning@spu.edu 3 credits You re welcome to come to my office. It is best to make an appointment by e-mail. Check the internet each week http://myhome.spu.edu/ddowning for office hours. Appointments at other times can also be arranged if you would like. Catalog description: Business 3700: Quantitative Methods for Decision Making. (3 credits). Uses computers for solving quantitative management decision problems. Includes optimization with derivatives; marginal analysis; linear programming; and forecasting methods. Prerequisite: BUS/MAT2700, Statistics. You also should be familiar with the spreadsheet Microsoft Excel. Objectives: Some of the questions you should be able to answer when you finish this course include: 1. How can a business forecast how the quantity sold changes when the price of the product is increased or decreased? 2. What is the least-cost mixture that satisfies a set of constraints? 3. What is the way to maximize the value of production of several products when you are limited by several capacity constraints? 4. What is the best way of shipping products from several warehouses to several stores? 5. How much inventory should a business keep on hand? 6. How can the spreadsheet Excel be used to solve optimizing problems with solver, graph total revenue and total cost curves, solve equation systems with matrices, and analyze multi-dimensional data with pivot tables? 7. What is the best route structure for a simple airline? (You will work on this applied group project with a partner.) 1
Class sessions: The class sessions will be part lecture and part discussion. Be prepared to ask and answer questions in class. The computer screen presentations we use in the class are available on the internet at http://myhome.spu.edu/ddowning ; click on the BUS3700 button in the Classes menu. Click the mouse on the left half of the screen in order to advance a screen presentation to the next step. (Your web browser needs to be set to view Java applets in order to use the internet information.) You are welcome to make audio or video recordings of class for later review. Attendance: Class attendance is expected. You should contact the teacher in advance (by phone or email) if you must miss class for any reason. Attendance will be taken during certain unannounced class sessions, and five points will be deducted for any students who are absent without providing notice. If you miss class, you need to see another student to receive notes and handouts for that day. Do not ask the teacher for any handouts for days you missed. Email: You are required to have an email address through SPU. If you use another email address, then arrange to have your SPU email forwarded to that address. I will try to respond to email by the end of the next school day, but because I receive so much email I can t always guarantee this. If you haven t heard back from me after a few days then send me another message. Return of work at end of quarter: You are required to turn in an envelope (larger than 8.5 by 11 inches) with your address (as of the week after the quarter) written on it. This envelope will be used to return your final exam and airline assignment to you after the quarter is over, You don t need to include postage. Disabilities: Students with disabilities need to contact Disabled Student Services in the Center for Learning to request academic accommodations. Integrity: A note to the very small minority of you who might be considering cheating: Any form of academic dishonesty (including copying exam answers from another student or submitting a paper copied from another source without attribution) is a serious offense and can be expected to result in a failing grade for the course. 2
Grading: The requirements for the course are one algebra/excel diagnostic exam (worth 10 points), three preliminary examinations (worth 50 points each), a final examination (worth 75 points), a computer assignment (worth 20 points), and one group assignment (worth 45 points). There will also be some practice problem assignments. Before each exam one class session will focus on answers to the practice assignments. You may earn 10 bonus points by presenting a solution to a problem to the class. When you present a problem, you must prepare a presentation in advance (usually in Excel or PowerPoint). To sign up to do a practice problem, send a message to the Canvas discussion board. The first person who sends in a message will be able to do the problem. If nobody signs up for a problem, then everyone in the class who has not already presented a problem to the class will lose one point. Exam 1 and 2 will consist of calculation questions; the practice assignments will give you an idea of the kinds of questions that will be asked. Be sure to bring a calculator to these exams and the final exam. You will do the work for Exam 3 using Excel. You are not allowed to use books or notes during exam 1, exam 2, and the final exam. You are allowed to use your notes and class handouts (but no books) during the Excel exam (exam 3). If you earn 90 percent of the points on the three preliminary exams (135 points in total), you will not be required to take the final exam. If you earn between 85 and 90 percent of the points on the three preliminary exams, you will earn a partial waiver of the final exam, depending on your exact score. If your total score is between 131 and 134, you can waive 2/3 of the final exam; if your total score is between 127 and 130 you can waive 1/3 of the final exam. If you waive all or part of the final exam, then you will receive points for the final exam in proportion to the percent of the points on the previous exams you received. For example, if you earned 92 percent of the points on the first three exams, you will receive 92 percent of 75 points as your score on the final exam. If you do not score 90 percent on the algebra/excel diagnostic quiz, you will be required to keep taking it until you do score 90 percent. Make-up examinations can be arranged only by advance written notice in event of an illness or emergency. No early examinations will be given. 3
Total Points Possible for course 10 - diagnostic quiz 150 - preliminary exams 75 - final exam 20 - computer assignment 45 - group assignment 300 - TOTAL (not including bonus point opportunity) The final grading scale for the course is: A: 276; A : 258; B+: 246; B: 234; B : 216; C+: 192; C: 180; C : 162; D: 150 For an individual 50 point exam, the grading scale is: A: 46; A : 43; B+: 41; B: 39; B : 36; C+: 32; C: 30; C : 27; D: 25 For the group assignment, the points are: 15 points: setting up spreadsheet 10 points: percent of maximum possible profit 20 points: based on profit relative to rest of class: 20 points for first place; 18 points for second place; 16 points for third place; 14 points for fourth place; and so on. 4
Computer Group assignment: For this assignment, you will work in pairs to determine the optimal airplane allocation and pricing decisions for an airline. You will set up an Excel spreadsheet to show your work. You will turn in a printout showing your decisions, and you will demonstrate your spreadsheet in person during an appointment with the teacher. Some of the points for the assignment will be awarded on the basis of how your group ranks compared to the rest of the class for the level of profits for your airline. Computer Assignment: The individual computer assignment will involve the use of Excel for functions such as graphing, equation system solution with matrices, and using Solver to solve linear programming problems. Course Evaluation: You are expected to participate in an online evaluation of this course in a thoughtful and constructive manner. The evaluation data is used to make improvements in the course, and your feedback is considered when selecting textbooks, designing teaching methods and preparing assignments. Courses are evaluated using the Banner Course Evaluation System. All answers are completely confidential - your name is not stored with your answers in any way. In addition, your instructor(s) will not see any results of the evaluation until after final grades are submitted to the University. There will be a two-point extra credit bonus for completing the evaluation and forwarding the email receipt notice to ddowning@spu.edu. About Douglas Downing: My mother attended SPU and I grew up in the Seattle area. As a student at Yale I was president of the Yale InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and manager of the Ivy-League champion football team while completing two majors: economics/political science and astronomy/physics. I earned a Ph.D. from Yale in economics. I also write adventure math textbooks. I have volunteered to teach astronomy to elementary school students. My wife Lori and I met at the Camlann medieval fair near Carnation. 5
Schedule 1. Maximization and Minimization Problems Mar 26 - Apr 13 Algebra/Excel diagnostic quiz: Mar 26 No class Mar 30: Good Friday Examination 1: Mon, Apr 16 2. Equation systems and matrices Apr 18 - Apr 23 Bring a ruler to class each day Apr 18 to May 7 3. Linear Programming Apr 23 - May 4 Examination 2: Mon, May 7 4. Inventory Decisions May 9 - May 11 5. Forecasting with Regression May 11 - May 18 see regression notes on internet Computer Assignment part 1 due: Mon, May 21, 9am 6. Pivot tables May 21 - May 23 No class: May 28: Memorial Day Computer Assignment part 2 due: Tue, May 29, 9am Examination 3 group 1: Wed, May 30 Examination 3 group 2: Fri, Jun 1 Final examination: Thursday, June 7, 10:30am-12:30pm Airline assignment due: Thursday, June 7, 3pm 6