BA 555 Practical Business Analysis

Fall 2005

Instructor:	Ping-Hung Hsieh
Office:	Bexell 407
Office Phone:	737-4297
E-mail:	hsiehph@bus.orst.edu
Office Hours:	Monday 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Wednesday 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Thursday 9:30 – 10:30 a.m.

Catalog Course Description

Advanced survey of quantitative business methods useful for aiding management decisions. Topics include a review of basic statistics, mathematical programming, business simulation, statistical process control, advanced regression analysis and forecasting. PREREQ: BA275 or equivalent, graduate standing

Course Objectives

The intent of BA 555 is to present a collection of quantitative techniques that will allow you to analyze business, economic and financial data. The content of this course will provide you the methodology to assess process improvement opportunities within an organization, enumerate process improvement alternatives, and evaluate the effects of these process improvements. Upon completion of this course, the student will:

· Be able to analyze business data and interpret the analysis;

· Make decisions based on an understanding of variability in business processes;

· Assess and analyze the chance or probability of events, and suggest appropriate business action in concert with that probability;

· Be able to use EXCEL, STATGRAPHICS PLUS (a full version can be obtained from Milne Computer Center with no charge), PRECISION TREE and @RISK (on the CD that comes with the textbook), and LINDO (a demo version downloadable from http://www.lindo.com/) to perform quantitative analyses;

· Be able to read the business statistics literature.

Text

· A custom version of Albright, Winston, and Zappe, “Data Analysis & Decision Making,” 2^nd edition. (required)

· A small packet available at the OSU bookstore. (required)

· An introductory statistics book (optional) at the level of Levine/Krehbiel/Berenson (“Business Statistics: A First Course”), Keller/Warrach (“Statistics for Management and Economics, abbreviated edition”), or McClave/Benson/Sincich (“A Frist Course in Business Statistics”).

Grading

Course scores will be computed as follows.

Midterm Exam	40
In-Class Exercises	40 (8 exercises, 5 points each)
Assignments	80 (4 assignments, 20 points each)
Final Exam	40

Grades will be assigned based on the following scale:

A: 185 – 200	A minus: 182 – 184.99	B plus: 180 – 181.99
B: 165 – 179.99	B minus: 162 – 164.99	C plus: 160 – 161.99
C: 145 – 159.99
D: 120 – 144.99		F: below 120

Important Matters

1. You are expected to adhere to the Oregon State University rules for academic honesty. These rules are stated in Academic Regulation. You should be familiar with the statement.

2. Students are expected to be honest and ethical in their academic work. Academic dishonesty is defined as an intentional act of deception in one of the following areas:

· Cheating: use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information or study aids

· Fabrication: falsification or invention of any information

· Assisting: helping another commit an act of academic dishonesty

· Tampering: altering or interfering with evaluation instruments and documents

· Plagiarism: representing the words or ideas of another person as one’s own

3. The goal of Oregon State University is to provide students with the knowledge, skill and wisdom they need to contribute to society. Our rules are formulated to guarantee each student’s freedom to learn and to protect the fundamental rights of others. People must treat each other with dignity and respect in order for scholarship to thrive. Behaviors that are disruptive to learning will not be tolerated, and will be referred to the Office of the Dean of Students for disciplinary action. Behaviors which create a hostile, offensive or intimidating environment based on gender, race, ethnicity, color, religion, age, disability, marital status or sexual orientation will be referred to the Affirmative Action Office.

4. Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the first week of the term. In order to arrange alternative testing, the student should make the request at least one week in advance of the test. Students seeking accommodations must register with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities.

5. No make-up exams will be given and the student will receive zero points on the exam missed unless the instructor is notified in advance and an acceptable written excuse or official verification is presented prior to rescheduling the exam.

6. Late assignment will not be accepted and the student will receive zero points on the assignment.

7. Regular class attendance is strongly encouraged. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to pick up missed handouts, etc.

8. No communication devices of any type are allowed in the classroom. Please turn off your cell phone before entering the classroom.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Week	Date	Topics
1	9/29	Housekeeping Review of Introductory Statistics
2	10/ 6	Linear Regression Analysis
3	10/13	Linear Regression Analysis Business Simulation: Introduction and concepts
4	10/20	Business Simulation: Applications ** Assignment #1 (Statistical Inference and Regression Analysis) is due in class
5	10/27	Business Simulation: Applications Midterm Exam (in class, 60 – 90 minutes)
6	11/ 3	Linear Programming
7	11/10	Linear Programming ** Assignment #2 (Simulation) is due in class
8	11/17	Linear Programming and Sensitivity Analysis
9	11/24	Thanksgiving holiday (No Class)
10	12/ 1	Decision Analysis ** Assignment #3 (Linear Programming) is due in class
11	Finals Week	Final examination: Section 1 (Thursday, 12/ 8/05, from 12noon – 1:30p.m. at 415 Bexell) Section 2 (Thursday, 12/ 8/05, from 6:00p.m. – 7:30p.m. at 415 Bexell) ** Assignment #4 (Decision Analysis) is due at the beginning of the final exam.