Business Management 2321
Business Analytics
Summer 2015
Instructor
Mark A. (“Dr. Mark”) Christobek, Ph.D., P.E.
Office
251B Fisher Hall
Office Hours
Scheduled office hours are first-come, first-served (no appointments)
Monday – No office hours
Tuesday – 7:30am to 9:00am
Wednesdays – No office hours
Thursday – 7:30am to 9:00am
Friday – No office hours
Note: Please come organized and prepared for office hours. Office hours are not for “camping” to
do homework and/or to study in my office or at the table in the outer office.
Office Phone
(614) 292-5250
E-mail Address
christobek.1@osu.edu
TAs / Tutors
There are no TAs or tutors during the summer semester
Course Text
Balakrishnan, Render, and Stair
“Managerial Decision Modeling With Spreadsheets (3rd Edition)”
Software
Microsoft EXCEL with the SOLVER add-in.
Note:
This class is an “electronics free” classroom during lectures. Absolutely no laptop computers and/or cell
phones will be allowed. Any student violating this policy will be asked to leave the classroom.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The field of decision modeling (also known as operations research) had its roots in the 1940’s in the area of wartime
logistics. Since then, those techniques as well as new methodologies that have been developed have been
successfully implemented into the business world. Decisions based on operations research models have increased
revenues, decreased costs, and have had a large impact on the fiscal health of business organizations.
Dr. Mark has extensive experience in the formulation of operations research models in both industrial applications and
research in his 30+ years following the completion of his bachelor’s degree. He has seen the area of modeling go
from a very specialized field with a small number of individuals to being a necessary tool to complete in the field of
business.
Operations research models are not limited to the field of operations. Models have been successfully implemented in
the fields of finance, tax, marketing, and logistics as well as operations. In addition, the use of operations research
models is not limited to manufacturing companies as health care, government, and transportation organizations have
benefited from the use of the models.
According to a recent survey of many of the largest companies in the world, operations research techniques are
becoming more and more important in making business decisions. Historically, companies have had separate
operations research groups within their organizations to develop and implement the models. However, the recent
development of computer software has opened the floodgates to operations research modeling. With the availability
of user-friendly software, operations research modeling is being performed by personnel in business analyst and/or
business manager roles.
The overall objective of the course is to familiarize you with several major decision modeling techniques that can be
used in different business situations. Since this is an introductory level course, many of the topics above will not be
discussed in great detail. Several of the techniques taught in this course are in use today in major corporations on
very large scales. In addition, the integration of Microsoft EXCEL (along with the “Goal Seek” and “Solver” add-ins)
makes this course an important foundation for future courses at Fisher as well as various business careers.
PROCEDURES
The following procedures will be followed to achieve the objectives stated above:
Lectures:
In general, lecture topics will follow the tentative course schedule. It will be assumed that the students will read
the textbook material either before (preferred) or after the lecture. I retain the right for the lectures to deviate from
the book. I also retain the right to shift topics on the syllabus with a minimum of one-week’s notice.
Homework:
Practice is essential to learning the material covered in this course. Homework problems have been assigned for
each class and will be posted on Carmen. Homework is not collected. Homework solutions are available in the
back of the course text with detailed explanations available on Carmen. Students are encouraged to ask
questions about the homework problems at any time in class or in office hours with Dr. Mark and the graduate
assistants.
Class Attendance:
Attendance in this class is highly recommended as the pace of the class is quite fast with new material taught
each day. Attendance will be taken every day in class as part of a research project but will not be used in the
grading of the class.
Organize your personal affairs to allow for attendance at every class session. You are responsible for all
announcements and assignments made in class by your instructor. Be warned that any major changes in the
tentative course schedule will be announced in class one week prior to the change; these changes will change the
content of material on the exams. If time remains in a class, I retain the right to start lecturing with new material
from the next lecture’s content.
Course Grading:
Your course grade will consist of the following components:
Component
Total Course Points
Individual Case Studies (6 @ 5 points each)
30
Midterm Exam
35
Final Exam (cumulative)
35
Total
100
I do not give any opportunities for extra credit in this course.
THE COURSE AVERAGE IS NOT CURVED OR ROUNDED IN DETERMINING THE COURSE GRADE!
Final Grade Determination
Average
0 < – < 60
Grade
E
Average
Grade
Average
Grade
Average
Grade
Average
Grade
67 < – < 70
D+
77 < – < 80
C+
87 < – < 90
B+
60 < – < 67
D
73 < – < 77
C
83 < – < 87
B
93 < – < 100
A
70 < – < 73
C–
80 < – < 83
B–
90 < – < 93
A–
Individual Case Studies:
Six cases will be assigned during the term. Case studies will be due on at the beginning of class (9:35am) on the
date indicated on the schedule. Hardcopies of the case studies must be handed in – no electronic submissions
will be accepted. Questions about material from the case studies are “fair game” on the exams.
Examinations:
All exams in this course are closed book / closed notes. The dates of the exams are listed on the tentative
schedule. I retain the right to modify the questions and/or the format of the exams.
Due to academic misconduct cases in past quarters, the following procedures have been implemented for exams:
There will be assigned seating for the exams. The assigned seating will be determined through the use of
random numbers and will vary from exam to exam
There will be multiple versions of the exams. Students with answers from other versions of the exam on their
exams will be reported to the Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM). In the past, typical COAM penalties
have been a zero on the exam (not dropped!), failure of the class, or dismissal from OSU.
No early exams or makeup exams will be given!
Students missing the midterm exam with a university-approved excuse will not be given the opportunity to take a
make-up exam. They will receive a zero on the exam but have their course average calculated on 65 points.
Students missing the final exam with a university-approved excuse will be given an “IP” (Incomplete) grade until
the exam is taken at a time agreeable to both the student and the professor in accordance with university policy.
If you miss the midterm exam or the final exam without a university-approved excuse (family vacations, job
interviews, weddings, sleeping-in, etc. are not university-approved absences), you will receive a zero on that
exam and will not have an opportunity to take the exam.
If you cannot attend classes and take the exams as scheduled, drop the course today!
I will go over the midterm exam during the next scheduled class period. Students have the right to have a
question re-graded only if they are in class on that day. Exams will be collected at the end of class; students not
returning their exam will receive a zero grade for the exam. The exams will be kept in my office for a
minimum of two quarter after this course is completed. All exam pages containing personal information are
shredded at that time.
Calculator:
It is the student's responsibility to bring a functioning calculator to each exam. The instructor will not provide a
replacement calculator, batteries, nor will students be allowed to share calculators during an exam. If you haven’t
replaced the batteries in your calculator since high school, buy batteries later today. The use of PDA’s, MP3
players, and cell phones as calculators are prohibited during exams! All student materials other than a
calculator, extra pencils, and an eraser must be packed away prior to the entering the exam classroom.
Cell Phones:
Cell phones must be turned off during class. If you are expecting to receive an important phone call or text
message during class, please leave the classroom to answer the call or read the text message. Any student seen
texting or using a cell phone during class will be asked to leave the classroom. During exams, all cell phones
must be turned off.
iPods/MP3 Players:
No iPods or other MP3 players are to be in use during class or exams.
Disability Services (ODS):
If you need special accommodations based on the impact of a disability, stop in Dr. Mark’s office prior to the end
of the 2nd week of class during scheduled office hours to initiate the process of registering with ODS. I retain the
right not to sign ODS forms that are submitted after the 2nd week of class. Understand that without prior
arrangement, special accommodation will not be given.
Academic Misconduct:
Your instructor and the Management Sciences Department expect professional and ethical behavior in this class
at all times. I have found that most students are honest and do their own work and that they appreciate knowing
that we take academic misconduct very seriously. The Management Sciences Department and the University
follow a standard procedure for those who choose not to behave ethically. The student code of conduct can be
found on the Internet at studentaffairs.osu.edu/resource_csc.asp . A link to this website will be placed on
Carmen.
Examination Materials:
All exams will be returned to me after going over them in class and will be retained for students to examine in my
office for two semesters after the final exam. All exams and other material from this class will be shredded
following the Spring Semester.
STUDENT ATHLETES
Student athletes receive no preferential treatment in my class. I have failed student athletes in the past and will not
hesitate to fail student athletes in the future. I report progress on all student athletes to the Athletic Department. I
have called coaches directly to report on the progress (and lack of progress) of student athletes in my classes. Exam
conflicts with varsity athlete competitions will be handled on an individual basis only after receiving official notification
signed by the coach prior to Thursday, June 18th. Athletes participating in club sports are not excused from exams
and/or case studies.
GRADE NOTIFICATION POLICIES
In accordance with the 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the following policies dealing with
grades have been adopted:

Student grades earned in the course (individual assignment / case study / exam grades and final grades) will not
be posted in any public place including bulletin boards and/or web sites.

Student grades earned in the course (individual assignment / case study / exam grades and final grades) will not
be discussed over the phone as the identification of the student cannot be established with certainty and
confidentiality may be violated.

Student grades earned in the course (individual assignment / case study / exam grades and final grades) will not
be discussed using electronic media including personal (non-OSU) e-mail as the identification of the student
cannot be established with certainty and confidentiality may be violated.

Student grades earned in the course (individual assignment / case study / exam grades and final grades) may be
discussed using electronic media through the student’s authorized OSU e-mail account at the discretion of the
professor. It is the responsibility of the student to keep the confidentiality of correspondence through their OSU email account.

The preferred method for discussion of student grades is in person. Students can stop in my office during office
hours posted for present or subsequent terms.

Student grades earned by a student will only be discussed with that student. Student grades for other classmates
will not be discussed and/or distributed.

Student exams during the term will not be distributed to the students to keep but will be stored for a minimum of
one quarter to be used as a basis to rectify any and all grade disputes. Student requests to examine exams must
be made in writing to allow for the collection of requested materials from the files.
If a student feels that a mistake was made in the determination of the final grade, that student may petition in writing
(or through e-mail) for a recalculation of the grade. The individual assignment / case study / exam grades will be
verified and the final grade recalculated; the student will be notified of the results of the recalculation.
STUDENT GRIEVENCE PROCEDURE
If a student has a specific problem with the administration of this class, the student has the right to discuss the
problem with Fisher faculty and staff. The first step in the process is to discuss the problem with the instructor. If the
problem cannot be resolved, the next step is to discuss the problem with the course coordinator (Dr. David Schilling),
followed by the Management Sciences department chairperson (Dr. Kenneth Boyer), and then followed be a
representative from the Fisher College Deans Office. Failure to follow this progression will usually result in delays in
achieving problem resolution or the problem going unresolved.
E-MAIL
On average, I receive over 100 e-mails daily. A majority of the e-mails are SPAM or contain viruses that are directed
at educators with subject lines such as “1st Assignment” or “Question about final exam”, My e-mail is filtered twice
(OSU university level and Fisher College level) and I run virus protection software on my computer in an effort to
separate the “good e-mails” from the “bad e-mails”. However, the filters and virus protection software are not 100%
efficient. An e-mail containing a virus from a student corrupted my laptop computer last Spring.
In an effort to identify and delete malicious e-mails without trashing “good” student e-mails, the following criteria for all
student e-mail have been established:

E-mails must be professional or no response will be given.

Send e-mails to me at “christobek.1@osu.edu” (or to the teaching assistants e-mails listed on Carmen).

E-mail subject line must begin with BusMgt 2321 followed by the student’s last name and the subject.
For example, if the student Jane Smith were sending an e-mail about the first exam, the subject line would be
BusMgt 2321 Smith Exam #1 Question

E-mail not conforming to the above will not be read and will be immediately deleted.

Do not send e-mails from Carmen or use the “Page” function in Carmen.
MAIL
If I am not in my office, DO NOT slide papers, assignments, etc. under my office door. Please take all papers to the
receptionist in the Management Sciences office (600 Fisher Hall). The receptionist will time stamp the papers and will
put them into my Management Sciences mailbox.
STUDENT CONDUCT
This class is preparing student for situations that they will encounter in business. I will be running the classes as a
business meeting. No hats in the classroom or office hours. No revealing clothing in the classroom or office hours.
No offensive clothing in the classroom or office hours.
All correspondence will be handled in a business manner. E-mails with “Mr. Christobek”, “Hey Christobek”, etc. will
not be answered.
I do not “friend” students on Facebook and I am not on LinkedIn.
Students are expected to arrive to class on time and be prepared for class at 9:35am.
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE (Summer 2015)
Date
Topics
Tuesday,
June 16th
Introduction to Decision Modeling
Thursday,
June 18th
Decision Analysis
Tuesday,
June 23rd
Decision Analysis
Thursday,
June 25th
Introduction to Linear Programming
Tuesday,
June 30th
Linear Programming and Sensitivity
Analysis








Thursday,
July 2nd
Breakeven and indifference models
Requirements of Linear Programming
Decision making under uncertainty,
Decision Trees
Decision making under uncertainty,
Decision Trees
Graphical solutions
Sensitivity Analysis
EXCEL & Solver
Sensitivity Analysis Manually
Calculation
Sensitivity Analysis and Sensitivity
Analysis

Sensitivity Analysis Using SOLVER
Reports
Tuesday,
July 7th
Linear Programming Formulations
Thursday,
July 9th
Midterm Exam
Chapters 1,2,3,4,and 8


Linear Programming Formulations
Sensitivity Analysis Using SOLVER
Reports
Readings / Problems
Items Due
Readings:
Chapters 1.1 through 1.7
Homework:
1-19, 1-21, 1-23, 1-25
Readings:
Chapter 8.1 through 8.6,
8.8
Homework:
8-13, 8-16, 8-17, 8-19,
8-21, 8-23
Readings:
Chapter 8.1 through 8.6,
8.8
Homework:
8-13, 8-16, 8-17, 8-19,
8-21, 8-23
Case Study #1
Readings:
Chapters 2.1 through 2.7
Homework:
2-5, 2-7, 2-13, 2-15, 2-17,
2-19, 2-23, 2-25, 2-31,
2-33
Readings:
Chapter 3.1 through 3.5
Chapter 4.1 through 4.2
Homework:
4-1, 4-2, 4-10, 4-11, 4-12
4-13, 4-15, 4-33, 4-35,
4-37
Case Study #2
Readings:
Chapter 3.6 through 3.8
Chapter 4.3 through 4.4
Homework:
4-1, 4-2, 4-10, 4-11, 4-12
4-13, 4-15, 4-33, 4-35,
4-37
Readings:
Chapter 3.6 through 3.8
Homework:
3-1, 3-7, 3-9, 3-11, 3-15,
3-19, 3-33, 3-41
Case Study #3
Tuesday,
July 14th
Midterm Exams Returned
Transportation, Assignment & Network
Models

Thursday,
July 16th
Transportation, Assignment & Network
Models

Tuesday,
July 21st
Network, Transportation, &
Transshipment Models
Network, Transportation, &
Transshipment Models
Transportation, Assignment & Network
Models

Transshipment, Assignment,
Maximum Flow and Shortest Path
Thursday,
July 23rd
Integer & Binary Programming
Tuesday,
July 28th
Goal Programming
Thursday,
July 30th
Class Review For Final Exam
Monday,
August 3rd
Final Exam
10:00am to 11:45am
Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8


Models with integer or binary
variables
Goal programming models
Readings:
Chapter 5.1 though 5.5
Homework:
5-13, 5-15, 5-17, 5-21,
5-25, 5-27, 5-29, 5-33,
5-35, 5-37
Case Study #4
Readings:
Chapter 5.1 though 5.5
Homework:
5-13, 5-15, 5-17, 5-21,
5-25, 5-27, 5-29, 5-33,
5-35, 5-37
Readings:
Chapter 5.5 though 5.9
Homework:
5-13, 5-15, 5-17, 5-21,
5-25, 5-27, 5-29, 5-33,
5-35, 5-37
Case Study #5
Readings:
Chapter 6.1 through 6.5
Homework:
6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 6-6, 6-7,
6-9, 6-10, 6-13, 6-15,
6-17, 6-21, 6-29, 6-33
Readings:
Chapter 6.1 through 6.5
Homework:
6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 6-6, 6-7,
6-9, 6-10, 6-13, 6-15,
6-17, 6-21, 6-29, 6-33
Case Study #6
Faculty rules state that all final exams must be given during the times specified by the Registrar. No early or
make-up finals will be given.