Instructor       

Dr. Al Guiffrida

Office:               A-411 Business Administration Building

Office Hours:    Tuesday: 4-5 pm; Wednesday: 1-5 pm; and by appointment

Telephone:        (330) 672- 1158

E-mail:              aguiffri@kent.edu

Note: When sending e-mail, please put MIS34055 in the subject line.

Course Objective

The objective of this course is to introduce the student to the scientific decision-making tools of operations research and management science. The course also introduces the student to spreadsheet modeling for problem formulation and solution. The concepts of modeling and decision making are stressed. Examples and model applications will be draw from various functional areas of business.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course the student will be able to

i)   Build and solve decision models using spreadsheet software

ii)  Solve waiting line (queuing) problems

iii) Handle uncertainty in decision situations

iv) Carry out simulation studies

v)  Analyze network design problems

vi) Understand modeling limitations and implementation issues

vii) Appreciate the value of modeling and scientific decision making

Required Textbook

Winston, W. L. and S. C. Albright, Practical Management Science, 2001, Second Edition, Duxbury, ISBN: 0-534-40775-7

Course Prerequisites

Prerequisites:  i) MIS 24053

                        ii) MIS 24056

Enrollment Requirements

Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisites risk being deregistered from the class. Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Web for Students) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until [date will be provided by the Undergraduate Office in advance] to correct the error with your advising office.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

Course Withdrawal

For the Fall semester, the course withdrawal deadline is always the Sunday following the 10^th week of the semester.

            Evaluation                Weight               Date

            Exam I                        10%                 9/19/2006

            Exam II                       25%                 10/5/2006

            Exam III                     25%                 11/9/2006

            Final Exam                  20%                 Per University Schedule

            Homework                  20%                 See homework submission document      

Your overall score (OS) for the course is determined by the following equation:

OS = 0.10(Exam I score) + 0.25(Exam II score) + 0.25(Exam III score) +

          0.20(Final exam score) + 0.20(homework score).

Your letter grade for the course will be assigned based on the following scale

            OS             Letter Grade           OS          Letter Grade

            93-100             A                     77-79           C+

            90-92               A-                    72-76           C

            87-89               B+                    68-71          C-

            83-86               B                      60-67           D

            80-82               B-                     0-59             F

Exams and homework assignments are scored on a 100 point basis. Exams II and III consist of an in-class portion and take-home portion (due the next class period).  Calculators are required for all exams. Students may not share calculators (or any other materials) during examinations.                             

We will follow the University Policy on Academic Integrity.  Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, quizzes, papers, projects, homework assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offence. It is the University’s policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade (0 points) for the work or course. Repeat offences may result in dismissal from the University.

Students with Disabilities

University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content.  If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments.  Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/ for more information on registration procedures).

Course Topics (subject to revision)

Text Chapter                                                                                 Schedule

Chapters 1&2    Introduction to Modeling                                   Week of Aug 29

Chapter 3           Introduction to Optimization Modeling             Week of Sept 5

Chapter 4           Linear Programming Models                             Week of Sept 12

Chapter 5           Network Models                                                 Week of Oct 10

Chapter 6           Linear Optimization with Integer Variables       Week of Oct 17

Chapter 7           Nonlinear Optimization Modeling                      Week of Oct 24

Chapter 10         Decision Making under Uncertainty                   Week of Oct 14

Chapters 11-12  Simulation Modeling                                           Week of Oct 28

Chapter 14         Queuing (Waiting Line) Models                         Week of Dec 5 

Note: I will also supplement these chapters with handout materials from outside the text.