Business 190 - Quantitative Business Analysis

Spring 2016

Instructor
Dr. David Czerwinski
E-mail: david.czerwinski@sjsu.edu
Office: BT 753
Office Hours: Online and by appointment

Course Description
This course teaches quantitative methods used in business decision making. These methods include
probability theory, decision analysis, optimization modeling, and project analysis.

Class Website
This course will take place on Canvas. Your Canvas login is the same as your MySJSU login. Once
you are on the classs Canvas page you can find the course material on the Modules tab where the
lectures, assignments, and discussions are organized by week.
Make sure you have the most recent version of whichever browser you use.
Dont forget that your password expires every six months without warning. Dont let an expired
password prevent you from turning in a homework assignment change your password today so
that you dont have to worry about it for the rest of the semester. You can change your password at
the SJSUOne website.

Grading
Your grade will be based on homework, two midterm exams, and a final exam.
Percentage
Homework
Midterm Exam 1
Midterm Exam 2
Final Exam

25%
25%
25%
25%

Date
Due at 10:00pm on Sundays. See schedule on last page.
Thursday Mar. 3 Friday, Mar. 4
Thursday, Apr. 14 Friday, Apr. 15
Thursday, May 19 Friday, May 20

Letter grades will be assigned according to the following:

98
93
90
87
83
80
77
73
70
67
63
60

A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF

<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<

100
98
93
90
87
83
80
77
73
70
67
63
60

Textbook
The recommended textbook for the class is Quantitative Methods for Business by Anderson, Sweeney,
Williams, Camm, Cochran, Fry, and Ohlmann, Special Edition for SJSU, ISBN 9781285116556.
Any edition or version of the textbook is fine. It does not need to be the SJSU edition. You will not
need the access code that comes with the book. Relevant readings are listed in the schedule below.
You are only responsible for those sections of the book. They will also be covered in the online videos
and homework.
The book is recommended, but not strictly required. If you learn best by reading from a book, then
definitely buy the book. If you are able to absorb all of the material from the online lectures, then you
may consider not purchasing the book. If your budget is a concern, you may want to try the first two
or three weeks of the class before buying the book to decide if you really need it.

Lecture Videos
Videos covering the course material will be posted on Canvas. They are pre-recorded so that you can
watch them at a time that is convenient for you. Different students learn best in different ways. Some
students learn the material just by watching the lectures, others by reading the book, and others find
it most helpful to do both. Experiment and find what works best for you.
The videos are actual recordings of my Business 190 lectures from previous semesters. They have
been edited for this online course. However, you may occasionally hear me refer to next class or
tomorrow. You may safely ignore these comments since they dont apply to our online class. If you
have doubts, please post to the discussion on Canvas.
Sometimes I give people a few minutes to work on a problem during lecture. I have edited this time
out, but I encourage you to pause the video and work on the problem yourself.
I have not edited out questions from students and my answers if they are relevant to the course
material. Bear in mind that these are pre-recorded. If you have questions about anything in the
lecture please dont hesitate to post to the discussion on Canvas.

You will also find lecture notes accompanying the videos. These are not meant to be self-explanatory.
They simply reflect what I wrote on the board during lecture and are meant to be handy to refer back
to after you view the lecture.

Homework
You will have a homework due roughly every week. Homework is a significant portion of your grade
and is also the best way to learn the material. The homework assignments are available as pdf files on
Canvas. Solutions will be posted after each due date. The following policies apply to homework:
Your homework is due by 10:00pm on Sunday as listed on the schedule on the last page of the
syllabus. Avoid submitting your homework at the last minute (or even the last hour) since Canvas may be slow resulting in your homework not being accepted in time. Homework turned in
from 1 to 60 minutes late will still be accepted but will have 10 points deducted. 10 more points
will be deducted in each subsequent hour. These cutoff times are strict.
Technical problems are not a valid excuse for late homework. Turn your homework in well
ahead of the deadline if you are concerned about potential technical problems.
To submit your homework on Canvas you may upload a Word document, a pdf, an Excel file,
or a scanned/photographed image of your handwritten work. Please follow these guidelines
so that your homework can be graded easily and accurately:
1. Clearly label each solution with its problem number.
2. If you submit more than one file, name each file with the problem numbers that it contains.
3. If you take a picture with your phone, look at it on your computer to make sure that it is
in focus and the writing is dark enough to read.
4. Make sure any pictures you take are right-side-up. If necessary, rotate your camera or
rotate the image on your computer before you submit it.
5. If you re-submit your homework, you must re-submit the whole thing since any previous
submission will be completely over-written. (You can re-submit a homework as many
times as you want before it is due.)
The homework deadline is strict, so please submit your homework well in advance of the deadline to avoid the risk of having points deducted for it being late.
You may work with others on the homework. It is your responsibility to write up your own
solutions and make sure that you understand what you are doing. Copying from other students
or copying from solutions from previous semesters is plagiarism and will not be tolerated.
Each homework is graded out of 100 points. You will earn 80 points simply by attempting
every problem on the homework and turning it in on time. The last 20 points will come from
one question selected at random that will be graded for correctness.
Your lowest homework score for the semester will be dropped.
You will be using Microsoft Excel for some assignments. In particular you will be using Excels
Solver add-in. You may use Excel on your own computer or on one of the computers in the College
of Busines Computer Lab. Instructions for installing the Solver add-in are posted in Module 1 on
Canvas.

As an SJSU student, you may obtain Excel (along with full Microsoft Office suite) for free from SJSU
ITS.

Exams
You will take two midterm exams and one final exam.
The exams will be online. You have the flexibility to take the exam at any time during the
48-hour exam period. The exam must be completed by the end of the exam period.
You will have 90 minutes to complete each midterm exam. For the final exam you will have 2
hours and 15 minutes, which is the standard time for finals, but the number of questions will
be the same as the midterms.
The exams will be open book and open notes.
You will need to show your student ID.
You may use a calculator.
The exams will not be cumulative.
To take the online exams, you will need LockDown Browser, a webcam, and microphone. The webcam can be built into your computer or it can be the type that plugs in with a USB cable. Watch
this short video to get a basic understanding of LockDown Browser and the webcam feature. The
microphone will record ambient noise during your exam.
Laptops with the Respondus LockDown Browser, microphones, and webcams installed are available
to use in 4-hour increments for free from Student Computing Services on the 4th floor of the MLK
Library. Just bring a picture ID. You can take the laptops anywhere you wish as long as you return
them within 4 hours.
To test your setup, you must complete the Sample Exam by Sunday, February 28. If you do not
complete the Sample Exam you will not be allowed to take Midterm 1.
Access the Sample exam via the Quizzes tab in Canvas and download LockDown Browser when
prompted. (Note: Dont download a copy of LockDown Browser from elsewhere on the Internet;
those versions wont work at SJSU.) After youve downloaded and installed LockDown Browser,
look for it on your computer to open it.
To take an online exam, start LockDown Browser on your computer and navigate to the exam. (You
wont be able to access the exam with a standard web browser.) For additional details on using
LockDown Browser, review this Student Quick Start Guide (PDF).
When taking an online exam, follow these procedures:
Ensure youre in a location where you wont be interrupted
Turn off all mobile devices, phones, etc.
Clear your desk of all external materials books (except for our textbook), papers (except for
class notes and blank scratch paper), other computers, tablets, smartphones, and devices
Turn off music/TV, remove headphones, and make sure nobody else is around (to read your
screen or talk to you while youre taking the exam).
Environment Check:

 If you are using a textbook/notes during the exam, you must include this in your environment check. Pick up your webcam/laptop and angle the webcam to show where on your
desk your notes/book will be.
Pan the webcam/laptop all the way around your environment 360 degrees so I can see
you are not using materials not approved and that there is no one else working with you.
Failure to conduct a proper environment check for an exam will result in automatic failure
of the exam.
Have your SJSU photo ID ready so you can snap a webcam picture of it when prompted. Only
if your SJSU ID is unavailable, use another form of photo ID. (Feel free to cover up any personal
information on the non-SJSU ID.)
Remain at your desk or workstation for the duration of the test. Leaving during the test will
result in automatic failure of the exam.
Make sure your webcam and microphone are plugged in or enabled before starting LockDown
Browser. Failure to take the exam using Respondus Lockdown Monitor will result in automatic
exam failure.
LockDown Browser will prevent you from accessing other websites or applications; do not exit
the test until all questions are completed and submitted
To ensure you use LockDown monitor, access the exams from the Quizzes tab and not through
the Canvas calendar.

Discussions
Please post any questions about the material, homework, or the course in general to the appropriate
discussion list on Canvas. I will monitor the discussions daily Monday through Friday and respond.
If you know the answer to somebodys question I encourage you to respond as well.

Technical Help
For help with logging into Canvas or other technical problems, you can stop by the Help Desk in
Clark Hall 102 or call them at 408-924-2377. You can also visit them online or submit a help ticket.
You can find resources for learning how to use Canvas at http://www.sjsu.edu/at/ec/canvas/
index.html and http://guides.instructure.com/.

University Dates, Policies, and Procedures

Important dates:
First day of instruction: 1/28
The last date to drop a course: 2/9
The last date to add a course: 2/16
Spring recess: 3/28 4/1
Last day of instruction: 5/16
Cheating will not be tolerated. Please abide by the Academic Integrity statement from the
Office of Judicial Affairs: http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf.

Class Schedule

Topic

Reading

Homework
Due Date

Course overview

1.1 1.5

Jan. 31

Linear Optimization Formulation

Linear Optimization Solving Graphically

7.1
7.2, 7.5

Feb. 7

Linear Optimization Solving Graphically

Linear Optimization Solution Possibilities

7.2, 7.5
7.3, 7.6

Feb. 14

Linear Optimization Solving in Excel

App. 7.3

Feb. 21

Linear Optimization Sensitivity Analysis

App. 8.1

Feb. 28

Module

Midterm Exam 1 Thursday, Mar. 3 Friday, Mar. 4

6

Linear Optimization Transportation Problem

10.1

Mar. 13

Integer Optimization Basic Concepts

Integer Optimization Binary Variables

11.1 11.2
11.3 11.4

Mar. 20

Project Scheduling

12.1

Mar. 27

Probability Basic Concepts

2.1 - 2.3

Apr. 10

Midterm Exam 2 Thursday Apr. 14 Friday, Apr. 15

10

Probability Applications
Probability Conditional Probability

2.4

Apr. 24

11

Probability Random Variables

Probability The Binomial Distribution

3.1 - 3.2
3.3

May 1

12

Decision Trees Basic Concepts

Decision Trees Sensitivity Analysis

4.1, 4.3
4.4

May 8

13

Decision Trees Applications

Decision Trees Alternative Criteria

4.2

May 15

Final Exam Thursday, May 19 Friday, May 20