LahoreUniversityofManagementSciences

DISC212IntroductiontoManagementScience
FallSemester2015

Instructor
RoomNo.
OfficeHours
Email
Telephone
TAs&OfficeHours
CourseURL(ifany)

ZulqarnainHaider
421
TBD
zulqarnain.haider@lums.edu.pk
X8469
TBA
suraj.lums.edu.pk

COURSEBASICS
CreditHours
Lecture(s)/Lab(s)
Tutorial(perweek)

3
NbrofLec(s)PerWeek
NbrofLec(s)PerWeek

2
TBD

Duration
Duration

75

COURSEDESCRIPTION

This is a core course for undergraduate business students. It is designed to provide students with a sound conceptual
understandingoftherolethatmanagementscienceplaysinthedecisionmakingprocess.Itisanimportantintroductorycoursein
developing decision models and understanding their application to management problems. The emphasis is on models and
techniques that are widely used in all industries and functional areas, including operations, finance, accounting, and marketing.
Specifictopicscoveredinthiscourseinclude:techniquessuchaslinearprogramming,discriminantanalysis,queuingtheoryand
applications,MonteCarlosimulations,decisionmakingunderuncertainty,decisiontreesandmulticriteriadecisionmaking.

COURSEPREREQUISITE(S)

MATH101

COURSEOBJECTIVE(S)

Thecoursehasthreeprimaryobjectives
1. Introducestudentstotheconceptofmodeldrivendecisionmakinginbusiness
2. Introduce key techniques in three broad categories of decisionmodels typically discussed in the area of management
science:descriptive,prescriptiveandpredictivemodels
3. Developstudentsabilitytocriticallyanalyzeabusinessproblem,designandapplyappropriatedecisionsupporttoolsand
interprettheresultsgeneratedfromthetools

LahoreUniversityofManagementSciences
COURSELEARNINGOUTCOMES
Uponsuccessfulcompletionofthecourse,studentsshould beto
1. Discuss basic modeling techniques across prescriptive, descriptive and predictive decisionmodels in the area of
managementscience
2. Implementthesetechniquesaspartofaspreadsheetbaseddecisionsupporttool
3. Setupandsolvearangeofoptimizationproblems(indifferentareasofapplication)bycorrectlyrecognizingconstraints,
decisionvariablesandobjective(s)
4. Setupandsolvebasicpredictivemodelsbycorrectlyidentifyingtheappropriatetechnique,understandingitsunderlying
assumptionsandinterpretingtheresults
5. Setup and solve descriptive modeling techniques including simulation and basic queuing models by correctly describing
the defining features of the queuing system, including server(s), customer(s), length of the queue, arrival rate(s) and
servicerate(s)
6. Setup and solve single and multicriteria problems using basic decision analysis techniques suchas influence diagrams,
payoffmatricesanddecisiontrees
7. Effectivelycommunicatetheirproblemsolvingapproach,selectedtool(s),results,limitationsandimplicationstosupport
thedecisionmaker

UNDERGRADUATEPROGRAMLEARNINGGOALS&OBJECTIVES

GeneralLearningGoals&Objectives
Goal1EffectiveWrittenandOralCommunication
Objective:Studentswilldemonstrateeffectivewritingandoralcommunicationskills
Goal2EthicalUnderstandingandReasoning
Objective:Studentswilldemonstratethattheyareabletoidentifyandaddressethicalissuesinanorganizational
context.
Goal3AnalyticalThinkingandProblemSolvingSkills
Objective:Studentswilldemonstratethattheyareabletoidentifykeyproblemsandgenerateviablesolutions.
Goal4ApplicationofInformationTechnology
Objective:Studentswilldemonstratethattheyareabletousecurrenttechnologiesinbusinessandmanagement
context.
Goal5TeamworkinDiverseandMulticulturalEnvironments
Objective:Studentswilldemonstratethattheyareabletoworkeffectivelyindiverseenvironments.
Goal6UnderstandingOrganizationalEcosystems
Objective:StudentswilldemonstratethattheyhaveanunderstandingofEconomic,Political,Regulatory,Legal,
Technological,andSocialenvironmentoforganizations.

MajorSpecificLearningGoals&Objectives
Goal7(a)DisciplineSpecificKnowledgeandUnderstanding
Objective:Studentswilldemonstrateknowledgeofkeybusinessdisciplinesandhowtheyinteractincluding
applicationtorealworldsituations.(includingsubjectknowledge)
Goal7(b)Understandingthesciencebehindthedecisionmakingprocess(forMGSMajors)
Objective:Studentswilldemonstrateabilitytoanalyzeabusinessproblem,designandapplyappropriate
decisionsupporttools,interpretresultsandmakemeaningfulrecommendationstosupportthedecisionmaker

LahoreUniversityofManagementSciences
Indicatebelowhowthecourselearningobjectivesspecificallyrelatetoanyprogramlearninggoalsandobjectives.

PROGRAMLEARNINGGOALSAND
OBJECTIVES

COURSELEARNINGOBJECTIVES

Goal1EffectiveWrittenandOral
Communication

Studentsgetanumberofopportunitiesto Onlywrittenskills*canbeassessedin
learnanddemonstratetheseskills
Quizzes,MidTermandFinal
throughoutthecourseCLO7

Goal2EthicalUnderstandingand
Reasoning
Goal3AnalyticalThinkingandProblem
SolvingSkills
Goal4ApplicationofInformation
Technology
Goal5TeamworkinDiverseand
MulticulturalEnvironments
Goal6UnderstandingOrganizational
Ecosystems
Goal7(a)DisciplineSpecificKnowledge
andUnderstanding(SubjectKnowledge)
Goal7(b)Understandingthescience
behindthedecisionmakingprocess

COURSEASSESSMENTITEM

Studentsgetanumberofopportunitiesto Quizzes,MidTermandFinalExam
learnanddemonstratetheseskills
throughoutthecourseCLO26
Studentswilllearntodesignand
Quizzes,MidTermandFinalExam
implementdecisionsupporttools
primarilyinExcelCLO2

Studentsgetanumberofopportunitiesto Quizzes,MidTermandFinalExam
learnanddemonstratetheseskills
throughoutthecourseCLO16

GRADINGBREAKUPANDPOLICIES

Quiz(s):20%
Quizzeswillbegiveninclass/lab.Makeupquizzeswillnotbegiven.Thenatureandlevelofdifficultyofquizzesacrossthe
varioussectionsmayvary.Inviewoftheclassperformance,theinstructormaydecidetogiveadditional(surprise)quizzes.
TheN1policywillapply.
MidTerm:30%
Midtermexammaybegiveninthelaborinclass.Thedatehasbeenindicatedintheschedule.Makeupexamwillnotbe
given.
FinalExamination:30%
Finalexamwillalsobegiveninlaborinclassduringregularexamweek
Project:15%
The group project will have to be drawn from a real life situation. A 12 page project proposal must be submitted by
September 30th 2015. Excel files and accompanying analysis must be emailed by Friday, November 30th, 2015 (11:55pm).
PresentationswillbescheduledontheensuingWeekend.Gradeontheprojectwillbeawardedonthebasisofyourpresentation
andaccompanyinganalysis.

Attendance:5%
Attendancewillbetakenineveryclassandyouarestronglyencouragedtoattendallclasses.Pastperformanceofstudents
inthecoursehasshownthatstudentswithlowattendancereceivedapoorgradeinthecourse.
Class/Lab:
Please make sure you arrive ahead of time. The lecture/lab will start at the appointed time. Please do not enter the
class/labifyouarelate.Whiletheclass/labisinsession,pleaseturnyourmobiledevicesoff.Labsessionswillbeconducted
asandwhendeemednecessarybytheinstructor.Pleasedonotusethelabtimetobrowsetheweborcheckemailsetc.

LahoreUniversityofManagementSciences
COURSESCHEDULE*
TOPICS

RECOMMENDED
READINGS

DATE

LECTURE

CourseIntroduction

Syllabus

IntroductiontoModeling

Chapter1

IntroductiontoOptimization&
Chapter2
LinearProgramming(LP)

SolvingLinearProgramming
problems
ModelingandSolvingLPsina
spreadsheet

ModelingandSolvingLPsina
spreadsheet

Chapter2
Chapter3

SESSIONOBJECTIVES
Introduce students to the area of management
scienceandtheMGSmajor.(CLO1)
Familiarize students with different categories of
modeling techniques and highlight respective
applications, strengths and weaknesses. Introduce
theideaofGoodDecisionsvs.GoodOutcomes(CLO
1)
Introduce students to the concept and essential
characteristics of mathematical optimization and
illustrate the application of Linear Programming as
anexample(CLO3)
Introduce the basic framework for designing and
solvinga2variableLP(CLO2,3)
Introduce the use of spreadsheets to setup and
solveamultivariableLP(CLO2,3)

Introduce the use of LP in solving a range of

different problems including: make vs. buy
decisions, investment problems, transportation
problems, blending problems, production and
ModelingandSolvingLPsina

7
Chapter3
inventoryplanningandmultiperiodcashflow(CLO
spreadsheet
2,3,7)
Provide students with a basic understanding of the

8
SensitivityAnalysis
Chapter4
purpose and application of sensitivity analysis (CLO
2,3)
Discuss the benefits and limitations of sensitivity

9
SensitivityAnalysis
Chapter4
analysis(CLO2,3,7)
DROPONLYDEADLINEFriday,27thFebruary 2015
Provide a glimpse into the mechanics of the LP

10
TheSimplexMethod
Chapter4
solutiondiscoveryprocess(CLO2,3)

11

12

13

14
15

16

Chapter3

IntroductiontoNetwork
Introduce the concept of analyzing a class of
Chapter5
Modeling
businessproblemsasnetworkmodels(CLO2,3)
IntroductiontoNetwork
Introducetheuseofnetworkmodelinginsolvinga
Chapter5
Modeling
range of problems including, transshipment,
equipment replacement, transportation and
IntroductiontoNetwork
Chapter5
generalizednetworkflowproblems(CLO2,3,7)
Modeling
MIDTERM
RegressionAnalysis
Chapter9
Introducethebasicsofpredictivemodels(CLO2,4)
2329March,2015:MidSemesterBreak
Discuss the application of linear regression models
anddiscusstheinterpretationofkeynumberssuch
RegressionAnalysis
as Rsquare, betas and the concept of statistical
Chapter9
DiscriminantAnalysis
significance(CLO2,4)

LahoreUniversityofManagementSciences

17

DiscriminantAnalysis

Chapter10

18

DiscriminantAnalysis

Chapter10

19

IntroductiontoQueuing
Theory

Chapter13

20

21

22

IntroductiontoSimulation

Chapter12

23
24

IntroductiontoSimulation
IntroductiontoSimulation

Chapter12
Chapter12

25

DecisionAnalysis

Chapter15

26

DecisionAnalysis

Chapter15

27

DecisionAnalysis

Chapter15

28

IntroductiontoQueuing
Theory
IntroductiontoQueuing
Theory

Chapter13
Chapter13

Introducetheapplicationofdiscriminantanalysisfor
a range of business problems and discuss the
interpretationofdiscriminantscores(CLO2,4,7)
Introduce the basic elements of a queuing model
including servers, customers, queue lengths etc.
(CLO2,5)
Introduce the application of basic queuing models
(CLO2,5,7)
Introduce the basic concepts of simulation such as
randomvariables,risk,samplingetc.(CLO2,5)
Demonstrate the application of simulation (CLO 2,
5,7)
Introduce decision analysis techniques and revisit
theideaofGoodDecisionsvs.GoodOutcomes(CLO
2,6)
Discuss the application of basic probabilistic and
nonprobabilistic decision analysis techniques (CLO
2,6)
Discuss the application of basic probabilistic and
nonprobabilistic decision analysis techniques (CLO
2,6,7)

Review
FinalExam

Chapters9,10,12,13and15
*Pleasenotethattheinstructorreservestherighttomodifythescheduleduringthesemester

TEXTBOOK(S)/SUPPLEMENTARYREADINGS
SpreadsheetModeling&DecisionAnalysisbyCliffT.Ragsdale,5thedition
Anysupplementalmaterialand/orhandoutswillbemadeavailableviaZambeel