Wilfrid Laurier University

Waterloo, Ontario
Business 275: Business Decision Models
Course Outline: Spring 2021

INSTRUCTOR:
Name Email Office Hours
Jiejian Feng [email protected] 9pm-10:30pm on Wed & Thu

GRADING:

Group Assignment #1 12%

Group Assignment #2 12%
Midterm Exam 40%
Final Exam 36% (non-cumulative)

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. Understand how mathematical modeling and quantitative methods can be used to improve
business decision making;
2. Understand the unstructured nature of business problems and how to model them.
3. Improve skills in developing mathematical models for business decisions and applying a
variety of decision analysis (management science) techniques;
4. Be capable of using decision support software, including Excel and add-ins (Pivot Tables,
Data Analysis, Solver and Simulation)
5. Prepare students for further application of these techniques in 3rd and 4th year courses and in
their careers.

COURSE MATERIAL:

Course Website: Instructor’ notes, supplementary materials, homework problems,

practice problems, and exam information will be posted on MyLS.

Case Studies: Instructions for accessing course pack will be provided on MyLS.

Suggested Textbook: Bernard W. Taylor, Introduction to Management Science,  13th

edition, Pearson, 2019. Digital Copy Available through DTA
program.

COURSE Extra Resources:

Practice Problems: Practice problems will be posted on MyLS.
Excel Ability:
Students must have a reasonable level of ability with Excel. Microsoft has online tutorials. PRISM
has Excel courses (free with PRISM membership). This level of Excel ability will serve you
extremely well in the business world, providing personal competitive advantage. Our exams will test
your ability/knowledge.

Zoom Lectures:
Classes will be taught virtually in the scheduled time slot using the Zoom platform. There are no
physical on-campus classes or activities for this course. Any group work should be completed
virtually, without physical meetings. Scheduled classes will display as meetings on the course MyLS
site. You can click on the Zoom meetings Meetings tab, then on the link to the appropriate meeting.
Before you can join your class meetings you must FIRST activate your Laurier Zoom account. To do
this, go to https://zoom.wlu.ca and click on 'Sign In', then use your Laurier username and password to
login. This will activate your account.

You must access your Zoom class through MyLS, unless you are otherwise directed by your
instructor. In such cases the instructor will send the link and the MANDATORY password.
You need a reliable internet connection and a microphone, speaker and camera on your laptop,
desktop or phone in order to participate in the class. Dialing in to the class is available but may
trigger long distance charges.

EVALUATION & ONLINE EXAM RULES

ASSIGNMENTS:
To be done in groups of three students. Students are asked to form their own groups. Assignments
will be announced in class and uploaded to the BU275 MyLS website. Each assignment is due by
11:55am on the stated due date. Late submissions receive a penalty of 25% (provided they are
submitted by 12noon on the next day). You are strongly encouraged to work together as a team,
instead of splitting up the questions individually.

EXAMS:
Examinations will be given on a closed book, closed notes basis. However, every student can bring
one double-sided 8.5" x 11" 'formula sheet' of her/his own for the midterm and one double-sided 8.5"
x 11" 'formula sheet' for the final exam. The content of this sheet is not restricted, and may include
formulas, definitions, solved problems, and anything else desired.

Missed Term Work

There is a no deferred midterm policy in place.

If a student misses the midterm examination because of illness, or for some other unexpected major
life event, such as a death or a serious illness in their immediate family, the student must complete
both of the following steps:
1. Give immediate email notice of student illness or unexpected major life event to the instructor
prior to the scheduled midterm examination start time.
2. Within 48 hours of the start time of the midterm, complete the self-declaration form found
here: https://web.wlu.ca/illness/

Provided the student fulfills both steps 1 and 2 with sufficient detail to confirm the existence of
illness or unexpected major life event and no other contradictory information becomes known to the
instructor, then the weight of a missed midterm will be transferred to a 2.5 hour cumulative final
exam to be written in the final examination period at the end of the term. In all other cases, the
student will receive zero on the midterm.

Students qualifying for a cumulative final exam may bring TWO double-sided 8.5" x 11" formula
sheets to the final exam. If no such evidence is provided, a grade of zero will be given for the
midterm.

It is academic misconduct to submit a false self-declaration form. If other contradictory information

becomes known to the instructor, the student may be asked for further evidence to corroborate the
existence of the illness or unexpected major life event.

Under no circumstances should students assume that special alternate assignments or deferred
midterm examinations will be set by the instructor. Vacations are NOT considered a sufficient excuse
for missing an examination.

Missed Final Examinations are not covered by this process. Requests for a deferred final
examination must be made by filing a petition using the process and form described here:
• https://students.wlu.ca/academics/exams/deferred-exams.html
• https://students.wlu.ca/academics/exams/assets/documents/lazaridis-petition-form.pdf
All deadlines, due dates, examination times and class times are set in Eastern Standard Time (EST).
If you are in another time zone you are responsible for making the adjustment to EST.

Online Exam Writing Instructions

The midterm and final examinations will be delivered online and there are a number steps that must
be completed at the start of the exam. Failure to complete any of these steps at the start and honour
them during the exam nullifies the exam: it will not be marked and the student will receive a zero on
the examination. No re-write opportunities will be provided, therefore, it is important that students
complete the Respondus Lockdown Browser practice quiz in the week prior to the examinations and
familiarize themselves with all the instructions given on and in advance of the exam. Some of the key
requirements are:
1. Laurier or UW Student ID must be shown;
2. A thorough and complete environmental scan must be completed; you must follow the
instructions in the browser EXACTLY.
3. Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor will be enabled for all examinations:
a. This tool prevents students from accessing files or applications on the device they are
using to take the online test and also records audio and video via their webcam and microphone to
promote academic integrity.
b. The student may not leave the computer during the exam, your face must remain in the
camera frame.
c. Videos will be available for instructor and administrator review after the exam has
concluded.
4. Students are responsible for having a computer or laptop, a webcam, a microphone, the free-
to-download Respondus Lockdown Browser and a reliable internet connection. Smart phones will not
work.
5. Familiarize yourself with online exam writing here:
https://students.wlu.ca/virtual/assets/resources/guidelines-for-the-use-of-respondus-
lockdown-browser-and-monitor-in-assessments.html
6. If the computer crashes or internet access fails during the exam, the student must contact
mailto:[email protected] immediately. Failure to do so disqualifies the student from any relief.
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE:

Textbook Chapter for

Week Date Topic
Reference
Introduction to Course & Decision Analysis Chapter 1
May 11
1 Decision Analysis: Payoff Tables page 1-8 (Not include
May 13 Decision Analysis: Payoff Tables Break-even)
May 18 Decision Analysis: Trees, Bayesian Updating
2 Chapter 12
May 20 Decision Analysis: Bayesian Updating
May 25 Decision Analysis: Data Driven Problem Solving
3
May 27 Decision Analysis: Utility
June 01 Queueing Models Chapter 13
4
June 03 Queueing Models (Only pp.615-627)
(Not include QM for
June 08 Queueing Models
5 Windows)
June 10 Review/Catch up

Midterm Exam Friday June 11 from 3pm to 5:30pm

6 June 15 Computer Simulation: Basic Concepts Chapter 14

. June 17 Computer Simulation with Excel add-ins (YASAI) (only pp.655-674, and
June 22 Computer Simulation with Excel add-ins (YASAI) pp. 683-685)
7 Computer Simulation: Fitting Data and Queueing
June 24
Simulation
June 29 Computer Simulation: Event Based Simulation
8
July 01 Canada Day, no class.
July 06 Linear Programming: Graphical Solution Chapter 2
Linear Programming: Chapter 3 (Only
Excel Solver, computer solution.
9
July 08 Types of Solutions, Not include
Binding/Nonbinding, sensitivity)
Formulation and Applications Chapter 4

Assignment #1 Due: Friday July 09 at 11:55am

July 13 Linear Programming: Multi-period Chapter 4

10
July 15 Linear Programming: Multi-period
Integer Programming: Introduction and Modelling Chapter 5
July 20
11 Logical Constraints
July 22 Linear Programming: Network Flows Chapter 6 and 7
Integer/Linear Programming: Formulations and Chapter 5
July 27
12 Applications
July 29 Review/Catch up

Assignment #2 Due: Friday July 30 at 11:55am

Final Exam
Scheduled by Registrar’s office for August; TBA
 Textbook Chapter for
Week Date Topic
Reference

Privacy Warnings, Copyright and Recordings

Zoom classes may be recorded by individual professors, at their discretion, and may be viewed again
by clicking Cloud Recording under Zoom Meetings through MyLS. The red light in “Record” on the
Zoom toolbar is notice to you that the class is being recorded. Students, instructors, instructional
assistants (IAs) and program administrators may view the recordings for teaching, grading,
misconduct investigations and other administrative and academic purposes. You are not authorized to
record or make a copy of the recorded class; it is provided for viewing purposes of students enrolled
in the class and further distribution of sharing is strictly prohibited (specifically, the professor is the
copyright holder of the recording).

In addition, students writing exams will be videoed. The software flags suspicious conduct but all
students are hereby notified that that videos and/or screenshots of their behaviour during online
exams (flagged or not) may be viewed by instructors, instructional assistants, administrative staff and
other proctors. These recordings may be used in academic misconduct proceedings against the
subject student or others suspected of academic misconduct. If misconduct is found, the recordings
will be saved for the duration of the student’s degree and if more than one incident occurs during the
student’s time at Laurier, for up to 10 years after the student graduates.

The educational materials developed for this course, including, but not limited to, lecture notes and
slides, handout materials, examinations and assignments, and any materials posted to
MyLearningSpace, are the intellectual property of the course instructor. These materials have been
developed for student use only and they are not intended for wider dissemination and/or
communication outside of a given course. Posting or providing unauthorized audio, video, or textual
material of lecture content to third-party websites violates an instructor’s intellectual property rights,
and the Canadian Copyright Act.  Recording lectures in any way is prohibited in this course unless
specific permission has been granted by the instructor.  Failure to follow these instructions may be in
contravention of the university’s Student Non-Academic Code of Conduct and/or Code of Academic
Conduct, and will result in appropriate penalties. Participation in this course constitutes an agreement
by all parties to abide by the relevant University Policies, and to respect the intellectual property of
others during and after their association with Wilfrid Laurier University.

Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct is an act by a student, or by students working on a

team project, which may result in a false evaluation of the student(s), or which represents an attempt
to unfairly gain an academic advantage, where the student either knew or ought reasonably to have
known that it was misconduct.  Whether or not a student intended to commit academic misconduct is
not relevant for a finding of academic misconduct.  Hurried or careless submission of assignments
does not excuse students from responsibility for verifying the academic integrity of their work before
submitting it.

Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following acts which are presented as
examples or a guide since not every possible circumstance can be anticipated:
1. plagiarism, which is the unacknowledged presentation, in whole or in part, of the work of others as
one's own, whether in written, oral or other form, in an examination, report, assignment, thesis or
dissertation;
2. cheating, which involves the using, giving, receiving, or the attempt to use, give or receive
unauthorized information during an examination in oral, written or other form; or, copying an essay,
examination or report, or allowing someone else to copy one's essay, examination or report;
3. submitting the same piece of work, or a significant part thereof, for the same course or for more
than one course without the permission of the instructors involved in each course; or, submitting an
essay or other work which has been submitted elsewhere, previously or at the same time, without the
written permission of all academic units or institutions involved in the submissions;
4. impersonating another person in an examination or test;
5. buying or otherwise obtaining term papers or assignments for submission of another person's work
as one's own for evaluation;
6. falsifying, misrepresenting or forging an academic record or supporting document.
(University Policies, Student Code of Conduct and Discipline)

A word of caution about ‘collaboration’

Be careful about collaborating on assignments. A good rule of thumb is, ‘You can orally share
approaches and help each other learn, but don’t look at someone else’s written work, and don’t write
anything down from someone else’s work.’ Presenting someone else’s work – even part of it – as
your own, is plagiarism. This applies to Excel spreadsheets and other models, as well as written
work. ‘When in doubt, ask for clarification.’

Privacy: One important goal of this course is to offer a positive educational experience for the
student through lectures, in class discussion, group work, and assignments. During the course, it may
be necessary to divulge students’ names, ID numbers, marks or other personal information to other
members of the class. Every reasonable effort will be made to keep the personal information of the
student private and secure (see course website for details). If you have personal concerns, please see
your professor.

Intellectual Property
The educational materials developed for this course, including, but not limited to, lecture notes and
slides, handout materials, examinations and assignments, and any materials posted to
MyLearningSpace, are the intellectual property of the course instructor. These materials have been
developed for student use only and they are not intended for wider dissemination and/or
communication outside of a given course. Posting or providing unauthorized audio, video, or textual
material of lecture content to third-party websites violates an instructor’s intellectual property rights,
and the Canadian Copyright Act. Recording lectures in any way is prohibited in this course unless
specific permission has been granted by the instructor. Failure to follow these instructions may be in
contravention of the university’s Code of Student Conduct and/or Code of Academic Conduct, and
will result in appropriate penalties. Participation in this course constitutes an agreement by all parties
to abide by the relevant University Policies, and to respect the intellectual property of others during
and after their association with Wilfrid Laurier University."

NOTE: Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier’s Accessible Learning
Centre for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the
University Undergraduate Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus. If you are
unsure what resources are appropriate for you or require any assistance with any type of academic issues,
contact the Central Academic Advising Office at http://www.wlu.ca/academicadvising.