Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM)

Faculty Dr. Antony Paulraj Year/Term 2016-17/Term-3

Course Name Business Analytics No. of Credits 3
No of Contact Hours 20 Duration 90 mins.

About the Instructor:

PROFESSOR: Dr. ANTONY PAULRAJ ([email protected])

AFFILIATION: Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK.

Antony Paulraj holds a chaired professorship in Operations and Supply Chain
Management at the Alliance Manchester Business School, UK. Prior to this, he held the
Globalisation Professorship in Supply Chain Management at the Department of
Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, University of Southern Denmark,
Kolding, Denmark. Prior to joining the University of Southern Denmark, he was a faculty
at the Coggin College of Business, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida,
USA.

He received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of

Madras and his Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from College of Engineering
(Guindy), Anna University, Madras. He received his Ph.D. in Operations Management
from Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

He has around 10 years of teaching experience and has taught at the undergraduate,
Postgraduate, PHD and Executive MBA level. He also has experience in teaching
postgraduate courses in many countries including United States, India, France, Sweden
and Denmark.

He has received several awards in research. He was the winner of the Institute for Supply
Management's Doctoral Dissertation Grant in 2002 for his outstanding doctoral research in the
field of supply chain management. While at Cleveland State University, he was also a recipient
of the Doctoral Dissertation Research Award and Dean's Outstanding Achievement Award.
One of his articles was awarded the 2007 JPSM Best Paper Award. Additionally, another of his
article was also awarded the 2004 JOM Best Paper Finalist Award. He has published more than
35 refereed journal articles. His primary research interests are in supply chain management,
strategic sourcing, inter-organizational relationships, and sustainable supply chain management. Many
of his papers are highly cited by research within supply chain management.
Course Objectives and Key Take Away

In order to achieve competitive advantage in the dynamic marketplace, organizations must go

beyond the traditional ways of looking at data. Specifically, they must use analytic tools for
converting data into information, which can be eventually used for effective decision making as
well as informed strategy formulation. Against this backdrop, business analytics can be used to
significantly improve performance along key dimensions as well as enable firms to make
effective strategic decisions. The art of modeling a business problem, then finding the solution
using analytics, and finally implementing the solution successfully are the hallmarks of
business analytics.

This course will cover analytical techniques built around Classification, Pattern Recognition,
and Prediction as well as their use in making strategic decisions. Additionally, the course will
incorporate hands-on experience wherein students will solve analytic problems with the main
focus on interpretation. The course will use the software package ‘R’ for taking the students
from a mere journey of concepts into the practical world of business analytics.

Among others, the students participating in this course will be able to:

 Have a good grasp of analytic techniques with an applied orientation

 Learn the conceptual framework of analytics and discern how to apply them for sound
decision making
 Gain hands-on experience in using analytics (specifically, R) as well as interpreting re-
sults for business solutions
 Derive insights from data so as to be ready for coping with a highly competitive and dy-
namic marketplace.

Learning Goals: In addition to the course objectives mentioned above, students should expect
to develop the following by end of the course
1. Decision Making Skills and Analytical Ability : An ability to arrive at a feasible criteria
for implementation of a decision among a set of equally competitive possibilities ;
through quantitative and / or qualitative analysis of data and contextual information /
industry analysis . (Assessment through Individual / Group Project / Examination
based on publicly available data sets / competitor information / industry analysis re-
quiring justification and identification of the most acceptable decision based on a given
set of pre defined parameters )
2. Critical Analysis and Creative Communication Skills: Each student should be able to
identify key issues relevant to this course, develop a perspective supported by externally
obtained / instructor provided information ; capacity to distinguish between major, mi-
nor, peripheral and irrelevant factors as well as exogenous and endogenous variables ;
and present and defend the decision arrived at based on the assessment criteria already
established. (Assessment through case discussion and analysis)
3. Interpersonal Communication and Group Working Ability: Each student is required to
demonstrate an ability to appreciate peer group member view point and work in team
environment, exhibiting a clear understanding of individual roles and tasks, ability to
identify and resolve interpersonal conflicts and contribute in achieving team goals. (As-
 sessment through team based project work preferably allowing for adjustments for dif-
ferences in terms of intra group effort and contribution – e.g peer assessment ; viva
voce )

Required Text Book:

Data Mining for Business Intelligence
Galit Shmueli, Nitin R Patel, and Peter C. Bruce
Wiley India PVT Ltd

Additional Readings:
We will be using the cases provided in the following book as well:
Marketing Research
Naresh Malhotra (Pearson)

EVALUATION COMPONENTS:

Components of Course Evaluation Percentage Distribution

Group Activities 30
Mid Term Examination 30
End Term Examination 40
Total 100

COURSE MATERIAL AND HANDOUTS:

Soft copies of course material including case studies will be uploaded to e-learning
platform “Learning Exchange. Hard copies will be distributed prior to the class (If
required) .

SESSION WISE TOPICS AND READINGS:

Session No-1
Session Title Overview of Business Analytics; Recap on ‘R’
Reading Material Chapter 1
Additional Reading
Case Title
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-2
Session Title Regression (multiple, dummy, logistic)
Reading Material Chapters 5 and 8
Additional Reading
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-3
Session Title Regression (multiple, dummy, logistic)
Reading Material Chapters 5 and 8
Additional Reading
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-4
Session Title Regression (multiple, dummy, logistic)
Reading Material Chapters 5 and 8
Additional Reading
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-5
Session Title Data Exploration and Dimension Reduction
Reading Material Chapter 3
Additional Reading
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-6
Session Title Data Exploration and Dimension Reduction
Reading Material Chapter 3
Additional Reading
Case
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-7
Session Title Data Exploration and Dimension Reduction
Reading Material Chapter 3
Additional Reading
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-8
Session Title Cluster Analysis
Reading Material Chapter 12
Additional Reading
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-9
Session Title Cluster Analysis
Reading Material Chapter 12
Additional Reading
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-10
Session Title Discriminant Analysis
Reading Material
Additional Reading Reading material will be assigned
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-11
Session Title Conjoint Analysis
Reading Material
Additional Reading Reading material will be assigned
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-12
Session Title Conjoint Analysis
Reading Material
Additional Reading Reading material will be assigned
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Lecture /Discussion/Practice

Session No-13
Session Title Group Exercises on Cases from book
Reading Material
Additional Reading
CaseTitle
Pedagogy Group Exercises / Presentation

ATTENDANCE

Regularity in Attendance

Regular attendance is considered extremely important in the PGPM. All students

therefore, must comply on regular attendance in class. The relative deduction of
grade points due to shortage of attendance is explained in the table below.
Students having attendance of less than 60% (irrespective of medical certificates)
shall not be permitted to appear for the examination in that term/academic year
and will carry “F” grade in the course.

Institute uses biometric attendance for recording attendance of students. In the

event of two continuous sessions, students are required to punch twice at the
beginning of each session if there is a break in between the sessions.

The class room doors will be closed within 5 minutes of starts for each session.
Student attendance will be a component while grading them for the course. If the
instructor wishes to take physical attendance along with the Biometric
attendance, they will communicate the same in the class. In this case also
Biometric attendance will be the official record (and not the physical attendance)
for the course. Instructors have been advised to report about habitual absentees
(habitual absentee is defined as students absent in the class for more than three
classes consecutively).

Unauthorized absence from class/institute will be considered a breach of discipline and

the Institute will be free to take appropriate action in such cases. The same student will
be asked to face disciplinary committee. Students will not be given any attendance for
any committee related activities which warrants them to drop from the class. They are
required to undertake all committee related work beyond class hours.

Under extra-ordinary circumstances, students may obtain leave of absence under the
following rules and procedures:

 Prior permission of the Director PGPM must be obtained for availing of leave.
Students are not permitted to go out of station during the terms. In the event of
students visiting their local guardian for overnight stay, they must inform the
Director PGPM and admin office (Officer in charge of hostels) and only travel after
receiving a proper gate pass. If a student is noticed to be out of station for overnight
without any intimation to the Director PGPM, disciplinary action will be taken
against him/her to the extent of debarring the student from appearing in the
examinations.
 In case of sickness, medical certificate issued and/or countersigned by the doctor
along with the prescribed application form must be submitted to the PGPM Office
within 3 days of joining classes after illness. No student shall be allowed to join the
program unless he/she presents a medical fitness certificate duly endorsed by a
Medical Officer of the designated hospital only. No medical certificates from doctors
other than the Institute approved hospital will be entertained.

 Institute's approved hospital’s Medical Officers will issue medical certificates only in
case of diagnosed illness where they are convinced that the student is too ill to
attend classes. These include hospitalization, communicable diseases (chicken-pox,
jaundice and typhoid) and accidental injuries (fractures, deep traumas).
 For grounds other than sickness, leave will be allowed to students in exceptional
cases depending on the genuinity of the case by the PGPM Director. However no
compensatory attendance and examination will be held for the period of leave.
Students will be awarded grades on the basis of their attendance level and
performance only in the classes from which they were present. Before applying for
leave to the Director PGPM a student should contact his/her course instructors to
ensure that he/she is not missing any quizzes or examinations during the leave
period.

 The PGP Office or the faculty concerned will not be responsible for the student
losing any segment of evaluation on account of his/her leave. No compensatory
opportunity will be given for quizzes and other class room based components on
account of leave of any kind.

Attendance and Performance Grade Penalty

Each student is expected to attend a minimum of 80% of classes in each course. The
grade penalty will be imposed on all the students who do not meet the minimum 80%
attendance requirements in each course in the following manner:

Attendance of Student Performance Grade Penalty

More than or equal to 70% but less than
One grade drop (e.g. from A to A-)
80%
More than or equal to 60% but less than
Two grade drop (e.g. from A to B+)
70%
Less than 60% F grade will be awarded

If a student gets D grade in a particular course and also gets a grade drop due to
attendance shortage, 'D' will become an 'F' grade.

If a student fails to meet the specified attendance requirement, his/her grade in the
respective course(s) would be lowered by the Director PGPM in accordance with the
grade penalty rules laid down above.

Exiting and Entering

Students are expected to remain in the classroom, be mentally alert, and

participate in the class proceedings for the duration. If a student must leave early
for unavoidable reasons, that student should obtain permission from the
professor before the class begins. Leaving and re-entering the class is not
permitted, except under extraordinary circumstances. Faculty members may
cross check the attendance and if a student is found absent in the class, the case
will be sent to discipline committee and actions will be taken by the committee.

Norms of Behavior
Students should demonstrate respect for Faculty and fellow students. Respectful
behavior contributes to the enhanced learning experience. Students should
refrain from disruptive behavior such as eating, using laptops, and holding side-
conversations. Using laptops during is allowed only on the instruction of the
professor. If necessary, the students are expected to seek redress for grievances at
a proper forum instead of seeking an immediate solution.

All grievances may be addressed to the PGPM-Director or respective functional

heads and in his absence, to the Executive Director. In such cases, a copy should
be marked to the above.

Respect the Facilities

Students are expected to help maintain chairs, display screen, desktop

computers, LCDs, tables, window curtains and electrical fittings in good usable
condition and not damage them or render them useless. Students are expected
not to destroy the classroom ambience. The cost of damage, loss or theft on
account of students will be recovered from them. When this cannot be attributed
to one student, the cost will be recovered from an identifiable group of which the
individual is a part or from the entire batch. Students are expected to use cans to
dispose of trash. They are also encouraged to remove defacing or unclean
material voluntarily.

Essentially, students should always use proper reporting and escalating

mechanisms for concerns and issues. Under no circumstances should students
take matters into their own hands. Students are expected to use only the
students’ dining hall for dining. Classrooms or any of the other administrative or
academic areas shall not be used for dining.

Great Lakes has adopted the principle of preserving the environment. Therefore,
it tries to inculcate in the minds of its students and staff, a sense of being one
with nature causing no harm anytime, anywhere, and under any circumstances
which will result in damage to the environment.

Smoking, chewing tobacco and drinking alcohol in and around the premises is
strictly prohibited. Severe penalties will accrue to those students caught violating
this.

Use of Laptops in the class

Use of laptops in the class is strictly prohibited during class hours, unless
specifically authorized by the Faculty or the Academic Administration.

Biometric Readers:
Bio-metric readers are installed for attendance in class rooms. Students must reg-
ister their attendance using only these devices.