Course Syllabus

LMBA 585 OL Leadership Decision Making

3 Credit hours

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION

Emphasizes the importance of data in the decision-making process and how to use and apply quantitative
decision-making methods to analyze data and solve problems. Utilizes Microsoft Excel as the primary analytical
software tool. Provides an overview of the analysis and use of Big Data across the enterprise. Examines
business analytics and decision-making from a leadership perspective.

Prerequisites: Introductory statistics course, prior computer course and permission of Graduate Business.

II. ACADEMIC MISSION

Oral Roberts University’s academic mission is to transform students by the power of the Holy Spirit into whole,
competent servant-leaders through liberal arts and professional education that is fully Christian. Within a
Spirit-filled healing community, administration, faculty, and staff love and serve students by helping them grow
in knowledge, skills, wisdom, character, and spirit. Student transformation is measured through the evaluation
of student expression of University learning outcomes as demonstrated through the following outcomes.

1 Spiritual Integrity
2 Personal Resilience
3 Intellectual Pursuit
4 Global Engagement
5 Bold Vision

The last page of this syllabus, “COURSE INVENTORY for ORU’s Course Objectives,” indicates how this course
supports ORU’s academic mission and ORU’s whole-person approach to learning outcomes.

III. PROGRAM OUTCOMES

This course is offered by the ORU’s College of Business graduate school. This course supports the program
outcomes of the Masters in Business Administration in Leadership. The MBA-L has 6 program learning
outcomes, listed below. By way of introduction, this course supports five of the six outcomes marked below in
bold text and with an asterisk (*).

1. Core Business Knowledge *

Demonstrate in depth understanding of graduate level business knowledge and theory across the major
business disciplines.

LMBA 585 OL Course Syllabus - Page 1 of 8

2. Ethical Leadership*
Demonstrate an application of ethical principles in a personalized and preferred leadership structure and style
3. Global Perspectives*
Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and respect for global perspectives and an ability to analyze market, economic,
social and political trends in a global environment.
4. Ethical Business Information*
Demonstrate appropriate ability to ethically identify, access, evaluate, and apply business information in a
business environment.
5. Oral Communication
Demonstrate competencies in verbal skills using the latest technology when appropriate.
6. Written Communication*
Demonstrate competencies in writing using the latest technology when appropriate.

IV. COURSE GOALS

A. In line with the purpose of this University, this course seeks to do the following:
1. Contribute to the education of the whole person.
2. Sharpen the communication, computation, and critical analysis skills of each student.
3. Encourage the student in acquiring basic knowledge with respect to the use of analytics in
decision making.
B. In line with the purpose of the LMBA program, this course is designed to prepare a student for an
active role in the business world. Leadership Decision Making is part of a program to educate students
who will be spiritually alive, intellectually alert, and physically disciplined to go into every person’s
world and be a positive influence on the business world.
C. In line with departmental objectives, this course seeks to prepare students in the following areas:
1. Critical thinking (skills in reasoning, objectivity, analysis, interpretation, research, and decision
making relevant to the discipline).
2. Communication (abilities in written communication).
3. Broad interpretation of the dynamics of business within a leadership context.

V. COURSE OBJECTIVES

After successfully completing this course, I should be able to:

Understand my strategic role as a business leader in making good business decisions using various analytical
tools (statistical techniques and Excel spreadsheets).
1. Use Microsoft Excel to enhance critical thinking and aid in business decision making.
2. Use various statistical analyses for effective business decision-making.
3. Understand the role of “Big Data” and recognize when analytics can be used to help solve business
problems.
4. Recognize the advantage of using analytics to make business decisions in a globally competitive
environment.
5. Understand the role of the business leader in leading.

VI. TEXTBOOK AND OTHER LEARNING RESOURCES

Before you purchase your required textbook(s), click on the ORU Bookstore link to verify whether digital texts are

LMBA 585 OL Course Syllabus - Page 2 of 8

provided as part of your Follett ACCESS course fee. http://www.bkstr.com/oralrobertsstore/home

Required Materials
Textbooks:

Bell, P. C., & Zaric, G. S. (2013). Analytics for Managers (1st Ed.), New York: Routledge. [Print ISBN:
9780415622691; Digital ISBN: 9781136255342]

Pullan, P. & Archer, J., Eds. (2013). Business Analysis & Leadership: Influencing Change. Philadelphia: Kogan Page.
[Print ISBN: 9780749468620; Digital ISBN: 9780749468637]

Dietrich, B. L., Plachy, E. G., Norton, M. F. (2014). Analytics Across the Enterprise: How IBM Realizes Business Value
from Big Data and Analytics. Boston: IBM Press. [Print ISBN: 9780133833034; Digital ISBN: 9780133835885]

Optional Materials
Additional readings (blogs, editorials, news articles, journal articles, videos, etc.) may be required or
recommended throughout the course.

VII. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

A. University Policies and Procedures
1. Plagiarism: The ORU Catalog explicitly addresses the issue of plagiarism. Make sure you know
ORU’s policy on plagiarism and what is considered plagiarism.
2. Privacy: By law, students are entitled to privacy regarding their records. The Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended and available in the ORU University Catalog,
sets forth requirements designed to protect the privacy of student education records. The law
governs access to records maintained by educational institutions and the release of information
from those records.
3. Whole Person Assessment Requirements:
a. Critical Thinking Assessment – Term Cases (Project 12). Although this assessment will not
affect your grade, it is required for the course and you will not receive a course grade until you
upload your file.
b. Artifacts not submitted electronically or incorrectly submitted receive a zero for that
assignment.

B. School and/or Department Policies and Procedures

1. Participation: Participation in each online class through discussion forums, assignments, and all
other course activities count as your attendance in the course. Lack of participation can reduce a
student’s grade or deny credit for the course.
2. Class Assignments
a. Students need to have the appropriate textbooks, course materials, and other supplies as
designated by the professor.
b. Professors may refuse to accept an assignment if it has inappropriate content, does not meet
the assignment’s criteria (e.g., not typed, incorrectly documented), is incomplete, is suspected
of plagiarism, or is turned in too late.
3. Late Work
a. The student is responsible for obtaining class assignments and materials, and all work is
expected to be completed as scheduled. The professor may not accept late work, or it may
result in a lower grade. Computer or Internet malfunctions do not constitute an excuse for
late work; students should have their work prepared in time to ensure that they can get it

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 completed, edited, and proofread prior to the instructor’s due date. These responsibilities
assist the student in professional development.
b. Generally, assignments missed from a serious sickness or family crises can be made up and the
instructor should be notified as soon as possible to reach an agreement on due dates and
possible penalties. Each instructor has his or her own late-work policy. Instructors use their
own judgment in accepting late work.
4. Incompletes
On rare occasions, the grade of “I” may be given for work that is incomplete at the time grades are
given. It is given only after the instructor and the department chair or college dean approve a
petition submitted by the student that his or her work is incomplete for good cause. Good cause
typically consists of a catastrophic event in which the student is prevented from completing the
course requirements. It is the responsibility of the student to initiate the petition through
http://petitions.oru.edu, make up any incomplete work, and ask the instructor to submit a grade
change to the registrar. If the work is not completed by the end of the subsequent session, the
incomplete will automatically convert to an “F.” For graduating seniors, the degree will be
awarded in the term that the student completes his or her course work, not the final term of
enrollment.
5. Citations
Textbook(s) and materials for the course are listed using standard citation style (APA, MLA,
Chicago, Turabian, etc.). Since other styles may be used in disciplines other than the one used in
this course or school, the ORU Citing and Documenting Sources pages offer a collection of styles
students may choose from. This course asks that students be consistent in whatever style they use
throughout the course.

C. Online Programs Policies and Procedures

1. Communicating with your Instructor: All email communication between students and faculty will
be through their ORU.edu emails.
2. Learning Community: Online learning community is established through active participation in the
threaded weekly discussions. The mutual exchange of ideas, information, and experiences is an
essential part of the learning process, and students are encouraged to use the discussion forum as
virtual classroom platform.
3. ADA and Students with Disabilities:
• Click here ( http://www.brightspace.com/about/accessibility/ ) to view Desire2Learn's
"Accessibility Resources for Students with Disabilities."
• Students requiring Disability Services from ORU, https://goo.gl/dLHnnM
• Desire2Learn (D2L) Accessibility Guidelines and Checklist: https://goo.gl/Ck4RwY
• D2L Accessibility Policy: https://www.d2l.com/accessibility/
4. Useful Links for Online Students:
• Student Learning Glossary
• Library: http://library.oru.edu.
• D2L Helpdesk: [email protected]
• I.T. Student Helpdesk: [email protected]
• Netiquette and Online Discussions: https://goo.gl/f744AY
• Contact the University: please fill out this online form. Please first contact your instructor for
assistance with any matter specific to the course.

D. Course Policies and Procedures

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1. Evaluation Procedures: The final grade will be based on forum discussions, projects, and a final
exam. The weight of each item is included in the Course Calendar. Extra credit items are not
offered in this course.

Grade Weight Category

35% Forum Discussions
38.5% Projects
10% Term Case Studies
6% Final Exam Essay
11% Final Exam Problems

2. Evaluation Procedure:
A=90-100% B=80-89% C=70-79% D=60-69% F=59% and below.

3. Other Policies and/or Procedures

None

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VIII. COURSE CALENDAR
The Course Calendar shows the specific learning activities and assessments for this course, along with their
respective grade weights. Further descriptions for activities and assessments are in their respective weeks in
D2L. When applicable, ¥ Indicates this is a Whole Person Assessment item. † indicates this is a faith integration
item tracked by the program.

Week 1 Excel Review Hours Weight

View/Listen/Read 2 --
Forum 1: Excel Experience 2 2.5%
Project 1: Spreadsheets and More Spreadsheets 6 3.5%
Week 2 Descriptive Statistics Review and Decision Making Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 3 --
Forum 2: Descriptive Statistics and Decision Making 3 2.5%
Project 2: Descriptive Statistics Exercises 4 3.5%
Week 3 Descriptive Statistics Review and Decision Making Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 2 --
Forum 3: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics 3 2.5%
Project 3: Inferential Statistics Exercises 5 3.5%
Week 4 Levels of Analytics Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 2 --
Forum 4: SAS's Eight Levels of Analytics 3 2.5%
Project 4: IBM Assignment 4 3.5%
Week 5 Models and Model Building Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 2 --
Forum 5a: Five Leadership Practices 3 2.5%
Forum 5b: IBM Case Study Analysis Discussion 3 2.5%
Project 5: Chapter 2 Problem 1 3 3.5%
Week 6 Analyzing Sequential Decisions Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 1 --
Forum 6: Essence of the Problem-Abstractions 3 2.5%
Project 6: Chapter 3 Problem 1 5 3.5%
Project 12: Start working on Term Cases (due week 12) -- (10%)
Week 7 Data Driven Decision Making – Part 1 Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 1.5 --
Forum 7: Risk and Decision-Making 3 2.5%
Project 7: China Trade Data Checklist 4 3.5%
Project 12: continue working on Term Cases (due week 12) -- (10%)
Week 8 Data Driven Decision Making – Part 2 Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 1.5 --
Forum 8: visualizations 3 2.5%
Project 8: Chapter 4 Problem 3 5 3.5%
Project 12: Continue working on Term Cases (due week 12) -- (10%)
Week 9 Predictive Modeling - Part 1 Simple Linear Regression Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 2 --
Forum 9: Knowledge Sharing and Patterns 3 2.5%
Project 9: Chapter 5 Problem 1 5 3.5%
Project 12: continue working on Term Cases (due week 12) -- (10%)

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Week 10 Predictive Modeling − Part 2 Multiple Regression Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 2.5 --
Forum 10: Dealing with Problems † 3 2.5%
Project 10: Chapter 5 Problem 2 5 3.5%
Project 12: Continue working on Term Cases (due week 12) -- (10%)
Week 11 Simultaneous Decision Problems Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 2.5 --
Forum 11: Strategy and the Business Analyst 3 2.5%
Project 11: Chapter 7 Problem 2 5 3.5%
Project 12: Continue working on Term Cases (due week 12) -- (10%)
Week 12 Analytics as a Strategy to Achieve Competitive Advantage Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read 2 --
Forum 12: Thought Leadership and Strategy 3 2.5%
Project 12: Term Cases 6 10%
Week 13 Final Exam Hours Weight
View/Listen/Read -- --
Forum 13: What I Learned 2 2.5%
Project 13a: Final Exam Short Questions 2 6%
Project 13b: Final Exam Spreadsheet Problems 5 11%
Course Total estimated hours based upon an average of
128 100%
Total 10 hours per week for 13 weeks

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IX. COURSE INVENTORY
For ORU’s Course Objectives
LMBA 585

This inventory indicates the extent to which this Course’s Objectives contribute to the Outcomes of its
primary Program, and aligned upward to one or more of ORU’s University Outcomes (in grey below):

• Significant Contribution – Addresses the outcome directly and includes targeted assessment.
• Moderate Contribution – Addresses the outcome directly or indirectly and includes some assessment.
• Minimal Contribution – Addresses the outcome indirectly and includes little or no assessment.

OUTCOMES Significant Moderate Minimal

1. Spiritual Integrity
PO4. Ethical Business Information: Demonstrate appropriate ability to ethically
identify, access, evaluate, and apply business information in a business X
environment.

2. Personal Resilience

3. Intellectual Pursuit
PO1. Core Business Knowledge: Demonstrate in depth understanding of
graduate level business knowledge and theory across the major business X
disciplines.
• CO1. Use Microsoft Excel to enhance critical thinking and aid in
X
business decision making.
• CO2. Use various statistical analyses for effective business decision-
X
making.
• CO3. Understand the role of “Big Data” and recognize when analytics
X
can be used to help solve business problems.
PO6. Written Communication: Demonstrate competencies in writing using the
X
latest technology when appropriate.
• CO2. Use various statistical analyses for effective business decision-
X
making.

4. Global Engagement
PO3. Global Perspectives: Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and respect for
global perspectives and an ability to analyze market, economic, social and X
political trends in a global environment.
• CO5. Understand the role of the business leader in leading. X

5. Bold Vision
PO2. Ethical Leadership: Demonstrate an application of ethical principles in a
X
personalized and preferred leadership structure and style.
• CO4. Recognize the advantage of using analytics to make business
X
decisions in a globally competitive environment.

© Oral Roberts University, All Rights Reserved.

This syllabus is subject to change without notice up until the first day of the semester.
Oral Roberts University | 7777 S. Lewis Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74171
E-mail: [email protected] | Web site: http://www.oru.edu

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