Download 1 MISY 830: Decision Support and Analysis Alfred Lerner College of

MISY 830: Decision Support and Analysis
Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics
University of Delaware
Winter, 2009
Instructor:
Office:
Telephone:
Dr. John H. Wragge (raw-gee’)
Office Hrs.:
214 Purnell Hall
831-1807 (office)
(610) 793-2389 (home)
Fax:
E-mail:
[email protected]
Course Web Site: http://www.buec.udel.edu/wraggej/MISY830/
5:00 – 5:45 pm MW
and by appointment
(302) 831-4676
Course objective and description:
This course focuses on decision support applications. Business Intelligence and Knowledge Management
are emphasized. Business Intelligence refers to the use of IT to analyze complex information about an
organization and its competitors for use in business planning and decision making. The objective is to
create more timely and higher quality input to the decision process. Knowledge Management refers to
the ways that organizations gather, manage, and use the knowledge they acquire. Topics covered in the
course include modeling decision processes, data mining, expert systems and AI, group decision support,
and executive information systems.
Text Materials:
- Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems, 8th ed., by Turban, Aronson, Liang &
Sharda (Prentice Hall; 2007); ISBN-10: 0131986600 and ISBN-13: 9780131986602 Note: An
online e-book appears to be available from the publisher. More information on the e-book can be
found at: http://www.coursesmart.com/0131986635
- We will be considering a number of the functions/features of Excel. Sufficient information will
be provided in class and via Excel’s on-line Help.
- We will use an Expert System shell (which will be available as a free download). Tutorials and a
User’s Manual will be available for free download.
Requirements:
% of Final Grade
Paper …………………………………..
30
Weekly Assignments ………………….
30
Expert System Assignment ……………
15
Current Event Presentation ……………
5
Discussion/Participation/Attendance
20
100
Paper: Each student will prepare an 8-10 page paper (plus references and exhibits) on a topic relating to
decision support and analysis. The professor must approve the topic. Possibilities include the
application of decision support tools to specific industries. Five of the 30 points will be for a 10minute presentation to the class. Guidelines to follow and sample topics will be discussed/
distributed in class (and available on the class website). A topic is due by 1/16. Completed
papers are due no later than 2/7 (Saturday).
Weekly Assignments: Each week students will be asked to complete an individual written assignment
relating to the material for that week. This may include written questions, case analysis, and
Excel assignments. There will be four of these assignments. The last will include a portion of an
integrative nature and will, therefore, be worth more points than the first three.
Expert System Assignment: Each student will construct a simple expert system using an expert system
shell. Details of the assignment including downloading the shell, etc. will be discussed in class.
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Current Event Presentation: Each student will make a short presentation to the class about some
decision support or IT topic they feel would be of interest to the class. This may include the
demonstration of software. The presentation should not exceed 10 minutes. Please e-mail your
topic to the professor in advance.
Discussion/Participation: Your contribution to class discussion is an important part of the course.
Attendance is expected and each student is responsible for all material assigned. If you must
miss class for business travel, work, etc., please let me know. If you must be absent when an
assignment is due, please make arrangements with me. Discussion/participation will include the
discussion of assigned readings/problems in class. Also, please read the Evaluation of
Contributions to Class Discussion/Participation section of this syllabus.
Grades: Final letter grades will be assigned using the following percentage break-points: 93 = A; 90 =
A-; 87 = B+; 75 = B; 72 = B-; 68 = C; D = 60; Below 60 = F.
Evaluation of Contributions to Class Discussion/Participation
Nearly all interactions in an organization are oral. Course participants are from diverse backgrounds and
we all learn from shared experiences. For these reasons, the development of your oral communication
skills (speaking and listening) is important in executive education. Effective participation is
characterized by:
*Relevant points rather than repetition of facts
*Interpretation and integration of points made previously
*Willingness to test new ideas
*Challenges/tests ideas presented by others
*Reflects thorough understanding of the facts relating to the assignment
I am looking for involved participation which is different from attentive note-taking and passive
listening. Your contribution is gauged and points (and consequently final grades) will be assigned based
on the following categories:
-
Outstanding: Comments reflect thorough preparation. Comments provide major insight and
direction for the class. Requires active participation. (16-20)
Good: The student is thoroughly prepared. Requires at least frequent participation. (11-15)
Adequate: Contributions reflect adequate preparation. Requires at least semi-frequent
participation (6-10)
Non-participant: The person has said little or nothing in class. There is no basis for evaluation.
This person has no effect on the quality of class discussion. (0-5 depending on attendance)
Unsatisfactory: Contributions demonstrate inadequate preparation. In Class comments are
isolated, obvious, and often confusing. This person wastes class time. (0)
Dishonest Behavior
Dishonest and/or unethical behavior will not be tolerated. Such behavior includes (but is not limited to)
cheating, copying homework, and plagiarism. Students are expected to maintain independence in fact
and appearance. For further information and a statement of official University Policy, students should
consult the "Official Student Handbook".
Limitations
The course plan presented in this course syllabus will be followed to the extent possible. However, it
may be necessary to make changes in the form of additions, deletions, and/or modifications (e.g.,
changing due dates and/or minor changes in the distribution of points). Any changes will be announced
in class with sufficient lead-time. It is each student's responsibility to be aware of all announcements
made in class.
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Reading Assignments
(Individual sections will be assigned in class)
Week
Date
1
Jan 05
Introduction
Jan 07
Ch 1
Ch 2
Decision Support Systems and Business Intelligence
Decision Making, Systems Modeling, and Support
Jan 12
Ch 4
Ch 12
Modeling and Analysis
Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
Jan 14
Ch 12
Ch 18
Ch 5
Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
Knowledge Acquisition, Representation, and Reasoning
Data Warehousing
Jan 19
NO CLASS - Martin Luther King Holiday (UD classes suspended)
Jan 21
Ch 6
Ch 7
Business Analytics and Data Visualization
Data, Text and Web Mining
Jan 26
Ch 8
Ch 9
Neural Networks for Data Mining
Business Performance Management
Jan 28
Ch 10
Ch 11
Collaborative Computer-Supported Technologies and Group Support Sys.
Knowledge Management
Feb 02
Ch 17 Enterprise Systems
Presentations
Feb 04
Presentations
Feb 07
Papers due no later than Saturday
2
3
4
5
Chapter
3