NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

NUS Business School

Department of Decision Sciences

BMA5002 Analytics for Managers

Lecturer:A/P CHU Singfat

Session:Semester I, 2011/2012

  1. Brief description of module

Many fresh MBA graduates start their career as consultant / analyst advising the Supply Chain, Marketing, Finance and HR departments on process re-engineering i.e. making them more efficient, profitable and customer-centric. This course aims to prepare participants towards such jobs by equipping them with a scientific / analytical mindset i.e. informed Management based on data, models and sensitivity analyses.

Through case analyses and their presentation, participants will gain exposure to

  • Decision and Risk Analyses i.e. Systematic assessment of Strategies, Risks, and Payoffs using Decision Trees and Sensitivity Analyses.
  • Business Optimization Models i.e. how to allocate scarce resources productively e.g. Optimal Product / Advertising Mix, Revenue Management, Hub Location, BPO, Portfolio Optimization, Supply Chain Optimization, Cash Flow Optimization, …
  • Simulation for hard-to-analyse applications e.g. Cash Balance Management, Hedging decisions, Market Share Dynamics, Sell now or later?, ....
  • Data Mining and Forecasting Tools:
  • Pivot Table for exploratory CRM
  • Regression Models e.g. analytical CRM i.e. customer segmentation. You will be exposed to advanced regression models using dummy and interaction variables.
  • Time series models to extract trends and seasonalities (e.g. GDP forecasting etc.)

Microsoft Excel (e.g. SOLVER, PivotTable) and add-in software e.g. PrecisionTree, StatTools, @RISK will be used as analytical enablers throughout the module.

  1. Textbook
  • Data Analysis, Optimization and Simulation Modelingby Albright, Zappe, Winston, 4th edition, 2011

The text is a must –buy as:

  1. The numerous examples in the textwill provide useful references to you in the future.
  2. It comes with a “premium website access card” which among other functionalities allows you to download and use the industrial version of the DecisionTools software suite for a period of 2 years.

3. Assessment

Weekly team case analysis / presentation 25%

Team Project / Presentation20%

3 in-class individual case analyses 45%

Participation 10%

NOTES:

  • Classes start at 6.15 pm with a 15 mins break around 7.30 pm.
  • Bring your laptop to EVERY class.
  • The DecisionTools software suite (PrecisionTree, @Risk, StatTools etc) runs alongside MS Excel on the Windows platform. It does NOT run on the native Apple or Linux etc. platform. Use the “premium website access card” placed at the front of the text to download it (~150 MB: takes 1 hour!) as indicated by this arrow. DoNOT click anything else on this screen.
  • We will use SOLVER in the very first class. This is a tool native to MS Excel. Check for its availability by clicking F1 (or help) and search “solver”
  • With SOLVER and the DecisionTools software suite checked-in, you are ready for an exciting journey in the world of Business Analytics!
  • To find out more about Business Analytics (i.e. fact-based decisions) , watch this video browse through the articles/videos in the related links on the right hand side of the screen e.g. Deloitte Analytics etc.
  • See you soon!