disc 112-computers and problem solving-shazib e sheikh _ naiman jalil

Lahore University of Management Sciences

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DISC 112– Computers and Problem Solving Spring 2012-13

Instructors Muhammad Naiman Jalil

Shazib E. Shaikh Room No. 426 (SDSB Building) - Naiman

412 (SDSB Building) – Shazib Office Hours By appointment Email [email protected]

[email protected] Telephone 8038 – Naiman

8025 – Shazib Secretary/TA TA Office Hours Course URL (if any) DISC 112 - Computers & Problem Solving portal on http://lms.lums.edu.pk

( Course Basics Credit Hours 4 Lecture(s) Nbr of Lec(s) Per

Week 2 Duration 75 minutes

Recitation/Lab (per week) Nbr of Lec(s) Per Week

Duration

Tutorial (per week) Nbr of Lec(s) Per Week

Duration

Course Distribution Core Yes Elective Open for Student Category

Close for Student Category

COURSE DESCRIPTION Problem solving is an essential skill that managers use in their daily task of decision-making on behalf of their departments, divisions and organizations. The contemporary manager must be aware of the computer-based tools and techniques that can make his/her work more efficient and effective. Computers support problem solving in two essential ways: (1) handling heavy data-driven decisions and (2) problems were the number of component issues are too many for the human mind to handle mathematically. Built around the popular office tool, Microsoft Excel, this course is an introduction to problem-solving using computers.

COURSE PREREQUISITE(S) None

mailto:[email protected]�

mailto:[email protected]�

http://lms.lums.edu.pk/�


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COURSE OBJECTIVES • After completing this course student will potentially be able to: • Use computer-based tools to model business problems more effectively.

This includes scenarios such as: o Extracting essential analysis from a spreadsheet of data, or even external data; o Represent data using charts; o Build spreadsheets that can model profit and loss accounts and basic financial analysis o Automate very basic repetitive tasks of analysis and user input/output

• Understand basic concept of “modeling” and how this approach can help in using computers to solve problems. • Understand, in generl terms, key elements of IT infrastructure (e.g. databases and network protocols) and how they

support “distributed” problem-solving. Learning Outcomes As above

Grading Breakup and Policy Quizzes/In-lab Assignments: ....................................................................... 40% (12 each, best 5+5 will be counted) Midterm Examination: ................................................................................ 30% Final Examination: ....................................................................................... 30% (Post-mid only)

Examination Detail

Midterm Exam

Yes/No: Yes Combine Separate: Combine Duration: 3 hours Preferred Date: Saturday 16th March, 2013 Exam Specifications: Pre Mid Syllabus, Calculator and Formula Help sheet Allowed. Close Book and Notes

Final Exam

Yes/No: Yes Combine Separate: Duration: 3 hours Exam Specifications: Post Mid Syllabus, Calculator and Formula Help sheet Allowed. Close Book and Notes

Textbook(s)/Supplementary Readings

[Text] Frye, Curtis D. (2010) Step-by-Step: Microsoft Excel 2010, Microsoft Press. [Text] Powell, S. G. & Baker, K. R. (2009) Management Science: the Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets, 3/e, Wiley. [Ref.] Jacobs, Kathy (2007) Microsoft Office Excel 2007: The L Line, the Express Line to learning, Wiley.

Attendance and Quiz Policy Your class presence is required. Therefore by missing a class you forfeit an opportunity to participate in class activities. Maximum four (4) absences are tolerated: up to two pre-mid and up to two post-mid. Any further absences shall count towards deduction from your overall grade. Petitions should be submitted along with proper documentation (e.g. a medical certificate certifying illnesses or OSA certifying participation in OSA activity) and shall be approved on case by case basis. You are required to attend with your designated section. Neither quiz nor attendance can be transferred to any other section. A total of twelve (12) announced quizzes shall be given throughout the course, usually at the beginning of the class. The best five (5) pre-mid and best five (5) post-mid (for each student) shall count towards quiz component of overall grade. A missed (without petition approval) quiz will automatically be graded zero (0).


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Course Outline* Session

No. Topics Text to Read Instructor

SES = Shazib Shaikh

NJ = Naiman Jalil

Auditorium/ Lab

1 Intro. to Computers & Problem-Solving + Course Admin. Guidelines

- SES/NJ Auditorium

2 Introduction to Spreadsheets: Cells, Ranges, Worksheets & Workbooks

Curtis D. Frye: Chapter 1 NJ Lab

3 Formatting and Entering Data Curtis D. Frye: Chapter 2 & 4

NJ Lab

4 Performing Calculations on Data Curtis D. Frye: Chapter 3 NJ Lab 5 Filtering Specific Data Curtis D. Frye: Chapter 5 NJ Lab 6 Sorting Data Curtis D. Frye: Chapter 6 NJ Lab 7 Creating Charts Curtis D. Frye: Chapter 10 NJ Lab 8 Advance Excel Functions (logical, statistical and

lookup functions) Powell & Baker: Chapter 4 (Excerpt )

NJ Lab

9 Analysing Alternative Data (Goal Seek, Scenario Manager and Solver)


10 Combining Data from Multiple Sources Curtis D. Frye: Chapter 7 NJ Lab 11 Databases, DBMS & Networks NJ Lab 12 Creating Dynamic Worksheets by using Pivot

Tables Curtis D. Frye: Chapter 9 NJ Lab

13 Creating Dynamic Worksheets by using Pivot Tables


14 Automating Repetitive Tasks using Marcos Curtis D. Frye: Chapter 12 NJ Lab 15 Macros and Programming with VBA Kathy Jacobs: Chapter 15 NJ Lab 16

MID-TERM EXAM

17 Modeling for Problem-Solving Powell & Baker: Ch. 1, Ch. 2 (2.1-2.2;2.4) Cases: - Reid's Rasins - Icebergs for Kuwait

SS Auditorium

18 Problem Analysis using Influence Diagrams Powell & Baker: Ch. 2 (2.3) Cases: - Reid's Rasins - Icebergs for Kuwait

SS Auditorium

19 Influence Diagrams (cont'd) and Craft Skills Powell & Baker: Ch. 2 (2.4) Cases: - Icebergs for Kuwait - Draft TV Commercials

SS Auditorium

20 Spreadsheet Engineering Powell & Baker: Ch. 5 Cases: - Reid's Rasins

SS Auditorium

21 Spreadsheet Engineering: Applications (LAB SESSION)

Powell & Baker: Ch. 5 (Review) Cases: - Icebergs for Kuwait - Draft TV Commercials

SS Lab


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Session No.

Topics Text to Read Instructor SES = Shazib

Shaikh NJ = Naiman Jalil

Auditorium/ Lab

22 Analysis using Spreadsheets: What-if Analysis (LAB SESSION)

Powell & Baker: Ch. 6 (6.1-6.3) Case: Advertising Budget

SS Lab

23 Analysis using Spreadsheets: What-if Analysis, Break-even and Optimization (LAB SESSION)

Powell & Baker: Ch. 6 (6.4-6.5) Cases: - Reid's Rasins - Icebergs for Kuwait

SS Lab

24 Analysis using Spreadsheets: Break-even and Optimization (LAB SESSION)

Case: - DHL Supply Chain

SS Lab

25 Data Analysis for Modeling (LAB SESSION)

Powell & Baker: Ch. 7 (7.1-7.3)

SS Lab

26 Modeling for Financial Analysis (LAB SESSION)

Darden Business Publishing: Evaluating Multi-period Performance

SS Lab

27 Modeling for Financial Analysis (LAB SESSION)

Case: Dhahran Roads (A)

SS Lab

28 REVIEW SS Auditorium *NOTE The instructor reserves the right to make changes to the grading system and the syllabus as appropriate during the semester.

disc 112-computers and problem solving-shazib e sheikh _ naiman jalil

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