COURSE: COMM 290 - Quantitative Decision Making

Sections 101, 102, 103, & 104 Course Syllabus

COURSE INFORMATION
Division: Operations and Logistics
Instructors: Greg WERKER (until midterm) ............................................. HA 479
Tim HUH (after midterm) ...................................................... HA 465
Office hours: See instructors’ pages on Connect.
Course Administrator: Abril Castillo ..................................................... UGO
Email: comm290@sauder.ubc.ca
Course duration: September – December, 2017

ADMINISTRATION
All administrative enquiries should be addressed to the Course Administrator: comm290@sauder.ubc.ca.
All course content-related questions must be addressed by your instructor during office hours and/or
lectures. Please do not email your instructor or Excel lab TA with content questions.
Section changes and new registrations: Instructors and TAs cannot authorize section changes to
lectures or labs. Please contact the Commerce Undergraduate Office (UGO) for any such requests.

REQUIRED EXCEL LABS (beginning in Week 1)

Commerce 290 Excel labs begin during the FIRST WEEK of classes. If you have computer-related
questions please ask your lab TA. Excel labs are conducted on Windows computers. However, you may
use either Mac or Windows versions of Excel for homework and other related coursework.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Commerce 290 provides an introduction to modeling, analyzing and solving business decision problems
under certainty and uncertainty. By developing good modeling skills, students will begin to develop
managerial insight in a variety of problems that arise in business settings. The course also develops
concepts of uncertainty, probability and simulation which are the foundation of many business problems.
Microsoft Excel will be used to model and solve many of these problems.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Use analytical skills to create a precise and structured understanding of a complex business
problem.
• Use Excel and appropriate algebra to structure, model and solve linear programming (LP) and
other quantitative problems which will allow for dynamic changes.
• Perform sensitivity analysis algebraically and in Excel and be able to interpret this output in a
managerial setting.
• Understand the benefits and limitations of quantitative models.
• Apply the underlying foundation of probability to construct decision tree models and interpret
solutions in a risk environment.
• Model discrete random variables in business problems and apply formulas in both univariate and
bivariate settings.

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 COURSE: COMM 290 - Quantitative Decision Making
Sections 101, 102, 103, & 104 Course Syllabus

ASSESSMENT
Homework: 6%
iClicker in-class participation: 3%
Excel lab: Participation/attendance: 6%
Midterm exam: 35%
Final exam: 50%

Details
1. The evaluation weights listed above are non-negotiable.
2. To pass the course you must achieve at least 50% on the final exam and at least 50% overall.

INFORMATION ABOUT EXAMINATIONS

Commerce 290 exams are computer-based. During an exam you are not allowed to consult other on-line
resources. This behavior is considered academic misconduct and will result in serious consequences.

Emergency Situations: If, at the last minute, you are going to miss an exam because of an
emergency situation, you must follow the UBC policy by informing the Course Administrator and your
instructor BEFORE the exam is scheduled.

è Midterm Examination
Monday, October 23, from 6:30 – 8:00pm
Room numbers and other information will be posted on Connect closer to the exam date.
• You must bring your UBCcard.
• The midterm is 90 minutes long.
• The exam will be closed book, closed notes. Only non-graphing calculators will be allowed.
• This exam covers all the material up to the end of Week 6 on the course outline.
• Conflicts: The deadline to notify the Course Administrator (comm290@sauder.ubc.ca) of a UBC
course or exam conflict is October 1. After this deadline, a possible re-scheduling for the midterm
may only be granted for properly documented medical and other emergency reasons.

è Final Examination
Date: To be determined by Enrollment Services. The final exam period is December 5 – 20.
• You must bring your UBCcard.
• The exam is 2.5 hours.
• The exam is cumulative; it will cover all the material in the course with an emphasis on the
material after the midterm. Additional details will be posted on Connect.

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 COURSE: COMM 290 - Quantitative Decision Making
Sections 101, 102, 103, & 104 Course Syllabus

INFORMATION ABOUT HOMEWORK (6%)

No late submissions will be accepted for any reason.
There will be 7 homework assignments but only 5 of these will be submitted and count for grades. The
objective of the homework is to help you learn the course material presented in lectures and Excel labs,
to provide practice with the style and type of questions on exams and to expand your understanding of
course material.
Homework is posted on Connect on a Thursday and is due 8 days later at 1:00pm on the following Friday.
Refer to the lecture schedule (below) for homework due dates. Solutions are usually posted a few days
after the homework due date.
You may discuss homework questions with other students but you must submit only your individual work
for grades. Copying any part of another student’s homework will be considered academic misconduct.

iCLICKER IN-CLASS PARTICIPATION (3%)

Lectures, starting in Week 2, will include iClicker questions. Each iClicker question will usually count for
participation (1 mark) and for correctness (1 mark). At the end of the semester, the three lectures with
your lowest iClicker grades will be dropped (e.g., if you forget your iClicker, are sick or have an
appointment).
Students must attend their assigned section to receive credit for iClicker in-class participation.

EXCEL LAB ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION (6%)

Students must attend their assigned Excel lab section (check your time and room number!) to receive
credit for attendance and participation. Students may miss up to one Excel lab per term with no deduction
to their grade.

COURSE RESOURCES AND MATERIALS

Connect: Course notes, assignments, information and other material will be posted on the main COMM
290 Connect page. Note that there is a separate Connect “course” where iClicker grades will be posted.
iClicker: All students must have an iClicker (available for purchase at the UBC Bookstore).
Laptop: The midterm exam and final exam will be computer-based. If you do not have a laptop, email the
course administrator by September 22, 2017 to make arrangements.
Course Package: The course package is available from the bookstore and is mandatory.

EMAIL ETIQUETTE
Please follow these guidelines of email etiquette when emailing the course administrator
(comm290@sauder.ubc.ca). With such a large course (900+ students), these guidelines are necessary:
• In the “From” field, be sure to display your correct name (no email nicknames please).
• Write a brief but clear Subject line that identifies the main issues in the email.
• In the body of your email, include your full name (last name in UPPER CASE letters) and student
number, the course number (COMM290) and section number.
• Use one email address for all correspondence.
• Dont write 2 us like ur txting :)

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 COURSE: COMM 290 - Quantitative Decision Making
Sections 101, 102, 103, & 104 Course Syllabus

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS, BEHAVIOUR AND CODE OF CONDUCT

All students are expected to use common sense when attending lectures and labs with respect to
attendance, being on time, cell phone and laptop use, participation and interactions with others.
COMM 290 follows a “lids down” policy in class. This means all laptops, tablets, and other devices must
be closed during lectures. The instructor will say “lids up” when it is time to use Excel, and you may then
open your device if you wish.
As well, students can expect the instructor to:
1. Design, develop and deliver course materials to the highest possible standard.
2. Be attentive of, and respectful to, everyone in the room.
3. Create an atmosphere where students treat all others appropriately.

SCHEDULE: COMM 290 lectures meet twice per week (1.5 hours each) on M/W. Monday lectures are
“A” and Wednesday lectures are “B”. Labs meet once per week on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.

Date Lec. Topics Details Homework

Sept 4–8 1A Labour Day / Orientation — No classes
1B Introduction to Intro to COMM 290. LP example. Relative
Linear vs. absolute referencing. Solution via trial
Programming (LP) and error.
Lab1 Maggie Stewart Login, Maggie Stewart formulation.
Sept 11–15 2A LPs in Excel SUMPRODUCT(). Solver. Introduce Par
Golf and start formulation.
2B Algebraic Finish Par Golf. Consider model variations.
formulation Algebraic formulation.
Lab2 Par Golf, Maggie Par Golf unit cost, Maggie variations.
Sept 18–22 3A Graphical Graphical formulation. Solve by HW1
formulation enumeration. Other solution method? Sept 22 at
3B Isoprofit lines, Isoprofit lines. Sensitivity analysis of 1:00pm
sensitivity analysis objective coefficients. Multiple optima.
Lab3 Egg Diet Egg Diet formulation — 3 variables.
Sept 25–29 4A Shadow price Shadow price. Idea of allowable increase HW2
and decrease. Sensitivity report in Excel. Sept 29 at
4B Blending models Egg diet algebraic formulation and 1:00pm
sensitivity report. Introduce Lucky Strike
(blending)… begin algebraic formulation.
Lab4 Textile Mills Textile Mills formulation.
Oct 2–6 5A Optional Help Graphical formulation, solving graphically, HW3
Session sensitivity analysis. Oct 6 at
5B Blending models, Lucky Strike in Excel. Multiple optima. 1:00pm
special topics. Interpretation of shadow price. Infeasible,
unbounded.
Lab5 No lab

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 COURSE: COMM 290 - Quantitative Decision Making
Sections 101, 102, 103, & 104 Course Syllabus

Oct 9–13 6A Thanksgiving — No classes HW4

6B Scheduling models, Ladner Police (scheduling). Powerco Oct 13 at
Transportation (transportation). Recap of model types in 1:00pm
models. COMM 290.
Lab6 Investments Investments, Lucky Strike (if time).
Oct 16–19 7A Introduction to Train problem. Picking one ball. Island
Probability problem
7B Optional Help Review of LP topics.
Session
Lab7 No lab
Oct 23–27 8A Midterm Exam: Monday, Oct 23, 6:30–8:00pm — No classes
8B Probability: Basic Vocabulary and probability trees. The “or”
rules and relationship.
relationships
Lab8 RAND() Coin toss, island problem.
Oct 30 – 9A Probability: The “and” relationship. Bayes’ formula. HW5
Nov 3 Conditional & joint Nov 3 at
probabilities 1:00pm
9B Decision analysis Conservative, optimistic, regret. EMV and
decision trees.
Lab9 Probability Probability trees, Bayes’ theorem.
Nov 6–10 10A Value of EVPI. Introduce Good-Lame.
information
10B Value of EVSI. Continue Good-Lame.
information
continued
Lab10 No lab
Nov 13–17 11A Remembrance Day Stat Holiday — No classes HW6
11B Probability Discrete random variables. Expected value. Nov 17 at
Distributions 1:00pm

Lab11 PDC PDC, Decision Trees.

Nov 20–24 12A Variance Probability distributions continued. HW7
Variance. Expected value of a*X. Nov 24 at
12B Independent Variance of a*X. Sum of independent r.v.s 1:00pm
random variables (E and Var).
Lab12 Charting Charting, VLOOKUP().
Nov 27 – 13A Random Variables Two variables-other relations. E and Var.
Dec 1 13B Optional Help Review of all topics.
Session
Lab13 No lab

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 COURSE: COMM 290 - Quantitative Decision Making
Sections 101, 102, 103, & 104 Course Syllabus

CLASS LIAISON
Every section will elect a Class Liaison. If you have suggestions about classroom organization,
procedures or other relevant issues, feel free to speak with your liaison or your instructor.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND PLAGIARISM

Academic honesty is essential to the continued functioning of the University of British Columbia as an
institution of higher learning and research. All UBC students are expected to behave as honest and
responsible members of an academic community. Breach of those expectations or failure to follow the
appropriate policies, principles, rules, and guidelines of the University with respect to academic honesty
may result in disciplinary action.

It is the student's obligation to inform themselves of the applicable standards for academic honesty.
These standards can be viewed in full at
http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959.

POLICIES
Attendance: Students are expected to attend 100% of their scheduled classes unless there are
exceptional circumstances such as conflicting responsibilities (e.g., representing the university or serving
in the Canadian military), unforeseen events (e.g., illness or other personal challenges), or religious
observances.
Tardiness: Students are expected to arrive for classes and activities on time and fully prepared. Late
arrivals may be refused entry at the discretion of the instructor.
Electronic Devices: Laptops and other electronic devices (cellphones, tablets, personal technology, etc.)
are not permitted to be used in class except when allowed by the instructor for specific in-class activities
or exercises. Cellphones and other personal electronic devices must be turned off during class and
placed away from the desk. Research has shown that multi-tasking on laptops in class has negative
implications for the learning environment, including reducing student academic performance and the
performance of those sitting nearby.

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