Decision Tools For Managers

In today's dynamic and hyper-competitive business environment, a key ability for a successful manager is to use a knowledge-based framework to analyze and make decisions. Whether it is marketing managers at Singapore Airlines dynamically pricing products in an uncertain environment, finance managers at Citigroup designing new credit or derivativesbased investment products, or technology managers at Sony and Cisco rolling out new products, the decisions are complex and the quality of analysis is a crucial imperative for their success. This course introduces students to the basic tools in using decision models to make informed management decisions. The focus of the course will be on model building and analysis. The use of computer based solution tools will be emphasized throughout the course. Students will be expected to structure business problems as decision models, solve models using computer software programs and interpret the computer-generated solutions. Topics covered in the course include decision making under uncertainty and risk for a single decision maker, competitive decision making and negotiations, use of optimization models for business decisions, waiting line management, applications in business processes design and analysis and inventory control, simulation techniques for making complex management decisions, etc. Exercises, cases, and examples drawn from accounting, marketing, finance, operations management, and other management functions will be widely used in the discussion. As part of the course, students will be required to complete a group project designed to apply the decision tools discussed in the course to a real life business problem.