Decision Sciences (DESC)

School of Management

If a student takes noncore, upper-level business courses before acceptance to the School of Management, those courses will not count on an undergraduate degree application for any major in the School of Management (except as general elective credit). A grade of C or higher must be presented on the graduation application for each upper-level course in the major. Prerequisites are strictly enforced. Degree status is defined as formal admission to the School of Management.

210 Statistical Analysis for Management (4:4:0). Prerequisites: MATH 108 or 113. Corequisite: MIS 102. Introduction to the application of statistical methods to support quantitative decision analysis in resolving business problems.

301 Operations Management (3:3:0). Prerequisite: DESC 210. Examines the principal aspects of an organization's operations in various settings. Emphasizes planning and decision making activities associated with the management of operations with a focus on service operations. Analytical models are used to describe key planning and control activities managing operations.

320 Supply Chain Management and E-Business (3:3:0). Prerequisites: DESC 301, MKTG 301, degree status. An introduction to the design, development, and management of supply chain systems, including production and inventory management, distribution channels, and information systems that support them. Emphasizes the impact of ebusiness on companies and industries, including the impact of the Internet on the way in which goods and services flow through the value chain from providers to customers.

352 Methods and Models of Management Science (3:3:0). Prerequisites: DESC 301; degree status. Operation research for business management. Modeling is through mathematical programming and probabilistic methods. Specific topics include linear programming, integer programming, transportation problems, goal programming, network flow models, decision theory of games, Markov processes, queuing models, and Monte Carlo simulation.

435 Simulation for Business Decision Making (3:3:0) Prerequisites: DESC 301; degree status. Introduction to computer simulation of complex business systems. Topics include Monte Carlo methods, discrete-event modeling, simulation experiment design, simulation output analysis, simulation validation, and specialized simulation languages. Examples are drawn from all types of business operations. The methods are demonstrated and used through computer software.

452 Business Forecasting (3:3:0). Prerequisites: DESC 210; degree status. Introduction to methods for producing predictions of future business operations as aids for making planning decisions. Specific topics include judgmental forecasting; forecast accuracy; correlation analysis; smoothing methods; regression models; decomposition; autoregressive and ARIMA models. The methods are demonstrated and used through computer software.

456 Quality Management (3:3:0). Prerequisites: DESC 301, degree status. Provides an understanding of the multi-faceted nature of Quality Management by emphasizing issues such as quality philosophies, total quality management, design quality, process quality, and managing quality in information systems development. Discusses ISO 9000 and the Capability Maturity Model. Use of software and case studies.

493 Management of Technology Projects (3:3:0). Prerequisites: DESC 301,degree status. Focuses on the managerial problems associated with meeting the technical, cost, and time constraints of technology projects. Discusses various areas of project management such as project organizations, teams, scheduling, cost control, earned value analysis, risk management, and managing project quality. Discusses software cost estimation models. Use of software and case studies.

499 Independent Study in Operations Management (1-3:0:0). Prerequisites: DESC 352; degree status. Investigation of a business problem according to individual interest that uses state-of-the-art decision science methodology. By special arrangement with an instructor and approval from the associate dean for undergraduate programs.