North Carolina State University

College of Management
MBA 504 (Fall 2010, 18 August 3 December)




Instructor: Jeff Stonebraker, Ph.D.
Office: 2306 Nelson Hall
Office Hours: 9:30 AM 10:15 AM and 11:30 AM 12:30 PM Tu/Th and by appointment
Office Phone: 515.0155
Email: jeff_stonebraker@ncsu.edu
Meeting Place and Time: 1120 Nelson Hall, Tu/Th 10:15 AM 11:30 AM


Graduate Assistant (GA): A.J. Kramer
Office: MBA Lounge
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: ajkramer@ncsu.edu


Course Description

Role of quantitative modeling in management. Application of tools for data analysis and
forecasting, with an emphasis on decision making and analytical skills.


Recommended materials

Applied Statistics in Business and Economics, Third Edition, by Doane and Seward (2010),
McGraw-Hill Publishing.


Learning Objectives

! Each student will collect, organize, analyze, interpret, and present data.
! Each student will think analytically by structuring and solving problems involving
uncertainty.


Teaching Method

Cooperative Learning is when a group of students work together on an assignment that is
purposely structured so that all members of the group participate and cooperate to learn the
material. We learn best when we become owners of the learning process and get our hands dirty.


North Carolina State University
College of Management
MBA 504 (Fall 2010, 18 August 3 December)




Assessment

Performance will be evaluated on the items below.
Exams 50% of course grade
Group Exams 10% of course grade
Group Problem Sets (GPS) 10% of course grade
Group Case Study 5% of course grade
Group Project 1 10% of course grade
Group Project 2 15% of course grade

Exams will be closed book and notes. Calculators and MS Excel will be permitted. Group
exams are open book and notes. If you are going to miss a graded assignment (exam, group
exam, or group problem set) for a legitimate conflict, you must receive permission from me
before the graded assignment to reschedule. Otherwise you will receive a zero on the graded
assignment.


Grades

90-100%: A
80-89%: B
70-79%: C
60-69%: D


Academic Integrity

You are expected to abide by the University policy on academic integrity found in the Code of
Student Conduct Policy (POL11.35.1) on all assignments and exams.


Students with Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. Accordingly,
students must register with Disability Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center,
Campus Box 7509, 515-7653. For more information on NC States policy on working with
students with disabilities, please see the Academic Accommodations for Students with
Disabilities Regulation (REG02.20.1).


North Carolina State University
College of Management
MBA 504 (Fall 2010, 18 August 3 December)




Schedule

Week Dates Topic Readings
1 Aug 19 Introductions/Overview
Data Collection (Excel Lab 1)
1.1-1.5
2.1-2.2
2 Aug 24
Aug 26
Describing Data Visually (Excel Lab 2)
Descriptive Statistics (Excel Lab 3)
3.1-3.6
4.1-4.6
3 Aug 31
Sep 2
Test of Means (Excel Lab 4)
Simple Regression (Excel Lab 5)
10.1-10.3
12.1-12.3
4 Sep 7
Sep 9
Multiple Regression (Excel Lab 6)
Probability (GPS 1)
13.1-13.2
5.1-5.4
5 Sep 14
Sep 16
Probability (GPS 2)
Probability (GPS 3)
5.5
5.6-5.7
6 Sep 21
Sep 23
Exam 1
Group Exam 1

7 Sep 28
Sep 30
Discrete Distributions (GPS 4)
Discrete Distributions (GPS 5)
6.1
6.3-6.4
8 Oct 5

Oct 7
Discrete Distributions (GPS 6)
Group Project 1 report due
Fall Break (no classes)
6.5


9 Oct 12
Oct 14
Case Study (Portfolio Decision Analysis)
Case Study (Portfolio Decision Analysis)

10 Oct 19
Oct 21
Exam 2
Group Exam 2

11 Oct 26
Oct 28
Group Project Proposal Presentation
Continuous Distributions (GPS 7)

7.1-7.2
12 Nov 2
Nov 4
Continuous Distributions (GPS 8)
Continuous Distributions (GSP 9)
7.3-7.4
7.7
13 Nov 9
Nov 11
Project time (INFORMS)
Sampling Distribution and Estimation (GPS 10)

8.1-8.8
14 Nov 16
Nov 18
Exam 3
Group Exam 3

15 Nov 23
Nov 25
Project time
Thanksgiving

16 Nov 30
Dec 2
Group Project 2 Final Presentation
Group Project 2 Final Presentation

Final Dec 16 Group Project 2 Final Report due (8-11 am)