THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY BUSINESS SCHOOL

ITLS5200 STUDENT GUIDE

GEOFFREY CLIFTON,
15 July 2015

CONTENTS
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 2
2 Class times and locations ...................................................................................................................................... 2
3 Textbook ................................................................................................................................................................ 2
4 Other resources ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
5 Computers and software ....................................................................................................................................... 2
5.1 Overview ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
5.2 Software .............................................................................................................................................................. 2
5.3 Software available at home............................................................................................................................. 3
5.4 Computer labs ................................................................................................................................................. 3
5.5 File storage ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
5.6 Student email account .................................................................................................................................... 3
5.7 What to purchase ............................................................................................................................................ 3
6 Basic mathematics and statistical skills ................................................................................................................. 4
7 Resources to help you write assignments ............................................................................................................. 4
7.1 General resources .......................................................................................................................................... 4
7.2 Academic honesty ........................................................................................................................................... 4
7.3 The library ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
7.4 Finding relevant academic articles.................................................................................................................. 4
7.5 References for the ethics section of the Individual Report ............................................................................. 5
7.5.1 General references on ethics ....................................................................................................................... 5
7.5.2 References on specific topics ...................................................................................................................... 5
8 Time commitment .................................................................................................................................................. 5

ITLS5200 Student Guide

1 INTRODUCTION
This document sets out information that will help you successfully complete ITLS5200 Quantitative Logistics and
Transport, this document will also provide you with useful information to work with quantitative data in your other
units at ITLS and in your future career. This document should be read in conjunction with the ITLS5200 Unit of
Study Outline and the Student Policies document (both of which are available on Blackboard).

2 CLASS TIMES AND LOCATIONS

The class timetable is available on Blackboard on the Unit of Study Outline page. The timetable contains the
class topics, dates, times and locations. The timetable will be updated during the Semester with details of the
exam times and locations. An announcement will be posted on Blackboard if any of the these are changed.

3 TEXTBOOK
There are two recommended textbooks for this unit.
The first recommended text book covers all parts of the course and will also be used in ITLS6002 Supply Chain
Planning Systems:
th
Winston, W.L. and Albright, S.C. 2012, Practical Management Science, 5 ed., Cengage, Boston.
ISBN 9781305250901.
The second recommended text book covers statistics, regression modelling and time series modelling in more
depth and will be particularly useful for students going on to do the research unit or further studies in business
statistics:
th
Selvanathan, E., Selvanathan, S. and Keller, G. 2014, Business Statistics: Australia and New Zealand, 6 ed.,
Cengage, Melbourne. ISBN 9780170237000.

4 OTHER RESOURCES
We will be using the ITLS5200 Workbook in class throughout the Semester and you will need this to complete
the homework tasks. This document can be downloaded from Blackboard.
A guide to SPSS is available on Blackboard. This document will be a useful resource when we cover statistics
and regression in class. Please note that the document is written for all users of SPSS within ITLS and so
provides more in-depth coverage of SPSS than we require for ITLS5200. SPSS is discussed in Section 5.2.2.

5 COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE

5.1 OVERVIEW
All our classes are in a computer lab, so you will have a computer in front of you in every class. However, you
may still wish to bring along a laptop or tablet to class. This will give you another screen to view the slides or
workbook and you may prefer to practice on your own computer. However, you will need to use the computer lab
computers during the Computer exam.

5.2 SOFTWARE
We will use two software packages in class, Excel and SPSS. You will also need a word processor application
(such as Word) to complete your assignments.
5.2.1 Excel
There are at least 5 versions of Excel in common use:
1. Excel 2003 (some companies still use this version)
2. Excel 2007 (was used in the Business School until the end of Semester 1 2015),
3. Excel 2010 (still very common),
4. Excel 2013 (now standard across the University standard) and
5. Excel 2011 for Mac.
We will be using Excel 2013 and the workbook is written assuming that you use this version. However,
resources are available in the workbook and on Blackboard for the other versions.
Office 365 is a subscription based service offered by Microsoft and, from their website, includes Excel 2013 for
both Windows and Mac users.

Geoffrey Clifton

15 July 2015

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ITLS5200 Student Guide

5.2.2 SPSS
We will be using IBM SPSS Statistics 22 for the statistics and regression section of the unit. This software is a
dedicated statistics package that is used by some larger companies, government departments and most
universities. It is an expensive package to purchase but is quicker and more powerful than Excel for statistical
modelling.
5.3 SOFTWARE AVAILABLE AT HOME
We cannot offer free downloads of either Excel or SPSS and it is not necessary to have either program at home
to pass the unit. You will have access to the software during class and can use the computer labs for practice
and to prepare your assignments.
However, if you do wish to purchase these programs, there are discounts available for university students and a
trail version is available for SPSS.
5.4 COMPUTER LABS
Some computer labs on campus are run by the Business School (e.g. the labs in building H69) and some are run
by the Universitys own ICT section (e.g. the Brennan MacCallum Learning Hub and the computer labs in
building H70). The range of software available is similar in the two types of labs but you will only have direct
access to your P drive in the Business School labs (see below for details).
Some labs are open on weekends and some are even open 24 hours a day, click on the links for the locations
and opening hours of the various labs.
5.5 FILE STORAGE
The Business School provides you with a personal directory to store files on our server. You can access this
directory from any Business School computer or by using remote access when off campus or in the University
run computer labs. Follow the link for more information on remote access. Some students prefer Dropbox or one
of the similar services as a way to store and access files from anywhere or you can simply bring along a USB
stick.
You will need to download and save files after every class. Make sure you have at least one way of saving your
work.
5.6 STUDENT EMAIL ACCOUNT
All students are given an email account when they commence studying at the University of Sydney. This email
account and Blackboard are the primary ways that we communicate with you outside of class. You can
automatically redirect your university email to a private email account. More information is available here.
5.7 WHAT TO PURCHASE
As discussed above, it is not necessary to purchase any software or to purchase a USB stick. However, you will
need to use the software for preparing for your assessment in this unit and you will need to save files. This
means that you will either need to make arrangements to use the free services offered by the Business School
and the University or to invest in the paid options discussed above.

Geoffrey Clifton

15 July 2015

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ITLS5200 Student Guide

6 BASIC MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICAL SKILLS

This course assumes that you have some basic computer, mathematical and statistical skills. If you do not have
these skills before coming to class, then you will fall behind and need to work harder just to keep up. The Maths
in Business website offers resources and workshops to help new students.
At the very least you should read an introduction to Excel and to read the helpsheets on the Business Schools
website. You will need the sheets on Algebra, Arithmetic, Exponential and logarithmic functions, Linear
equations, Quadratic equations and Statistics. Cramers Rule, Function derivatives and Integration are not used
in this unit but may be useful in other units.

7 RESOURCES TO HELP YOU WRITE ASSIGNMENTS

7.1 GENERAL RESOURCES
A good place to start is with the Business Schools academic writing site. From that page there are links at the
bottom of the page to other resources and also links on the menu at the left of the page. The learning skills
helpsheets are particularly helpful and so is the Universitys WriteSite.
7.2 ACADEMIC HONESTY
Academic honesty is taken very seriously within the University of Sydney, you will need to do the Academic
Honesty module in your first Semester (available via Blackboard) and you must follow The Business School
Referencing Guide in preparing your written assessments.
7.3 THE LIBRARY
The library provides an enormous range of resources both online and in the librarys buildings but most students
will not realise this until they have graduated and no longer able to access the library. The library also publishes
number of guides to develop your research skills. We recommend that you explore the iResearch site.
7.4 FINDING RELEVANT ACADEMIC ARTICLES
There are several approaches that can be taken. I tend to use one of these approaches but there is more
information on the librarys website:
1. Go the library's website. Type the topic into the search engine and see what you find. Be specific in the
topic you enter and remember to check the results to make sure they are academic journal articles.
2. Use the library's databases. Select databases from the library's website and find the Transport and
Logistics databases. There is even a guide for transport and logistics students with information about
literature reviews, finding articles, etc.
3. Browse the relevant journals. The ITLS homepage has a list of Journal Rankings which lists the key
journals in Transport and Logistics. Almost all of these are free to browse from the Library's website and
Tier 4 are the most prestigious journals.
4. Look up the papers written by an author in this field. Most ITLS staff members have published papers
that could be relevant. Even better would be to look up the authors that have been cited in the papers
written by ITLS staff members.

Geoffrey Clifton

15 July 2015

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ITLS5200 Student Guide

7.5 REFERENCES FOR THE ETHICS SECTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL REPORT

The Individual Report requires you to explore ethical issues in the creation and use of quantitative analysis. The
University of Sydney believes that all students should be aware of the ethical issues in their field of study and
should develop an understanding of how to behave ethically in their chosen careers. This reading list was put
together by the students of ITLS5100 in Semester 1 2015 and their lecturer Claudine Moutou.
7.5.1 GENERAL REFERENCES ON ETHICS
Cohen, S. 2013, Promoting ethical judgement in an organizational context, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 117,
no. 3, pp. 513-523.
Dreilinger, C. 1994, 'What about thou shalt', Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 19-22.
Hanson, K.O. 2014, 'Six unavoidable ethical dilemmas every professional faces', Business and Society Review,
vol. 119, no. 4, pp. 537552.
Valentine, S. and Hollingsworth, D. 2012, Moral intensity, issue importance and ethical reasoning in operations
situations, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 108, no. 4, pp. 509-523.
Van Wee, B. and Molin, E. 2012, Transport and ethics: Dilemmas for CBA researchers. An interview-based
study from the Netherlands, Transport Policy, vol. 24, pp. 30-36.
7.5.2 REFERENCES ON SPECIFIC TOPICS
Bird, F. 2009, The ethical responsibilities of businesses in developing areas, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 89,
no. S2, pp. 85-97.
Lowry, R. and Peterson, M. 2012 Cost Benefit Analysis and non-utilitarian ethics, Politics, Philosophy &
Economics, vol. 11, no. 3: pp. 258-279.
Rosmuller, N., and Beroggi, G.E.G. 2004 Group decision making in infrastructure safety planning, Safety
Science, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 325-349.
Stein, M.S. 2002 Utilitarianism and the disabled: Distribution of resources, Bioethics, vol.16, no.1, pp. 1-19.
Tidwell, A. 2000 'Ethics, safety and managers', Business & Professional Ethics Journal, vol. 19, no. 3/4, pp. 161180.
Wachter, J.K. 2011, 'Ethics: The absurd yet preferred approach to safety management', Professional Safety, vol.
56, no. 6, pp. 50-57.

8 TIME COMMITMENT
We have redesigned the timetable to provide you with more time in class and with more face to face time with
the academics. We hope that this will improve your experience in the class and improve your learning outcomes.
However, you still need to commit time outside of class to study the material, to prepare for the next class and to
practice the skills and techniques that we teach you. How much time you will need to spend will depend on your
own skills level and knowledge, what sort of result you want at the end of Semester and your other time
commitments.

Geoffrey Clifton

15 July 2015

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