Quantitative Methods Course Handout

MBA Semester 1 Class of 2014

Instructor: Prof. L. Shridharan, M. Stat. (ISI)

Over 30 years experience in executive & graduate teaching, research and consulting. Authored several research and consulting reports & papers, besides two books.

Contact Info: E-207, Faculty Block, Lshridharan@ibsindia.org, 94404 98735 Meeting hours: 4.30 pm 5.30 pm weekdays
1. Course Schedule

Course Duration : Semester I - 33 sessions, each session of 75 minutes duration. Schedule for classes : As per the time table announced. 2. Course Details a. Objective: Analytical ability and analytical thinking is important for managerial decision making. This course aims at equipping you with analytical concepts, tools and techniques which will enhance your capabilities for objective decision making. The course will also build your foundations for receiving courses like Managerial Economics, Operations Management, Business Research Methods, Marketing Research, Portfolio Management, Financial Econometrics etc. during the MBA program at IBS. b. Instruction Methodology: At IBS learning is valued more than teaching. Thus we believe in participant centered learning and my role is that of a FACILITATOR than of a TEACHER. The onus of learning squarely lies on the students. The class room learning would be through a variety of approaches. They include participative discussions, application oriented problems solving and case discussions to discover / appreciate concepts and their applications in managerial contexts.

Prior to coming to each class, students MUST have applied their minds on the cases based on the BASICS in the specified READING MATERIAL for each day as indicated in the handout. Reading the case alone DOES NOT PREPARE you for the class. You MUST READ the CHAPTERS from the TEXT BOOK dealing with the relevant concepts and be able to RELATE THEM to the CASE. It is emphasized here that alertness, active involvement and participation in class discussion is a MUST for successful participative learning. The participation has to be relevant, matured and responsive reflecting your understanding of the subject. c. Suggested Titles (Text and References):

TEXT BOOK Statistics for Business and Economics

AUTHOR / PUBLICATION David R Anderson, Dennis J Sweeny and Thomas A Williams (ASW), Cengage Learning, 11e, New Delhi,

REFERENCE BOOKS Business Statistics in Practice Decision Making using Microsoft Excel Statistics for Managers using Microsoft Excel Statistics for Management

AUTHOR / PUBLICATION Bruce L Brown, Richard T OConnell and Emily S Murphree, Tata McGraw-Hill Edition, 2010 S Christian Albright, Wayne L Winston and Christopher J Zappe, Cengage Learning, 2009 David M. Levine, David Stephan, Timothy C. Krehbiel, Mark L. Berenson, Fifth Edition, PHI Learning, 2009 Richard I. Levin, David S. Rubin - Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, Seventh Edition, New Delhi.

3. Code of Conduct Students are expected to follow the IBS code of conduct regarding attendance, dress code and other aspects. A minimum of 75% attendance is a must for the course. 4. Honour Code:

Plagiarism & Unfair practices Students are to take a self oath to the effect: I understand that plagiarism is a major offense and that it is my duty to understand what plagiarism is and actively seek out advice when I have a question about my work.

Plagiarism means presenting the words or ideas of others without giving due credit. Plagiarism is legally

actionable. At all cost, plagiarism must be avoided. In case of doubt, students must contact me for correct rules for referencing or citing sources. If someones exact

words are used, they must be enclosed in quotation marks with the exact source cited. If others thoughts or ideas are used in ones own words, proper references must be cited.
Unfair practices in tests and plagiarism in assignments / project work will straight away entail a ZERO to all involved parties. It is not relevant for me to know the source and destination of plagiarism.

5.

Class Organization
a. Class Representative

One among you will be elected / selected by consensus as Class Representative for the QM course. S/he will be responsible for class room arrangements, dealing with academic office, for communicating information from me to the class and also to collect all assignments / project works and deliver them to me. b. Attendance and Class Discipline Students must occupy their seats before I come in and must remain seated until the attendance is completed at the end of the class. The Class Door will be BOLTED from inside once the class begins. Use of mobile phones is strictly PROHIBITED in the class. Phones must be in SWITCH OFF mode. Students MUST bring LAPTOP and the basic text book (ASW) to every class. While mostly we will be working through EXCEL in class, for tests and examinations only use of CALCULATOR is permitted. Students are FREE to ask questions / doubts / clarifications in the class on topics under discussion. For other doubts, they should meet me individually in my office as indicated above. Queries / problems arising from previous lessons should be given in writing. Solutions would be discussed in the next class.

6.

Session Plan:

Sr. No 1.

Topic Scales & Measurements, Central Tendency and Dispersion Probability Concepts Decision Analysis

CASE a. College Canteen b. Mattels Global Expansion

Session No. 1 &2

Reading Material Chapters 1 to 3 from the Text Book (ASW)

Additional Information / Deadlines

2. 3.

a. Mitra Insurance Company b. a. b. c. Ram Publishers Mining for Precious Metal Roja Silks Universal Home Products

3&4 5 to 7

Chapter 4 from the ASW

Chapter 21 from the ASW

4.

Probability Distributions

b. The Problem Of a Medical 8&9 Representative ( Culled out from http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/pu blications/1/9d2_sure.pdf with the authors permission) d. Normal distribution (Discussion Mode) a. Sampling the Population Favorite b. Customer Satisfaction with DTH Services in India c. Ascertaining Customer Satisfaction d. Sampling Distribution ( Discussion Mode) e. Swarnamukhi Public Bank
Limiteds SME Loans

Chapters 5 & 6 from the ASW

5.

Sampling & Sampling Distribution

10 to 12 Chapter 7 from the ASW

Class Participation Evaluation for first 11 sessions by the following week by Faculty (5 % weightage)

6. Estimation &

a. Smoking: A Costly Affair

b. Care Hygiene c. Conversys Inc.

13 to 18 Chapters 8 to 10 from the

ICFAI Centre for Management Research, Case Studies in Management Research, Hyderabad, 2004.

7. Evaluation Plan: Sr. No. 1 2 3 Components Class participation (3 phases) Mid-Term Examination Final Examination Weightage 30 % 30 % 40%

Notes: 1. Marks will be declared after a week from the deadlines. 2. Make up test for Mid-Term Test is permitted only in EXCEPTIONAL cases. I must be convinced about the reason in advance. For item 3, IBS rules will apply. 3. Students with less than 60% attendance on the date of any evaluation component will be awarded F grade for that component. This includes class participation as well. 4. Each test would be in the form quiz / problem solving / case analysis, which could vary over tests and could include a mix. Faculty Signature: Name Prof. L. Shridharan Signature with date