DECISION MODELS & MANAGEMENT

This course provides an introduction to computer-based models for decision-making.  The emphasis is on models that are widely used in diverse industries and functional areas, including finance, accounting, operations, and marketing.  Applications will include advertising planning, revenue management, asset-liability management, environmental policy modeling, portfolio optimization, and corporate risk management, among others. The applicability and usage of computer-based models have increased dramatically in recent years, due to the extraordinary improvements in computer, information and communication technologies, including not just hardware but also model-solution techniques and user interfaces.  Twenty years ago working with a model meant using an expensive mainframe computer, learning a complex programming language, and struggling to compile data by hand; the entire process was clearly marked “experts only.”  The rise of personal computers, friendly interfaces (such as spreadsheets), and large databases has made modeling far more accessible to managers.  Information has come to be recognized as a critical resource, and models play a key role in deploying this resource, in organizing and structuring information so that it can be used productively.