IDS 446
Decision Analysis
Spring, 2000

This course will use Course_Info to deliver information.

The URL is http://courseinfo.uic.edu:88/courses/ids446s00

Preregistration Information

Course Materials

Course Rules and Guidlines

Preregistration Information:

What: Decision Analysis is the name given to an approach to decision making that takes account of the decision-maker's values, the decision-maker's assessments of the likelihood of future events, and the sequencing of the decisions over time.

Why: This approach has been used to make difficult decisions involving health and safety, and can be used in many business situations. Even when the approach is not used formally, study of the Decision Analysis approach to decision making can bring a better understanding of the factors involved in decision making.
 

Who: Anyone who has completed IDS 371 may take this course. Students who have not taken IDS 100 may need to make a special effort to get up to speed on using Windows software. Students are encouraged to complete Math 205 before taking this course.

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Course Materials

Required Materials

Reserve Books

Software Usage

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Course Rules and Guidelines

The course will follow the Clemen textbook. Students will be responsible for reading the textbook and manual, participating in class, and doing homework. Students will be evaluated on these and on two midterms and a final.

Homework Exercises

Homework will be assigned on a weekly basis. Most of the homework will require use of the software package DPL. Students may work on their homework in teams of at most 3 students. The homework exercises will count as 15% of the semester grade. Homework will not be accepted late. In computing the semester grade, I will drop one homework score as long as it is not the last one.

Participation

Students are expected to be present and active in class.  On most days, a one-question quiz will be given at the beginning of class. This will count toward participation. Participation will count as 10% of the semester grade.

Midterm

There will be two midterms, probably in the 6th and 11th weeks of the semester. Each midterm will count 20% of the semester grade, and will cover material to date. There will be no make-up for either midterm.

Final

The final for this course is scheduled for Friday, 3:30-5:30, May 5. It will count 35% of the semester grade and cover the entire course.

Absences

It is important for students to attend class.  Please let me know, preferably by e-mail, if you will not be able to attend a class.  If you miss more than one or two classes during the term, I will expect that you will explain your absence in terms of some major personal catastrophe.

If you are absent from a regular class, you should obtain any information you missed from the Web and from your fellow students. If you are unable to turn in a homework on time, that homework can count as the one that will be dropped in computing your semester grade.

I do not provide make-ups for midterms. I will excuse a student from the midterm under either of the following circumstances:

  1. The student has a note from a doctor concerning the student's unavoidable absence at the time of the exam.
  2. The student has given me an acceptable reason for missing the exam ahead of time.
The only circumstances under which a make-up final exam will be given are the ones listed above for excusing the midterm.

If you must be absent from an exam, because of severe illness or an accident, I expect you to notify me at the earliest possible moment. If you must be absent for an extended period of time, you should notify me and your college advising office. (For most students, this will be the undergraduate office of the College of Business Administration.)

Plagiarism and Inappropriate Use of Others' Work

The University standards on originality of work you submit apply in this course. Thus I expect no copying or collusion during exams or quizzes. Working with other students when you are thinking about your homework is often a good way to enrich your understanding of the material. However, I expect each team to write up their own homework to turn in. The team should do this without any reference to another team's papers or computer files. In order to avoid others' misusing your work, you should not share your papers or files with others who are not on your team, nor should you leave your papers or files around in a public place.

Add/Drops

Students without the prerequisites should drop the course, for otherwise I will arrange for their being dropped. Students who decide to drop the course should do so at the earliest possible moment, so that others may add the course.

If the section is closed, I will start a waiting list on the first day of class. It may be possible to add some students with good attendance records. Students are also encouraged to keep checking the phone registration system in case a space opens up.

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Revised, 7 January 2000, JNH.