Decision Analytics
Credits
3
Difficult decisions require spending scarce resources. A 'resource' is any asset used to leverage business objectives, such as time and money. Tradeoffs are involved in allocating resources to one objective as opposed to another. This course develops a quantitative framework for studying resource allocation problems that arise in many industries and areas such as transportation, advertising, finance, and healthcare. The focus will be on translating verbal descriptions into quantitative optimization models, whereby standard tools (such as Microsoft Excel) can be applied to obtain solutions. The course also covers the role of uncertainty and risk in the decision-making process by using Monte-Carlo simulation models.