BUS660 Week
1 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2018 June
dq 1
Present an example of a business situation that you believe would
lend itself to the use of a quantitative business model. Clearly explain how
the model could be used in this situation.
dq 2
Multiple models are often used in supporting business decision
making. Outline a situation in your organization or industry that required the
need for multiple models. What factors were unique to this situation? Support
your response with rationale from the readings or external research.
BUS660 Week
2 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2018 June
dq 1
Apply a business decision model to something you do every day,
such as select an outfit, order lunch, or determine your exercise routine. Be
creative in your approach. How did you select the model? Include rationale with
support from the readings.
dq 2
Using the decision tree resources available in the Topic
Materials, create a decision tree for the scenario you outlined in Topic 2 DQ
1. Attach the decision tree to your response and include insights in crafting
the decision tree. How would you apply your experience to larger-scale
decisions at an organizational level?
BUS660 Week
3 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2018 June
dq 1
Identify two business situations or problems within your current
organization or industry. Articulate how one of these lends itself to a simple
linear regression and how one does not. Why is simple linear regression
appropriate to address one situation or problem but not the other? Support your
ideas with evidence from the readings.
dq 2
You are the vice president of sales for TerraFirma, a company that
manufactures outdoor sporting gear. You receive a report on your desk one
morning that claims little or no relationship between the University of
Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) and outdoor sporting gear sales. The
claim is based on a very low R2 of the simple regression model, using these two
variables (CSI and sales). Discuss how you would (or should) react to this
report and why. What clarifying questions might you ask?
BUS660 Week
4 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2018 June
dq 1
Provide an example based on your professional experience of a
situation in which using a multiple regression model or nonlinear regression
model may have helped your organization make a better decision.
dq 2
What types of business situations or problems might best lend
themselves to multiple linear regression? What types may not? When do you
anticipate using a multiple linear regression model in your postgraduate,
professional experience? Explain.
BUS660 Week
5 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2018 June
dq 1
Discuss the strategic importance of forecasting at your organization
(or one with which you are familiar). What strategic decisions does it need to
make in terms of forecasting? Provide two recent examples. In your opinion, was
this the best way? How could the process be improved?
dq 2
Refer to the Topic Material, “Chapter 1 – Fundamental Issues
in Business Forecasting.” This resource includes a discussion of
unrealistic expectations and forecast accuracy. How have you seen this
demonstrated in your organization or industry? Describe the forecasting
scenario and the “prediction” that did not come true. What
conversations did management have surrounding this issue? How would you
mitigate expectations for a situation like this in the future?
BUS660 Week
6 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2018 June
dq 1
Identify two key strategic decisions made by your current team,
department, or organization. How could those decisions have been enhanced by
optimization models? Support your rationale with evidence from readings or
external research.
dq 2
Find a current example of a linear optimization model used in your
industry. Describe the industry’s needs, including any unique factors, how the
linear optimization model was used, and the problem or challenge it addressed.
Would you suggest a different model be used? Why or why not? Support your
response with rationale from the assigned readings.
BUS660 Week
7 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2018 June
dq 1
Explain the importance of correctly stating the objective function
and constraints in linear optimization problems. Using examples from your
professional experience, describe the problems that could result if the
objective function and constraints are not stated properly. Why did these
problems arise? Support your anecdotal evidence with support and rationale from
the readings.
dq 2
Describe a workforce scheduling, a blending, and a logistics
problem facing your current organization or industry. What is being optimized
in each of your examples and why? How do linear optimization techniques differ
from decision tree analysis? Which are more applicable to the examples you
identified? Support your response with rationale from the readings.
BUS660 Week
8 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2018 June
dq 1
Describe a current problem facing your department, organization,
or industry that would indicate the need for simulation. What key factors of
this business situation indicate the need for simulation (versus the other
modeling techniques covered in the course)? Support your response with
rationale from the readings.
dq 2
Consider some of the examples you have brought up in earlier
topics. Describe the key differences between simulation models and the models
covered earlier in the course. Outline how the approach to solving this problem
would differ in terms of applying and computing/solving the models.
