CDAE 266: Decision Making for Agricultural and
Resource Entrepreneurs
Syllabus
Fall 2002 -- Computer Code 90419
Instructor:
Dr. Qingbin Wang, 205C Morrill Hall, 656-4564, qwang@zoo.uvm.edu
http://www.uvm.edu/~qwang
Office Hours:
11:00am - 12:00pm, Monday and Wednesday
Please try to make an appointment for other times but feel free to
drop in and ask questions at any time. E-Mail communications are
strongly encouraged.
Teaching Assistant:
David Lewin, dlewin@zoo.uvm.edu. Office hours to be
announced.
Class Time & Place:
11:00am - 12:15pm, Tuesday and Thursday, 212 John Dewey Hall
Textbook:
Decision Making for Agricultural and Resource Entrepreneurs: Lecture
Notes, Readings and Cases Studies
Course Objectives:
This course deals with quantitative methods of business decision-making
and the focus is on the applications of business and economic principles
and methods in agricultural and resource based business. Topics to be
emphasized in this course include time value of money, break-even
analysis, marginal analysis, linear programming and applications,
inventory decisions, queuing theory and applications, and e-business and
applications. Some basic economic and statistical concepts and analysis
methods will also be covered.
Major objectives of this course are for students to be exposed to and
become familiar with basic concepts and methods of decision science, to
understand how these concepts and methods can be applied in the analysis
of actual agricultural and resource business problems, to learn how
computer programs can be used to solve business decision problems, and to
improve communication skills in presenting the results of quantitative
analysis.
Prerequisites:
A basic understanding of economic theory and small business management is
required for taking this course (CDAE 61, CDAE 166, CDAE 167 or
equivalent). Students are also required to have basic mathematical,
statistical, and computer skills (MATH 19 and one course in
statistics).
Class Attendance, Class Exercises, Problem Sets and
Projects:
There are two 75-minute lectures each week that will cover theory and
applications. Students are required to attend all class lectures. Please
arrive on time to class and students are responsible for all announcements
made by the instructor in classes.
To provide students with practice and group discussion in the
classroom, students
will be asked to do some short class exercises individually or in
groups to apply the concepts and methods discussed in the class. Students
may also be assigned some short assignments such as finding a particular
piece of information from the Internet.
Problem sets will be assigned to provide students with additional practice
in applying the concepts and tools discussed in lectures and using
computer programs to solve decision problems. Problem sets are due on the
assigned dates and answer keys to the problem sets may be provided by the
instructor through class handouts or Internet. Late problem sets will not
be graded unless prior arrangements have been made and scores on late
assignments will be discounted.
Short projects (case studies) will be assigned to provide students
with
practice in analyzing decision problems and effectively presenting the
results to the appropriate decision maker in business memorandums (project
reports). Each project report should analyze the situation at hand,
evaluate various decision alternatives, and recommend an appropriate
course of action. Project reports must follow the required format and are
due on the assigned dates. Late project reports will not be graded unless
prior arrangements have been made and scores on late assignments will be
discounted.
Grading:
Midterm exam 25%
Problem sets 10%
Projects (case studies) 12%
Quizzes (drop the lowest quiz grade) 10%
Class attendance 8%
Class exercises & short assignments 5%
Final exam 30%
Honesty Policy:
The University Policy as listed in the Cat's Tale will be followed.
Make-Up Policy:
Make-up for exams may be arranged in advance based on medical
documentation from the Student Health Center or a physician and there are
no exceptions on this policy. There are no make-up provisions for
quizzes, problem sets, class exercises & short assignments, and projects
(case studies).
Learning Disabilities:
If you have a diagnosed learning disability and are working with the
office of specialized student services or feel that you may need special
accommodations in either learning course material or taking exams, please
discuss these issues with the instructor before Sept. 25, 2002
so that
the necessary or desired arrangements can be made.
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Wang's home page