Courses


	Statistics
	The topic of Statistics is different from what you might expect. In statistics we never really know for sure what the "true" answer is and we have to determine it's "best unbiased estimator." That's a phrase we'll use a lot. Since this is your second class in statistics you should already be familiar with histograms, pie charts and Pareto charts and be able to compute the mean, median, mode, standard deviation and variance of any given data set and understand what they mean. (No pun intended!). That said, I teach this class more along the lines of a language and logic class, than a math class. It is really NOT a math class because the hardest math that you will have to do is divide and take the square root. But the language and the logic will be new. For example, by the end of the course you will be using phrases like "reject at the zero-five level of significance, but not at the zero-one level" and know what you are talking about. As another example, you might do the math associated with the process and get a calculated F statistic of 7.92 but it is the language and the logic that will give you the "answer." Like I said, if you think of this as a language and logic course more than a math course you will do much better. Beginning in the Fall Semester of 2005 the first stats course was delegated to the Math Department and taught there. In this follow-up second Stats class we pick up the pieces and move on. I'll span that gap as good as I can, but it's up to you to be prepared. I guess the punch-line is to not be too intimidated during the first few class sessions and feel free to ask any question on statistics that you might have. I love to talk in the language of Statistics.

	Production/Operations Management
	In this class we discuss how things are made, stored and shipped. It is a lot like an applied math class and we try to make decisions based on the optimal answer if it exists or the best answer otherwise. Most of the problems that we will be dealing with have a very interesting solution methodology, one that is easy after you have learned the trick. My job is to teach you the trick and to show you how elegant some of the solutions are. Some of the topics that we will be discussing will include Productivity, Break-Even Analysis, Linear Programming, Transportation, Project Management, Quality Control, Simulation, Job-Shop Scheduling, Time and Motion Studies and others.

	Business and Economic Forecasting
	Forecasting is a very interesting and applicable course because we will be trying to predict what the next number is going to be. Unlike many quantitative courses, there is no exact method that will give us the correct answer every time, so in many ways it becomes a guessing game. In fact, we will very rarely get the "correct answer," but once the correct answer is published (like the closing of the DOW Jones Industrial Average tomorrow) we can measure how close our "forecast" was and from there we can determine whether to use that particular forecasting methodology again or to choose another one. This course has been offered as an upper-division elective during the past, but starting with the Fall Semester of 2005 it became a part of the School of Business core requirements. This is very unique because I know of no other undergraduate business program that has a Forecasting class in its core requirements. That is a really good thing because it should differentiate you from many other students when it comes to the interview time! Not only that, the Forecasting Process is a fun process and like a game. For the math oriented students this should be a super capstone class; for the math challenged students, I will still try to make it fun and at the same time help you raise you overall level of mathematical maturity.

	Statistical Process Control
	Quality Control has been called many things: Statistical Process Control, Quality Assurance, Statistical Quality Design and Control, Quality Planning and Analysis and others. When I was working in industry back in the 70's and 80's I was very heavy into quality, mainly with concrete and dirt. I was doing control charts before I knew what a control chart was. What I have learned since that time is that there is a lot to the subject and that many of the areas are very challenging. As a Professional Engineer I still do some consulting in this area and try to keep myself up to date on the basics. I have earned the Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) certification and the Certified Quality Technician certification through the American Society of Quality (ASQ) and am proud to have the knowledge that goes along with them. The truth is that with a little work you too can earn the CQT certification and I recommend it. Hopefully this class will help you if you have that goal in mind. If you are interested in taking this class, please check with me.

	Simulation
	This class is formally called "Systems Simulation, Managerial Dynamics and Games" and I don't get to teach it very often because of low enrollment, but it is one of my favorites. Here we use the computer to simulate what would happen if certain variables would change. As an elementary example consider the break-even quantity of a project that has initial fixed costs of $20,000 an average unit cost of $8 and an average unit selling price of $12. The break even quantity would be 5000 units because each unit that is sold would contribute $4 to the initial cost and we'd have to sell 5000 of them to break even. That's among the first things that I go over in the POM class noted above. Anyway, in this class we let each of the variables do what they like to do best: vary. If the initial fixed cost ranged from $19,000 to $21,000, the unit cost ranged from $7 to $9 and the unit selling price ranged from $11 to $13 and each were Independent and Identically Distributed (say Normally) what would be the long term break even quantity? What would it's standard deviation be? If the selling price could be increased by 2% what would the long term break even quantity be? These are the types of questions that are answered in this class and it is very applicable. It's a fun class, but advanced. If anyone is interested in taking this class please feel free to come and chat with me.

	Operations Research
	This is a serious quantitative class, basically reserved for the students who are going to Graduate School and those who have a very good mathematical modeling background to include a couple of semesters of Calculus. Similar to the the Simulation class noted above, this class is not offered very often because of low enrollment, but it is one of my favorites. In this class we deal with mathematical subjects ranging from simultaneous equations and matrix algebra to partial differentiation, LaGrangian Multiplication and nonlinear optimization. Heavy math is obviously a prerequisite to this class, so if you qualify and would like to find out more about it, let me know.