Business Analytics: Decision Making through Excel (Synchronous e-learning) - The NUS Executive MSc in Management

15 Jan - 14 Feb 2025

Online

Intermediate

This course is one of the gateway courses that is required and compulsory for admission to The NUS Executive MSc in Management (EMIM).

Overview

Business Analytics: Decision Making through Excel

This course prepares participants with fundamental theory and skills to capture business insights from data for decision making using Excel Spreadsheets. Practical examples and cases with data are used to stimulate participants’ interest and foster their understanding of the use of Business Analytics in management and business.

Quantitative models and tools such as Decision Analysis, Simulation Modeling and Optimization are covered to demonstrate the use of scientific methods in business decision making.

Note: Courses that are scheduled to take place from 1 October 2024 onwards will open for registration in mid-August on our brand-new application portal. Please register your interest here to be notified once these courses are ready to accept your application.

Outline

Online Session 1:Data Intelligence to summarize data obtained

Use Excel formulae and cell referencing
Conduct basic summary of data

Online Session 2: Pivot Table analysis

Use Pivot Tables in Excel to stratify data
Use Pivot Charts to visualize data

Online Session 3: Foundation of Decision Making under Uncertainty I

Compute conditional probabilities
Understand and use Bayes’ rule

Online Session 4: Foundation of Decision Making under Uncertainty Ii

The concepts of random variables
Differentiate between discrete and continuous probability distributions

Online Session 5: Introduction to Simulation Modelling

Use Excel to simulate a variety of random variables
Carry out Simulation to analyse business decision problems

Online Session 6: Decision Trees

Illustrate a decision tree and its power in decision making
Use decision tree to make business decisions under uncertainty

Online Session 7: Introduction to Linear Optimization

Formulate a Linear Programming (LP) mathematical model
Solve the optimal solution of an LP using Excel solver

Online Session 8: Introduction to Discrete Optimization

Construct binary constraints
Logical constraint formulation
big-M notation

Online Session 9: Assessment

Who Should Attend

The course is suitable for those who are interested in business analytics without any prior knowledge. Specifically, the course assumes that participants are new to the Analytics field without any programming and probability concepts, and will introduce Microsoft Excel to them as the main computing software. By familiarizing themselves with Excel, the participants can carry out those decision methods for their future business projects with ease.

Application Procedure & Deadline

Participants are strongly advised to apply at least 2 weeks in advance.

Pre-Requisites

This course assumes a very basic level of comfort with Microsoft Excel. Participants should be able to import data, sort it, and perform simple functions such as addition, multiplication, division, and creating tables in Excel. Participants will be required to bring their laptops to class, and to analyze data in class using Excel Spreadsheets. All analyses in this course will be carried out using Excel.