Business Simulation Exam

É C O L E D E G E S T I O N T E L F E R S C H O O L O F M A N A G E M E N T

Business Simulation Analytics ADM 3305 – FALL 2020

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Course Deliverable Due Date Weight on Final Grade

Assignment #1 September 23 5%

Assignment #2 October 7 5%

Group Project #1 October 21 10%

Midterm Exam October 21 30%

Assignment #3 November 11 5%

Assignment #4 November 25 5%

Group Project #2 December 9 10%

Final Exam TBD 30%

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COURSE DESCRIPTION This course introduces the use of computer simulation for analyzing problems involving uncertain and risky events, which are common in manufacturing, finance, health care management, and many other areas. The course is divided into two major segments: (1) discrete event simulation (Weeks 1-7), and (2) stochastic process simulation (Weeks 9-13). In the first part of the course, fundamental concepts in computer simulation modelling for business applications will be presented. Topics include random number generation and data characterizations, the design and development of simulation models, the implementation of such models using the discrete event simulation software Arena and spreadsheets, the interpretation of simulation results, and problem-solving using simulation. In the remainder of the course, the concept of stochastic processes will be formally introduced where the modelling and simulation techniques for different dynamics of random events over time will be covered. Topics include simulation of Markov chains, point processes, and (Geometric) Brownian motion using the high-level programming language Python and spreadsheets. Applications include but are not limited to risk management, project management, production scheduling, manufacturing, marketing, and resource management.

The course consists of lectures, group discussions, group projects, and guest speakers.

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM LEARNING GOALS This course contributes to the attainment of the following B.Com. Learning Goals (LG):

LG1 Understand, Apply and Integrate Core Management Disciplines

Students will understand and know how to provide scenario analysis in a managerial context through the use of simulation techniques.

LG2 Demonstrate Critical Thinking and Decision-Making Skills

Students will learn how to analyze complex dynamic systems using computer simulation and evaluate the quality of decision-making based on simulation outputs.

LG3 Demonstrate Leadership, Interpersonal and Communications Skills

Students will work on group projects, which require teamwork on identifying problems of common interest and solving problems with joint efforts.

LG7 Provide Value to the Business Community in a chosen Area of Specialization

Students will be able to help re-examine policies implemented in current practices through the lens of simulation, which provides the opportunity to improve any current policy.

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COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will develop skills for the abstract modelling of problems in systems with uncertain environments using the tools of simulation. They will also learn how to analyse complex dynamic systems using computer simulation (using spread sheets, the Arena simulation modelling package, and the high-level language Python). Emphasis will be on the formulation, development and interpretation of business simulation models toward solving problems. Through assignments, group project work and exams, students will be required to understand and convey their knowledge of the course material in an analytical as well as written manner.

METHODS USED TO EVALUATE STUDENT PERFORMANCE Students will be evaluated according to the following methods:

Evaluation Method Weight Assignments (4) 20% Midterm Exam 30% Group Projects (2) 20% Final Exam 30% Total 100%

To pass the course students will be required to obtain a passing grade (50% or better) on the combined Midterm and Final exams (average of both exam grades). Students who do not meet this requirement will receive a failing mark in the course, which will be the average exam grade, independent of the homework assignments and group projects grades.

Please note that it is not possible to submit extra course work in order to improve your mark.

Exams

Writing the Midterm and Final exams is compulsory. The Midterm Exam will have a duration of two (2) hours and will be held in class on Wednesday, October 21, 2020 unless otherwise announced. The Midterm Exam will cover materials on discrete-event simulation (Weeks 1-6), whereas the Final Exam will cover materials on stochastic process simulation (Weeks 9-13). The date and time of the Final Exam, which will have a duration of three (3) hours, will be announced in class. Both the Midterm Exam and the Final Exam will be administered online via Brightspace.

The Student Services Center (SSC) is the only body that can approve and manage deferred Midterm and Final exams. Students must contact the SSC if they missed their Midterm or Final exam in order to complete the appropriate form with the required documents (e.g., medical certificate, certificate from a psychologist, death certificate of a member of immediate family, etc.). A student who misses the Midterm or Final exam for reasons approved by the SSC would be offered a deferred exam on a date chosen by the School.

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Absence from any exam, or late submission of assignments or group projects due to illness, psychological problems or exceptional personal circumstances must be justified; otherwise, students will be penalized.

Assignments and Projects

There will be a total four (4) individual assignments and two (2) group projects during the term. The first two assignments and the first group project will be related to discrete-event simulation (Weeks 1-6), whereas the other two assignments and the second group project will be on simulation of stochastic processes (Weeks 9-13). Assignments typically involve applied settings and will emphasize all aspects of the course material. Assignment grades will be adjusted for results that are not clearly presented, sloppiness, poor grammar and spelling, as well as for technical errors. Assignments are due according to the dates on the first page of this document unless otherwise announced in class. The weekly outline attached to this document provides the schedule of homework assignments and group projects. The course projects will be prepared in small groups (maximum 3 students per group) and presented in the form of a formal report. Details on the group projects and reports will be discussed in class.

Procedure for Individual Assignment and Group Project Mark Corrections:

1. Before asking for more marks, compare your solutions against the marking guide. Submit your request to the course TA. His contact information will be provided on Brightspace.

2. If another student seems to have benefited from a marking mistake, please let us know. It is not our policy to take away marks if we make a mistake, but we do need to know if we are making such mistakes in order to revise our procedures.

Please note that assignments should be completed individually, with each student using his or her own words to answer each question; however, students are free to communicate orally any aspects of the solution, provided that completed solutions in electronic or paper format are not exchanged, copied, or reprocessed.

Integrity is a basic value of our society and of the business world. Academic integrity is also a key value of the Telfer School of Management. To underline its importance, all individual assignments, group project reports, or other work submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of this course must include on its front page the Personal Ethics Statement. See templates for Group and Individual Assignments below.

Use of Respondus Software for Online Exams

The University of Ottawa will be implementing the use of software provided by Respondus exam proctoring services for the purposes of ensuring the integrity of online examinations. Respondus is just one means of ensuring academic integrity when conducting assessments. Please consult the TLSS FAQ for more information.

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The Respondus software is comprised of two components – 1) LockDown Browser and 2) Monitor. Please watch this short video to get a basic understanding of how the LockDown Browser and the Monitor software works.

Prior to taking an online exam, you will be required to download and install the LockDown Browser. Start the LockDown Browser and navigate to the exam. For additional details on using this service, please review this Student Quick Start Guide.

When taking an online exam, note the following:

o Make sure to have access to a private and well-lit location with access to reliable internet. o Turn off all mobile devices, phones, etc. and do not have them within reach. o Clear your exam area of all external materials — books, papers, other computers, or devices. o Know how much time is available for the exam, and that you have allotted sufficient time to

complete it. LockDown Browser will prevent you from accessing other websites or applications, and you will be unable to exit the test until all questions are completed and submitted.

o Remain at your desk or workstation for the duration of the exam.

A “Notice of Collection of Personal Information – Respondus” is attached below.

TEXTBOOKS & SOFTWARE Textbooks

• Hillier FS, Lieberman GJ (2014). Introduction to Operations Research, 10th Edition. McGraw- Hill. Chapters 17 & 20. (Optional)

• Kelton DW, Sadowski RP, Zupick NP (2015). Simulation with Arena, 6th Edition. McGraw-Hill. Chapters 1-4 & 6, Appendices B & C. (Optional)

Computer Software and Programming Language

Arena (Student Version) is available online for free. Arena operates under the Microsoft Windows operating system and therefore basic knowledge of Windows is required. The computers on the 2nd floor of the Desmarais Building (Computer Labs) run Arena. The high-level language Python is available for download from www.python.org. Students are free to choose the integrated development environment (IDE) that they prefer.

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EXPECTATIONS FOR COMMUNICATIONS The instructor and course TA prefer email for communications. When communicating with the course TA or your instructor via email, please use the course code ADM 3305 in the subject of your email. For example, the subject line of your email could read “ADM 3305: question on random variate generation”. Please identify yourself by name and student number. Contact information for the course TA will be available on Brightspace. Please ensure that you have set up your Brightspace account to receive notifications of announcements to your uOttawa email address -- and please check your uOttawa email daily. Students are asked to monitor their uOttawa.ca e-mail accounts regularly and carefully (not your personal email accounts such as Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail) as this is the conduit through which the course instructor will communicate matters that concern the entire class.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS This online course contains both synchronous and asynchronous activities, purposefully designed to provide flexibility in your learning process. The course is designed in a sequential module structure in Brightspace, with resources and complete assignment instructions to be provided for each topic and due dates noted. Synchronous activities will be completed during the scheduled online class sessions using Zoom, while asynchronous activities such as assignments and group projects can be completed online at any time once made available in Brightspace. We will be using Zoom to connect synchronously. As an essential aspect of academic integrity, do not share any of the details (i.e., link, sign-in information) with anyone outside the class. If any issues with sharing such information arises (e.g., “zoombombing”), the instructor will manage the issue, terminating the corresponding session if necessary.

Please note that all course materials will be made available exclusively through the course website on Brightspace.

Online Discussion Group and Software Tutorial Sessions

Weekly online problem-solving sessions will be set up for the semester. The specific day and time will be determined by the second week of classes. The weekly discussion group and software tutorial sessions will be optional.

RECORDINGS OF SESSIONS Class sessions may be recorded, and your image, voice and name may be disclosed to classmates. Note that by remaining in sessions that are being recorded, you are agreeing to the recording.

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TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND SUPPORT The course requires that you to have a laptop or desktop computer with a reliable, high-speed Internet connection that allows you to participate of synchronous sessions, watch videos, participate in discussion forums, and upload files. The video conferencing software Zoom will be used for meetings with the instructor-- so you will need to have a webcam and audio/voice capabilities through your computer. Zoom works on mobile/smart phones as well. If you experience difficulties with Brightspace or with logins to any uOttawa systems, please do not contact the instructor or the course TA until you have tried to solve the problem through the IT supports in place at the University.

COURSE SCHEDULE Note: This is a tentative course schedule. The schedule is subject to change and adjustment according to the class progress and other circumstances. An updated schedule will be posted on the course website if necessary.

Week Date Topics Optional Readings Homework/Project

1 Sept. 9 Introduction to Simulation No readings

2 Sept. 16 Probability, Statistics &

Random Numbers KSZ Chapter 1,

Appendices B & C

3 Sept. 23

Random Variate Generation, Fundamental

Simulation Concepts & Modelling with Arena

KSZ Chapters 2 & 3 Assignment 1 due

4 Sept. 30 Input Modelling & Modelling with Arena

KSZ Chapter 4

5 Oct. 7 Output Analysis and

Modelling with Arena KSZ Chapter 6 Assignment 2 due

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6 Oct. 14

Verification, Validation, Variance Reduction

Techniques & Modelling with Arena

KSZ Chapter 13

7 Oct. 21 Midterm Exam Guest Speaker

No readings Project 1 due

8 Oct. 28 Reading Week

9 Nov. 4 Simulation of Stochastic

Processes and Principles & Discrete Markov Chains

Posted lecture notes

10 Nov. 11 Simulation of Continuous

Markov Chains Posted lecture

notes Assignment 3 due

11 Nov. 18 Simulation of Point

Processes Posted lecture

notes

12 Nov. 25 Simulation of (Geometric)

Brownian Motion Posted lecture

notes Assignment 4 due

13 Dec. 2 Course Evaluation &

Additional Topics Guest Speaker

Posted lecture notes

14 Dec. 7 Project 2 due

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COURSE POLICIES

PREVENTION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE The University of Ottawa is committed to a safe and healthy campus for work, for study and for campus community life for all members of the University community. The University, as well as various employee and student groups, offer a variety of services and resources to ensure that all uOttawa community members have access to confidential support and information, and to procedures for reporting an incident or filing a complaint. For more information, please visit uOttawa Sexual violence: support and prevention.

CLASS ATTENDANCE Class attendance is expected and is necessary to successfully complete this course.

Students are expected to write (or submit) all course deliverables as scheduled according to this Course Outline. Medical absences (with the appropriate medical certificate) are the only acceptable reasons for failure to hand-in or complete a requirement of this course at the specified time. For a missed midterm or final examination, medical certificates must be submitted along with a deferred exam application and a medicate certificate form to the Student Services Centre (DMS1100) of the Telfer School of Management.

Please visit the following webpage to download the form and carefully read the directives.

For other missed deliverables, the original medical certificates can be submitted directly to the respective instructor.

ABSENCES FROM EXAMS University regulations require all absences from exams/quizzes and all late submissions due to illness to be supported by a medical certificate.

Absence for any other serious reason must be justified in writing, to the Student Services Centre ([email protected]) within five business days following the date of the exam. Please visit the following webpage to download the deferral request form and carefully read the directives. The Telfer School reserves the right to accept or refuse the reason.

Religious absences: If a religious holiday or a religious event will force you to be absent during an evaluation, it is your responsibility to inform your professor as early as possible.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY All forms (printed, digital, etc.) of course materials prepared by the instructor (including e-mailed or Brightspace content) are protected by copyright. This covers all files, assessments, solutions, cases, and other materials. Copying, scanning, photographing, posting, or sharing by any means is a violation of copyright and will be subject to appropriate penalty as prescribed by University of Ottawa regulation.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Academic Regulation 14 defines academic fraud as “any act by a student that may result in a distorted academic evaluation for that student or another student. Academic fraud includes but is not limited to activities such as:

a) Plagiarism or cheating in any way; b) Submitting work not partially or fully the student’s own, excluding properly cited quotations

and references. Such work includes assignments, essays, tests, exams, research reports and theses, regardless of whether the work is written, oral or another form;

c) Presenting research data that are forged, falsified or fabricated; d) Attributing a statement of fact or reference to a fabricated source; e) Submitting the same work or a large part of the same piece of work in more than one course,

or a thesis or any other piece of work submitted elsewhere without the prior approval of the appropriate professors or academic units;

f) Falsifying or misrepresenting an academic evaluation, using a forged or altered supporting document or facilitating the use of such a document;

g) Taking any action aimed at falsifying an academic evaluation.” The Telfer School of Management does not tolerate academic fraud. Please familiarize yourself with this guidance. Please be advised that instructors have been formally advised to report every suspected case of academic fraud. The Telfer School of Management asks that students sign and submit with their deliverables the Personal Ethics Agreement form (attached below). Assignments will not be accepted or marked if this form is not submitted and signed. We hope that by making this personal commitment, all students will understand the importance the School places on maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity.

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STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WHO NEED ADAPTIVE MEASURES Students who have a disability or functional limitation and who need adaptive measures (changes to the physical setting, arrangements for exams, learning strategies, etc.) to progress or participate fully in university life should contact Academic Accommodations Service as early as possible:

• By visiting our office on the third floor of the Desmarais Building, Room 3172

The University is committed to providing students with disabilities academic accommodation to allow them an equitable opportunity to fully access and participate in the learning environment with dignity, autonomy and without impediment while preserving academic freedom, academic integrity, and academic standards.

The Academic Accommodations service works collaboratively with our university community and stakeholders to facilitate the academic accommodation process. To consult the policy, visit the Academic Regulation I-16 - Academic Accommodations.

The academic accommodation process is a collaborative process and a shared responsibility among all parties involved. Our role in the academic accommodation process is to assess, establish, and implement appropriate academic accommodations for students who have a temporary or permanent disability.

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PERSONAL ETHICS STATEMENT Individual Assignment:

By signing this Statement, I am attesting to the fact that I have reviewed the entirety of my attached work and that I have applied all the appropriate rules of quotation and referencing in use at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, as well as adhered to the fraud policies outlined in the Academic Regulations in the University’s Undergraduate Studies Calendar Academic Fraud Webpage.

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

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PERSONAL ETHICS STATEMENT Group Assignment:

By signing this Statement, I am attesting to the fact that I have reviewed not only my own work, but the work of my colleagues, in its entirety.

I attest to the fact that my own work in this project meets all of the rules of quotation and referencing in use at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, as well as adheres to the fraud policies as outlined in the Academic Regulations in the University’s Undergraduate Studies Calendar Academic Fraud Webpage.

To the best of my knowledge, I also believe that each of my group colleagues has also met the rules of quotation and referencing in this Statement.

I understand that if my group assignment is submitted without a signed copy of this Personal Ethics Statement from each group member, it will be interpreted by the Telfer School that the missing student(s) signature is confirmation of non-participation of the aforementioned student(s) in the required work.

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

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Notice of Collection of Personal Information - Respondus

In accordance with the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”) and with the University of Ottawa (the “University”) Policy 90, your personal information is collected under the authority of the University of Ottawa Act, 1965.

Your personal information collected for remote proctoring will be used by the University for the purposes of and those consistent with the fulfillment of the course learning activities, administering online exams and maintaining the academic integrity of the exam process. After each evaluation, the personal information collected during the remote proctoring session will be reviewed by your instructor (or their designate) for the purposes stated above. The personal information collected may be used where academic fraud is alleged as described in Academic regulation I-14 - Academic fraud.

The remote proctoring is supported by Respondus, an online proctoring tool integrated with and accessed through Brightspace. LockDown Browser is a customized browser that locks the testing environment and Respondus Monitor is a companion service for LockDown Browser that uses webcam technology to maintain the integrity of online evaluations. Consult the Respondus Privacy Policy and Terms of Use - LockDown Browser or Terms of Use - Respondus Monitor for information on how Respondus collects, uses and discloses information and its security measures for safeguarding the information maintained by it. The personal information may be stored outside Canada and subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where it is stored. The information collected in accordance with this notice will be retained for one year from the end of the semester.

If you have questions about the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in this notice, please contact your instructor. Questions of a general nature regarding the collection, use and disclosure of information should be addressed to the Chief Privacy Officer of the University.