Module Code | STU11004 |
Module Name | Introduction to Management Science |
ECTS Weighting[1] | 10 ECTS |
Semester taught | Semester 1 & 2 |
Module Coordinator/s | Diana Wilson (S1), John McDonagh (S2) |
Module Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this Module, students will be able to:
- LO1: Research and investigate major schools of thought in Management Science
- LO2: Analyse and evaluate critically the work of leading Management Science theorists
- LO3: Recognize and understand the role of various problem-solving models
- LO4: Recognize and understand the role of various decision-making models
- LO5: Understand the ethical implications of LO3 and LO4
- LO6: Present and critique the work of leading theories/theorists
- LO7: Apply Management Science solutions to a modern organization
- LO8: Describe the fundamental components of Systems Thinking
Semester 2
- L09: Explain why the value of money decreases as a function of how far in the future it will be available.
- L10: Compute: the simple and compound interest of any amount of money, the value of an annuity and the payment of an amortised loan.
- L11: Identify and solve problems using dynamic programming.
- L12: Compute the shortest spanning tree of a network and the shortest path between two points in a network.
- L13: Derive the maximal flow through a network.
- L14: Compute the optimal inventory policy for the classic formulation, and also with constant receipt and shortages.
- L15: Explain risk averse and risk prone behaviour, give examples of each and demonstrate that decreasing marginal worth leads to risk averse behaviour.
- L16: Calculate properties of a queueing system from information about number of servers, arrival rates and service rates.
Module Content
This module covers a range of subjects in management science at an introductory level. The objectives of the module are to give students an overview of the subject, to teach important basic techniques and introduce systematic thinking about problems. The first semester starts with an introduction to the major schools of Management Science and their components. The second semester introduces the value of money, the theory of queues, and develops ideas in the time value of money, classic network problems, inventory control, and basic transportation & allocation algorithms. The module will combine lectures and demonstrations of mathematical solutions to management science problems.
Teaching and learning Methods
Semester 1 will be delivered by in-person lectures and tutorials
This course will be delivered by both pre-recorded lectures/videos and live online lectures/videos.
Assessment Details
Assessment Component | Brief Description | Learning Outcomes Addressed | % of total | Week set | Week due |
Group Assignment | First Semester | 25% | n/a | n/a | |
Individual Assignment | First Semester | 25% | TBD | TBD | |
Examination | In-person Exam (2hrs) | Second Semester | 35% | n/a | n/a |
Coursework | Assignments | Second Semester | 15% | TBD | TBD |
Reassessment Details
Reassessment is in-person exam (weighting 50%) and coursework (weighting 50%).
Contact Hours and Indicative Student Workload
Contact Hours (scheduled hours per student over full module), broken down by: | 66 hours | |
Lecture | 66 hours | |
Laboratory | 0 hours | |
tutorial or seminar | 0 hours | |
Other | 0 hours | |
Independent study (outside scheduled contact hours), broken down by: | 144 hours | |
preparation for classes and review of material (including preparation for examination, if applicable) | 132 hours | |
completion of assessments (including examination, if applicable) | 12 hours | |
Total Hours | 210 hours |
Recommended Reading List
An Introduction to Management Science by David R. Anderson, Dennis J. Sweeney, Thomas A. Williams, Jeffrey D. Camm and R. Kipp Martin. Cengage South-Western. 2011.
Introduction to Management Science (10th Edition) by Bernard W. Taylor. Prentice Hall. 2012.
Module Pre-requisites
Prerequisite modules:
Other/alternative non-module prerequisites:
Module Co-requisites
None