MIT (minor thesis) was previously introduced and has become a preferred replacement for Honours by some international students. GSITS has about 3 to 5 international Honours students studying in Gippsland campus every year. Since GSITS only offers off-campus learning for the MIT program and the requirement of ESOS to have on-campus offerings for all on-campus courses, GSITS is currently barred from enrolling any international students who wish to study on-campus into the MIT (minor thesis) program because of the ESOS requirement. It also addresses the new requirement to enroll honours students for the individual on-campus units in Callista.

FEC 4/04 Two topics in the unit (Project Management and Inventory Management) overlapped considerably with other units in the postgraduate courses taught at Gippsland. After discussion with Peter Lawrence at Business Systems about the dropping of these topics they have been removed from the content. The remaining material, which was already very substantial, will be dealt with in more detail rather then replaced by new content. GCO4802 will be replaced by FIT4022 and GCO4802 will be disestablished.

GCO4802 is a elective unit of Master of Information Technology and Master of Business Systems.

GCO4802 is a elective unit of Master of Information Technology and Master of Business Systems. The business models in GCO4802 are related to a number of other business units in master degree, including GCO4806, GCO4803, GCO5802, GCO5804, GCO5807 and BUS9530.

This unit lays foundation for a business major. It helps to build up students' concepts about business and their expertise in numeric modelling of business decisions.

Students will have understanding of:

1. Principles and application of computer based business and decision support systems
2. Cost analysis using breakeven technique
3. Main approaches to deal with decision making problems in business
4. Business decisions with multiple criteria
5. Widely used linear programming tools
6. Carrying out sensitivity analysis using relevant computer software on a series of problems
7. Queueing theory and simulation techniques
8. Concepts of different types of forecasting
9. Common optimisation methods for business applications
10. Methodology to solve typical network problems using network flow models

11. Efficiency and productivity gains through the use of technologies
12. Develop strong interests in formalising real world problems and solve them by computer models

13. Application of spreadsheets such as EXCEL in solving common business decison problems
14. Use of dedicated software such as Excel QM, TreePlan, CrystalBall program
15. Sensitivity analysis by use of computer models

This unit examines the principles and practice of modelling and analysis of business systems as a support for the decision making activities. At the completion of the subject the student should understand some of the more commonly used computer modelling techniques used in business and industry and be familiar with the applications of these techniques to business related problems using some of the applications software and other related tools. Topics to be studied will include

• Cost and profit analysis using breakeven technique
• Common optimisation methods in business applications, such as linear programming and integer programming
• Sensitivity analysis of linear programming using computer solutions
• Solutions to traditional business problems, such as transportation, assignment and shortest path problems, using computer models
• Various aspects of decision making such as decision making under risk, under uncertainty, decision with sample information
• Multiple goals and multiple parties decision making
• Waiting lines systems and simulation including Monte Carlo simulation
• Forecasting technques namely simple exponential smoothing and double exponential smoothing.

This unit examines the principles and practice of modelling and analysis of business systems as a support for the decision making activities. At the completion of the subject the student should understand some of the most commonly used computer modelling techniques used in business and industry and be familiar with the applications of these techniques to business related problems. Topics will include breakeven analysis, linear programming models, various aspects of decision making, waiting lines systems and simulation, network problems, and forecasting techniques.

Text Book

• Taylor, B.W. III, Introduction to Management Science, 9th edition, Prentice Hall, 2007, ISBN: 0-13-196133-0.

References

• Willis, R.J. Business Modelling, Eruditions Publishing, 1998.
• Pinney, W.E. Quantative methods for management with decision support software, 1999.
• Brealey, R.A. and Myers, S.C. Principles of Corporate Finance, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill Inc., 2003.
• Newbold, P. and Bos, T. Introductory Business & Economic Forecasting, South-Western Publishing Co., 1994.
• Davis, K. R., McKeown, P. G., Rakes, T. R., Management Science, An Introduction, Kent publishing, 1986.

Assignments worth 30% of the total unit assesment. The assignments will test all objectives but will focus on objectives 1-10 and 13-15 mentioned above. Students in GCO4802 undertake two assignments,including a research project where the students will be expected to choose from the computer models and apply their selected model to a problem, either from the experiences or from the bibliography supplied in the textbook. For the other assignment the students will provide the topic/title (and the project description)of a case study within a few weeks of the start of the semester followed up with the full report along with the assignment later during the semester. The two assignments will be combined into one, in order to let students have sufficient knowledge when they are submitting the project proposal.

A 3 hour open book examination worth 70%. The exam will test main objectives 2,3,4,5,7,8 and 10.

The assessment of GCO4802 is different from GCO2802 in that a research component/case study will be placed in the assignment and a different exam paper will be used to test students' deep and broad understanding of the topics.

Assignments worth 30% of the total unit assesment. The assignments will test all objectives but will focus on objectives 1-10 and 13-15 mentioned above. Students in GCO4802 undertake two assignments,including a research project where the students will be expected to choose from the computer models and apply their selected model to a problem, either from the experiences or from the bibliography supplied in the textbook. For the other assignment the students will provide the topic/title (and the project description)of a case study within a few weeks of the start of the semester followed up with the full report along with the assignment later during the semester. The two assignments will be combined into one, in order to let students have sufficient knowledge when they are submitting the project proposal.

A 3 hour open book examination worth 70%. The exam will test main objectives 2,3,4,5,7,8 and 10.

The assessment of GCO4802 is different GCO2802 in that a research component/case study will be placed in the assignment and a different exam paper will be used to test students' deep and broad understanding of the topics.

Students of this unit are normally studying in OCL mode. Only a couple of students study on campus, they can join the corresponding undergraduate students for lecture, tutorial and labs.

• Software Title: TreePlan, CrystalBall, ExcelQM
• Vendor: Prentice Hall
• Version: 8th edition
• OS: MS Windows XP (X)
• License Details: the softwares are bundled with the text book, the publisher allows the use of them in lab as long as they are password protected
• Are we currently licensed: Yes ( )
• If (Yes), who is the contact person for this software?:
• If (No), will the software license be arranged by: Staff member requesting the software ( ) or Technical Services* ( ) ? *If the latter is selected, please discuss your requirement/s with myself ASAP, prior to finalising your request, as there could be financial or resourcing implications.
• Is the software to be installed and accessed from a: Client/Workstation ( ), or Server ( ) ?
• Type of license: Site License ( ), Freeware ( ), FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) ( ), Shareware ( ), Lab based ( ) # of Licenses needed ____
• In what week will you commence using the software in class? Semester 1 (Week _1__ ) and/or Semester 2 (Week 1___ ):
• Nominated Staff For Acceptance Testing Software: (Dengsheng Zhang) (26772) (dengsheng.zhang@infotech.monash.edu.au)
• Additional Information: Special Requirements, Software Configuration/Installation Requirements, etc: }

Free copy of required software is provided by the publisher of the text book. Yes

100% from GSITS

Students are required to have access to a PC with a specified minimum configuration and to the internet. This is a requirement for all DE students enrolled in the Master of Information Technology and the Master of Business Systems. There is no residential requirement.