CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

Teaching management science has always been a huge challenge. That's why a pair of Carnegie Mellon University professors decided to find a better way. Their solution, built around Microsoft® Excel worksheets, conveys relevant concepts quickly while arming the students with important skills they can apply to a variety of business situations.

Management Science courses have been the bane of business majors for the last 25 years. Techniques such as linear and nonlinear optimization and Monte Carlo simulation have caused headaches and undue suffering as students tried to grasp the key underlying concepts but ended up merely memorizing ritualized solution techniques.

Instructors usually approach Management Science in one of three ways. They ignore real-world applications and limit discussions to paper and pencil exercises and toy problems; they use PC-based software programs that come with various textbooks; or they teach mainframe programs that are used outside of the academic environment.

Two professors in Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Social and Decision Sciences grew dissatisfied with all three options. The first they viewed as too unrelated to actual management problems. The second they discarded because it provided only superficial demonstrations and it used software that would not be found in the business world. And the third they eliminated because the packages were not typically built for classroom instruction and would often not be used in a business situation.

The professors-Douglas Wholey, associate professor of Organizations and Information Systems, and Paul Fischbeck, associate professor of Social and Decision Sciences-were determined to find a more effective way to teach Management Science. "Our objective is to train students to be systems analysts," explains Wholey. "This requires students have a good understanding of the organizational context of information systems and of the tools and techniques needed to build abstract logical models and to manage project development." Wholey says CMU accomplishes the first objective with courses that provide students with a strong science and liberal arts background. But developing logical models and instructing students about decision support systems means providing the students with state-of-the-art development tools.

Wholey and Fischbeck decided to build their solution around PCs, since this is the computing platform used by most businesses. But which software should they use? And how should they structure the instruction? Wholey and Fischbeck set to work looking for answers.

Selecting the Software

The two professors knew the software they chose would need to be up to a formidable task. "We wanted to make sure the management science tools would be sophisticated enough to withstand some pretty tough analytical situations," explains Fischbeck.

After assessing several alternatives, Fischbeck decided to build his core course, Decision Analysis and Decision Support Systems, around Microsoft Excel. "The optimizer built into Microsoft Excel makes it ideal for this course," says Fischbeck, adding that he reorganized his course to take advantage of Microsoft Excel's optimizing capabilities. "In the past, the course relied heavily on simple decision analysis exercises and classroom discussions about the potential of decision support systems (DSS)," notes Fischbeck. "But most students felt the course could be improved if a greater variety of quantitative techniques was presented, and if a more 'hands-on' use of DSSs was emphasized."

With these considerations in mind, the lectures and assignments for the course were organized into a set of modules that used the spreadsheet as a common theme. Topics included engineering economics; decision analysis; linear, integer, and nonlinear optimization; and genetic algorithms.

One of the requirements of the Decision Analysis and Decision Support Systems course is a group project. On their own, students form groups of three and four and select an actual decision problem in the community. The only requirement is that the students have to use one of the software packages presented during class.

During a recent class, one group chose to use Microsoft Excel to study the problem Pittsburgh will face when the primary highway into the city, Interstate 279, is closed for repairs over one or two summers. The students built a transportation queuing model to investigate the various options being considered by the city.

First the students showed the dramatic impact the closing will have. Then they compared two alternatives: a new bridge using the old Wabash tunnels; and a fleet of buses using a shopping center parking lot as a staging area. Their Microsoft Excel-based engineering economic analysis showed that, despite its $50 million price tag, the new bridge was a surprisingly reasonable option.

The Benefits of Software-Based Instruction

Fischbeck and Wholey are pleased with the results of using a spreadsheet for teaching management science techniques. "The concepts are easier to convey than with our previous methods," says Wholey. "And students are more able to quickly get out on their own and work with the material in real-world settings."

Fischbeck agrees, noting that "the experience the students gained in using computer systems to solve problems will benefit them no matter what technical area they choose to work in." He adds that using Microsoft Excel throughout the course "eliminated the costly overhead of learning the idiosyncrasies of different software packages."

Though the students at CMU primarily use Macintosh® computers, Fischbeck points out that since the versions of Microsoft Excel for the Microsoft Windows™ operating system and for the Macintosh are so similar, no additional instruction is needed for the students who use Windows.

Expanding the System

Wholey and Fischbeck are continuing to expand the use of software in other Information and Decision System courses. "We have switched to Microsoft FoxPro® 2.5 for our Database Design course because it is fully SQL compatible," says Wholey. This compatibility is important since CMU expects students to become knowledgeable in the use of SQL techniques. Wholey plans to add FoxPro for the Macintosh to the course as well.

The professors are also keenly interested in adding cross-platform compatibility to their computing systems. "At CMU, we operate UNIX®, MS-DOS®, Windows and Macintosh platforms," explains Wholey. "Software that is easily portable across these environments would allow our students to become accustomed to using multiple environments." Wholey says the ability to move easily between platforms is essential for a systems analyst.

Already, Wholey says, students are more apt to analyze, develop, and document systems in both PC and Macintosh environments than before he and Fischbeck instituted their software-based approach to Information and Decision Systems courses. And it's safe to say that Carnegie Mellon University students no longer need to view Management Science courses with the combination of fear and dread once accorded these classes.

Solution Overview

        School  Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
      Solution  Management Science courseware built around Microsoft Excel
  Architecture  Series of Windows-based and Macintosh-based applications
 Products Used  Microsoft Excel
                Microsoft FoxPro
                Microsoft Windows operating system
       Benefit  Provides students with actual business tools for solving
                real-world problems; offers practical experience in
                using computer systems based on different platforms

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