"There are five managerial roles; they are to set objectives, organize, motivate and communicate, measure, and develop people."
-Peter Drucker (1909-2005)

Course Outline/Calendar

The purpose of this web site is to provide information and materials for students enrolled in Wayne Smith's Business 312 course, Class # 13763, for the Fall, 2025 semester. This course meets Mon/Wed 11:30am - 12:45pm (Mon 8/25 - Wed 12/10, 16 weeks) in BB2206 [ Campus Map ]. This course is taught in the in-person format. This course is offered by the College of Business and Economics at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). CSU Northridge is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system.

The following summary identifies the key terms used in the course outline.

Note: Materials listed as (CSUN only) are restricted to CSUN students, faculty, and staff only. To access these restricted materials, CSUN stakeholders will need to enter their full CSUN email address and their CSUN password. There is a small chance this type of authentication may not work for some smartphones or tablets; in that case, simply use a laptop or desktop computer.

Question:

A general organizing question to place this particular material in context

Topic(s):

General topic(s) to be discussed

Richardson/Watson:

Readings from the textbook

Library:

Readings from the library materials (or occasionally, a direct, online resource)

Supplemental:

Miscellaneous Readings

Due:

Assignment or report due at the immediate beginning of class

Review:

Usually a student-led review of an assignment or report

Exercise:

done individually or in teams (announced and collected in-class)

Activity:

done individually or in teams (announced and done either in-class or as homework)

Practice:

done individually outside of class

Lecture:

a lecture or presentation done by the instructor

Video Clip(s):

Video Clip(s) shown in class, typically from a movie or TV show

Quiz:

a relatively short test

Exam:

a relatively long test

(contingency)

Slack time embedded during the course to cover unforeseen events

The following is the detail of the course in chronological order. Students must complete the readings and assignments before the due date.

• Topic(s): Enrollment Management, Class Materials, Class Introduction
• Assumptions I'll Make About You:
  • Supplemental: Review of First Principles (Fundamentals): Lower-Division Core [ .pptx ]
  • Teams and Teamwork [ .pdf ] (Sat. Aug 5, 2023)
  • Sample Quiz - Spreadsheets [ .pdf ]
  • Examples of Strong Writing: Sentences [ .pptx ], Paragraphs [ .pptx ], Arguments [ .pptx ], and Style [ .pptx ]
  • Examples of Areas for Improvement: Language Use and Grammar [ .pptx ]
    • Detailed Writing Errors [ .xlsx ]
  • Lecture: Professional Influence (Elements of an Argument) [ .pptx ]
  • Lecture: Public Speaking Tips (pp. 12-5 to 12-10) [ .pdf ]
• Lecture: Introductory Background Lecture [ .pptx ] (Sun. Feb 9, 2025)
• Library: Sandberg (Tardiness Contagion)

• Lecture: Guest, Craig Oka/Danielle Rodriguez/Karla Ayala (Director/Coordinator(s), Nazarian College Career Education and Professional Development (CEPD) Office)
  • office: BB2234, phone: 818-677-4697
  • Activity: Nazarian CEPD 'Handshake' Registration (answer the questionnaire to set up a profile)
    • Login [ .html ]
    • Assignment Details [ .pdf ]
    • Due (Fri. Feb. 7, in Handshake): Update your Handshake profile
  • Activity: Nazarian CEPD 'VMock' Registration (create a login with your CSUN email address and upload your current resume twice)
    • Login [ .html ]
    • Assignment Details [ .pdf ]
    • Due (Fri. Feb. 7, in VMOCK): Upload an initial Résumé and an updated Résumé
  • Supplemental: Important Career Dates For Spring, 2025
    • Industry Night - Wed., February 12th, 2025, 3pm - 6pm, CSUN USU Northridge Center - [ .html ] (All Nazarian students)
    • Meet the Firms - Tue., February 18th, 2025, 6pm - 9pm, Odyssey Restaurant - Registration - [ .html ] (Accountancy students)

• (no class, Labor Day Holiday)

• (please place non-needed items in the back shelves or "cubbyholes")
• Activity: Discuss Assignment: Data Opportunity/Challenge Essay
• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 1, Using Business Analytics to Address Business Questions (Textbook Powerpoint slides) [ .pptx ]
• Lecture: Introduction to Data and Analytics [ .pptx ]
• Library: Moss (Zara/Dresses/Data/Profits)
  • Question: Which elements of Zara's strategy are related to which theories from your prior courses?
  • Question: Which elements of Zara's strategy appear to employ which four elements of Analytics?
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: Spreadsheet Names [ .pdf ] (Wed. Dec 25, 2024)
• Lecture: Working with Data and Excel Files
  • ACME Sales [ .xlsx ]
  • ACME Sales [ .csv ] (may need to press "Alt" and click to load into Excel)
  • ACME Sales [ .zip ] (will need to 'unzip' to an .xlsx file before loading into Excel)
  • ACME Performance Evaluation [ .xlsx ]
  • Lecture: Data Dictionary
  • LAPD Arrest Records (2020 to present) [ .html ] (select 'Export', 'CSV for Excel', 'Download')
• Lecture: Exploratory Data Analysis
  • Pivot Tables (i.e., "Frequency Tables", "Cross-Tabulations")

• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 2, An Introduction to Business Data Sources (Textbook Powerpoint slides) [ .pptx ]
• Richardson/Watson: Appendix E, Installing Excel's Analysis Toolpak Add-in
• Richardson/Watson: Appendix F, Installing Excel's Solver Add-in
• Library: Lin (Farmers' Data Surplus)
• Library: Pohle (AirBnB Reviews)
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: Row and Column Names [ .pdf ] (Wed. Dec 25, 2024)
• Lecture: Introductory Excel
  • Menus, Ribbon, Saving Files (.xlsx/.csv/.pdf), Formatting (numbers, lines, other)
  • Quick Navigation (keyboard), Freeze Panes, Inserting/Deleting Rows, Basic Functions, Getting Help
  • Relative/Absolute References, InterWorksheet References, Copy/Paste Special
  • Installing Analysis Toolpak, Installing Solver Addin
  • Excel file management (with Canvas)
• Practice: Introductory Excel (try it on your own)

• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 6, Using Data Visualization
• Lecture: Visualization in Excel and PivotCharts in Excel
  • ACME Sales [ .xlsx ]
  • Data Sort, Data Filter
  • Exploratory Graphing, Results Graphing
  • Pre-Charting/Wrangling, Types of Charts (Continuous data/Discrete data), Formatting, Documentation
  • Pivot Charts
• Practice: Visualization in Excel and PivotCharts in Excel (try it on your own)

• Due: Assignment: Data Opportunity/Challenge Essay
• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 3, Statistics and Tools Required in Business Analytics (Sections 3.1 - 3.5)
• Library: Cheng (Logarithms)
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: Levels of Abstraction [ .pdf ] (Wed. Dec 25, 2024)
• Lecture: Using the Excel Data Analysis Tools (Menu | Data | Data Analysis)
  • ACME Sales Profit/Loss Descriptive Statistics [ .xlsx ]
  • Descriptive Analytics - Rank and Percentile, Descriptive Statistics
  • Diagnostic Analytics - Z-Test, t-Test, F-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
  • Predictive Analytics - Correlation, Regression
  • Other (FIN) - Covariance
  • Other (MKT) - Sampling
  • Other (SOM 306) - Exponential Smoothing, Moving Average
  • Other (misc.) - Random Number Generation
  • Other (Engineering) - Fourier Analysis
• Practice: Using the Excel Data Analysis Tools (Menu | Data | Data Analysis) (try it on your own)

• Lecture: Team Assignment
• Lecture: Data Analytics Case choices [ .pdf ] (Wed. Feb 26, 2025)
• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 3, Statistics and Tools Required in Business Analytics (Sections 3.6 - 3.7)
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: Wait a Moment! [ .pdf ] (Fri. Feb 14, 2025)
• Lecture: Exploratory Data Analysis (Descriptive Analytics)
  • ACME Sales [ .xlsx ]
  • Measures of Central Tendency - Mean, Median, Mode
  • Measures of Dispersion - Range, Variance, Standard Deviation, Skewness, Kurtosis
  • ACME Sales Profit/Loss t-test [ .xlsx ]
  • ACME Sales Profit/Loss Histogram [ .xlsx ]
• Practice: Exploratory Data Analysis (Descriptive Analytics) (try it on your own)

• Presentation (Spring, 2025): President Katrina Estrada, Financial Management Association (.html), Presentation (.pdf), Flyer (.pdf)
• (please remember to sit with your team for the rest of the semester)
• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 3, Statistics and Tools Required in Business Analytics (Section 3.8, part 1 of 2)
• Video Clip(s): Big Bang Theory (clip) Hypothesis Testing - "The Fuzzy Boots Corollary" (Season 1, Disk 1, Episode 3) (YouTube clip) (first 2 minutes and 20 seconds) [ .html ]
• Library: Hopkins (Evaluating Drug Efficacy)
• Library: Glickman (Rite Aid's AI/Facial Recognition)
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: Rules and Conventions [ .pdf ] (Wed. Dec 25, 2024)
• Library: Whelan (Disney Pay Dispute)
• Lecture: Diagnostic Analysis of Disney Gender Pay Gap Dispute
  • Disney Data [ .xlsx ], Disney Solution [ .xlsx ]
• Lecture: Hypothesis Tests in Excel (Diagnostic Statistics)
  • Z-Test (use for discrete data, e.g., proportions--or when population std. dev. is known)
  • t-Test (use for continuous data--means--e.g., intervals--or when n <= 30)
  • Confidence Intervals
  • F-Test (use for continuous data--variances)
• Practice: Hypothesis Tests in Excel (Diagnostic Statistics) (try it on your own)

• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 3, Statistics and Tools Required in Business Analytics (Section 3.8)
• Lecture: Linear Regression in Excel (Predictive Statistics)
  • ACME Sales [ .xlsx ]
  • Scatterplots, Correlation
  • Review of Simple (single independent variable) Linear Regression
• Library: Smith (Predicting Swimsuit Sales)
• Lecture: Predictive Analysis of Swimsuit Sales
  • Swimsuit Data [ .xlsx ], Swimsuit Solution (Simple Regression) [ .xlsx ], Swimsuit Solution (Multiple Regression) [ .xlsx ]
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Introduction to Multiple Linear Regression)
  • statistical significance (need "t-score" higher than ~2 and a "p-value" lower than ~.05)
  • R-squared (the change in the variance in Y explained by the change in the variance in X or X's) (higher is better)
  • Avoiding Multicollinearity
  • Goal: 'parsimony' (the best, elegant solution--that is, the highest R-squared with the smallest number of significant X's)
• Practice: Linear Regression in Excel (Predictive Statistics) (try it on your own)

• Due: First, second, and third Data Analytics Case choices
• Lecture: Description of Data Analytics Case deliverables: analysis (written and presentation) [ .html ]
• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 4, Business Analytics (Descriptive and Diagnostic Analytics)
• (contingency)

• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 5, Confirmatory Business Analytics (Predictive Analytics and Prescriptive Analytics)
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Introduction to Multiple Linear Regression--preparation)
  • Converting raw (differently scaled) scores to z-scores (similarily scaled): [ .xlsx ]
  • Converting (some) categorical variables to (dummy) continuous variables: [ .xlsx ]
  • Converting (some) ordinal variables to (dummy) continuous variables: [ .xlsx ]
• Practice: Intermediate Excel (Introduction to Multiple Linear Regression) (try it on your own)
• (contingency)

• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 12, Putting It All Together: Three Capstone Projects
• Library: King (Cellphone Data/Retailers)
• Library: Michaels/Parker (Rent-Price Systems)
• Ethical Decision-making [ .pptx ] (Sat. Jul 16, 2022)
• Supplmental: Artificial Intelligence: The Global Landscape of Ethical Guidelines (Nature Journal) [ .pptx ]
• Supplmental: A Guide to Ethical Data Science (Royal Statistical Society) [ .pptx ]
• (contingency)

• Lecture: Questions, Exploratory Visualizations, Descriptive Analytics, Diagnostic Analytics, and Predictive Analytics
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Simple Data Joins and Queries)
  • ACME Sales [ .xlsx ]
  • Special Tools: =VLOOKUP, =DSUM, =DCOUNT, =DAVERAGE
  • Example: =VLOOKUP [ .xlsx ]
  • Example: =DSUM [ .xlsx ]
• Practice: Intermediate Excel (Simple Data Joins and Queries) (try it on your own)

• Activity: Personal Reflection #1
• Mid-course Team Evaluation
  • Activity: Informal Team Evaluation [ .pdf ] (Sat. Aug 5, 2023)
  • Activity: Performance Improvement [ .pptx ] (Sun. Apr 14, 2024)
  • Activity: Team meeting with the Instructor (if necessary)
• Library: Rana (Trading on a Typo)
• Library: Needleman (Stock Symbol Gaffes)
• Supplemental: Data Analytics Case (Common Errors and Omissions) [ .pptx ] (Mon. Mar 4, 2024)
• (contingency)

• Exam: Mid-term

• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 7, Marketing Analytics
• Library: Flint (NFL Audience Data)
• Library: Zumbrun (Data Aren't Getting Better)
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: Qualitative Research Methods [ .pdf ] (Wed. Dec 25, 2024)
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Introduction to Analysis of Variance)
  • Example: [ .xlsx ]
• Practice: Intermediate Excel (Multiple Linear Regression) (try it on your own)

• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 8, Accounting Analytics
• Library: Maurer (Disclosure Data)
• Library: Maidenberg (OpenTable Data)
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Analysis of Variance-Review)
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: Explanations using Lower-Division Core Topics [ .pdf ] (Wed. Dec 25, 2024)
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Locking Cells and Protecting Sheets)
  • Example: [ .xlsx ]
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Named Ranges)
  • Example: [ .xlsx ]
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Data Analysis | Addin | Sampling)
  • Example: [ .xlsx ]
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Reproducible Spreadsheets)
  • ACME Sales [ .xlsx ]
  • Using Analysis Toolpack
  • When to use built-in functions
  • When to use custom mathematical functions
  • Other aspects of Extraordinarily Well-Documented Spreadsheets
  • Useful functions in Accounting spreadsheets
• Practice: Intermediate Excel (Reproducible Spreadsheets) (try it on your own)

• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 9, Financial Analytics
• Library: Eaglesham (Insurers/Risk)
• Library: Cheng (Exponentials)
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: Explanations using Upper-Division Core Topics [ .pdf ] (Wed. Dec 25, 2024)
• Lecture: Intermediate Excel (Financial Functions)
  • ACME Sales [ .xlsx ]
  • Example: =PV, =NPV [ .xlsx ]
• Practice: Intermediate Excel (Financial Functions) (try it on your own)
• (contingency)

• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 10, Operations Analytics
• Library: Beaton (The Craziest NFL Day)
• Library: Henderson (Quantum Computing/Airport Connections)
• Lecture: Introduction to Optimization ('Linear Programming') [ .pptx ]
• Video Clip(s): Big Bang Theory (clip) Optimization - "The Financial Permeability" (Season 2, Disk 3, Episode 14) (YouTube clip) [ .html ]
• Lecture: Excel 'Solver' (Optimization)
  • (MKT, Operations) Greek Foods ('Maximization' Problem)
    • Set-up [ .xlsx ], Solution [ .xlsx ]
  • (SOM, Production) Factories-Warehouses ('Minimization - Transportation' Problem)
    • Set-up [ .xlsx ], Solution [ .xlsx ]
  • (MGT, Staffing) Persons-Tasks ('Minimization - Assignment' Problem)
    • Set-up [ .xlsx ], Solution [ .xlsx ]
• Library: Levinson (Efficient to a Fault)

• Due: Assignment: Data Analytics Case (Written)
• Richardson/Watson: Ch. 11, Advanced Analytics
• Library: Janin (AI/'Face Age')
• Library: Seetharaman (How Generative AI is Developed)
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: The Upper-Division View of Data and Distributions [ .pdf ] (Wed. Dec 25, 2024)
• Lecture: Other Excel Capabilities (Automation/Programming)
  • ACME Sales [ .xlsx ]
  • Macros (Automatically recorded keystrokes)
  • Visual Basic For Applications (VBA)
  • PowerBI (Excel 'Business Intelligence' addin--slightly better Data Analysis)
• Lecture: Other (Excel) Statistical Methods
  • Time Series/Forecasting (when the x-axis is time)
  • Maps/Geography (set Data Type = 'Geography' for Zip Code or Lat/Lon column)

• Lecture: Other (non-Excel) Statistical Methods
  • Classification analysis (like regression, but the dependent Y variable is a categorial/qualitative variable such as "yes/no")
  • Logistic Regression analysis (like regression, but the relationship between X and Y is a curve not a line)
  • Cluster analysis (segment the rows/observations into distinct categories)
• Lecture: Other (non-Excel) Tools
  • Other GUI Spreadsheets - Google Sheets (part of Google Docs), Apple Numbers (comes with MacOS), LibreOffice (open source, all OSs)
  • Other CSUN Business Analytics GUI Applications - SPSS (students get it free for a year)
  • Other Business Analytics GUI Applications
    • Tableau Public (limited and browser-based) (students get it free for a year)
    • Tableau Desktop (full package, students get it free for a year)
  • myCSUNSoftware (aka "Apporto") (a way to run desktop applications in the cloud) - myCSUNSoftware (Login)
  • 'Automated' Business Analytics GUI Applications - Alteryx, Qlik
  • CLI Programming Applications (more academic, more statistical) - R (sample in the web, webr), (download, free download, CRAN)
  • CLI Programming Applications (more business, more general purpose) - Python free download, Anaconda Python
• (contingency)

• Lecture: Presenter Team's Responsibilities
• Lecture: Presentation Examples (Powerpoint presentations from my prior classes) [ .pptx ]
• Supplemental: Assignment: Data Analysis Case (Presentation) [ .html ]

• Lecture: Presentation Examples (continued, if needed)
• Lecture: Audience Teams' Responsibilities
• Lecture: Discussion ("Challenge") Question Template [ .pdf ]
• (contingency)

• (no class; practice your presentations)
• (contingency)

• Due: Data Analytics Case (Presentation) - Team 1
• Due: Data Analytics Case (Presentation) - Team 2

• Due: Data Analytics Case (Presentation) - Team 3
• Due: Data Analytics Case (Presentation) - Team 4

• Due: Data Analytics Case (Presentation) - Team 5
• Due: Data Analytics Case (Presentation) - Team 6

• Due: Data Analytics Case (Presentation) - Team 7
• Due: Data Analytics Case (Presentation) - Team 8

• Supplemental: Upward (or Outward) Influence [ .pptx ] (Fri. Dec 13, 2024)
• Activity: Personal Reflection #2

• Activity: Formal Team Evaluation
• (Fall: student evaluations of faculty) (please complete by Fri. Dec 12 at 11:59pm) [ .html ]
• Supplemental: The Joy of Data: Are We There Yet? [ .pdf ] (Wed. Dec 25, 2024)
• Learning Excel Through Practice (What Data are You Passionate About?)
  • by Individual Passion - Rescued Dogs, Spayed/Neutured Cats, Entrepreneurship, Latin America, US/Mexico Trade
  • by Your Economic Life - online trading/investing, online gaming
  • by Your Personal Life - wearables (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Watch, Oura Ring, Blood Glucose Monitor)
  • by Sport - MLS, WNBA, NFL, MLB, College, et al.
  • by Major/Career - Acct (SEC EDGAR, CalcBench), FIN (Google Finance)
  • by Gov't Jurisdiction - City-level, County-level, State-level, Federal-level
  • in CSUN Library ('Statistical Data') - DataPlanet, US Census, Statista, US Trade Online
  • by courses this semester - FIN/SOM/MKT, core or elective (reproduce a paper problem or calculator problem in Excel)
  • by courses next semester - FIN/SOM/MKT, core or elective (get the syllabus/outline/book, try a couple of exercises)
• Additional Software Tools (What Software Might You Need or Want?) - myCSUNsoftware (Apporto) [ .html ]
  • (note: *any* student can run *any* software-the following are just examples)
  • Accounting majors - Tableau (like PivotTables and Powerpoint combined...and more powerful)
  • Business Analytics majors - Power BI Desktop (partly automated analysis), R/RStudio (statistics, command-line interface)
  • Finance majors - (install and run Python on your own computer--and learn machine learning too)
  • Information Systems majors - Microsoft Access (databases), Microsoft Visio (diagrams)
  • Marketing majors - IBM SPSS (statistics, graphical user interface)
  • Systems and Operations majors - Microsoft Project (project management)
• Upcoming events (What Can You Learn About Data with Others?)
  • 'Data Con LA' - Sat. Nov. 16., 2024 at CSU Long Beach, inexpensive [ .html ]
• (contingency)

• (no class; study for your final exam)
• (contingency)

• Note: Special Time - (tbd)
• Exam: Final Exam