{"title":"DSJIE: Reflections on the past and a look to the future","authors":"Vijay R. Kannan","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12279","DOIUrl":"10.1111/dsji.12279","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>As the <i>Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education</i> embarks on its third decade, a former editor reflects on the first two decades and offers thoughts on the future of the journal and decision sciences education.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"21 1","pages":"6-9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47345814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Improvement of Learning Outcomes in Data Analytics and Statistics","authors":"Trevor S. Hale, Susan W. Palocsay","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12278","DOIUrl":"10.1111/dsji.12278","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"20 4","pages":"174-175"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43087940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Risk attitude assessment using roulette and a supply chain simulation","authors":"Ryan Atkins, Matthew Drake","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12276","DOIUrl":"10.1111/dsji.12276","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Many topics that are taught in supply chain management (SCM) programs include elements of variability and risk. With quantitative tools in particular, it is assumed that the decision makers using the tools are risk neutral, which is typically not the case in real-life decision situations. The topic of an individual's attitude toward risk has received limited attention in SCM literature and is not a high-profile topic in SCM textbooks. The teaching exercise presented in this paper uses two games—roulette and a SCM simulation—to provide students with an assessment of their own attitude toward risk, and in doing so, facilitates a classroom discussion of risk and risk attitude. These games were developed by the authors and can be played either within Excel or a web application.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"21 1","pages":"26-36"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43491200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introducing business analytics in context: An Excel project to analyze product and sales data for inventory purchase decisions","authors":"Richard T. Grenci","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12277","DOIUrl":"10.1111/dsji.12277","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article presents a project that uses a business context to introduce students to a multiphase approach to analytics while relying primarily on an introductory Excel course for prerequisite knowledge. A range of analytics techniques—including Excel Pivot tables and charts, regression trend lines, and linear programming—are combined into an integrative project. Using a customer orders database, student groups took on the role of category management teams assigned to analyze product sales, pricing, and costs to create an optimized purchase plan to replenish inventory. The instructor-guided project was employed in a sophomore-level introductory business intelligence course positioned within an undergraduate business core curriculum. Based on the context and level, such a project could be used in a business core course such as fundamentals of business, marketing, operations/supply chain management, information systems, or business analytics.</p>","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"20 4","pages":"190-200"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dsji.12277","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46289882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Teaching binary logistic regression modeling in an introductory business analytics course","authors":"Viet-Ngu Hoang, Justin Watson","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12274","DOIUrl":"10.1111/dsji.12274","url":null,"abstract":"<p>There is an increasing demand to introduce Introductory Business Analytics (IBA) courses into undergraduate business education. Many real-world business contexts require predictive analytics to understand the determinants of a dichotomous outcome; hence, IBA courses should include binary logistic regression analysis. This article provides our reflective discussions on the design of learning activities and assessments to assist business students in learning binary logistic regression in an IBA course. Data on student engagement and learning outcomes are used to shed light on the impacts of teaching logistic regression on student learning and experience. Notably, students opt to focus their assessment work more on logistic regression than on multiple regression analysis, showing the potential attraction of students toward binary logistic regression analysis. We also observed several challenges, mainly related to the use of Excel, that require special attention from instructors.</p>","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"20 4","pages":"201-211"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dsji.12274","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41253564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transitioning a traditional introductory information systems course to a data analytics focused course","authors":"Thomas Tiahrt, Bartlomiej Hanus, Jason C. Porter","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12275","DOIUrl":"10.1111/dsji.12275","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Firms desire graduates capable of executing current and future business practices, many of which revolve around data. To meet those needs, we shifted the orientation of our required information systems course from technology to data. Instead of a survey of information systems, students learn the data acquisition–preparation–mining–presentation process in an information-systems setting. The scope of the revised undergraduate introductory course includes decision trees, Bayesian classifiers, and clustering; it uses Microsoft's Excel, Access, SQL Server, Power BI, and SQL Server Analysis Services to reveal the basics of data analytics to students. Students have welcomed the change and understand that the course material directly applies to what they will experience as working professionals. Similarly, employers have appreciated the change and tell us that our graduates are better prepared to perform data analysis with minimal training.</p>","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"20 4","pages":"176-189"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47574227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In This Issue_July 2022","authors":"Susan W. Palocsay","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12271","DOIUrl":"10.1111/dsji.12271","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"20 3","pages":"116"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49665357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Encouraging intelligent failure in an MBA class","authors":"Christian Walsh","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12273","DOIUrl":"10.1111/dsji.12273","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Failure has an important role to play in learning how to navigate highly uncertain organizational environments. But “failing fast” just for its own sake may in fact undermine learning if not set up or handled correctly. Using failure-based pedagogy, including generative failure, whole-person learning, and entrepreneurial thinking, an MBA course was designed and experienced by 48 students in three instances. Structured around a novel guiding framework of “brains, bravery, and belief,” the course has resulted in highly impactful learning for students. Student experiments are typically based around either exploring an entrepreneurial idea, developing or enhancing a particular skill, or applying skills and knowledge to help improve a societal problem. In each case, students are supported but also challenged to go beyond their comfort zones and encounter some intelligent failure in the journey. Regular reflection on their experiences, both from a cognitive and an affective perspective, is an essential element built into the course experience. The course, which itself was an experiment and not without its own instructive failures, is now an essential part of the MBA experience.</p>","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"21 1","pages":"37-46"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dsji.12273","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43410679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Objectives and curriculum for a graduate business analytics capstone: Reflections from practice","authors":"Tej Anand, Daniel Mitchell","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12272","DOIUrl":"10.1111/dsji.12272","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Many higher education institutions have responded to the significant shortage of professionals with strong analytical expertise by offering graduate programs in business analytics and data science. These programs are typically designed to be practitioner focused and many of them offer a Capstone course that gives students the opportunity to conduct a real-world analytics project. In this article, we describe the innovative design of a Capstone course offered to cohorts of approximately 110 graduate students in the business school at the University of Texas, Austin. This course is designed to deliver self-directed and experiential learning from interacting with business stakeholders and successfully completing team-based, business analytics projects within a commercial firm using the firm's data. The course design includes student and sponsor engagement, the formation of diverse balanced project teams, matching of teams with projects, and scaffolding, which includes consistent structured mentoring, team reflections, interim deliverables and in-class learning for practical skills not covered elsewhere in the curriculum. This course has now been offered successfully to two cohorts. In this article, we will also describe changes made for the second cohort related to team formation, project matching, mentoring and in-class learning. These changes were based on feedback from the first cohort.</p>","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"20 4","pages":"235-245"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42505303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Project management education through simulation: Achieving reliability, relevance, and reality in a “messy” environment","authors":"Richard J. Tarpey","doi":"10.1111/dsji.12270","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dsji.12270","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Project management (PM) work readiness requires preparation beyond the knowledge of concepts and best practices to develop and practice soft skills needed for successful project management. This article proposes a methodology that combines real-world practitioner tools, PM processes, and a Microsoft Excel-based PM Simulator to create a “messy” project environment for students to apply concepts supported by soft skill practice. This methodology addresses a gap in classroom strategies focusing on soft skill development via practice rather than knowledge conveyance for PM education. Faculty provides a project case study for students to plan and execute, starting with charter development and carrying through project execution. This article illustrates one potential case study, but any project planning case study can be used with the PM Simulator as long as the project plan from the case has fewer than 100 individual tasks (PM Simulator constraint). Faculty can control complexity to prevent unwinnable and overly easy scenarios preventing students from becoming frustrated or bored, each a potential learning roadblock. The simulation of an unpredictable project environment occurs as students are faced with challenges that they must assess and overcome. Two pilot implementations successfully demonstrated that students learned to create incremental project artifacts such as charters, project plans, status reports, and learned schedule versus budget-balancing concepts.</p>","PeriodicalId":46210,"journal":{"name":"Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education","volume":"20 3","pages":"131-144"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"137642129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}