DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR MANAGEMENT

The teaching belongs to the fundamental teaching activities for the master degree in Economia e Gestione delle Aziende. The goal of the course is to provide students with the main concepts related to Business Information Systems, Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and the importance of using decision support systems in the company. It introduces in particular the study of systems dynamics by referring to Petri nets and deeps the concept of time planning of activities (PERT). It also describes a particular Integrated Corporate Information System (SAP) and presents some business cases related to the implementation of some modules in the SAP environment.
The course also aims to provide skills and expertise on the use of analytic models and adequate data to support decisions and on their interpretation with the final goal of proposing appropriate solutions to the managerial challenges under study.

Knowledge and understanding skills.
In keeping with the general objectives of the degree program, the course aims to provide students with the following skills:
- to learn the analytical and conceptual tools necessary to examine and solve specific decision-making problems;
- to learn and understand some techniques useful for transposing a complex decision problem into models that can be analyzed analytically;
- to know and be able to use some important techniques to support business decisions.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding.
Through the individual study, the study of the material suggested by the teacher, the interaction with external experts, the development of exercises, the student will have acquired the following skills to apply their knowledge:
- to be able to use the main techniques to support business decisions useful for examining and solving management problems;
- to bed able to use spreadsheets (Excel) to view, analyze and solve practical cases of complex decisions;
- to be able to interpret the data and results provided by the use of quantitative techniques and dedicated software with respect to complex decision-making problems;
- to be able to quantify the times and risks related to the development and management of complex projects.

Making judgments, communication, learning skills.
Through the discussion of business cases and interaction with the teacher and external experts, the student will learn:
- how to formulate rational justifications to support their judgments, understanding their relative strengths and limits on the basis of hypotheses, data and models;
- how to formulate and communicate an adequate analysis and economic-financial interpretation of company facts also through the use of software.

Some (few) basic knowledge in Mathematics are appreciated. Familiarity with the software Excel is welcome. For a reference course in mathematics (at the bachelor level) see http://www.unive.it/data/course/257915/programma

The main topics addressed during the course are the following:
- Business information systems and Business Process Reengineering (BPR)
- Enterprise System (ES) and implementation
- Systems dynamics. Petri nets
- Activity planning over time (PERT)
- An Integrated Business Information System: SAP
- SAP and some business cases

The main reference texts are the following:

- Bracchi G., Motta G., Processi aziendali e sistemi informativi, Franco Angeli, 1997.
- Di Leva A., Giolito P., I sistemi informativi aziendali: analisi e progetto, UTET Libreria, 1989 (capp. 2, 3).
- Laudon K., Laudon J., Management dei sistemi informativi, ed. italiana a cura di Pennarola F., Morabito V., Pearson, Prentice Hall, 2008.
- Portougal V., Sundaram D., Business Processes: Operational solutions for SAP implementation, IRM Press, 2006 (capp. 1, 4, 5, 6).
- Vercellis C., Business Intelligence. Modelli matematici per le decisioni, Mc Graw Hill, Milano, 2006.

Other teaching material prepared by the theacher will be made available on the Moodle platform of the course.

The evaluation is based on a written exam and on one ongoing mandatory assignment.

Assignment (10%): Students will be proposed one situation in which some of the methodologies seen in class have to be implemented in order to take a "good" decision. The candidate is expected to be able to recognize, organize and process the significant data at hand in order to obtain meaningful output to be used to solve the proposed problem. The solution of the proposed activity has to be uploaded through the Moodle platform and will be evaluated by the teacher. To access the obligatory assignment, the student will be asked to answer to some multiple choice quizzes which aim to verify the student's preparation on the basic concepts.

Written exam (90%): Students will be proposed one theoretical question and two practical questions to be solved using the techniques analyzed in class.

The course consists in 15 classes; the activity in class is both theoretical and practical: active participation is highly recommended. Experiments in Excel will be proposed during classes to master the material and provide insights for decision making and problem solving. The course is accompanied by an online platform offered on Moodle, where the teacher will propose activities and exercises to be solve during the course.

Italian

Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion
Accommodation and support services for students with disabilities and students with specific learning impairments

Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support
services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with
mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

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