Syllabus

COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Title: Quantitative Methods for Decision Making Codification: BADM 6810 Pre-Requisite: None Credits: Three (3) Professor Luis López Cartagena llpzcrtgn@yahoo.com Course Description: This course has been designed to teach the applications and utilization of mathematical techniques rather than pure math. The course content includes basic mathematics concepts that are of mostinterest to graduate students of Business Administration. The course is divided into four parts: 1. Functions and graphs: Linear and quadratic functions and their related applications. 2. Linear programming 3. Differential Calculus: limits and continuity, rules to differentiation, applied maxima and minimal and related applications. 4. Integral Calculus: the indefinite integral, formulas, thedefinite integral, area, the Fundamental Theorem of Integral Calculus and related applications. Objectives: 1. To acquire knowledge of various mathematical techniques utilized business decision making. 2. To develop the knowledge and ability to diagnose and solve a given problem considering the different techniques and math formula that should be used. 3. To be able to work with individual realproblems or hypothetical applications. 4. To challenge the student to solve actual economic problems.

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Themes and Specific Objectives: 1. To understand what a function is and to determine domains and functional values. 2. To introduce different types of functions: constant, polynomial, rational, compound, absolute value and factorial functions. 3. To combine functions by means of addition,subtraction, multiplication, division, and composite. 4. To graph equations and functions in the rectangular coordinate system, to determine intercepts, to apply the vertical line test, and to determine the domain and range from a graph. 5. To develop the notion of slope and different forms of equations of lines. 6. To develop the notion of demand and supply curves and to introduce linear functions.7. To sketch parabolas arising from quadratic functions. 8. To solve systems of linear equations in two variables by using the technique of elimination by addition or by substitution. 9. To solve systems describing equilibrium and break-even points. 10. To geometrically represent the solution of a linear inequality in two variables and to extend this to a system of linear inequalities. 11. To statethe nature of a linear programming problem, to introduce terminology associated with it, and to solve it geometrically. 12. To show how the simplex method is used to solve a standard linear programming problem. This method will allow you to solve problems, which cannot be solved geometrically. 13. To show how to solve a minimization problem by altering the objective function so that amaximization problem results. 14. To study limits and their basic properties.

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15. To study one-sided limits, infinite limits, and limits at infinity. 16. To study continuity in the context of limits and to find points of discontinuity for a function. 17. To develop the idea of a tangent line, to define the slope of a curve, and to define a derivative and give a geometrical interpretation. 18. Todevelop basic differentiation rules, namely, formulas for the derivative of a constant, of x n, of a constant times a function, and of sums and differences of functions. 19. To interpret the derivative as an instantaneous rate of change. To develop the marginal concept this is frequently used in business and economics. 20. To relate differentiability to continuity. 21. To find the derivatives byapplying the product and quotient rule. 22. To introduce and apply the chain rule, to derive the power rule as a special case of the chain rule, and to develop the concept of the marginal revenue product as an application of the chain rule. 23. To find when a function is increasing or decreasing, to find critical values, to locate relative maxima and relative minimal, to state the first derivative...