THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY BUSINESS SCHOOL

ITLS5200 STUDENT GUIDE

GEOFFREY CLIFTON,

15 July 2015

CONTENTS 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 2 2 Class times and locations ...................................................................................................................................... 2 3 Textbook ................................................................................................................................................................ 2 4 Other resources ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 5 Computers and software ....................................................................................................................................... 2

5.1 Overview ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 5.2 Software .............................................................................................................................................................. 2

5.3 Software available at home ............................................................................................................................. 3 5.4 Computer labs ................................................................................................................................................. 3 5.5 File storage ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 5.6 Student email account .................................................................................................................................... 3 5.7 What to purchase ............................................................................................................................................ 3

6 Basic mathematics and statistical skills ................................................................................................................. 4 7 Resources to help you write assignments ............................................................................................................. 4

7.1 General resources .......................................................................................................................................... 4 7.2 Academic honesty ........................................................................................................................................... 4 7.3 The library ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 7.4 Finding relevant academic articles.................................................................................................................. 4 7.5 References for the ethics section of the Individual Report ............................................................................. 5 7.5.1 General references on ethics ....................................................................................................................... 5 7.5.2 References on specific topics ...................................................................................................................... 5

8 Time commitment .................................................................................................................................................. 5

ITLS5200 Student Guide

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1 INTRODUCTION This document sets out information that will help you successfully complete ITLS5200 Quantitative Logistics and Transport, this document will also provide you with useful information to work with quantitative data in your other units at ITLS and in your future career. This document should be read in conjunction with the ITLS5200 Unit of Study Outline and the Student Policies document (both of which are available on Blackboard).

2 CLASS TIMES AND LOCATIONS The class timetable is available on Blackboard on the Unit of Study Outline page. The timetable contains the class topics, dates, times and locations. The timetable will be updated during the Semester with details of the exam times and locations. An announcement will be posted on Blackboard if any of the these are changed.

3 TEXTBOOK There are two recommended textbooks for this unit. The first recommended text book covers all parts of the course and will also be used in ITLS6002 Supply Chain Planning Systems: Winston, W.L. and Albright, S.C. 2012, Practical Management Science, 5

th ed., Cengage, Boston.

ISBN 9781305250901. The second recommended text book covers statistics, regression modelling and time series modelling in more depth and will be particularly useful for students going on to do the research unit or further studies in business statistics: Selvanathan, E., Selvanathan, S. and Keller, G. 2014, Business Statistics: Australia and New Zealand, 6

th ed.,

Cengage, Melbourne. ISBN 9780170237000.

4 OTHER RESOURCES We will be using the ITLS5200 Workbook in class throughout the Semester and you will need this to complete the homework tasks. This document can be downloaded from Blackboard. A guide to SPSS is available on Blackboard. This document will be a useful resource when we cover statistics and regression in class. Please note that the document is written for all users of SPSS within ITLS and so provides more in-depth coverage of SPSS than we require for ITLS5200. SPSS is discussed in Section 5.2.2.

5 COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE

5.1 OVERVIEW All our classes are in a computer lab, so you will have a computer in front of you in every class. However, you may still wish to bring along a laptop or tablet to class. This will give you another screen to view the slides or workbook and you may prefer to practice on your own computer. However, you will need to use the computer lab computers during the Computer exam.

5.2 SOFTWARE We will use two software packages in class, Excel and SPSS. You will also need a word processor application (such as Word) to complete your assignments.

5.2.1 Excel There are at least 5 versions of Excel in common use:

1. Excel 2003 (some companies still use this version) 2. Excel 2007 (was used in the Business School until the end of Semester 1 2015), 3. Excel 2010 (still very common), 4. Excel 2013 (now standard across the University standard) and 5. Excel 2011 for Mac.

We will be using Excel 2013 and the workbook is written assuming that you use this version. However, resources are available in the workbook and on Blackboard for the other versions. Office 365 is a subscription based service offered by Microsoft and, from their website, includes Excel 2013 for both Windows and Mac users.

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5.2.2 SPSS We will be using IBM SPSS Statistics 22 for the statistics and regression section of the unit. This software is a dedicated statistics package that is used by some larger companies, government departments and most universities. It is an expensive package to purchase but is quicker and more powerful than Excel for statistical modelling.

5.3 SOFTWARE AVAILABLE AT HOME We cannot offer free downloads of either Excel or SPSS and it is not necessary to have either program at home to pass the unit. You will have access to the software during class and can use the computer labs for practice and to prepare your assignments. However, if you do wish to purchase these programs, there are discounts available for university students and a trail version is available for SPSS.

5.4 COMPUTER LABS Some computer labs on campus are run by the Business School (e.g. the labs in building H69) and some are run by the University’s own ICT section (e.g. the Brennan MacCallum Learning Hub and the computer labs in building H70). The range of software available is similar in the two types of labs but you will only have direct access to your P drive in the Business School labs (see below for details). Some labs are open on weekends and some are even open 24 hours a day, click on the links for the locations and opening hours of the various labs.

5.5 FILE STORAGE The Business School provides you with a personal directory to store files on our server. You can access this directory from any Business School computer or by using remote access when off campus or in the University run computer labs. Follow the link for more information on remote access. Some students prefer Dropbox or one of the similar services as a way to store and access files from anywhere or you can simply bring along a USB stick. You will need to download and save files after every class. Make sure you have at least one way of saving your work.

5.6 STUDENT EMAIL ACCOUNT All students are given an email account when they commence studying at the University of Sydney. This email account and Blackboard are the primary ways that we communicate with you outside of class. You can automatically redirect your university email to a private email account. More information is available here.

5.7 WHAT TO PURCHASE As discussed above, it is not necessary to purchase any software or to purchase a USB stick. However, you will need to use the software for preparing for your assessment in this unit and you will need to save files. This means that you will either need to make arrangements to use the free services offered by the Business School and the University or to invest in the paid options discussed above.

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6 BASIC MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICAL SKILLS This course assumes that you have some basic computer, mathematical and statistical skills. If you do not have these skills before coming to class, then you will fall behind and need to work harder just to keep up. The Maths in Business website offers resources and workshops to help new students. At the very least you should read an introduction to Excel and to read the helpsheets on the Business School’s website. You will need the sheets on Algebra, Arithmetic, Exponential and logarithmic functions, Linear equations, Quadratic equations and Statistics. Cramer’s Rule, Function derivatives and Integration are not used in this unit but may be useful in other units.

7 RESOURCES TO HELP YOU WRITE ASSIGNMENTS

7.1 GENERAL RESOURCES A good place to start is with the Business School’s academic writing site. From that page there are links at the bottom of the page to other resources and also links on the menu at the left of the page. The learning skills helpsheets are particularly helpful and so is the University’s WriteSite.

7.2 ACADEMIC HONESTY Academic honesty is taken very seriously within the University of Sydney, you will need to do the Academic Honesty module in your first Semester (available via Blackboard) and you must follow The Business School Referencing Guide in preparing your written assessments.

7.3 THE LIBRARY The library provides an enormous range of resources both online and in the library’s buildings but most students will not realise this until they have graduated and no longer able to access the library. The library also publishes number of guides to develop your research skills. We recommend that you explore the iResearch site.

7.4 FINDING RELEVANT ACADEMIC ARTICLES There are several approaches that can be taken. I tend to use one of these approaches but there is more information on the library’s website:

1. Go the library's website. Type the topic into the search engine and see what you find. Be specific in the topic you enter and remember to check the results to make sure they are academic journal articles.

2. Use the library's databases. Select databases from the library's website and find the Transport and Logistics databases. There is even a guide for transport and logistics students with information about literature reviews, finding articles, etc.

3. Browse the relevant journals. The ITLS homepage has a list of Journal Rankings which lists the key journals in Transport and Logistics. Almost all of these are free to browse from the Library's website and Tier 4 are the most prestigious journals.

4. Look up the papers written by an author in this field. Most ITLS staff members have published papers that could be relevant. Even better would be to look up the authors that have been cited in the papers written by ITLS staff members.

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7.5 REFERENCES FOR THE ETHICS SECTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL REPORT The Individual Report requires you to explore ethical issues in the creation and use of quantitative analysis. The University of Sydney believes that all students should be aware of the ethical issues in their field of study and should develop an understanding of how to behave ethically in their chosen careers. This reading list was put together by the students of ITLS5100 in Semester 1 2015 and their lecturer Claudine Moutou.

7.5.1 GENERAL REFERENCES ON ETHICS Cohen, S. 2013, ‘Promoting ethical judgement in an organizational context’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 117, no. 3, pp. 513-523.

Dreilinger, C. 1994, 'What about thou shalt', Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 19-22.

Hanson, K.O. 2014, 'Six unavoidable ethical dilemmas every professional faces', Business and Society Review, vol. 119, no. 4, pp. 537–552.

Valentine, S. and Hollingsworth, D. 2012, ‘Moral intensity, issue importance and ethical reasoning in operations situations’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 108, no. 4, pp. 509-523.

Van Wee, B. and Molin, E. 2012, ‘Transport and ethics: Dilemmas for CBA researchers. An interview-based study from the Netherlands’, Transport Policy, vol. 24, pp. 30-36.

7.5.2 REFERENCES ON SPECIFIC TOPICS Bird, F. 2009, ‘The ethical responsibilities of businesses in developing areas’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 89, no. S2, pp. 85-97.

Lowry, R. and Peterson, M. 2012 ‘Cost Benefit Analysis and non-utilitarian ethics’, Politics, Philosophy & Economics, vol. 11, no. 3: pp. 258-279.

Rosmuller, N., and Beroggi, G.E.G. 2004 ‘Group decision making in infrastructure safety planning’, Safety Science, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 325-349.

Stein, M.S. 2002 ‘Utilitarianism and the disabled: Distribution of resources’, Bioethics, vol.16, no.1, pp. 1-19.

Tidwell, A. 2000 'Ethics, safety and managers', Business & Professional Ethics Journal, vol. 19, no. 3/4, pp. 161-180.

Wachter, J.K. 2011, 'Ethics: The absurd yet preferred approach to safety management', Professional Safety, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 50-57.

8 TIME COMMITMENT We have redesigned the timetable to provide you with more time in class and with more face to face time with the academics. We hope that this will improve your experience in the class and improve your learning outcomes. However, you still need to commit time outside of class to study the material, to prepare for the next class and to practice the skills and techniques that we teach you. How much time you will need to spend will depend on your own skills level and knowledge, what sort of result you want at the end of Semester and your other time commitments.