COMP41815: Introduction to Business Analytics

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• To introduce students to the key concepts of programming in python
• To examine how data structures affect the ease of implementation and efficiency of computer programs
• To give students an in-depth understanding at an advanced level of data structures appropriate to business analytics
• To examine and understand how companies attempt different business and corporate strategies to achieve or maintain a competitive advantage
• To give students an in-depth understanding at an advanced level of strategy formulation and implementation under conditions of changing political, economic, sociocultural, and technological conditions, industry competition and firm resources
• To provide an in-depth understanding and critical evaluation of specialist techniques to aid analysis of the competitive and contextual environment.

• Programming in python
• Data structures and their impact on execution time
• Contested nature of the effective organization
• Approaches to organizational effectiveness
• Exploration of Taylorism and its relevance today
• Shifts in control over time
• Workforce patterns of change and engagement
• Process models of change
• Types of change and sources of resistance to change
• Analysing the strategic environment
• Devising and implementing strategic plans
• Supply chains, networks, layout and flow
• Planning and control
• Improvement and risk management
• Cognitivist and behavioural approaches

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of this module, students should:
• Understand the core constructs of imperative programming and how they are used in python
• Have a critical appreciation of the main strengths and weaknesses of a range of programming data structures and how to use them
• Understand various corporate strategies of effective organisation and maintaining a competitive advantage

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of this module, students should:
• Be able to write computer programs in python
• Be able to select appropriate data structures for modelling business scenarios
• Be able to use appropriate tools to manage source code
• Be able to critically assess and examine various corporate strategies
• Be able to critically analyse the non-market environment of business on firms, such as the strategic constraints and opportunities presented by socio-cultural and political developments
• Be able to conduct an in-depth industry analysis and gain advanced understanding of its strengths and limitations

Key Skills:

• Effective written communication
• Planning, organising and time-management
• Problem solving and analysis

• Learning outcomes are met through classroom-based workshops, supported by online resources. The workshops consist of a combination of taught input, groupwork, case studies, discussion and computing labs. Online resources provide preparatory material for the workshops typically consisting of directed reading and video content.
• The formative assessment consists of classroom-based exercises involving individual and group tasks on specific computer science topics.
• The summative assessment is a individual written report on the design, implementation, analysis and testing of a program to solve a specified business problem

Classroom-based exercises involving individual and group analyses and presentations on specific business analytics topics relevant to the learning outcomes of the modules. Oral and written feedback will be given on a group and/or individual basis as appropriate.

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