The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets: Management Science, Spreadsheet Engineering, and Modeling Craft

by Stephen G. Powell ( ; ); Kenneth R. Baker

• ISBN13: 9780471209379
• ISBN10: 0471209376
• Edition: CD
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Successful business modeling is much more than a technical discipline; it's an art. And as in most professional disciplines, you can tell the experts apart from the novices by the creativity they bring to the craft. That's why Steve Powell and Ken Baker's THE ART OF MODELING WITH SPREADSHEETS covers spreadsheet engineering, management science techniques, and those essential craft skills needed to develop real expertise in business modeling. Features: * Balanced and streamlined coverage of spreadsheet engineering, management science techniques, and modeling craft. * The CD-ROM packaged with this text features all of the spreadsheets referred to in the text, as well as three software tools of special importance to business analysts: Premium Solver, Crystal Ball, and Sensitivity Toolkit (featuring four sensitivity tools)

Author Biography

Steve Powell is Professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. His primary research interest lies in modeling production and service processes, but he has also been active in research energy economics, marketing, and operations. At Tuck, he has developed a variety of courses in management science, including the core Decision Science course and electives in the Art of Modeling, Business Process Redesign, and Applications of Simulation. He originated the Teacher’s Forum column in Interfaces, and has written a number of articles on teaching modeling to practitioners. He organized the Workshop on Teaching Management Science with Spreadsheet in the summer of 1998, and is the Academic Director of a new series of INFORMS workshops on teaching management science. In 2001, he was awarded the INFORMS Prize for the Teaching of Operations Research/Management Science Practice. Ken Baker is a faculty member at Dartmouth College. He is currently Nathaniel Leverone Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business and also Adjunct Professor at the Thayer School of Engineering. At Dartmouth, he has taught courses relating to Decision Science, Manufacturing Management, and Environmental Management. Over the years, much of his teaching and research has dealt with Production Planning and Control, and he is widely known for his textbook, Elements of Sequencing and Scheduling, in addition to a variety of technical articles. He has served as Tuck School’s Associate Dean and directed the Tuck School’s management development programs in the manufacturing area. In 2001, he was named a Fellow of INFORMS’ Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (MSOM) Society.  

Table of Contents

Introduction.

Modeling in a Problem-solving Framework.

The Craft of Modeling.

Visual Tools.

Building Effective Spreadsheets and Workbooks.

Analysis Using Spreadsheets.

Data Analysis in the Service of Modeling.

Optimization.

Simulation.

Modeling Cases.

Appendix A: Basic Probability Concepts.

Appendix B: Excel Tools for Modeling.