V-ALUES -- Mission & Learning Objectives:

Through USF's motto of Pro Urbe et Universitate (for the city and the university), we are committed to our mission of preparing our students to become ethical and wise Leaders in service to their communities.

Through USF's vision of Building A Bold Tomorrow: Vision 2005, we challenge our students in developing their passion for learning as we invest nearly $100 Million to provide them with world-class educational technology resources. USF's strategic location in one of the world's leading international business centers offers our students the opportunity to develop their management expertise within and beyond our electronic classrooms.

Through the Mission of USF McLaren School of Business as an accredited member of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) -- to prepare our students as Leaders in service to our global community for the 21st Century -- we are dedicated to the strategy of incorporating into all our business courses the following five mission-critical themes for core competencies : [1] Communication Strategy, [2] Leadership Dynamics, [3] Creative Problem Solving, [4] Ethical Perspectives, and [5] Global Perspectives. The development of these five skills has been clearly identified by business and employers as being differentiators in their recruitment practices and as being critical to success in the business environment.

Our MISSION POSSIBLE, therefore, is to empower you with new skills and understanding to enable you to become PROACTIVE LEADERS (not merely spectators) on your education and lifelong learning experiences.

We invite you to take a superlatively active role in fulfilling our LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

[1] To develop your COMMUNICATION STRATEGY, you are encouraged to participate in class discussions, team projects, oral presentations, written documentations, and private conferences with the instructor.

[2] To develop your LEADERSHIP DYNAMICS, you are encouraged to lead by example with your fellow classmates in the classroom or with your teammates beyond the classroom.

[3] To develop your CREATIVE PROBLEM SKILLS, you are encouraged to apply logic and imagination in formulating and solving business problems as predominantly emphasized in this course.

[4] To develop your ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES, you are encouraged to apply the honor system and observe policies on academic honesty on all your exams, quizzes, papers, projects, and couse work.

[5] To develop your GLOBAL PESPECTIVES, you are encouraged to collaborate with the diverse ethnic groups and vast international segments of our USF student population and to interact with our global community through email, listservs, newsgroups, and the world wide web.

I-NFORMATION -- on the Instructor & the Course:

INSTRUCTOR: "Mr. V." has over 15 years of corporate training and college teaching experience. He has taught at University of San Francisco, California State University Hayward, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, College of Alameda, Laney College, Merritt College, and Vista College on various courses in Business, Computer Information Systems, Computer Programming, Educational Technology, Finance, Math, Statistics, and Telecommunications. His students range from lower-division undergraduates to graduate MA & MBA students. He has created numerous web pages and has assisted others in publishing their own. For more information on his qualifications, visit his web page at http://web.usfca.edu/~villegas/av-v.html.

COURSE: MBA 502 covers algebra, linear and quadratic equations, systems of equations and inequalities, and mathematics of finance. Emphasis is on applications for business decisions. This is a non-credit requirement unless waived by previous course work or examination. PREREQUISITE: none except your desire to learn.

S-KILLS -- Required & Desired:

REQUIRED: We expect everyone to arrive at school READY-TO-LEARN. Although no prior computer experience is required, we expect people to know how to read, write, and follow directions.

RECOMMENDED: We prefer to have students who are comfortable working alone (self-reliant) and with others (team-spirited). No programming skills are required; however, we expect students to know how to type and use a word processor.

DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOME: Upon completion of this course, students will be proficient on all three "R's" of computer liteRacy and numeracy: [1] Reading ability -- students will develop a continually evolving dictionary on math and computer information systems that will empower them to read and understand news and articles on the subject; [2] end-useR ability -- students will engage in numerous hands-on (calculator andcomputer) activities that will empower them with confidence to deal with new situations; and [3] pRogramming ability -- students will witness various desktop (excel and netcape gold) presentations and will have opportunities to create their own (web) programming applications for class presentations.

"RIGHT ATTITUDE combined with GOOD APTITUDE leads to higher ALTITUDE for learning."

T-OOLS -- Textbooks, Materials, Computer Accounts:

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS: There are TWO (2) required textbooks for this class -- [TEXT-1] Frank S. Budnick, Applied Mathematics for Business, Economics, and the Social Sciences, 4th Edition (San Francisco, CA: McGraw-Hill Inc.., 1993) and [TEXT-2] John Allen Paulos, Beyond Numeracy (New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1991)

RECOMMENDED TEXT: Although not required, this recommended text can prove helpful to those who want to know how to use the World Wide Web via Netscape (version 2, 3 or higher) and how to create web pages. At your discretion, buy the book -- Donald I. Barker & Chia-Ling H. Barker, The World Wide Web Featuring Netscape Navigator 2 Software (Cambridge, MA: Course Technology Inc., 1996).

REQUIRED MATERIALS: You are required to have at least one box of IBM formatted high-density disks to store all your work for this class. When you complete all your homework assignments and your team web project, you should save all those files on your data disks and make duplicate copies to be submitted along with your printouts to the instructor.

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS: Although not required, you are strongly encouraged to have a portable calculator with square root , logarithmic, and exponential functions. Make sure that you have thoroughly read and understood the user manual that came with the calculator and that you have enough batteries prior to exams. You will find a calculator to be a blessing when it works and a curse when it doesn't.

REQUIRED COMPUTER ACCOUNTS (Provided): Once you are officially registered, University of San Francisco will provide you with an electronic mail account (e.g. smitjo00@usfca.edu for John Smith). You will need special email software such as Eudora or telnet on your computer to access yor account at USF. If you wish to be able to access your email anywhere worldwide with simply a web browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer, apply for a FREE account at http://www.hotmail.com.

In order to complete your team web project in this class, one of the members of your team should undertake the role of being your team webmaster and apply for another account called a ppp (point-to-point protocol) account. This account allows you to access the USF web server from home (or work) and to store your web page for others to view. You may apply for your own ppp account at Harney 223 or by calling Paul Breslin at 415/422-6688 or by emailing breslin@usfca.edu.

RECOMMENDED COMPUTER ACCOUNTS (Provided Upon Request): You may want to check your transcript or academic records on-line through your computer at home. If this is so, apply for your own SIS (student iformation system) at Campion B-2 or by calling Ted Lydon at 415/422-6396 or by emailing lydon@usfca.edu. If you want to be able to check your records from the kiosk located at the University Center, you will need a valid USF ID with your personal identification number which you can get through the USF Public Safety found at the basement of Campion Hall.

If you are a business student and want to use the IBM compatible computers at McLaren, you will need to see the Lab Consultant at McLaren 133 for your own Netware account. However, you will not need any special account for using the Macintosh and PowerPC computers at McLaren 131. Remember Prof. Villegas office is at McLaren 132 between the PC Lab (133) and the Mac Lab (131)!

A-CTIVITIES -- Schedule of Classes & Topics:

Click on the Week below for Quick Listing

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5
Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10
Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15

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***** Week ONE (08-28-1997, Th.): INTRODUCTION *****

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• WELCOME
• Meet and greet your fellow classmates and form TEAMS
• Brief intro on syllabus, instructor, course, materials, grading, computer accounts
• [TEXT-1] Ch.1 -- SOME PRELIMINARIES
• Sec.1-1-- Solving First-Degree Equations in One Variable
• Sec.1-2-- Solving Second-Degree Equations in One Variable
• Sec.1-3-- Inequalities and Their Solution
• Sec.1-4-- Absolute Value Relationships
• Sec.1-5-- Rectangular Coordinate Systems
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 29]
• Sec.1-1 -- 1, 3, 5, 7
• Sec.1-2 -- 13, 15, 17, 19
• Sec.1.3 -- 31, 33, 41, 43
• Sec.1.4 -- 49, 51, 57, 59
• Sec.1.5 -- 65, 67, 73, 75

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***** Week TWO (09-04-1997, Th.): LINEAR EQUATIONS *****

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• EQUATIONS AND FUNCTIONS
• Review and Preview
• [TEXT-1] Ch.2 -- LINEAR EQUATIONS
• Sec.2-1-- Characteristics of Linear Equations
• Sec.2-2-- Graphical Characteristics
• Sec.2-3-- Slope-Intercept Form
• Sec.2-4-- Determining the Equation of a Straight Line
• Sec.2-5-- Linear Equations Involving More than Two Variables
• Sec.2-6-- Additional Applications
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 77]
• Sec.2-1 -- 1, 3, 5, 7
• Sec.2-2 -- 17, 19, 29, 31
• Sec.2.3 -- 41, 43, 45, 47, 49
• Sec.2.4 -- 59, 62, 63, 65, 67
• Sec.2.5 -- none
• Sec.2.6 -- 77, 79
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-2, Newsgroup critiique of p.3 article --Mathematical Accent]

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***** Week THREE (09-11-1997, Th.): SYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS *****

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• EQUATIONS AND FUNCTIONS
• Review and Preview
• [TEXT-1] Ch.3 -- SYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS
• Sec.3-1-- Two-Variable Systems of Equations
• Sec.3-2-- Gaussian Elimination Method
• Sec.3-3-- n-Variable Systems, n 3 3
• Sec.3-4-- Selected Applications
• Sec.3-5-- Final Notes
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 121]
• Sec.3-1 -- 1, 3, 11, 13
• Sec.3-2 -- 21, 23, 25
• Sec.3.3 -- 35, 37
• Sec.3.4 -- 53
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-2, Newsgroup critiique of p.7 article --Algebra Basic Principles]

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***** Week FOUR (09-18-1997, Th.): MATHEMATICAL FUNCTIONS *****

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• EQUATIONS AND FUNCTIONS
• Review and Preview
• [TEXT-1] Ch.4 -- MATHEMATICAL FUNCTIONS
• Sec.4-1-- Functions
• Sec.4-2-- Types of Functions
• Sec.4-3-- Graphical Repsentation of Functions
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 171]
• Sec.4-1-- 1, 3, 13, 15
• Sec.4-2-- 31, 33 35, 37, 39, 41
• Sec.4-3-- none
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-2, Newsgroup critiique of p.198 article --The Quadratic]

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***** Week FIVE (09-25-1997, Th.): LINEAR FUNCTIONS: APPLICATIONS *****

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• EQUATIONS AND FUNCTIONS
• Review and Preview
• [TEXT-1] Ch.5 -- LINEAR FUNCTIONS: APPLICATIONS
• Sec.5-1-- Linear Functions
• Sec.5-2-- Other Examples of Linear Functions
• Sec.5-3-- Break-Even Models
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 209]
• Sec.5-1-- 1ab
• Sec.5-2-- 3ab, 5ac
• Sec.5-3-- 13abcd
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-2, Newsgroup critiique of p.198 article --The Quadratic]

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***** Week SIX (10-02-1997, Th.): QUADRATIC & POLYNOMIAL FUNCTIONS *****

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• EQUATIONS AND FUNCTIONS
• Review and Preview
• WEB INSTRUCTIONS
• [TEXT-1] Ch.6 -- QUADRATIC & POLYNOMIAL FUNCTIONS
• Sec.6-1-- Quadratic Functions & Their Characteristics
• Sec.6-2-- Quadratic Functions: Applications
• Sec.6-3-- Polynomial and Rational Functions
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 246]
• Sec.6-1-- 1, 3, 5
• Sec.6-2-- 17ab, 19
• Sec.6-3-- 31ab, 33a, 35ab, 37ab, 39ab
• HOMEWORK [Create your own WEB Resumé]

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***** Week SEVEN (10-09-1997, Th.): EXPONENTAL & LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS *****

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• EQUATIONS AND FUNCTIONS
• Review and Preview
• WEB INSTRUCTIONS
• [TEXT-1] Ch.7 -- EXPONENTAL & LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS
• Sec.7-1-- Characteristics of Exponential Functions
• Sec.7-2-- Applications of Exponential Functions
• Sec.7-3-- Logarithms and Logarithmic Functions
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 246]
• Sec.7-1-- 1, 3, 5, 7
• Sec.7-2-- 21, 23
• Sec.7-3-- 33, 35, 37, 39
• HOMEWORK [Newgroup entry by each team of 2 exam questions per chapter from Ch.1-7]

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***** Week EIGHT (10-16-1997, Th.): MATHEMATICS OF FINANCE *****

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• FINITE MATHEMATICS
• Review and Preview
• EXAM #1 on Chapters 1 through 7 (close-book, open 1-sheet note only)
• [TEXT-1] Ch.8 -- MATHEMATICS OF FINANCE
• Sec.8-1-- Interest and Its Computation
• Sec.8-2-- Single Payment Computations
• Sec.8-3-- Annuities an Their Future Value
• Sec.8-4-- Annuities an Their Present Value
• Sec.8-5-- Cost-Benefit Analysis
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 340]
• Sec.8-1-- none
• Sec.8-2-- 1, 3, 5
• Sec.8-3-- 19, 21
• Sec.8-4-- 29, 31, 37abc
• Sec.8-5-- 51, 53
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-2, Newsgroup critiique of p.71 article -- Exponenial Growth]

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***** Week NINE (10-23-1997, Th.): MATRIX ALGEBRA *****

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• FINITE MATHEMATICS
• Review and Preview
• [TEXT-1] Ch.9 -- MATRIX ALGEBRA
• Sec.9-1-- Introduction to Matices
• Sec.9-2-- Special Types of Matrices
• Sec.9-3-- Matrix Operations
• Sec.9-4-- The Determinant
• Sec.9-5-- The Inverse of a Matrix
• Sec.9-6-- Special Applications
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 408]
• Sec.9-1-- none
• Sec.9-2-- none
• Sec.9-3-- 1abc, 3abc, 5abc, 7abc, 9abc
• Sec.9-4-- 45, 53, 63
• Sec.9-5-- 67, 77
• Sec.9-6-- none
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-2, Newsgroup critiique of p.136 article -- Matrices and Vectors]

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***** Week TEN (10-30-1997, Th.): LINEAR PROGRAMMING *****

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• FINITE MATHEMATICS
• Review and Preview
• WEB INSTRUCTIONS
• [TEXT-1] Ch.10 -- LINEAR PROGRAMMING
• Sec.10-1-- Linear Programming
• Sec.10-2-- Graphical Solutions
• Sec.10-3-- Applications of Linear Programming
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 455]
• Sec.10-1-- none
• Sec.10-2-- 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
• Sec.10-3-- 11, 13, 15, 16, 17
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-2, Newsgroup critiique of p.133 article -- Linear Programming]

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***** Week ELEVEN (11-06-1997, Th.): SIMPLEX METHOD *****

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• FINITE MATHEMATICS
• Review and Preview
• WEB INSTRUCTIONS
• [TEXT-1] Ch.11 -- SIMPLEX & COMPUTER METHOD
• Sec.11-1-- Simplex Preliminaries
• Sec.11-2-- The Simplex Method
• Sec.11-3-- Special Phenomena
• Sec.11-4-- Computer Solution Methods
• Sec.11-5-- The Dual Problem
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 516]
• Sec.11-1-- 1, 3, 5
• Sec.11-2-- 9, 11
• Sec.11-3-- 17, 19
• Sec.11-4-- 21, 23
• Sec.11-5-- 29
• HOMEWORK [Newgroup entry by each team of 2 questions per chapter from Ch.8-12]

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***** Week TWELVE (11-13-1997, Th.): TRANSPORTATION & ASSIGNMENT *****

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• FINITE MATHEMATICS
• Review and Preview
• WEB INSTRUCTIONS
• [TEXT-1] Ch.12 -- TRANSPORTATION & ASSIGNMENT MODELS
• Sec.12-1-- The Transportation Model
• Sec.12-2-- Solutions to Transportation Models
• Sec.12-3-- The Assignment Model & Methods of Solution
• HOMEWORK [TEXT-1, Additional Exercises starting on page 551]
• Sec.12-1-- none
• Sec.12-2-- 1ab, 3, 5abc
• Sec.12-3-- 7, 9
• HOMEWORK [Newgroup entry by each team of 2 questions per chapter from Ch.8-12]

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***** Week THIRTEEN (11-20-1997, Th.): EXAM #2 *****

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• FINITE MATHEMATICS
• Review and Preview
• EXAM #2 on Chapters 8 through 12 (close-book, open notes)
• TEAM WEB TIME [Prepare Team Web Project]

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***** Week FOURTEEN (11-27-1997, Th.): NO CLASS*****

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• NO CLASS
• Happy Thanksgiving!

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***** Week FIFTEEN (12/04/97, Th.): TEAM WEB PRESENTATIONS *****

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• TEAM A
• Ch. 8 Minicase: XYZ Corporation on p.346
• TEAM B
• Ch. 9 Minicase: Human Resource Planning on p.419
• TEAM C
• Ch. 10 Minicase: Air Traffic Control Scheduling on p.460
• TEAM D
• Ch. 11 Minicase: Contract Awards on p.521
• TEAM E
• Ch. 12 Minicase: Distribution Warehousing on p.555

S-UCCESS -- Deliverables & Grade Breakdown:

Your course letter grade will depend upon your total accumulated points as below:

Breakdown of 1000 Points -- total maximum possible points

200 points -- Class Participation: Be prepared and on time, participate in electronic and live discussions. Absences and tardiness on either lab or lecture may count against you! If you are registered for this class and plan to drop the class, you are responsible for doing so by the deadline. If you fail to withdraw from class and no longer showed up, you may receive an "F" grade. So be sure to take the appropriate action!

200 points --Homework Assignment: One of the best means of evaluating your CONCEPTUAL understanding of the subject matter is through your homework assignments. You should try solving the problems manually and then submit your answers by taking the webquiz homework modules -- 502hw01 through 502hw12. All entries should be submitted not later than 12 noon on our next class day.

200 points --Team Web Case Assignment: One of the best means of evaluating your PRACTICAL understanding of the subject matter is through your team web assignments. Both hard copy (print-outs) and soft copy (electronic files on disk) of your team web case assignment must be submitted to the instructor on the day of presentation to receive full credit. You should keep your original disks and make copies for submission to the instructor.

400 points -- Tests (Exam#1 & Exam#2): One of the best ways of assessing your COMPREHENSIVE understanding of the subject matter is through tests. All tests shall be closed-book. However, you will be allowed to use your notes which can be handwritten or word-processed but not photocopies of other people's works (such as textbooks). One sheet of notes is allowed for Exam#1 and unlimited sheets of notes are allowed for Exam#2.

Tardiness -- All work that are turned in after they are due receive a deduction of 20% from the maximum points allowed for each (fraction of an) hour late. However, no work shall be accepted after the last class! ALL work are due at the beginning of the class lecture on the last day of class!

Makeup exam and INComplete grades -- are not given except for extreme cases due to medical or legal reasons. See instructor instead about extra credit!

Extra Credit: Points lossed for absences or poor performance in presentations may be offset by points earned for extra credit work approved by instructor. No makeup is allowed for email copies of homework assignments. However, the maximum points that can be earned on extra credit cannot exceed 80% of the work being replaced. Typical extra credit work involves attendance/presentation and publication of web page report on "first-hand experience" on computer expos, user group conferences, EdTech seminars, or volunteer services e.g. Sales Force Automation (free expo pass) on Sept. 17-18, 1997 at the San Jose Convention Center; Pleasanton Business Technology Showcase sponsored by the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce ($10-$25) on Sept. 24-26, 1997 at the Alameda County Fairgrouds; Seybold Seminars (free expo pass) on Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 1997 at the San Francisco Moscone Convention Center; Macromeda Authorware4 Web Seminar (free kit and admission) on Sept. 30, 1997 in San Jose; Telecommuting & Home Office Expo (800-393-THOE for free expo pass) on October 16-17, 1997 at the San Francisco Moscone Convention Center; 1997 Fall CUE Conference on Oct.16-18, 1997 at the Santa Clara Convention Center where Prof. Villegas will be a guest speaker, NetDay held on October 26, 1997 in various K-12 schools nationwide, or Comdex Fall'97 (for the truly serious -- $50-$1295 excluding travel and entertainment) on November 17-21, 1997 in Las Vegas, Nevada (this is the BIGGEST computer convention in the World). See instructor to get written approval of extra credit work!

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Originally created on 2 January 1996.
Last updated on 28 August 1997.
Copyright 1996, A. Villegas, All Rights Reserved.