W hen business and management science students graduate and have a job, they give many managerial communications about analytical work, but typically they are not taught how to give presentations in their undergraduate courses. We describe the characteristics of the "managerial presentation" and contrast them with characteristics of the "narrative presentation" that is given to technical peers and focuses on process. We then use the business analysis lifecycle to describe and contrast the real world and the model world. Implications for instruction build upon empirical data gathered at Georgia Tech for the presentation skills identified through interviews with engineers, managers, and senior executives in the workforce. We conclude by reviewing processes already used effectively for teaching the relevant presentation skills at Georgia Tech.
In March 2007, the INFORMS Computing Society formed the ICS Education Committee, charged with outlining an undergraduate curriculum that would prepare students for graduate study and/or industrial work at the interface of operations research and computer science. The result is a set of essential and recommended skills that undergraduate students should seek to acquire in order to be successful in such endeavors. This article presents the findings of the committee.
M ultimedia tutorials were developed to introduce basic software functions to students in an introductory operations research modeling course. The purpose of these tutorials was to reduce the amount of class time spent addressing deficiencies in software mastery and allow for more class time to focus on modeling concepts. The motivation for developing these tools and details on the design of the tutorials are outlined. We conducted a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test assessment of the value of the tutorials. The results of the formal assessment as well as student reactions and anecdotal evidence of their usefulness are discussed. We conclude with an evaluation of lessons learned in the process and encourage other educators to consider a similar approach.
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