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LPO 3350-02 Fall 2009 Syllabus

Instructor: Corbette Doyle

Class Time Tuesday 4:10-7:00

Room: 102 Home Economics
Instructor’s Office 011B
Phone: 343-4362
Office Hours: Walk-ins OK, by appt., or Mon & Tues from 3:00- 4:00
E-mail: Corbette.doyle@vanderbilt.edu

Course Overview
…No business is immune to the power of fact-based analysis. Put together enough facts, combine them
with some creative thinking, and you will come up with a solution. Ethan M. Rasiel, The McKinsey Way

Whether your career goal lies in a staff role like HR or in a leadership role, your success will
largely be determined by your ability to link what you do to the bottom line. This is true whether
your find yourself in a Fortune 500, government, or a not-for-profit. To quote the infamous Sister
Irene, former CEO of Ascension Healthcare, “There’s no mission without margin.”

In order to help an organization achieve its goals, you need to understand what the keys to its
success are, how to determine if the current strategies are achieving the desired results, and how to
evaluate a diverse array of opportunities from investments in new technology to innovative
community partnerships.

Because these skills are not easily mastered by memorizing formulas or applying textbook
solutions, this course will use a Problem-based Learning (“PBL”) approach that relies upon self-
paced groups, learning-by-doing, and more teacher facilitation than lecture. The course content is
structured around increasingly complex, real-world problems designed to replicate issues you might
confront after graduation. Additional details about PBL for this course are on the course resource
link, http://delicious.com/Professordoyle under the PBL tag.

Course Objectives
Overarching Goals:
This course will enable students to:
1. Analyze financial results of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations
2. Evaluate progress toward goal achievement
3. Evaluate alternatives and make well-reasoned recommendations

Ancillary Skill Goals:

Master the art of effective executive briefings:
a. From reams of data, identify the information most relevant to a decision

b. Create effective slide decks & charts that simplify decision-making

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Assessments*
I. Graded Group Problems Due Dates Weight
2. Group Project Sept. 15 5%
3. Group Project & Presentation Oct. 6 15%
4. Group Project Nov. 3 10%
7. Group Project & Presentation Dec. 8 20%
Weighted by Peer Evaluations of Individual Effort * ALL problems
II. Homework & Attendance 10%
III. Case-study Tests
1. Mid-term: Oct. 6 20%
2. Final: Dec 8-10 20%

* NOTE: Students who average less than 90% effort from their peers (scale: 70-110%) at any
point after problem #1 will be evicted from the group and will work alone for the rest of the
semester (unless there are other evicted students willing to form a new group with them)

Prob. # Class Dates Topic Deliverables

1 9/1 Follow the $

2 9/8-9/15 From the Outside Looking In 1.Solo homework due (Prob. 1) 9/8 at start of class
2. Group Project due(Prob. 2) 9/15 in class
3 9/15-10/6 Linking Strategy, Perf. & Group Project & Presentation (Prob. 3) on 10/6 at
Value start of class. Take home exam 10/6
10/8 MID-TERM Turn in Take-home exam

4 10/13- How Are We Doing? Group Project due (Prob. 4) 11/3 at start of class
10/27
5 11/3 Bumps in the Road Solo homework (Prob. 5) due 11/10 start of class

6 11/10 Maximizing Results Solo homework (Prob. 6) due 11/17 start of class

7 11/17-12/8 Determining a Firm’s Worth Group Project & Presentation at start of 12/8 class
12/8 FINAL Distribute Take-home exam (30 min to discuss
w/group; 2 days to do)

Grading Scale
A+ 98 – 100 B+ 88 – 90.9 C+ 77 – 80.9 D+ 67 – 69.9
A 95 – 97.9 B 85 – 87.9 C 74 – 76.9 D 64 – 66.9
A- 91 – 94.9 B- 81 – 84.9 C- 70 – 73.9 D- 60 – 63 .9 F < 60
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Late work & Honor Code

All assignments are due at the start of class on the due date. The consequences for late work are: 1 day late
drops the grade 10 points; 2 days late—20 points, 3 days—30 points, and, after that—a zero.
All academic work at Vanderbilt is done under the guidelines set forth in the University Honor Code.
Plagiarized tests or homework will receive a zero.

Special Needs
If you have a learning or physical disability, please see me during the first week of class to discuss
accommodations.

Required Text and Tools

Materials to Purchase
1. Alexander, Jack. (2007). Performance dashboards and analysis for value creation.
Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 0-470-04797-6
2. Marr, Bernard. (2009). Managing and delivering performance: how government, public
sector and not-for-profit organizations can measure what really matters. Oxford, UK:
Butterworth-Heineman. ISBN: 978-0-7506-8710-2
3. Duarte, Nancy. (2008). Slide:ology: the art and science of creating great presentations.
Sebastopol, Ca: O’Reilly Media. ISBN: 978-0-596-52234-6
4. Turning Technologies Clicker: Purchase a “ResponseWare activation card” for a web enabled
laptop, cell phone, iphone, etc OR purchase a “ResponseCard XR Keypad”. Available at
bookstore or buy online & save $. Vandy code = Js8y http://store.turningtechnologies.com/
5. Software for spreadsheet analysis (e.g. XL)

Resources: In addition to the assigned readings, the nature of PBL requires each group to do its own
research and to track down the resources needed to both enhance your understanding of the content
and to find solutions to the problems. To get you started, I have posted a “Resource” list on the
course website www.3350.weebly.com and on http://delicious.com/Professordoyle
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Rubric for Projects

The D Project The C Project The B Project The A Project Score

The A project
The D project
The C project The B project clearly shows an
fails to describe
Knowledge of confuses different describes the relevant understanding of
the analytical
relevant principles
analytics or adds financial or analytical the analytics that
analytics irrelevant material. principles. goes beyond the
accurately.
(25%) assigned readings.
Understanding The C project fails
The D project The B project clearly
of how those to identify the The A project goes
reflects little if articulates the
analytics apply relevant analytics well beyond the
any research analytics and uses
to the problem &/or articulate how analysis needed to
that relates to them appropriately to
(30%) they apply to the present a solution
the problem solve the problem.
problem

Clarity of The D project The A project has

The C project is
gives no The B project is well the qualities of the
Analysis vague & leaves its
evidence of organized, and B project and
(20%) audience with
understanding answers all of its presents valuable
many unanswered
the relevant audience’s questions. insight to unasked
questions.
material. questions

The C project
The B project is The format of the
The D project uses a confusing
easy to follow, A project expands
Presentation is sloppy, format & may
highlights the the knowledge
format (20%) irrelevant, have multiple
relevant info, and is communicated to
and confusing mechanical
error-free . the audience.
errors.
The A project is
The D project The B project
The C project so clear &
is confusing answers the key
Overall Impact leaves the reader articulate, it could
and fails to with key questions questions and
of Project be a CEO level
(5%)
educate the about the analysis. would suffice for a
executive
audience. manager/supervisor
summary