Improves students' ability to think logically about and to structure complex managerial problems; and to develop Excel-based spreadsheet models that can be used to significantly improve managerial decision-making. The course is taught almost entirely by example, using problems from the main functional areas of business: Finance, Operations, and Marketing. Students learn about the two main types of modeling approaches: optimization models which can help find the "best" solution, and simulation models which allow explicit consideration of risk trade-offs associated with alternatives. 4 cr.