American Airlines

As I have already got the job offer from the American Airlines, I am very pleased to introduce the company and my position.

American Airlines, Inc. (AA) is a major American airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Operating an extensive international and domestic network, American Airlines is the world's largest airline by fleet size and revenue, and the second largest by number of destinations served, after United Airlines. It operates from its main hub at Dallas/Fort Worth, and its hubs at Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C., while its primary maintenance base is at Tulsa International Airport. Its primary competitors are United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines.

American Airlines is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance, and coordinates fares, services, and scheduling with British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair in the transatlantic market and with Japan Airlines in the transpacific market. Regional service is operated by independent and subsidiary carriers under the brand name American Eagle.

(From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines)

Revenue Management is the application of disciplined analytics that predict consumer behavior at the micro-market level and optimize product availability and price to maximize revenue growth. The primary aim of Revenue Management is selling the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price and with the right pack. The essence of this discipline is in understanding customers' perception of product value and accurately aligning product prices, placement and availability with each customer segment.

(From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_management)

Experience: SMU is the target school for the American Airlines, especially for the revenue management department. So there is a good chance for the MSBA student in SMU to get job offer from the American Airlines.  Since AA sponsors H1B visa, it is a very good choice for international students who want to get a job in the US. Be well prepared for the resume screening, happy hour and formal job interviews. And you will get it.

A Matter of Return

I have always loved SMU! I have applied here for both my undergrad degree and my graduate degree (this MSBA program). When I was trying to choose between graduate programs, probably the biggest drawback of this program for me was the cost. The tuition here is, in fact, quite high, but there are a couple of reasons why it is completely worth it.

• You only have to pay for 1 year. For a number of the other graduate programs I was looking at, the yearly tuition was less but the program lasted 2 years. Once you multiplied their tuition by 2, SMU was either the same cost or even cheaper.

• SMU has great connections. SMU has an incredible alumni base, which makes the job search process just a little bit easier, and it gives you some connections to incredible companies. To find a pretty gob job early gives you the ability to start earning a pretty god salary early on as well.

• The Dallas area has tons of opportunities. Aside from the connections that SMU offers, the Dallas area in general has even more opportunities. There are so many companies in the Dallas area that you end with a wide array of really good companies to choose from.

• The Cox School of Business is very well-known. For companies, especially companies in Dallas, that don't already have SMU and Cox alumni employed, the Cox School of Business is still very well-known therefore giving you a leg-up when a company is reviewing your information.

I know the cost may seem high, but for me, the return I'm going to get out of this program is well worth it.

Pony Up!

Fall Semester Module B

Fall Semester Module B

Advanced Decision Models

Professor: Amy Puelz, Clinical Professor
http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/PuelzAmy

Textbook: Practical Management Science, Fourth edition by Winston and Albright.

Software: Excel and Palisade’s Decision Tool Suite software.

Contents: Goal Programming, Non-linear Model, Non-Smooth Model, VBA in Excel, stochastic optimization and Logistic Regression models.

Tips: This is the advanced version of the Decision Model in Module A. Goal programming may be the most difficult part in this course. Follow every step that the Professor presents in class and you will have no problem in success in the course.

Applied Predictive Analytics II

Professor: Michael Braun, Associate Professor

http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/BraunMichael

Textbook: No required.

Software: R.

Contents: Construct probability models of customer activity, and estimate model parameters using the method of maximum likelihood; Choose among model specifications, using quantitative and qualitative criteria; Apply Bayesian methods for inference, classification and forecasting; Model integrated customer purchase and retention processes, and how to use those models to estimate expected customer lifetime value.

Tips: This may be the most difficult course I have taken in this program so far. Each class has a lot of contents to cover and master. The theory part is on probability models and Bayesian methods. The context is marketing related, such as new product adoption, sales forecasts and customer lifetime value.  The application is R based and it involves a lot of programming work. The homework is also difficult and it usually go a little beyond class materials. The professor wants you to discover something by yourself in homework. Anyway, this is a hard course but very state-of-the-art. There is no textbook, but you rely on the Slides and several recently published academic articles.

Database Design for Business Applications

Professor: Stewart Rogers, Adjunct Professor

http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/RogersStewart

Textbook: Concepts of Database Management, 8^th Edition, Philip Pratt and Mary Last.

Software: Access and Excel.

Contents: Fundamentals of relational database design, Data Management (Table design, Input and Output, Client/Server, Administration Issues), How to talk to IT intelligently (Database Jargon, current capabilities), Excel Data Capabilities (Data Functions, Table Manipulation, In Memory DB’s).

Tips: It is an introduction level course for database. It is not hard and the concept is the basic for advanced database course. You will learn basic SQL, which is very useful.

Revenue Management

Professor: John Semple, Charles Wyly Professor of MIS

http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/SempleJohn

Textbook: Pricing and Revenue Optimization, by Robert L Phillips.

Software: Excel.

Contents: optimal pricing model, Little Woods’ two class model, n-class dynamic model, network capacity control, choice model, overbooking management.

Tips: This class is mainly a modelling class. You will use Excel to build up those models. The homework is very interesting and challenging at the same time. So you will learn both in class and in doing homework.

Fall Semester Module A

Fall Semester Module A

Applied Predictive Analytics I
Professor: Richard Briesch, Professor of Marketing, Corrigan Research Professor, Research Fellow, National Center for Arts Research. http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/BrieschRichard
Textbook: Econometric Analysis (7th Edition) by Greene; The Little SAS Book: A Primer, Fifth Edition by Delwiche and Slaughter.
Software: SAS.
Contents: Endogeneity/Simultaneous Equations, Sample Selection Correction/Tobit, Information Criteria/Model selection, Likelihoods.
Tips: This is a basically Econometrics class with SAS application. You’d better to be familiar with basic SAS coding skills, because the Professor won’t go through every detail in SAS coding, especially the basic data manipulation skills. For the theory part, the textbook is too heavy and mathematical for the class contents. So just use it as a reference book.

Business Metrics
Professor: Jacquelyn Thomas, Associate Professor of Marketing, Frank and Susan Dunlevy Faculty Fellow
http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/ThomasJacquelyn
Textbook: Marketing Metrics, Paul Farris, Neil Bendle, Philip Pfeifer, and David Reibstein
Software: Excel
Contents: Through the use of problem sets and business cases, the course focuses on the calculation of financial, marketing and operational metrics and demonstrate contexts in which managers would rely upon such metrics for decision-making.
Tips: You have to remember a lot of calculations for different kind of metrics. It is not that hard, but keep to the slides and the book.

Introduction to Business Process Analytics
Professor: Ulrike Schultze, Associate Professor 2012-2013 Dunlevy
http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/SchultzeUlrike
Textbook: No required.
Software: No.
Contents: In this class, students will learn the conceptual frameworks, tools and skills needed to develop a blueprint for analytics. This entails successfully analyzing the high-level requirements for business analytics, prioritizing and outlining solutions, proposing business process improvements to generate the requisite data, and making the business case.
Tips: This is a totally case-based class, without any programming skills requirement. But the course load will be very heavy and you have to read a lot of case before class and discuss in class. The conceptual framework is very important. Participation means a lot in this course.

Decision Models
Professor: Amy Puelz, Clinical Professor
http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/PuelzAmy
Textbook: Practical Management Science, Fourth edition by Winston and Albright.
Software: Excel and Palisade’s Decision Tool Suite software.
Contents: linear, integer, binary and nonlinear optimization models in Excel; decision trees for business decisions given uncertainty, simulation models for business decision given uncertainty.
Tips: It basically teaches operation research models with Excel applications. The Professor keeps a perfect pace of presenting how to build decision models in Excel at class. You will learn the most in class. Follow every examples in class and finish the corresponding homework, and you will get a good result.

The "Managing Your Career" Course

Over the course of our first semester, everyone in the program was enrolled in a course called "Managing Your Career". In this course, we got to hear great career and job search advice from both Hettie Tabor, our program director and Scott Hensley, who is in charge of the Cox career center. They gave great interview tips and let us ask tons of questions about everything job-related. In addition, we also had presentations from 2 different companies every week. A lot of these companies had either hired students from the program the year before or expressed an interest in the students in the current program. This was a great chance to network, and it also let us see some of the options for careers after graduation.

Some of the companies that came were:

• State Farm
• Accenture
• Texas Health Resources
• Google
• PwC
• Hitachi
• American Airlines

SMU has a really great alumni network, which can really be helpful in the job search.

HBR: How Big Data Is Changing Disruptive Innovation

One of the reasons we are studying Business Analytics is because of things mentioned in this article below.  Great read!


Harvard Business Review: How Big Data Is Changing Disruptive Innovation
"To succeed in this new environment, threatened businesses need a thoughtful approach to identifying potential threats combined with the will to make the right long-term investments — despite short-term profit incentives."

MSBA Overview by Professor John Semple

The important WHY's

Kiran: Below I wanted to answer a few questions on why I chose MSBA.

Why MSBA?

Before joining the MSBA program I worked as an EIM Consultant. When I started my career at consulting there were a lot of companies who were implementing their first ERP software. But gradually all the companies, which had a lot of data (clean/unclean), were interested in looking for solutions from the data they have, be   it in understanding their customer base or making their own production processes leaner. With my former employer, there was a lot of emphasis on technologies like Internet of Things, IM on HANA, Hadoop etc. My exposure to a lot of predictive technologies available today and my work in the master data management domain increased my curiosity and it seemed like the move in the right direction that I take my Master in Business Analytics.

Why SMU?

For me, the two primary reasons for choosing SMU was:

1. Hettie Tabor – Our Program Director. She joined SMU after 26 years in consulting. She was Accenture’s SAP Business Analytics Global Practice Lead. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor and role model to guide me in my career.
   http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/TaborHettie
2. Location - Dallas has a growing economy. Having worked in Texas before I loved its culture, people and their love for food. Location did play a major role in zeroing in on SMU.
   http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/toyota-unveils-plans-for-new-headquarters.html/
   http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/plano/headlines/20160122-plano-city-council-to-vote-on-jpmorgan-chase-incentives.ece
   http://www.dallasnews.com/business/commercial-real-estate/headlines/20140214-state-farm-adds-fourth-building-to-richardson-campus-project.ece

Snapshot

Kiran
Although it's difficult to capture all our favorite memories in a single picture, I tried my best and put together a collage. Remember the saying all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy :)

Summer Bootcamps

Since the MSBA program mostly focuses on quantitative analysis skills and students come from a variety of academic backgrounds, SMU provides a series of required Summer Bootcamps for students to refresh basic statistics and programming skills. In 2015, the Summer Bootcamps were held in August and lasted for 3 weeks. It consists of 3 parts: Statistics Bootcamp, R Bootcamp and Excel Bootcamp.

Statistics Bootcamp

Professor: Richard Briesch, Professor of Marketing, Corrigan Research Professor, Research Fellow, National Center for Arts Research.

http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/BrieschRichard

Textbook: None required.

Software: Excel.

Contents: The first half of this course is devoted to learning about basic probability distributions, estimation, and hypothesis testing; the second half is devoted to simple and multiple regression analysis and model building and diagnoses.

Tips: It is altogether 6 classes for this statistics bootcamp. The professor cannot teach every detail on statistics in such a short amount of time, so it is better for students to have a good sense of statistics beforehand. The PPT slides are very concise in contents so that you may need to search for more detailed explanations in your college textbooks or on the internet. The professor will present each statistics concept using examples in Excel, so that you should have basic Excel skills.  The professor may teach very fast for some time, so you should feel free to ask questions in class and review class contents carefully after class by yourself. Remember, this is just a statistics bootcamp, not a semester-long, mathematics-based statistics course. 

R Bootcamp

Professor: Young Park.

Textbook: None required.

Software: R.

Contents: There are 3 classes for this R Bootcamp. It covers basic R syntax, such as Vectors, Matrices, Data Frames, Arrays, Vector and Matrix Operations, Random Sampling and Subscripting, Function, Loops, Reading and Writing Data, Data Manipulation by dplyr, Conversion by tidyr, and Creating Graphics by ggplot2.

Tips: If R is a totally new programming language for you, just keep practicing. The more you practice, the more you will learn by yourself. Do not just copy and paste, try to write those codes by yourself.

Excel Bootcamp

Professor: Stewart Rogers, Adjunct Professor.

http://www.smu.edu/Cox/Departments/FacultyDirectory/RogersStewart

Textbook: None required.

Software: Excel.

Contents: It is only 1 class for this Intermediate/Advanced Excel session. It covers Excel Basics (functions, help, and formula), Managing Data (importing, sorting, filtering, summarizing, pivot tables), Financial Modeling, and Custom Applications with Excel (OLAP, Data Mart).

Tips: Excel is the basis for every business analysis task, so make sure you master it well. You will need the Analysis ToolPack and the Solver ToolPak installed on your computer before class. Sometimes, the Professor presents some Excel operations very quickly, so be sure to follow him, otherwise you will be lost.

MSBA Students

Anne Meraz
I love solving problems! That passion led me to get a bachelor's degree in Information Technology & Decision Sciences at University of North Texas.  Then I became data analyst at ETC, a tollway consulting company.  I really enjoyed digging into the data to uncover the issues and find that "bug"! My last job was with Epsilon, a large data broker firm who was very data driven.  Working there made me realize that I want to learn more about business/data analytics.  So after I finished a 3-year project to build an internal marketing system one of their clients, Verizon, I decided to go to SMU and get an MS in Business Analytics.  I can't wait to put my newly acquired skills to work.

Bin Sheng
I come from Shanghai, one of the best cities in China. I joined this program right after I graduate from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics last year, because I real want to get myself more prepared for a consulting career.
Other information about me: I love dance. I have learnt Latin ballroom for more than 6 years and I was the president of SUFE Dancing Troupe. Basketball is my hobby as well, and I have coached a women basketball team. You can find me on facebook.

Cong Bi
I am from Northeastern China, where there is a lot of snow every winter. But I have studied and worked at Beijing for already 8 years. Actually, I have transferred my major several times, from Philosophy to Accounting, to Business Analytics now. I just want to discover what life could be in different aspects. I have worked at China Securities Regulatory Commission (China's SEC) for 2 years, and then arrived at Dallas. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.  

Kiran Balagopal
I am from a southern state of India called Kerala. Kerala is famous for its warm and welcoming people and for its beautiful beaches. Below is a picture of me and my sister celebrating "Onam" (national festival celebrated in Kerala, India) at home.

McKenna Maxwell
I am a native Texan who loves books, music, and dancing. I came straight to this program after graduating from Stephen F. Austin State University with a BBA in Business Economics, and I absolutely love it! I currently serve on the MSBA Leadership Team, and I can't wait to see where life takes me.

Dedman Center

Dedman Center is the largest indoor sports center at SMU, located at 6000 Bush Ave, Dallas, TX 75205.

You can get access to the center by your student ID (one day after activation). There are basketball courts on the first floor, indoor runway on the second floor, gym and swimming poor on the first floor underground and a lot of other equipment. Most of them are free, however they do charge on sports such as rock climbing. You can rent any related equipment with your student ID such as basketballs, badminton and pingpang.

There are also sports clubs that have rehearsals or activities in the center. I personally attend the SMU Ballroom Club because I have learnt Latin ballroom for a long time. We went to the competition called ‘Dance with Owls’ in November at Rice University Huston. I felt honored to be part of the team and won the group competition.

Picture of all the members

Generally, you can find a lot of fun outside the program. If you are a sport guy, Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports is definitely the place you want to spend your spare time.  

FYI: For more information about the center, see the link below.

http://www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/RecSports

Written by Bin

What's for lunch?

One of the things we love about SMU is being able to try all kinds of restaurants in the area. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant a few times before and decided to try an Indian restaurant this time.  Here we are at  Bawarchi Biryani Point after a 3 hour group project meeting.  This is McKenna, Bin, and Cong's first time at an Indian restaurant.  McKenna loves her dish but Bin not so much! Cong was just hungry so he ate all his food. Kiran, who's originally from India, decided to try a South Indian dish which she doesn't usually see on menus.  I ordered her favorite dish at this restaurant - Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani. -- Anne

Written by Anne Meraz

Welcome!

Welcome!

If you're interested in learning about the SMU MSBA program and students' experience, you've come to the right place! You'll hear different perspectives from students with all types of background, including:

Anne, who has over 7 years of experience as a business analyst prior to joining this program.


Bin, who came straight from undergrad in China and aspires to be in consulting.
 

Cong, who made a 4.0 GPA in this program. He'll share his tips for success with you.













Kiran, who came from a consulting background (Deloitte, SAP) prior to joining the MSBA program.

McKenna, who serves in the MSBA leadership team.

If you're ready to exercise your brain and interested in this intensive program, stick around to learn more!

On the Boulevard!

One of the best things to do on campus in the fall is head out to the boulevard for some pretty awesome tailgating! Tailgating usually starts all over campus around 2 hours before every home football game. As a Cox student, you have access to some of the best tailgating on campus. There's free food, free drinks, and lots of tables so you can meet all sorts of people. There's always music playing, you can usually find Peruna the Pony (Yes, a REAL pony!), and don't miss the parade down the boulevard to the stadium.

The band!

 I always love wandering around to see what is going on all over campus. You can usually find fun little things like photo booths and bean bag toss.

Me with my parents at Parents' Weekend.

Tailgating is a great way to take a break and have some fun during your busy semester, and I would totally suggest everyone go at least once. It's just so much fun!

So, put on your boots and head on out to the boulevard!