Several courses in the INBM major draw upon mathematics, and none more so that INBM 220: Managerial Decision Making. Mathematics, like a foreign language, is something that you lose if you do not use it regularly. As a result, it is important to make sure you brush up on your mathematics knowledge in order to be successful in the INBM major. The information provided here applies specifically to INBM 220, but it is also relevant to many other courses within the INBM curriculum.
MATHEMATICS: You do not need to have a background in calculus, but you will need some knowledge in algebra and geometry. You will need to know how to do word problems and solve two equations in two unknowns. You will also need to have a basic understanding of logarithms. (But, happily, trigonometry is useless to us.)
We strongly encourage students to refresh their knowledge of algebra and geometry just before they begin INBM 220, i.e., in the winter or summer break before classes begin. You can review what you should know using the first section (pages 1-14) of the mathematical appendix of Intermediate Microeconomics: An Interactive Approach (IM:AIA), by Stephen Erfle and available here. The mathematical appendix to the textbook used in INBM 220, Economic Tools for Today’s Decision Makers, 7th edition, by Paul Keat, Philip Young, and Stephen Erfle is also available here.
If you find you are having trouble in a particular area, you can readily find online resources that can help you relearn this material. (A site we think is good – and free – is sosmath.com, but you can also review this material using Khan Academy videos and many other sources.)
EXCEL: The INBM 220 course relies heavily on Excel – and Excel is taught from the ground up in the lab sessions for this course. If you want to get started on that, the last section of the mathematical appendix of IM:AIA (pages 27-34) provides a brief introduction to Excel.