Location Analytics across Curriculum: Lessons from a

Business School

Esri Education GIS ConferenceSan Diego CA

July 2015

Avijit Sarkar, James Pick, Steven MooreUniversity of Redlands

Location Analytics in Business Schools: Why?

• Business occurs in places and decision-making is often locational.• Business data is spatial.• Big Data.• Geotechnology: Identified by the US Department of Labor as one

of three most critical emerging technology domains around 2004 (Gewin, 2004).

• Evidence of the remarkable growth in employment opportunities in business GIS (Miller et al, 2006).

• Benefits are well known.• Cost versus benefits reasonably well understood (Pick, 2008).

The University of Redlands Approach

Focus on location analytics part of thematic thrust on EGSSE = Ethics G = Global S = Spatial S = Sustainability

Location Analytics Components in curriculum

Coursework Course Title Disciplinary Focus

Undergraduate 1 core course in Bachelorof Science for Business (BSB) Program

GIS for Business NA; Intro course

Graduate 4 course “sequence” as part of MBA program’s GIS emphasis

1. GIS for Marketing2. Spatial Analysis for Global Business3. Contemporary Issues4. GIS Strategy Capstone

1. Marketing2. Global Business3. Cross-disciplinary

Curricula and courses: Core course in B.S. in Business (BSB) program

BUSB 433 GIS for Business (4 units) Overview of GIS and spatial

analysis applied to organizations. Focus on geographic

information, location-based decision-making, spatial data, investment in and value of GIS, ethical aspects, and GIS strategies.

Students learn through case studies and lab practice with spatial data.

Course

Sequence Course Title

BUSB 300 Ethical and Legal Environment of Business

BUSB 230 Economics for Business BUSB 301 Critical Analysis: Written and

Oral Communication BUSB 145 Mathematical Foundations for

Business BUSB 330 Managing and Leading

Organizations BUSB 232 Business Statistics BUSB 333 Business Information

Systems BUSB 433 GIS for Business BUSB 260 Financial and Managerial

Accounting BUSB 370 Managing Quality and

Operations BUSB 361 Financial Management BUSB 340 Principles of Marketing BUSB 342 International Business BUSB 481 Strategic Management BUSB 485 Management Capstone

BAO based case studies

MBA GIS Emphasis: 3 courses

MGMT 631 Management and Organization Theory

MGMT 667 Business, Ethics and Society

BUAD 610 Contexts for Contemporary Business

BUAD 648 Applied Business Statistics

BUAD 641 Managerial Economics

BUAD 683 Information and Knowledge Management

MGMT 680W Marketing Management *

GISB 691W GIS for Marketing BUAD 659 Accounting for Managers

BUAD 660 Managerial Finance

BUAD 655W Global Business *

GISB 692W Spatial Analysis of Global BusinessMGMT 650 Management Science and Decision Analysis

MGMT 697W Strategy Capstone *

GISB 693W GIS Strategy Capstone

• Re-designed GIS Emphasis, commencing Fall 2015, will have four courses, and will not do the course substitution.

Capstone course: Location Analytics Strategy Development for Industry/Government client

Sample Student Projects

GIS-based River Discharge Quality Assurance Tool

Search for Missing Persons

Lessons Learned: Students ask…

• Why geography?• What are the spatial questions?• What is the value added by spatial/GIS?• Business students– are intrigued by richness and up-to-date BAO & CAO data:

promotes critical thinking, and understanding and appreciation of GIS for making business decisions, but ….

are challenged somewhat by mapping and spatial capabilities of BAO and more so by ArcGIS (difficulties vary among students, depending on level of software/technical experience and spatial knowledge and cognition).

Lessons Learned

Facilitators• Development of spatial thinking part of

University mission: Role of Center for Spatial Studies.

• Support from administration (Center for Business GIS & Spatial Analysis) Case studies. Expanding GIS content coverage. Faculty development workshops. Seed grant funding in business GIS. Seminar series open to students

and public Student awards.

• Interest among faculty.• Proximity to ESRI.

Inhibitors• Bandwidth at regional

campuses has inhibited multi-student access to GIS-in-the-cloud applications, but improving.

• While interest for pedagogical innovation exists, faculty time is rather limited.

• Accelerated coursework allows limited seat time and lab time.

Lessons Learned: Curriculum development & support are crucial

• Faculty One faculty champion since early 1990’s. Grown over the past decade to a level of 3 qualified full-time faculty members

& 15 qualified adjunct faculty.

• GIS Software & technology + Support (Center for Spatial Studies) ESRI site license: ArcGIS Online, BAO, CAO, Maps for Office, ArcGIS Desktop; Esri AGOL Org Account for the School of Business (Credits!!) Others: World Mapper, Gapminder, Google Earth.

• Faculty professional development and support• Student involvement: Awards, GA & RA opportunities, etc.• Further opportunities:

Closer integration of BAO, CAO, AGOL, and perhaps Maps for Office. Location Analytics across the curriculum. Big Data Location Analytics (Esri Maps for Cognos).