Introductory description

This module aims to enable participants to understand how organisations make sound, evidence based decisions to support a business’s policy and strategy, and to satisfy and increase value for its customers and other stakeholders. In particular, it examines methods to ensure that any decisions made are as sound as they can be, which are also known as robust decisions. To this ends it introduces students to a number of quantitative decision making methods, explores the role of judgement in decision making and examines a number of decision support tools.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

What is a decision?
-Poor decision examples
-Good decision examples
Bias and problems in decision making
Decision Heuristics
Decisions in companies
Decision Strategies
Way to improve decisions making
Decision framing and cognitive inertia
Tools for Decision making
-Simple Decision Theory
-SMART (Simple Multi-Attribute rating Technique)
-Analytical Hierarchy Process
-Simulation
-Decision Trees
-Soft Systems Methodology
-Expert Systems
-Decisions involving Groups
-Other techniques
Overview of Decision Support Software Tools

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand the problem solving and decision making process and how it contributes to excellence
• Understand and be able to identify factors that influence the quality of a decision and understand how to use these factors to make a better decision.
• Have knowledge, & understanding of common decision making pitfalls and traps and the understand how to avoid or mitigate them
• Understand the main phases of a number of quantitative decision-making process and their computerized support
• Be able to apply different approaches to particular decision problems and identify the assumptions, advantages and disadvantages of each approach;

Indicative reading list

Decision Analysis for Management Judgment
Goodwin P., Wright G.
2003, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0470861088

Decision Modeling with Microsoft Excel
Moore J. H., Weatherford L. R.
2001, Pearson Education, ISBN 0131218514

Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems
Turban 2000, Prentice Hall International Editions ISBN 0130327239

Judgment in Managerial Decision Making
Bazerman M. H., Moore D. A., Max H. B., Moore D. A.
2008, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0470049456

Quantitative Methods for Decision Makers
Wisniewski M.
2009, Financial Times/ Prentice Hall, ISBN 0273712071

Statistics, Data Analysis and Decision Modeling
Evans J. R.
2009, Pearson Education, ISBN 0137019033

Subject specific skills

Psychology of decision making,
Group and individual evidence based decision making,
Decision making using statistics,

Transferable skills

Communication,
Teamwork,
Adaptability,
Decision making,