WM9Q4-15 Robust Decision Making & Risk Management
Introductory description
This module aims to prepare participants for the complex decisions they will make as future leaders. Through various exercises and seminars, participants have the opportunity to explore the decision making process and apply knowledge to solve decision problems in business and management. To this end, you will be introduced to a number of quantitative and qualitative decision making methods and tools, the role of cognition and emotion in decision making, the concept of group decision making as well as various factors that can affect the quality of a decision. The Module aims to continue to relate this content back to the EFQM 2025 model, in particular the decision making processes to support business direction and execution choices against current and future business scenarios.
Module aims
This module aims to prepare participants for the complex decisions they will make as future leaders. It does this by examining the psychological and emotional aspects of DM as well as examining tools and techniques that support better decision making.
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.
The module aims to help students understand the problem solving and decision making process and how it contributes to excellence. They will be better able to identify factors that influence the quality of a decision and understand how to use these factors to make a better decision. The module further aims to equip students with knowledge, & understanding of common decision making pitfalls and traps and the understand how to avoid or mitigate theses. Students learn about the main phases of a number of quantitative decision-making process and also how these may be supported by technology. Finally students completing the module will be able to apply different approaches to particular decision problems and identify the assumptions, advantages and disadvantages of each approach.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Critically review the decision-making process required to lead a business towards organizational excellence.
- Challenge the concept of rationality and understand the impact of emotion and cognition on decision making.
- In teams demonstrate knowledge of the application of decision-making tools and approaches for various scenarios in business and management.
- Understand how personality factors and group dynamics influence the decision-making process and become able to recognise these in order to make more robust decisions.
Indicative reading list
Thinking fast and slow; Daniel Kahneman 2007
Decision analysis for management Judgement; Paul Goodwin 2014
Judgement in Managerial Decision making; Max Bazerman 2017
Decision Quality; Carl S Spetzler 2016
Facilitators guide to participatory Decision Making; S Kaner 2014
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Subject specific skills
For the subject specific skills of Robust Decision Making 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;
Transferable skills
The skills above should all be transferable into the students working careers including, in particularly critical thinking and teamworking
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 22 sessions of 1 hour (15%) |
| Seminars | 4 sessions of 1 hour (3%) |
| Supervised practical classes | 4 sessions of 1 hour (3%) |
| Online learning (independent) | 30 sessions of 1 hour (20%) |
| Private study | 30 hours (20%) |
| Assessment | 60 hours (40%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
Directed self study through Moodle
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Review of business case(s) | 80% | 48 hours | Yes (extension) |
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The student will examine one or more cases where poor decision making (including influences of biases, emotions and group effects) that have led to business decline or failure. They should propose approaches and methodologies that could have helped avert this decline or failure. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| Team Review of a business case | 20% | 12 hours | No |
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Teams are to critically review a business case with various options the presentation should then propose one of these fully explaining how this was chosen (what tools techniques and approaches the team took). This is subject to peer review |
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Reassessment component |
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| Individual critical review/refection on the business case originally presented by the students team. | No | ||
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Group assessments are set up such that the reassessment component is individual work including a reflection on the original groupwork. |
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Feedback on assessment
post assignment report and annotated essays
Pre-requisites
To take this module, you must have passed:
Anti-requisite modules
If you take this module, you cannot also take:
- WM9PM-15 Robust Decision Making
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 1 of TWMS-H1S9 Postgraduate Taught Management for Business Excellence (Full-time)