Decision Making

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Decision Making

Instructor: André Nardy

Included with

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5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

3 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

3 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Clarify the concept of decision-making in the context of organizations and its relevance for the managerial role.
Understand what are rational decisions, decision processes, decisions under risk, and the limits to our rationality in decision-making
Learn how to apply techniques to improve decision quality, such as PROACT, Decision Trees, Certainty Equivalent, Problem Solving Cycle, and MAP.

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

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Assessments

24 assignments

Taught in English

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There are 5 modules in this course

In this course, you will learn the concept of decision making from the rational and psychological points of view. We will discuss the limits to rationality; the interplay between emotional thinking and rational thinking when making decisions; the systematic errors provoked by our cognitive biases and by the use of heuristics; the role of emotions and intuition in decisions; the aleatory errors (noise); and possible remedies and leverage on all these aspects when making decisions.

In this first week of the course, you will learn the concept of decision making from the rational and psychological points of view. We will discuss the limits to rationality; the interplay between emotional thinking and rational thinking when making decisions; the systematic errors provoked by our cognitive biases and by the use of heuristics; the role of emotions and intuition in decisions; the aleatory errors (noise); and possible remedies and leverage on all these aspects when making decisions.

What's included

16 videos3 readings5 assignments1 discussion prompt

16 videos Total 93 minutes

Why making decisions? 5 minutes
What is a decision? 4 minutes
A decision process and a decision criteria 3 minutes
Models for decision making: humans and econs 6 minutes
Subjectivity and objectivity 7 minutes
Bounded rationality 3 minutes
Judgment and decision making 2 minutes
Limits to rationality: heuristics, biases, satisfice, system 1 and system 2, and intuition 14 minutes
Common biases in decisions 15 minutes
Availability heuristics 5 minutes
Egocentric bias 2 minutes
Planning fallacy 6 minutes
Sunk cost 4 minutes
Affective heuristics 3 minutes
Debiasing and its limits 8 minutes
Complement: Noise 8 minutes

3 readings Total 65 minutes

Syllabus 5 minutes
Personality traits and decision styles 30 minutes
Intertemporal choices and time preferences 30 minutes

5 assignments Total 70 minutes

Practice quiz: Decision making in organizations 10 minutes
Practice quiz: Heuristics and Biases I 10 minutes
Practice quiz: Heuristics and Biases II 10 minutes
Practice quiz: Noise 10 minutes
Graded quiz: Decision making in organizations and limits to rationality 30 minutes

1 discussion prompt Total 15 minutes

Judgment vs Decision making 15 minutes

Week 2 will focus on rational decision-making processes to improve decision abilities and organizational capabilities. We will explore the PrOACT and Problem Solving Cycle methods.

What's included

16 videos3 readings4 assignments

16 videos Total 67 minutes

PrOACT I: A Decision making process 2 minutes
PrOACT I: Context and steps to use the PrOACT 1 minute
PrOACT I: Define the problem 4 minutes
PrOACT I: Objectives 6 minutes
PrOACT II: Alternatives 8 minutes
PrOACT II: Consequences 4 minutes
PrOACT II: Examine the tradeoffs 8 minutes
Decision making from a problem solving approach 2 minutes
The scope of problem solving 6 minutes
Contextual facts 2 minutes
Define the problem 4 minutes
Structure the problem 8 minutes
Prioritize and plan 4 minutes
Analysis 2 minutes
Synthesis and solution proposition 4 minutes
Propose solution 1 minute

3 readings Total 75 minutes

Even swaps 15 minutes
How to master the seven steps of problem solving 30 minutes
Six problem solving mindsets for very uncertain times 30 minutes

4 assignments Total 61 minutes

Practice quiz: PrOACT - Problem Framing and Objective 1 minute
Practice quiz: PrOACT - Problem Alternatives, Consequences, and Tradeoffs 10 minutes
Practice quiz: Problem solving cycle 30 minutes
Graded quiz: Decision making process and problem solving 20 minutes

In this week, we will explore decision analysis as a tool to support rational decision making, the role of uncertainty, risk, and probabilistic decision making, employing simple decision trees, sensitivity analysis and attitudes towards risk.

What's included

10 videos8 readings5 assignments

10 videos Total 41 minutes

What is decision analysis? 2 minutes
What is a good decision from a rational analytical? 4 minutes
Influence diagram 3 minutes
Probabilities and decision tree 2 minutes
Decision analysis application: An example of application 8 minutes
Decision analysis application: Solution 4 minutes
Decision analysis application: Solution II 5 minutes
Value of money over time 5 minutes
Sensitivity analysis 2 minutes
The merit of using rational techniques in decision making 7 minutes

8 readings Total 115 minutes

The value of perfect information 10 minutes
Complementary reading: Decision analysis 10 minutes
Linked decisions 10 minutes
Risk profile and risk analysis 10 minutes
Expected value and attitudes towards risk 15 minutes
Maximization and utility function 10 minutes
Prospect theory 20 minutes
Case for staff graded assignments in weeks 3 to 5 30 minutes

5 assignments Total 240 minutes

Practice quiz: Decision analysis concepts 10 minutes
Practice quiz: Decision analysis application 10 minutes
Practice quiz: Decision analysis additional concepts 10 minutes
Graded quiz: Decision analysis 30 minutes
Decision analysis (individual) 180 minutes

In the fourth week of the course the attention is on the dynamics of groups and its effect on decisions made in different types of groups. Biases and social behavior interplay and create new challenges. Virtual teams and different configurations of group decision making are also explored. Processes and practices to deal with these challenges are also presented this week.

What's included

12 videos5 readings5 assignments

12 videos Total 158 minutes

Decision making in groups: Concepts I 3 minutes
Processes to help debiasing decisions in groups 4 minutes
Organizational decision making in groups 2 minutes
Sharing and aggregating information in groups I 7 minutes
Sharing and aggregating information in groups II 3 minutes
Strategies to make better decisions in groups 17 minutes
MAP - Mediating Assessment Protocol 17 minutes
Virtual teams 9 minutes
Decision in groups and biases 5 minutes
Nudge 9 minutes
Ethics and Decision Making 14 minutes
Recording of Decision Making Live Session on 22-06-02 20:14:56 [08:30] 69 minutes

5 readings Total 95 minutes

The dynamics of decision making in groups 30 minutes
Typology of groups 15 minutes
Nudge, Not Sludge 10 minutes
Cooperation 20 minutes
Fairness 20 minutes

5 assignments Total 250 minutes

Practice quiz: Decision making in groups concepts 10 minutes
Practice quiz: Decision making in groups practice 20 minutes
Practice quiz: Nudge | Ethics in decision making 10 minutes
Graded quiz: Decision making in groups 30 minutes
Decision making in groups (in teams) 180 minutes

Social, technological and economic changes bring new challenges and are transforming the role of management and the way decisions are made in organizations. This module brings three dimensions of these changes: complexity and chaos; hypothesis formulation and experiments; and the role of artificial intelligence in decision making.

What's included

5 videos3 readings5 assignments1 teammate review

5 videos Total 49 minutes

When decisions are experiments 5 minutes
Type 2 Decisions 8 minutes
Formulating Hypothesis and Experiments 2 minutes
Artificial Intelligence and decision making 24 minutes
Decision making in complex and chaotic environments 9 minutes

3 readings Total 80 minutes

Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything 30 minutes
Decision making and decision support system 20 minutes
A Leader's framework for decision making 30 minutes

5 assignments Total 252 minutes

Practice quiz: Experiments 11 minutes
Practice quiz: Artificial intelligence 30 minutes
Practice quiz: Decision making in complex and chaotic environments 1 minute
Graded quiz: New perspectives in decision making 30 minutes
New perspectives in decision making (in teams) 180 minutes

1 teammate review Total 10 minutes

Teammate Review 10 minutes

Instructor

André Nardy

Fundação Instituto de Administração

1 Course 52 learners

Offered by

Fundação Instituto de Administração

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