Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook
This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Postgraduate Handbook 2019-2020 (archived)

Module BUSI45715: IMPROVING MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING (PT/EXECUTIVE)

Department: Management and Marketing

BUSI45715: IMPROVING MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING (PT/EXECUTIVE)

TypeLevelCreditsAvailabilityModule CapLocation
Tied 4 15 Available in 2019/2020 Durham

Tied To

  • N1KB17: Business Administration (see Postgraduate Handbook 2018-2019 for details)
  • N1KD17: Business Administration [Finance] (No longer recruiting) (see Postgraduate Handbook 2010-2011 for details)
  • N1KP17: (programme not found)
  • NPK017: (programme not found)

Pre-requisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combinations

  • None.

Aims

  • To give students an in-depth understanding at an advanced level of the complexities of decision-making, and how decisions can be improved by specialist techniques such as decision analysis and scenario thinking. Emphasis is placed on critically evaluating both the quality of management judgement and the assumptions underlying decision-aiding techniques.

Content

  • How people choose between alternatives.
  • Improving choice using multi-attributable value analysis techniques.
  • Psychological pitfalls in choice: overconfidence, escalation of commitment, shift-to-risk in decision making.
  • Decision analysis - methods and techniques for making decisions that involve uncertainties.
  • Scenario planning versus decision analysis - creativity and the framing of decisions.
  • Decision making in management teams - pitfalls and remedies.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge
  • Upon successful completion of the module, the students will have:
  • a specialist knowledge of the pitfalls in how individuals and management teams make decisions;
  • a critical appreciation of the assumptions, implications, and limitations of decision analysis.
Subject-specific Skills
  • Upon successful completion of the module, the students will have:
  • advanced skills in, and a critical understanding of, the techniques of decision analysis.
Key Skills
  • Written communication; planning, organising and time management; problem solving and analysis; using initiative; computer literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Learning outcomes will be met through a combination of lectures, groupwork, case studies and discussion, supported by guided reading. The written assignment will test students' understanding of relevant concepts and their ability to apply and interpret what they have learned to the analysis of a particular issue in depth.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotal HoursAttendance Monitored
Workshops (a combination of lectures, groupwork, case studies and discussion) 28 Yes
Preparation and Reading 122
Total 150

Summative Assessment

ComponentComponent WeightingElementLength/DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Written Assignment 100% Written Assignment 4,000 words maximum. 100%

Formative Assessment

None.


Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.