This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Postgraduate Handbook 2022-2023 (archived)
Module BUSI4G215: Decision Making and Business Modelling
Department: Management and Marketing
BUSI4G215: Decision Making and Business Modelling
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tied | 4 | 15 | Available in 2022/2023 | Durham |
Tied To
- N1K307: Entrepreneurship (full time) (see Postgraduate Handbook 2011-2012 for details)
- N1K507: Human Resource Management (full time) (see Postgraduate Handbook 2011-2012 for details)
- N1K607: Management (full time) (see Postgraduate Handbook 2011-2012 for details)
- N1K807: Marketing (full time) (see Postgraduate Handbook 2011-2012 for details)
- N1KL07: Financial Management (see Postgraduate Handbook 2011-2012 for details)
Pre-requisites
- None
Corequisites
- None
Excluded Combinations
- None
Aims
- To promote a critical awareness and understanding of decision making under uncertainty by introducing a wide range of relevant concepts and theories, such as bounded rationality and behavioural economics, and specialised tools for business modelling, with an emphasis on the application of decision making techniques.
Content
- Rationality and bounded rationality
- Information symmetry and asymmetry
- Overview of behavioural economics
- Optimising x Satisficing
- Decision making under uncertainty
- Complexity
- Data-driven x Intuition
- Business modelling as a concept and existing tools
- Explore x Exploit
- Innovation management tool(s)
- Lean, prototyping, piloting, experimentation, hackathon
- Systemic problems, System design, Leverage points
- Overview of forecasting, backcasting, and scenario planning
- Artificial intelligence, machine learning and 4th industrial revolution
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- By the end of the module students will be able to:
- Bounded rationality and uncertainty
- Behavioural economics
- Innovation management
- Complexity and system thinking
- Business modelling
Subject-specific Skills
- Be able to understand the complexities and uncertainties of decision-making
- Be able to understand key principles underpinning decision-making
- Be able to evaluate complex situations and the means of taking decisions
- Be able to apply business modelling concepts and tools
Key Skills
- Written communication; planning, organising and time management; analysis of complex problems; problem solving and analysis
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, seminars and practical work, supported by guided reading. The summative assessment will comprise a project-based report designed to test students' knowledge of key concepts and tools and their ability to apply those in a business context.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 10 | 2 hours | 20 | ||
| Seminar/practical classes | 4 | 1 hour | 4 | ||
| Preparation & Reading | 126 | ||||
| Total | 150 |
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project-based report | 100% | Project-based report requiring the application of knowledge from on business modelling and/or decision-making | 2,500 words maximum | 100% |
Formative Assessment
Exercise questions prepared in advance of seminars.
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.