Decision-making is at the heart of managerial activities and involves choosing between alternative courses of action. As decisions implicate the deployment of entrepreneurial resources, they should be made wisely. This course covers the topic of decision-making in an international context. After a thorough introduction into theories on decision making (rational and behavioral), followed by an in-depth study of scientific methods for investigating decision-making (experiments in particular), successful and sustainable managerial decision-making will be given careful attention by discussing diverse decision-making strategies and methods.

IB Track – SaC

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of decision-making theories (economic and behavioral), decision-methods and decision-making experiments,
• Gather, evaluate and select information necessary for making informed decisions and
• Apply their knowledge on decision-making to real-life decision situations.

As this is a highly interactive class, regular attendance is mandatory. In-class discussions play a vital role in the course design and they can only be fruitful if everyone attends and contributes on a regular basis.

Students have to attend at least 80% of the scheduled sessions in order to meet the attendance requirements. However, they will not be able to collect contribution points for the respective sessions missed.

The course format is primarily interactive including group assignments, presentations and discussions. Students will learn to make informed decisions in the context of international business with the help of scientific literature, practical cases discussed in class and a decision experiment to be designed and executed as part of the course assignments.

The final grade will be composed by individual class participation (30%), two group assignments (presentation of a scientific article: 20% and presentation of the results of an executed decision experiment: 40%) and a peer-rating (10%). Absences from class reduce overall class participation and therefore negatively impact the individual final grade.

Grading scale: >90% Excellent (1), >80% Good (2), >70% Satisfactory (3), >50% Sufficient (4), <50% Fail (5)

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