Managerial Judgement

This subject is not offered in 2014.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This elective introduces advanced topics in Managerial Judgement. While some basic decision-making biases were covered in the Decision Making core course, there is much to learn about how psychological processes and cognitive limitations can hinder or help good decision-making. This subject will cover topics such as:

• Decision-making biases and their remedies, including
  • Hindsight bias
  • Representativeness bias
  • Distinction bias
  • False consensus bias
  • Omission bias
• Key aspects of memory and the impact of memory processes on decisions
• Neural plasticity – changes and learning in the adult brain
• The psychology of creative problem solving
• Advanced analysis of intuition
• Applying decision-making learning to business decisions through case analysis, role-plays, and syndicate exercises.

At the end of the course, participants should:

• Understand important biases in decision-making, particularly with regard to:
  • the framing of decision problems
  • the collection and interpretation of information
  • the selection of strategic options
• Appreciate the positive and negative role that emotions can play in our judgement

• Class participation (10%)
• 5 in-class quizzes (20%)
  • Closed book, equally weighted, 5-10 multiple choice questions per test
• Syndicate assignment (25%)
  • 1,000 words, applying class material to a case
• Final examination (45%)
  • Hurdle requirement
  • 1,500 words
  • Take home, individual written paper

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.