Interdependent Decision Making and Coordination
Do we act rationally? And how can we motivate others to do things we want to be done? In this course, you will learn important insights about the behaviour of others, but also how you act {\uc1\u8211*} in business situations as well as in everyday life:
Course code
MGMT412
Course type
BSc Course
Weekly Hours
2,0
ECTS
3.0
Term
FS 2019
Language
Englisch
Lecturers
Prof. Dr. Peter-J. Jost
Please note that exchange students obtain a higher number of credits in the BSc-program at WHU than listed here. For further information please contact directly the International Relations Office.
Course content
Although individual decision making is in the centre of our discussion in this course, we will extend this perspective by considering individual behaviour in the context of social interactions:
- First, we consider decision making in isolation, taking the environment in which the individual acts as given. In this part, we follow the literature on behavioural economics and divide the overall decision making process into two sub-processes: The judgment process which refers to the perception and interpretation of the environment; and the actual decision process which refers to the choice of an activity.
- Second, we place the individual into an organisation and consider its decision making in a situation in which the consequences of its own behaviour are also affected by others with whom it interacts. Here, we follow the literature on managerial economics and discuss the behavioural consequences on individual decision making if the individual aims are not completely in line with each other. Based on resulting motivational problems, we then discuss possibilities how to align their individual decision making by appropriate incentive setting.
Class dates
Date | Time |
---|---|
Thursday, 14.03.2019 | 11:30 - 15:15 |
Thursday, 14.03.2019 | 11:30 - 15:15 |
Thursday, 28.03.2019 | 11:30 - 15:15 |
Thursday, 28.03.2019 | 11:30 - 15:15 |
Monday, 01.04.2019 | 08:00 - 11:15 |
Monday, 01.04.2019 | 08:00 - 11:15 |
Tuesday, 02.04.2019 | 11:30 - 15:15 |
Tuesday, 02.04.2019 | 11:30 - 15:15 |
Monday, 08.04.2019 | 11:30 - 15:15 |
Monday, 08.04.2019 | 11:30 - 16:30 |
Tuesday, 09.04.2019 | 11:30 - 15:15 |
Tuesday, 09.04.2019 | 11:30 - 15:15 |
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, you will advance your knowledge in different ways:
- Learning the influences of psychology and sociology will help you understand why and how people make decisions
- Answering questions regarding the respective last lecture will help you to reconsider the contents discussed in class
- Learning to write a research paper will help you to deal with a new topic and be useful for your BSc-thesis
- Learning to analyse an experimental paper will help you to critically analyse the underlying theories
- Learning how to design an experiment will be useful for identifying differences between theory and practice
- Learning to speak in front of others will be useful for your university and business career
Literature
Jost, P.-J.: The Economics of Organization and Motivation: An Introduction. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2014.
Exam
- Experiment & Presentation: 45%
- Paper: 35%
- In-class assignments: 20%
- Participation: Tiebreaker
Requirements
Your willingness to solve puzzles!