2023
Decision and Negotiation Analysis
Name: Decision and Negotiation Analysis
Code: GES00010L
6 ECTS
Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours
Scientific Area:
Management
Teaching languages: Portuguese
Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English
Regime de Frequência: Presencial
Presentation
This unit trains students to able to analyze decision problems in several contexts. The topics covered are Decision Analysis, Game Theory and Negotiation Analysis.
Sustainable Development Goals
Learning Goals
The learning objectives of this curricular unit are the following ones:
• Understand the different elements of a decision problem;
• Learn how to analyze decision problems under uncertainty, dynamic decision problems and multi objectives decision problems;
• Be able to help others in their decision making problems (as a decision analyst) and be able to justify the recommended actions.;
• Learn how to analyze decision problems in the presence of strategic interdependency;
• Be able to analyze negotiation problems and to use this analysis to improve the outcome of the negotiation process.
This unit develops the following competences:
• Ability to work in teams;
• Decision making skills and ability to solve management problems;
• Abstraction ability, model building and critical thinking;
• Oral and written communication capacity. Being able to transmit and to receive ideas and information;
• Ability to use adequate software;
• Fluency in at least one foreign language;
• Understand the different elements of a decision problem;
• Learn how to analyze decision problems under uncertainty, dynamic decision problems and multi objectives decision problems;
• Be able to help others in their decision making problems (as a decision analyst) and be able to justify the recommended actions.;
• Learn how to analyze decision problems in the presence of strategic interdependency;
• Be able to analyze negotiation problems and to use this analysis to improve the outcome of the negotiation process.
This unit develops the following competences:
• Ability to work in teams;
• Decision making skills and ability to solve management problems;
• Abstraction ability, model building and critical thinking;
• Oral and written communication capacity. Being able to transmit and to receive ideas and information;
• Ability to use adequate software;
• Fluency in at least one foreign language;
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Individual decision making under uncertainty
2.1. The elements of a decision problem
2.2. Representation of decision problems
2.3. Choice criteria without probabilities
2.4. Expected monetary value criterion
2.5. Expected utility theory
2.6. Methods for preferences extraction
2.7. Analysis of sequential decision problems
2.8. Software for decision analysis (Precision Tree)
3. Individual decision making with multiple objectives
3.1. Objectives and attributes
3.2. Efficient alternatives and tradeoffs among objectives
3.3. Utility function and selection of the best alternative
4. Decisions in the presence of strategic interdependency
4.1. Strategic and extensive form representation of a game
4.2. Static games with complete information
4.3. Dynamic games with complete information
4.4. Applications of game theory to management and economics
5. Negotiation Analysis
5.1. Characteristics of negotiation analysis
5.2. Bilateral negotiation with one issue and several issues
2. Individual decision making under uncertainty
2.1. The elements of a decision problem
2.2. Representation of decision problems
2.3. Choice criteria without probabilities
2.4. Expected monetary value criterion
2.5. Expected utility theory
2.6. Methods for preferences extraction
2.7. Analysis of sequential decision problems
2.8. Software for decision analysis (Precision Tree)
3. Individual decision making with multiple objectives
3.1. Objectives and attributes
3.2. Efficient alternatives and tradeoffs among objectives
3.3. Utility function and selection of the best alternative
4. Decisions in the presence of strategic interdependency
4.1. Strategic and extensive form representation of a game
4.2. Static games with complete information
4.3. Dynamic games with complete information
4.4. Applications of game theory to management and economics
5. Negotiation Analysis
5.1. Characteristics of negotiation analysis
5.2. Bilateral negotiation with one issue and several issues
Teaching Methods
Sessions are theoretical - practical, combining the teaching of concepts with their application to particular cases. The sessions include the resolution of practical exercises and case studies.
Students have to do a group project, where each group takes on the role of a consulting firm whose mission is to help solving a particular decision problem, using software to help analyze the problem and writing a report that includes problem analysis and recommendations.
There are two evaluation schemes: continuous evaluation and final evaluation. In the continuous evaluation the final grade gives a 20% weight to the group project, 30% to the grade in a midterm exam and 50% to the final exam grade. In each of the evaluation tests the minimum grade is 7 points. In the final evaluation scheme, the grade gives a weight of 20% to the group project and 80% to the final exam. The final exam covers all the topics.
Students have to do a group project, where each group takes on the role of a consulting firm whose mission is to help solving a particular decision problem, using software to help analyze the problem and writing a report that includes problem analysis and recommendations.
There are two evaluation schemes: continuous evaluation and final evaluation. In the continuous evaluation the final grade gives a 20% weight to the group project, 30% to the grade in a midterm exam and 50% to the final exam grade. In each of the evaluation tests the minimum grade is 7 points. In the final evaluation scheme, the grade gives a weight of 20% to the group project and 80% to the final exam. The final exam covers all the topics.
Assessment
There are two assessment systems: final assessment and continuous assessment. In continuous assessment, the final grade gives a weight of 5% to participation, 25% to the practical group project, 30% to the intermediate test grade and 40% to the final exam grade. The grade for group project includes a peer evaluation component. The minimum mark for each of the assessment tests is 7 marks. In the final assessment system, the grade gives 20% weight to the assignment and 80% to the final exam. The final exam covers all the contents of the curricular unit.
Recommended Reading
- Clemen, Robert T. (1996), “Making Hard Decisions, an Introduction to Decision Analysis”, Duxbury Press, 2nd edition, 1996.
- Harrington, J. (2008), “Games, Strategies and Decision Making”, Worth Publishers
- Dixit, Avinash, Mulbrecht, Reiley Jr and Susan Skeath, (2009) “Games of Strategy”, W.W.Norton & Company, 3rd ed.
- Raiffa, H., J. Richardson e D. Metcalfe (2007), “Negotiation Analysis: The Science and Art of Collaborative Decision Making”, Belnap Press.
Teaching Staff
