Effective Decision Making: Dealing with Business Complexity

This course will soon be retired. Last day to enroll is 03/10/2023.

As an engineer in a leadership position, you will be faced with new responsibilities and tasks. These may include developing a business (unit) strategy and a business plan or being involved in strategic planning. Your success in dealing with these new responsibilities will largely depend on your ability to have a helicopter view of a situation and to make sound decisions.

In order to make decisions to move organizations forward, leaders will need to ensure that business goals are achievable and well-balanced while also taking into account the uncertainty of future developments. In a complex business environment, a sound strategy is the result of applying an analytical mindset and using a systematic approach to decision making.

This course will help you to build and apply an analytical toolkit including:

• stakeholder goal trees to develop a clear set of measurable goals,
• scenarios to prepare for future situations that may be different from what you expect,
• multi-criteria analysis to assess which decisions can help you reach your goals.

The focus of the course will be on utilizing your analytical skills in a business context, allowing you to unravel complex situations requiring decisions.
Upon completion of this course, you will have been introduced to an analytical mindset and toolkit, and you will have used these in order to write a managerial summary of a business situation analysis to inform an effective decision for your business strategy.

Get started with effective decision making
course structure, familiarize yourself with the virtual learning environment, complete your profile, meet your fellow learners and the e-moderator

Week 1: Scenario analysis
Introduction to Complexity
Apply to your own case
Reflecting on your application
Adapting your case
Accompanying reading for this course

Week 2: Stakeholder analysis
Introduction to Actors and Power-Interest
Apply to your own case
Reflecting on your application
Adapting your case

Week 3: Goal analysis and criteria
Introduction to Goals and Criteria
Apply to your own case
Ask the Professor
Reflecting on your application
Adapting your case
Leadership in practice: Interviews with managers about their experience with the analytical mindset

Week 4: Multi criteria decision analysis
Introduction to Scenarios and System Interventions
Application to your own case
Reflecting video on your application
Adapting your case
Leadership in practice: Interviews with managers about their experience with the analytical mindset

Week 5: Formulate a sound business strategy
Introduction video to Multi Criteria Tables
Apply to your own case
Reflecting on your application
Adapting your case
Ask the Professor
Leadership Pitch
Managerial Summary Assignment
Next Steps in the Leadership Series

Bonus week: Leadership Pitch