CORE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

FOUNDATIONS OF INTEGRATIVE THINKING (RSM 1291)

Managers are continually barraged with information that may be reliable or not.  They must regularly choose courses of action in the face of many uncertainties, often much more rapidly than they would like. Do they make optimal decisions and how should we assess what is “optimal”? Do their actions accurately reflect the thinking process used to generate the outcome? Conversely, how can we make inferences about the cognition of others by simply observing their actions? This course will contrast how managers do make decisions with how they should make decisions by thinking about how “rational” decision makers should act. In particular, we will draw upon work in the areas of social and cognitive psychology, behavioural economics and the philosophy of science to develop a toolkit for thinking. Topics covered will include: managerial judgment and decision making, making inferences, intuitive thinking, dynamic decision making, context based choice, integrative thinking, framing effects and mental accounting, decision engineering and creativity.