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Executive education

Decision Making in Groups and Organizations

Make a group decision under pressure, then find out what your process missed

114 participants from 18 organizations

I taught this course with John Gasper, a political economist. It opens with Carter Racing, a race-or-withdraw call with incomplete data that turns out to mirror the Challenger launch decision. John's day covers heuristics and biases and how to reduce them. On the last day groups have to split $120 million across non-profit proposals using a structured method (dialectical inquiry, Delphi, stoplight, best member) and defend the result.

  • Fall 2014 (November 23 to 25)
  • Three mornings, 8:00 to 1:00, at CMU-Q
  • Course number Exec Ed
Slide: The decision: your racing team must race or withdraw
Slide: Anchoring: list prices moved real estate agents' appraisals
Slide: The case: a foundation must allocate $120 million

slides from the decks
I taught from

Fall 2014 (November 23 to 25) · Three mornings, 8:00 to 1:00, at CMU-Q

Day by day

Scroll the schedule and the slides follow along: five from each session, picked from the decks I taught from.

  1. D1Carter Racing: a team decision under uncertainty, and debriefIn-class exerciseThe decision: your racing team must race or withdrawWhy group decisions are hard: goal conflict, unclear criteria, status, rolesTakeaway: the people with the best information may not speak upTakeaway: more information makes people more confident, not more accurateConfirmation bias, overconfidence, and availability come next
  2. D2Thinking fast: heuristics and biases, and strategies to reduce themTaught by John GasperJudge the decision process, not just the outcomeWhere we donate versus the diseases that kill usAnchoring: list prices moved real estate agents' appraisalsAnchoring: little things matterFraming: the same choice described as lives saved or lives lost
  3. D3Allocating $120 million: group decision methods in practiceCaseThe case: a foundation must allocate $120 millionThe rational decision model, step by stepDialectical inquiry: two subgroups argue opposite positionsThe stoplight approach to narrowing optionsAverage member: aggregate everyone's independent judgment

What students hand in

Major assignments

Funding board presentation

Each group uses an assigned decision method to allocate the foundation's budget across proposals, then presents its allocation and its process to the room.

Offerings

When I taught it

  • Fall 2014 (November 23 to 25)

All courses