Entrepreneurial and Ethical Decision Making

Department
  • Bachelor's program Industrial Engineering & Management
Course unit code
  • IEL-B-3+5-WPM-IEL
Number of ECTS credits allocated
  • 5.0
Name of lecturer(s)
  • FH-Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Siebert Johannes, FH-Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Stöckl Thomas, Huter Lucas, BA MSc MA
Mode of delivery
  • blended learning
Recommended optional program components
  • none
Recommended or required reading
  • Hammond, J. S., Keeney, R. L., & Raiffa, H. (1998). Even swaps: A rational method for making trade-offs. Harvard Business Review, 76, 137-150. (link)
    Keeney, R. L. (2020). SMARTER BUSINESS DECISIONS. Management and Business Review (MBR), 195pp. (link)
    von Nitzsch, Rüdiger; Siebert, Johannes (2018). Das Jobauswahlproblem für Berufseinsteiger: Eine ent-scheidungstheoretische Anwendung - Teil 2: Ermittlung der besten Alternative mit dem ENTSCHEIDUNGSNAVI, Wissenschaftliche Beiträge, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliches Studium, No-vember 2018, 4-11 (link); English translation: The Job Selection Problem for Career Starters: a Deci-sion-Theoretical Application Part 2: Identifying the Best Alternative using the ENTSCHEIDUNGSNAVI (link)
    Siebert, Johannes (2021). Give yourself a nudge: How you can make better decisions, TEDxInnsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria (link, link)
    Siebert, Johannes; Rüdiger von Nitzsch (2018). Das Jobauswahlproblem für Berufseinsteiger: Eine ent-scheidungstheoretische Anwendung - Teil 1: Problemstrukturierung in Ziele, Alternativen und Unsi-cherheiten, Wissenschaftliche Beiträge, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliches Studium, October 2018, 4-11 (link); English translation: The Job Selection Problem for Career Starters: a Decision-Theoretical Ap-plication Part 1: Structuring the Problem into Objectives, Alternatives and Uncertainties (link)
    Siebert, Johannes U.; Keeney, Ralph (2020). Entscheidungen: Probleme oder Chancen? Wie Sie proaktiv unangenehme Entscheidungssituationen vermeiden können, Wissenschaftliche Beiträge, Wirt-schaftswissenschaftliches Studium, Juni 2020, 49 (6), 4-9 (link); English translation: "Decisions: Prob-lems or Opportunities? How you can prevent unpleasant decision situations", Summer 2020 (link)
    von Nitzsch Rüdiger, Tönsfeuerborn Mendy, Siebert Johannes U. (2020). Decision Skill Training with the Entscheidungsnavi. In: de Almeida A.T., Morais D.C. (eds) Innovation for Systems Information and Decision. INSID 2020. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 405. Springer, Cham. (link)Howard, R. A., Korver, C. D., & Birchard, B. (2008). Ethics for the real world: Creating a personal code to guide decisions in work and life. Harvard Business Press.
    Keeney, R. L. (2020). Give yourself a Nudge: Helping Smart People Make Smarter Personal and Business Decisions. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. (link for MCI students)
    Keeney, R. L. (1992). Value-focused Thinking: A Path to creative Decision Making. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
    Keeney, R. L. (1994). Using Values in Operations Research. Operations Research 42(5), pp. 793-813.
    Siebert, Johannes; Keeney, Ralph L. (2015). Creating More and Better Alternatives for Decisions Using Objectives. Operations Research, September/October 2015, 63(5), 1144-1158. (link)
Assessment methods and criteria
  • Homework
Additional information about examination modalities
  • Students have up to three attempts to pass the course. The standard MCI grading scheme applies, with a passing grade set at 60%.

    The first attempt is a group presentation (including a discussion), in which students present their running example in detail. In addition, interim results can be incorporated into the assessment. Groups may consist of up to four students. Information regarding the topic, structure, evaluation criteria for the presentation, as well as details on the written exam, will be available on Sakai and announced in class.

    The first retake consists of a 15-minute video presentation. Detailed instructions for this retake will be provided at the beginning of the retake phase.

    If a student does not pass the video presentation, a second retake is required in the form of an oral exam. This final attempt will be conducted before a committee of three faculty members and will last approximately 30 minutes. The oral exam will cover the full content of the course. Exam dates will be scheduled based on the availability of the lecturers and communicated to students via email by the responsible office manager.
Level of course unit
  • Bachelor
Year of study
  • Fall 2025
Semester when the course unit is delivered
  • 3
Language of instruction
  • English
Learning outcomes of the course unit
  • In “Entreprenuerial & Ethical Decision-Making”, we aim to develop your critical ability to independently undertake and solve business problems using scientific methods. Having completed this course, you will have acquired sound theoretical knowledge and developed practical skills so that you can
    • frame decision problems appropriately for single and multiple decision makers/stakeholders
    o formulate decision statements
    o identify and structure objectives
    o operationalize objectives with suitable criteria (not necessarily KPI)
    o systematically develop attractive alternatives
    o identify states and uncertainties
    • model decisions using decision trees and decision rules
    • elicit preferences (their own as well as those of others),
    • aggregate preferences using multi-attribute utility theory
    o explicitly consider uncertainties
    o consider multiple objectives
    o check the robustness of the results (identify rank reversals, etc.)
    • use digital decision-support tools
    • make ethical decisions
    • become their own decision architect
    • proactively convert decision problems into decision opportunities
Prerequisites and co-requisites
  • none
Course contents
  • - This course introduces students to the concepts of how to make proactive, entrepreneurial, ethical, and sustainable decisions
    - In interactive sessions, methods are presented and practiced using small exercises
    - The students choose a life-changing personal or professional decision or a decision of significant societal importance and apply the methods step by step in group work
    - The (interim) results are reflected on and discussed by the class in a critical but constructive manner
    - The result is a decision-analytically sound recommendation for action in the decision-making situation
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
  • Interactive Workshops, Group Discussions, Case Study (optional) and Self-Reflection/Feedback.
    By integrating these learning activities and teaching methods, students will develop the necessary skills and knowledge to excel as emerging entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in today's dynamic business landscape.
Work placement(s)
  • none

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