Decision Making and Project Management in Business (PDGPE)

It would not be an exaggeration to assert that decision making is as natural and necessary a process to people as breathing. Everyone knows how to make decisions more or less intuitively. Despite this, however, it does not seem that people have necessarily learnt to make the best decisions. Improving the decisions people make is a goal that has taken on greater and greater importance in companies and business projects. Professional graduates, as they grow professionally, take on more and more managerial tasks and less technical ones. Seen from this perspective, it is easy to justify the need for developing communication, negotiation and management skills. This subject emphasises decision making and the various techniques and aspects to be taken into account in order to improve this most basic of skills. As projects also make up a frequent focus of management in companies, the subject also addresses the aspects and techniques of project management that can be applied in several situations, including those involving information technology. The topics addressed include the initial definition and organisation of the project; management techniques and techniques for optimising time, resources and costs; and the use of various information technology tools for support.

Knowledges

1. Acquire a broad vision of the decision-making process and place this in an organisational context, study related techniques and concepts such as the psychological factors affecting the decision-maker, group decision-making techniques, the role played by creativity, etc.
2. Learn how to defend the importance of formal analysis as a tool for improving decision-making. Examine several decision-making models in greater depth, with specific examples of analysis and formalisation.
3. Learn how to develop the strategic thinking needed when decisions are made in the context of a competitive environment (i.e. when the benefits depend on decisions made by others). Learn how to analyse the negotiation process as a means of resolving conflicts. Various negotiation techniques will be studied, enabling students to conduct negotiations effectively.
4. Introduction to the issues involved in managing business projects, presentation of the project life-cycle, project management in the light of company and project objectives.
5. Introduction to the various aspects bearing on project management, with special emphasis on scheduling and cost management. Introduction to the computing tools providing support for project development.

Abilities

1. Ability to formally analyse the decision-making process in order to ensure the best decision is taken in the light of existing limitations.
2. Ability to strategically analyse conflicts of a competitive nature.
3. Ability to understand negotiation as a means of resolving conflicts, and the ability to use a set of techniques for enhancing one's negotiating skills.
4. Managing a business project.

Competences

1. Management of decision-making processes.
2. Ability to negotiate and resolve conflicts
3. Project Director.

The methodology is mainly based on lectures and practical case solving. However, these include various dynamic elements that are designed to encourage student participation.





About the lectures, we will try to deliver a high level of reflection and discussion, and about the practical classes, we will use case solving and negotiation simulations .

The course will also include a final exam. The grade for the course will not be based solely on the exam but also take into account other items for assessment purposes. The overall assessment will be calculated as follows:

- Final exam (F). Taken on an individual basis at the end of the course. This makes up 45% of the final grade.

- Test (C). Taken on an individual basis halfway through the course. The test will not exempt students from taking the final exam. The test makes up 25% of the final grade.

- Activities. These will be undertaken on both an individual and group basis and will run throughout the course. Activities account for 30% of the final grade.

* Decisional case (PD): In gropus. Each student will have to solve a "Multi-Criteria decisional case" (PDM) or a "Uncertainty decisional case" (PDI). In groups. This makes up 10% of the final grade.
* Negotiation Simulation 1 (SN1): This makes up 3.5% of the final grade.
* Negotiation Simulation 2 (SN2): This makes up 4% of the final grade.
* Business Projects Management case (GPE): This makes up 12.5% of the final grade

The final grade (NF) is calculated as follows:

NF = PD*10% + SN1*3,5% + SN2*4% + GPE*12,5% + Max(C,F)*25% + F*45%

The final grade will be "Not Presented" (NP) when all these conditions are true: the student was not submit "the exam" neither "the test" nor more than one practical activities.

• Antonio Cañabate Carmona Toma de decisiones : análisis y entorno organizativo, Edicions UPC, 1997.
• Orfelio G. León Tomar decisiones difíciles, McGraw Hill, 2001.
• RAIFFA, H. El arte y la ciencia de la negociación, Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1991.
• ORMAZABAL, G. Una Introducción al Project Management en la Construcción, Propera publicació, 2002.
• Alberto Domingo Ajenjo Dirección y gestión de proyectos : un enfoque práctico, Ra-ma, 2005.

• David Jennings, Stuart Wattam Toma de decisiones : un enfoque integrado, Compañía editorial continental, 1996.
• Avinash K. Dixit y Barry J. Nalebuff Pensar estratégicamente : un arma decisiva en los negocios, la política y la vida diaria, Antoni Bosch, 1992.
• GARDNER, R. Juegos para empresarios y economistas, Antoni Bosch, 1996.
• Peter Economy El Arte de la negociación : bases de la efectividad en las relaciones comerciales, IRWIN, 1994.

1. http://www.expertchoice.com/software/grouptrialreg.htm
   

(-)