INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT BANGALORE
Course Title: Decision Making
Professor:
Mukta Kulkarni
Office:
D-002
Phone:
3029
Office Hours: By appointment
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Course description and objectives:
Wise people make them for themselves, while others follow public opinion. High
achievers make them quickly, while stragglers plod on without ever making them. Less
effective managers wait until they are certain before they make them, while effective
ones only wait until they have clarity. Some postpone them until they are no longer
relevant, while others are willing to make them when they are necessary.
Decisions.
From paying for coffee to losing weight; from buying a car to choosing a spouse - our
decisions shape our destiny. If we are to be high achievers, effective managers, or
leaders, we must understand how to make decisions. And we must understand even better
how to avoid the traps that cause intelligent people to make bad decisions. This course
aims to help you understand both.
Reading material:
Reading material is contained in the course packet. Additional readings may be suggested
in class, and will be posted on Moodle if required.
PowerPoint slides will be available on Moodle for downloading.
Pedagogy:
The instructional format adopted for this class is a mix of lectures, case studies, group
work, and assignments. Classes will be interactive.
In-class participation:
Given the participative nature of this course, participants are expected to add value
through quality (not quantity) of discussion, listening respectfully to other’s
contributions, not monopolizing in-class conversations, and sticking to relevant points
being discussed. We will discuss several decision making cases, and go through decision
making exercises.
Performance assessment:
Performance will be judged based on the following components –

In-class quizzes: Four quizzes will be conducted during the course. The best three
scores out of these four quizzes will be considered for final grading. Quizzes will
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contain multiple choice questions. Since grade points for N-1 quizzes will be
considered for final evaluation, there will be no make-up quizzes if you miss class
on the day of the quiz. Quizzes are not open book.

Participation and assignments: You may be required to submit answers to cases or
assignments individually or as a group. Most in-class and homework assignments
are listed below, and a few may be announced as we progress through the
semester. Assignments conducted during class time obviously cannot be ‘madeup’. In case of attendance issues, please communicate with the PGP office.

Movie analysis (group project): You will watch one movie. In four pages, you are
to assess the decision making process followed in the movie, drawing on concepts
and ideas discussed in class and covered in course readings. What conceptual
explanations can you offer for what happened and how the characters went about
the task of deciding? I will give detailed instructions in class.

Final paper: Each student will write a four page (double spaced) paper analyzing
the decision making processes followed for group tasks in class and for take-home
assignments, if we have any. You are expected to leverage ideas from class
readings and conversations for this write-up.
Grading scheme:
Component
Quizzes
Participation and assignments
Number
4 (points considered for 3)
Variable, depending on class
progress
Points
30 (10 per quiz)
70
Movie analysis
Final paper
1
1
50
50
200
TOTAL
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Class schedule*
Session(s)
1
Topic
Introduction
Readings/Cases
 Nutt. Surprising but true: Half the decisions in
organizations fail
 Ariely. The end of rational economics
 Brousseau et al. Decision styles
 Campbell et al. Why good leaders make bad
decisions
 Certo et al. Managers and their not so rational
decisions
 Gourville. Eager sellers
 Hammond et al. Hidden traps
 Staw. Escalation of commitment
 Growing pains
2-3
Biases in judgment and
decision making
4
Case analysis
5
Self and social
comparisons
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6
Case analysis
7
Agreement and
disagreement
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Bounded rationality
and information
asymmetry

9
Case analysis
10
Decision making across
cultures
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11
Decision making and
ethics
8
12-13
14-15
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Case analysis
Inaction

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Burson et al. Skilled or unskilled
Menon et al. Biases in social comparisons
Mezulis et al. Is there a universal positivity
bias in attributions
Nice guy
Quiz 1
Harvey. The management of agreement
Eisenhardt et al. How management teams can
have a good fight
Garvin and Roberto. What you don’t know
about making decisions
Bazerman and Chugh. Decisions without
blinders
Brodbeck et al. Group decision making under
conditions of distributed knowledge
The customers’ revenge
Quiz 2
Brett et al. Managing multicultural teams
Khatri. Consequences of power distance
orientation in organizations
Bazerman and Tenbrunsel. Ethical
breakdowns
Mazar et al. Dishonesty of honest people
When your colleague is a saboteur
Fischer et al. The by-stander effect
Pfeffer and Sutton. The smart-talk trap
Watkins and Bazerman. Predictable surprises
Quiz 3
16-17
Effective decision
making
18
Frames
19-20
Movie and analysis
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Charan. Conquering a culture of indecision
Hammond et al. Even swaps
Malhotra et al. When winning is everything
Mankins. Stop wasting valuable time
Mankins. Stop making plans
Martin. How successful leaders think
Snowden and Boone. A leader’s framework
for decision making
Quiz 4
Russo and Schoemaker. Power of frames;
Creating winning frames
Wrap-up
* The instructor may modify the schedule as the class progresses
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