BUSI1702 Organisational Decision Making Module Handbook 2025-26 | UOG

Contents

1. Welcome message from your Module Leader
2. Key contacts (academic queries)
3. Enquiry-Based Learning and Research-Led Teaching
4. Module details and learning outcomes
5. Employability
6. Key Dates
7. Schedule of teaching and learning activities
8. Assessment
9. Resit assessments
10. Resource recommendations
11. Ethical Compliance for Research on Taught Courses
12. Additional module information
13. Digital Student Centre (non-academic queries)
14. Changes to the module

1.Welcome message from your Module Leader     

Welcome to the BUSI1702 Module on Organisational Decision Making! 

Have you noticed how many decisions you take during a day? Have you thought how your decisions can have an impact on yourself, others, and the wider ecosystem? 

Decision making is a fundamental component of human behaviour that determines the present and the future of individuals, and organisations. 

This Module aims to help you establish a fundamental understanding of the complex nature of organisational decision-making by introducing you to different types of decision-making focussing on rational, evidence-based and behavioural aspects. 

You will also examine contextual factors that determine the decision-making process and reflect upon some common decision-making biases that can affect people with and without decision-making power in organisations, including ethical dilemmas leaders face.  
  
This is a 15-credit Module, and you are expected to dedicate a minimum of 12.5 hours per week to the learning activities and to successfully pass the Module’s assessment. We recommend the following weekly breakdown for your time dedicate to this Module, to make the most of your learning experience.

• Timetabled teaching and learning (2hrs): weekly lectures (1hr), weekly tutorials (1hr)
• Guided independent study (10.5hrs): class preparation, revision, and assessment preparation. 

Example activities include reading and taking notes, watching lecture recordings, conducting independent research on the assessment subject, assessment writing, active and creative engagement with content from lectures, and tutorials, panel discussions with industry representatives, analysis of case studies, teamwork, and presentations inside tutorials, and developing critical reading and writing skills. 

2.Enquiry-Based Learning and Research-Led Teaching

Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL)

Defined as ‘an approach based on self-directed enquiry or investigation in which the student is actively engaged in the process of enquiry facilitated by a teacher. EBL uses real life scenarios (for example, from case studies, company visits, and project work) and students investigate topics of relevance that foster the skills of experimental design, data collection, critical analysis and problem-solving’. 

The enquiry-based approach to learning in this Module is manifested with the adoption of (i) ‘live’ and relevant business case studies that focus on on-going organisational decisions to spark conversation and student engagement; (ii) the self-directed nature of choosing an organisational decision for the assessment; (iii) teamwork that encourages students to develop critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills; (iv) interactive nature of lectures and tutorials through hands-on activities related to real-life organisational decisions. 

Research-Led Teaching (RLT)

An element of Enquiry Based Learning links to RLT, which involves faculty introducing students to their own research where it is relevant to the curriculum being taught as well as drawing on their own knowledge of research developments in the field, introducing them to the work of other researchers. RLT sees students as active participants in the research process, not just as an audience. This is achieved by discussing such developments in lectures and classes, and setting reading lists including recent research publications at the frontier of the field. The definition of a diverse assessment regime at the programme level (incorporating an expectation of familiarity with, and use of, such publications in assignments) and the inclusion of projects at every level of the programme is also fundamental to achieving these objectives.

The teaching of this Module is research-led based on both classic conceptual academic articles and recent empirical publications, including the Module leader’s own research. The teaching and learning materials are in line with the inclusive curriculum design with organisational contexts that are relatively easy to grasp and identify with. 

3.Module details and learning outcomes

Host faculty: Business  
Host school: BOS 
Number of credits: 15 
Term(s) of delivery: Term 1
Site(s) of delivery: Greenwich 

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this Module a student will be able to: 

1.Apply an evidence-based approach to decision making in organisational and managerial contexts;
2.Identify, evaluate, and interpret the consequences of organisational and managerial decision-making on different stakeholders using the three-attribute salience model;  
3.Diagnose and address the impact of judgemental errors and biases on organisational and managerial decision-making. 

4.Employability

By undertaking this Module students will develop these employability skills and competences:

• Cognitive skills: student will be exposed to critical perspectives of management issues and learn to make reasoned managerial judgements by taking into account different views.
• Generic competencies: students will develop generic competencies of being a manager at a basic level, such as communication with others in a professional manner and managing a small team.
• Practical and professional elements: students will develop fundamental professional skills through practising problem-solving in a variety of managerial contexts.

You can find out more about the Greenwich Employability Passport at: Greenwich Employability Passport for students.

Information about the Career Centre is available at: Employability and Careers | University of Greenwich. You can also use LinkedIn Learning to gain access to thousands of expert-led courses to support your ongoing personal development. More information can be found at: LinkedIn learning | IT and library services.

5.Key Dates

Please note that dates may differ depending on when you start your programme of study, and where you are studying. 

Please refer to Term Dates for full details, and details of University closure dates.

6.Schedule of teaching and learning activities

The schedule you’ll see below outlines the lecture topics. Please note that tutorials will always run one week behind the lectures. This way, you’ll have time to catch up on the reading, reflect on the content, and come prepared to engage meaningfully in the tutorial discussions.

7.Assessment schedule:

*The weighting refers to the proportion of the overall Module result that each assessment task accounts for. 

8.Assessment Details

8.1 Summative assessment: individual report 

Task: You are individually required to write a 2,500-word essay (+/-10% excluding references) about an organisational decision of your choice. It is recommended that you (i) consider an organisational decision that concerns sustainability, ethics, or equality issues in business and/or management practices; (ii) choose an organisation from the 2024 Forbes 2000 list; and (iii) choose an organisational decision that has been implemented during the last 7 years. Your report must draw on the concepts and theories covered in this Module and follow the structure presented below. We also encourage you to be as imaginative as possible and include tables, graphs, and figures in your report. 

Key dates

Submission deadline: Submit your individual report by 17:00 (5pm),  Wednesday, 10 December 2025 via the submission link on Moodle. Please note there is a grace period, please consult the webpage here for more information: https://www.gre.ac.uk/articles/student-and-academic-services-sas/updated-extenuating-circumstances-faqs

Extenuating Circumstances (EC) submission deadline: If you have obtained approval for an EC submission, submit your report by TBC.

Suggested report structure 

Your report should consist of the sections below. The word count is a recommendation, but we encourage you to follow it as much as possible. The word count excludes tables, graphs and figures and the reference list.

1.Introduction: Provide a succinct introduction to the organisational decision that you would like to analyse, including information about what the decision was about, and when the decision was made. [300 words]
2.Problem framing: Provide more detailed information to contextualise the organisational decision focussing on the organisational problem(s) that the decision relates to. [400 words]
3.Stakeholder analysis: Identify the stakeholders that are most relevant to this organisational decision. You are expected to apply the stakeholder salience model (three attributes: power, legitimacy, and urgency) to analyse the ways that each stakeholder can affect and/or is affected by the decision (i.e. CEO, human resources management team, etc). You could choose to structure your analysis according to stakeholder groups or the attributes shared by the different stakeholders (i.e. high legitimacy and urgency; low power). [400 words]
4.Decision considerations: Drawing on academic theory, and practice discuss whether the decision effectively addressed the organisational problem(s) that is related to. Use behavioural decision-making theory to analyse different ethical considerations, as well as other factors (both external and internal for example dealing with risk or uncertainty, human bias, etc) that have informed this decision. Provide arguments both for and against the decision that was made. [900 words]
Recommendations: Discuss what could have been done differently or what has been done exceptionally well that other organisations could learn from.
5.You are required to link your recommendations with at least one theory or concept covered in this Module. Critically discuss the extent to which this theory or concept could be translated into good practice. [500 words]

9.Marking, feedback and next steps

To pass this Module, you must achieve an overall mark of 40+ for the assessment.  
For coursework, the marks and feedback will normally be provided to students within seventeen working days of the submission deadline. In exceptional circumstances, where there is a delay in giving feedback, you will be informed by the module leader.  

If you do not pass a Module at the first attempt, you will likely be eligible for a resit opportunity on the failed assessments. The Progression and Award Board (PAB) will decide whether you will be offered an opportunity to resit. Note that marks on resit assessments are capped at 50% unless extenuation has been applied for and granted. 

For further details on resit assessments, please see section on Resit assessments.  The assessment and feedback policy can be accessed at Assessment and Feedback Policy.

Marking criteria

The team will employ the marking rubric available on the Module’s Moodle Page. Please note that the rubric might be subject to minor changes in the first few weeks of teaching; in this case relevant announcement will be put in Moodle and the materials will be updated accordingly. You can use the rubric as a checklist to self-assess your writing before submission. The extent to which your submission meets each criterion affects the grade you receive. 

Assessment support

Your engagement with the weekly teaching and learning activities will prepare you for the assessment. You would receive regular feedback from your tutor during these activities. There will also be assessment support sessions that will be advertised during the module.

Feedback for summative assessment

Your final submission will receive formal feedback in a written, sandwich format. Markers will provide in-text comments and written feedback (max. 250-500 words) on the submitted assignment. This feedback will consist of the following three parts: 

• What you did well in this assignment
• What you could improve in this assignment
• What you can take forward to your next assignment

10.References

Provide references to all the sources of information that you used to support the arguments in your assessment (both formative and summative). Make sure to use both in-text citations and include a reference list at the end of your presentation and your report. All references must follow the Harvard Referencing Guide provided on the Module’s Moodle page. You are expected to draw on readings recommended by this Module when describing and discussion a theory and/or concept. You are also expected to conduct independent research on relevant reading yourself.

Avoid making unreferenced, ambiguous, and generic commentaries on a topic that add little to no value to your arguments. It is critical to substantiate your statements with evidence provided by empirical research and subject experts. Apply an evidence-based approach to developing and strengthening arguments would be beneficial for both your academic performance and your professional development in whichever career that you intend to pursue.

Before citing any references, make sure to evaluate the quality of the references by considering the following aspects. You can read more about how to assess the quality of qualitative studies and quantitative studies via the embedded direct links to the BMJ journal articles. 

1.Currency

• How recent is the information? 
• Is it current enough for your topic?
• To what extent does this information reflect the latest research findings?

2.Credibility

• Who is the publisher and is it reputable? 
• Who is the content creator or author and what are their credentials?
• What is the publisher’s interest or motivation (if any) in this information? Who sponsored the publication of this information, if any? In particular, pay attention to the extent to which this publication serves the purpose of advertisements or public relations management. 

3.Reliability

• What kind of information is included in the resource? Is content of the resource primarily opinion or fact? To what extent has it considered different perspectives? 
• Does the creator provide references or sources for data or quotations?
• To what extent does the publication measure the things that it claims to have measured, if any? For example, a survey designed to explore depression, but measures anxiety would not be considered valid in making statements about depression. 

11.Resit assessments

Resit Assessment schedule:

TBC

Those students eligible for a resit will be expected to rework the original submission, building on and addressing the feedback received and providing a short commentary about the changes implemented.

The Module’s marking criteria and rubric of the first sit will apply. Students unable to submit the first sit or failing the first sit are encouraged to liaise with their Module tutor at the earliest opportunity to seek feedback and receive guidance to prepare for the resit opportunity.

Resit decision will be communicated at the end of the academic year and taken by the relevant Progression and Awards Board. The Module tutors and leader have no capacity to grant or not a resit opportunity.

12.Resource recommendations

The following reading list is divided into essential and additional resources for the Module. The supplementary resources serve as a guide for additional reading. You can check availability of the resources by using the search tool LibrarySearch at https://librarysearch.gre.ac.uk.

Please note that in Section 6 (Schedule of teaching and learning activities) outlined above, we recommend what to read during each week. 

Essential Resources

Bazerman, M. H., Moore, D. A. (2013). Judgment in Managerial Decision Making. Wiley.

Read Chapter 9 on Managerial Decision Making (pp. 271-299) in Daft, R., and Benson, A. (2016) Management, Cengage Learning. 11th edition. 

Korhonen, P.J and Wallenius J., (2020) Making Better Decisions, Balancing Conflicting Criteria, Springer International. 

Radu, A., (2021) Critical Thinking for Managers: Structured Decision-Making and Persuasion in Business, Springer International. 

Additional resources covering specific themes of each week 

Week 1
Cabantous, L., Gond, J.-P. and Johnson-Cramer, M. (2010) Decision Theory as Practice: Crafting Rationality in Organizations, Organization Studies, 31(11), pp. 1531–1566.

Ireland R.D and Miller C., (2004) Decision-Making and Firm Success. The Academy of Management Executive (1993-2005) 18(4). Academy of Management, pp. 8–12.

Keeney, R. L. (1982) Feature Article—Decision Analysis: An Overview, Operations Research, 30(5), pp. 803–838.

Smith, G. F. (2003) Beyond Critical Thinking and Decision Making: Teaching Business Students How to Think, Journal of Management Education, 27(1), pp. 24–51.

Week 2
Smith, G., (1989) Defining Managerial Problems: A framework for prescriptive theorising, Management Science, Vol.35., No.8, pp. 963-981

Week 3
Mitchell et al., (1997) Towards a theory of stakeholder identification and salience. Academy of Management Review 22, pp. 853–886.

Neville, B, et al., (2011) Stakeholder Salience Revisited: Refining, Redefining, and Refueling an Underdeveloped Conceptual Tool. Journal of Business Ethics. Sep2011, Vol. 102 Issue 3, pp. 357-378.

Week 4
Barends, E. and Rousseau, D. (2018) Evidence-Based Management: How to Use Evidence to Make Better Organizational Decisions, Kogan Page.

Rousseau, D.M. (2020) ‘Making Evidence-Based Organizational Decisions in an Uncertain World’, Organizational Dynamics, 49(1).

Morrell, K. and Learmonth, M. (2015) ‘Against evidence-based management, for management learning’, Academy of Management Learning & Education, 14(4) pp. 520–533.

Week 5 
Calabretta, G., Gemser, G. and Wijnberg, N. M. (2017) The Interplay between Intuition and Rationality in Strategic Decision Making: A Paradox Perspective, Organization Studies, 38(3–4), pp. 365–401.

Hodgkinson G. and Sadler-Smith E., (2018) The dynamics of intuition and analysis in managerial and organizational decision making, Academy of Management Perspectives,32(4), pp.473-492.

Kahneman, D. and Klein, G. (2009) Conditions for intuitive expertise: a failure to disagree, The American Psychologist, 64(6), pp. 515–526.

Simon, H. A. (1987) Making Management Decisions: The Role of Intuition and Emotion, Academy of Management Perspectives, Academy of Management, 1(1), pp. 57–64.

Week 6
Bazerman, M. H. and Sezer, O. (2016) Bounded awareness: Implications for ethical decision making, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Celebrating Fifty Years of Organizational Behaviour and Decision-Making Research (1966-2016), 136, pp. 95–105.

Week 7
Holmes, R. M., Bromiley, P., Devers, C. E., Holcomb, T. R., & McGuire, J. B. (2011). Management Theory Applications of Prospect Theory: Accomplishments, Challenges, and Opportunities. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1069–1107,

Week 8 
Artinger, F., Petersen, M., Gigerenzer, G. and Weibler, J. (2015) Heuristics as adaptive decision strategies in management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(S1), pp. S33–S52.

Dane, E. and Pratt, M. G. (2007) Exploring Intuition and its Role in Managerial Decision Making, Academy of Management Review, 32(1), pp. 33–54.

Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D. (1981) The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice, Science, 211(4481), pp. 453–458.

Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D. (1974) Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases, Science, 185(4157), pp. 1124–1131.

Week 9 
Harrington, H.J., (1998) The creativity toolkit: provoking creativity in individuals and organizations, London. McGraw-Hill.

Week 10 
Brown, B (2015) Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. London. Penguin.

13.Ethical Compliance for Research on Taught Courses

University policy requires any research which might involve human participants to use set procedures for informing participants, obtaining their informed consent to provide data, collecting, and storing data.
This includes the collection of data for formative or extra-curricular activities.

Normally this requirement will impact upon approval of topics for undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations, but may also impact upon individual assignments where a student or group of students will undertake primary research
  Where a module includes an assessment item involving student collection of data,whether from human participants or not, before any data is collected each student on such a module must:

1.Undertake and pass the Epigeum Research Ethics online course available at the Business School Research Ethics - Approval for Coursework Moodle site, if they have not already done so; 
2.Register the details of the project by completing the online form linked on the same Moodle site;  

All data collected in the course of the project must be:

• stored on the student’s University Home (G:) or OneDrive only. Data may not be stored on other online file storage depositories such as DropBox or Google Docs, nor on personal laptops, mobile devices or memory sticks. Where interviews are recorded on a mobile device, the device must be password protected and the recordings transferred to the G: or OneDrive and the earliest opportunity and the copy on the mobile device destroyed. Hand-written notes from interviews should be scanned and stored on the G: or OneDrive with the originals destroyed;
• destroyed following the confirmation of results at the PAB or resit PAB.

14.Additional module information

Activities:
Please provide information about any non-standard, additional, module activities that are requirements, for example, if there are placements or visits that are integral to the module.  

Resources:
Please specify any module specific resources that students will benefit from, for example, lab support, specialist equipment or teaching space.  

Costs:
Additional compulsory costs on the module, such as those associated with additional activities or with equipment, printing or materials must be included. If there are no module specific additional costs, please state that here.

15.Digital Student Centre (non-academic queries)

Our new Digital Student Centre is your space to find answers 24/7 to your questions about student life, helping you get the support you need when you need it. AskUoG provides you with hundreds of up-to-date articles covering topics such as student engagement, student finance, academic and personal conduct, accommodation, visa and international student advice, disability, mental health and wellbeing support. 

You can also download important documents like bank, student status and council tax letters by visiting My Documents on the Digital Student Centre (eligibility criteria apply).

If you can't find the right answer or need more personalised support for your query, you can create an enquiry and our specialist teams will respond swiftly. You will be able to track your requests and check the status of your enquiries in real time.  

For academic queries, always contact the staff who work with you on your academic programme - your programme leader, module leader or personal tutor.

16.Changes to the module

At the University of Greenwich, we value feedback from students as well as External Examiners and other stakeholders and we use this information to help us improve our provision.

Please insert an example of some feedback you have received and how you have responded.  

Important note: The University of Greenwich will do all that it reasonably can to deliver the module and support your learning as specified in our handbooks and other information provided. However, under some circumstances, changes may have to be made.

This may include modifications to the: 

• content and syllabus of modules, including in relation to placements
• timetable, location and number of classes
• content or method of delivery of your module 
• timing and method of assessments.

This might be because of, for example:

• academic changes within subject areas
• the unanticipated departure or absence of members of university staff
• where the numbers expected on a module are so low that it is not possible to deliver an appropriate quality of education for students enrolled on it
• industrial action by university staff or third parties
• the acts of any government or local authority 
• acts of terrorism.

In these circumstances, the university will take all reasonable steps to minimise disruption by making reasonable modifications. However, to the full extent that it is possible under the general law, the university excludes liability for any loss and/or damage suffered by any applicant or student due to these circumstances.