Edith Cowan University
School of Business and Law
Unit Plan
Unit Code: MBA6030
Unit Title: Information, Contemporary Technologies and Decision Making
Semester: 2
Year: 2017
Faculty of Business and Law, Perth Graduate School of Business | Telephone: 134328 | Calls outside Australia (61 8) 6304 0000
Email enquiries@ecu.edu.au | Web: www.business.ecu.edu.au
Perth Graduate School of Business (PGSB)
Edith Cowan University
Faculty of Business and Law
Telephone +(618) 6304 5666
Facsimile +(618) 6304 5633 Email: businessandlaw@ecu.edu.au www.business.ecu.edu.au
CRICOS IPC 00279B
Prepared by: Dr Paul Jackson
Version: July 2017
MBA6030 – Information, Contemporary Technologies and Decision Making
Lecturer
Name Room no Contact number Email Consultation times
Dr Lindsay Garratt l.garratt@ecu.edu.au 16:30 – 17:30 THU
Lecture and location
Day Time Room No.
THU 17:30 - 20:30 JO 02.146 (Lecture Room)
Unit Coordinator
Name Room no Contact number/s Email Consultation times
Craig Standing JO 2.444 6304 5545 c.standing@ecu.edu.au
Other staff contacts
Name Role Room no Contact details Email
Agnes Noronha Faculty Librarian Library
Joondalup 6304 3735 a.noronha@ecu.edu.au
FBL Academic Skills Centre Learning Advisors JO 2.133
ML10.112 http://www.ecu.edu.a u/faculties/businessand-law/about/officeof-teaching-andlearning/staff fbllearning@ecu.edu.au
Introduction
In the contemporary business climate of hyper-competition, volatility and increasingly pervasive technologies, the demand for organisational agility and responsiveness accentuate the degree to which success is linked to managerial decision making: more decisions need to be made, at greater speed, with superior precision in order to achieve effective outcomes. This unit examines the different types of decisions that managers make, embedding these within a variety of business processes and contexts. We examine the role of technologies in providing and analysing this information, whether it is from transactional e-commerce applications, enterprise collaboration systems or customers via social media.
Expectations of lecturers and students
This unit is conducted in accordance with the Student Charter (http://www.ecu.edu.au/prospectus/charter/). Lecturers and students must all be mindful of common courtesies such as timely submission of assessment documents and participation in discussion with fellow students allowing each person the opportunity to contribute and to gain as much as possible from the unit.
Teaching and learning approach
The Weekly Seminar – On Campus Students
The mode of this unit is blended learning, that is, a combination of pre-recorded lectures combined with classroom activities. The unit will run as a 2 -3 hour “flipped lecture” seminar. Students are expected to view the pre-recorded lecture online through blackboard prior to the seminar and read the appropriate reading or case study to be discussed.
• Each week, 2 -3 students (depending upon class size), will provide a brief synopsis of the lecture and raise any themes or questions they think are of particular interest, to be discussed by the class.
• Students will be expected to study other materials from a variety of sources prior to the seminar and participate in class discussion during the seminar.
Communication skills will be practised via written exercises, oral discussion and presentations. Other study materials will be distributed via the online learning environment Blackboard.
The unit will run on and off-campus. The online environment for off-campus students will mirror on-campus activities. External students will be required to post their activities on forums and review the work of others, just as on-campus students will do in class. They will be required to use social-media and record digital presentations for sharing with other students.
Students will be expected to research and discuss in class relevant issues of interest in their workplace for their assignment portfolio. Teaching will be supported through industry representation and participation to analyse decision making issues and technologies from a real-world perspective.
Annotated reading list
Text book
There is no text book for this unit. Students will be provided with or directed to materials from a variety of sources including journals, books and the Internet. Material will be drawn from Australian and international sources and cover a number of cultures.
Significant References
Bradley, A., & McDonald, M. P. (2011). The Social Organization. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
Bryan, L. B., & Joyce, C. I. (2007). Mobilizing Minds. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Jackson, P. (2010). Web 2.0 Knowledge Technologies and the Enterprise: Smarter, Lighter, Cheaper. Oxford: Chandos
Publishing
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Laudon, K. C. and Laudon, Jane, P., 2015, Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, 13th Global Edition.
Manyika, J., Chui, M., Brown, B., Bughin, J., Dobbs, R., Roxburgh, C., & Byers, A. H. (2011). Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity: Mckinsey Global Institute. McAffee, A. (2009). Enterprise 2.0. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Press.
Mintzberg, H. (1975). The manager’s job: Folklore and fact. Harvard Business Review, 53 (4), 49-61
Rosenhead, J., & Mingers, J. (2002). Rational Analysis for a Problematic World Revisited. Chichester: John WIley & Sons.
Simon, H. A. (1997). Administrative behavior : a study of decision-making processes in administrative organization (4th ed.). New York: Free Press.
Sunstein, C. R. (2006). Infotopia - How many minds produce knowledge. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
Schkade, D., Sunstein, C. R., & Hastie, R. (2007). What happened on deliberation day?. California Law Review, 915940. (available on web)
Teale, M., Dispenza, V., Flynn, J., & Currie, D. (2003). Management decision-making: towards an integrative approach. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Weekly Readings
Each week you should take a look at the following readings prior to the seminar: they are in blackboard or accessible via the web link.
Mod. Reading
1 • Mintzberg, H. (1975). The manager’s job: Folklore and fact. Harvard Business Review, 53 (4), 49-61
2 • De Smet, A., Laket, G., & Weiss, L. (June 2017). Untangling your organization's decision making McKinsey Quarterly: Mckinsey & Company.
• Pomerol, Jean-Charles, and Frederic Adam. -Practical decision making–From the legacy of Herbert Simon to decision support systems.- Actes de la Conférence Internationale IFIP TC8/WG8. Vol. 3.
2004. http://www.samuellearning.org/decisionmaking/handout%202.pdf
3 • Paul Slovic, “Perception of Risk” Science, New Series, Vol. 236, No. 4799. (Apr. 17, 1987), pp. 280285.
4 • Watch the Gladwell video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY0WFdk44pc
• Watch the Ariely video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X68dm92HVI
• Watch the Asch experiment video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIh4MkcfJA
• Read Schkade, D., Sunstein, C. R., & Hastie, R. (2007). What happened on deliberation day?.
California Law Review, 915-940.(available http://www.jstor.org/stable/20439113 )
5 • Rittel, Horst WJ, and Melvin M. Webber. -Dilemmas in a general theory of planning.- Policy sciences
4.2 (1973): 155-169. http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/ellendo/rittel/rittel-dilemma.pdf
6 • Certo, S. Trevis, Brian L. Connelly, and Laszlo Tihanyi. -Managers and their not-so rational decisions.- Business Horizons 51.2 (2008): 113-119.
7 • Blackboard readings and preparation
8 • The Secrets to Managing Business Analytics Projects, by Stijn Viaene, Annabel Van den Bunder
• McKinsey Global Institute, WHAT’S NOW AND NEXT IN ANALYTICS, AI, AND AUTOMATION,
BRIEFING NOTE • MAY 2017
9 • Blackboard readings and preparation
10 • Watch the MacAffee Interview in Blackboard
• Urena, Raquel, and Enrique Herrera-Viedma. -Web 2.0 tools to support decision making in enterprise contexts.- International Conference on Modeling Decisions for Artificial Intelligence. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2013.
• McKinsey Global Institute, The social economy: unlocking value and productivity through social technology, 2012 (Executive Summary)
11 • Blackboard readings and preparation
12 • Rosen, Peter A. -Crowdsourcing lessons for organizations.- Journal of Decision Systems 20.3 (2011): 309-324.
Journals
There are many valuable resources in the library. In particular, reference should be made to journal articles to keep abreast of current issues. Some suggested titles are as follows:
Title Field of Research
Theory and Decision: an international journal for multidisciplinary advances in decision sciences Cognitive Science
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Business and Management
Journal of Behavioral Decision Making Information Systems
Decision Support Systems Information and Computing Sciences
Decision Sciences Business and Management
Judgment and Decision Making Psychology
Group Decision and Negotiation Business and Management
Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Business and Management
Risk, Decision and Policy Business and Management
International Journal of Data Warehousing and Mining Information and Computing Sciences
Web based resources
These can be useful for checking up on recent developments and for gaining access to international newspapers. Remember, these are not refereed sources (that means they cannot be validated and may contain dubious quality of material) and therefore are not a substitute for journal articles and books. Wikipedia is not considered a suitable academic source.
E- Reserve, Blackboard
From time to time readings will be placed on e-reserve and Blackboard to supplement the course material. The study schedule also draws your attention to some PDF readings available on blackboard.
Online
On-line scholarly journals from reputable databases should be consulted. Information from freely available web pages is not always reputable. Ensure web sources are from reliable industry sources (such as IBM or Microsoft), online magazines (such as the Economist) or consultancies (such as Mckinsey or Gartner). .
Students are expected to commence each week having read the relevant reading(s) for that week.
ADDITIONAL READING BEYOND THE TEXT IS A REQUIREMENT FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE UNIT. DEMONSTRATED EVIDENCE OF WIDER READING WILL BE REWARDED IN ASSESSMENTS.
It is anticipated that you will consult a range of journals during the course, particularly in the preparation of your current issues project. The above list, although not exhaustive, contains a variety of journals which cover material related to the unit. Those not found in ECU libraries can be located in the libraries of the other tertiary institutions in Perth, or in the state library. Electronic journals can be accessed via the ECU library homepage, both on campus and off-site. Access is simple and requires no special requirements beyond internet access and your login details.
Study Schedule
This schedule provides a listing of the topics covered in this unit. The weekly allocations provide a guide of the recommended time to spend on each module. Use the current semester calendar to track your progress against the actual dates.
Week Week starting on: Mod. Topics Background reading Questions to consider Assessment
Activity
1 31/07/2017 1 Introduction to decision making – the managerial role, the context, preconceptions about decision making (Mintzberg, 2009) • What is the managerial role and what part does decision-making play?
• How have economic and social developments influenced the way decisions are made?
• What is the impact of technology on decision making?
2 7/08/2017 2 Decision typologies – unstructured, semi structured, structured, levels of influence (Laudon & Laudon, 2012;
Simon, 1997) • What is the theoretical structure of a decision?
• What are the different kinds of decision making?
3 14/08/2017 3 Inputs to decision making – data, information & knowledge; systems analysis (Teale, Dispenza, Flynn, &
Currie, 2003) • How do we frame decisions in systems and business process terms?
• What are the inputs to a decision?
• How do we ensure these are adequate? Begin weekly personal portfolio:
Task 1
4 21/08/2017 4 Decision making issues – uncertainty, biases, in personal and group decision making, wicked problems, complexity, sense making, power. (Kahneman, 2011; Sunstein,
2006) Culmsee and Awati 2012) • How reliable is personal decision making?
• How reliable is group decision making?
• How does one recognise problems which are wicked or which require
special methods for resolution Task 2
5 28/08/2017 5 Methodologies and tools for solving complex problems: (Rosenhead & Mingers, 2002), • What are some applicable problem structuring methods for achieving clarity Task 3
soft systems, dialogue Heifetz, Conklin. and making good decisions?
mapping, IBIS, satisficing. Case Study: Information Use by • What technologies help to structure
Managers in Decision Making: A these kinds of problems?
Team Exercise by Amy C.
Edmondson, Ann Cullen
6 4/09/2017 6 Contemporary responses – technology Personal Rational DecisionsManagers and Their Not -So • What are the limitations of managerial decision making? Task 4
Decision Making tools plus by S. Trevis Certo, Brian L. • What tools or methods might help the case study exercises Connelly, Laszlo Tihanyi individual manager?
7 11/09/2017 7 Contemporary responses – technology Business (Manyika et al., 2011; Taylor, • What are the key elements of driven organisation? a data-
Intelligence, Predictive 2012) • How can business intelligence and Analytics, Big Data predictive analytics be applied to NO SEMINAR – WATCH decision making?
LECTURE / PREPARE FOR • What kinds of decisions can use
NEXT WEEK business intelligence?
8 18/09/2017 8 Extended case study analytics projects – data The Business Analytics ProjectsSecrets to Managing •• What are the technologies available?What are the success factors for
by Stijn Viaene, Annabel Van business intelligence? den Bunder
25/09/2017 MID SEMESTER BREAK
9 2/10/2017 9 Contemporary responses – collaboration technology (Bradley & McDonald, 2011; •• What are the technologies available?How does an organisation use Submit Personal and group decision making Bryan & Joyce, 2007; McAffee, technology to harness collective Portfolio (due
NO SEMINAR – WATCH 2009) intelligence within its firewall to make 24:00 SUNDAY
LECTURE / PREPARE FOR better decisions? 1 October 2017)
MODULE 10 – EXTENDED via Blackboard
CASE STUDY – GROUP
TURNITIN DECISION MAKING
10 9/10/2017 NO CLASS
11 16/10/2017 11 Contemporary responses – crowdsourcing, technology (Jackson, 2010) • How technology to does engage its partners and an organisation use
prediction markets, customers in decision making innovation processes?
NO SEMINAR – WATCH LECTURE / PREPARE FOR MODULE 12 – EXTENDED
CASE STUDY –
CROWDSOURCING
12 23/10/2017 10 Extended case study – group decision making Wooqer: Making Business Social (A), by Shankar Venkatagiri, Yalla Veera Prakash
•
• What are the challenges of group decision making?
What are the technologies available?
• What are the success factors for group decision making?
• What technologies will assist in making group decisions?
• What are the limitations of these decisions?
13 30/10/2017 12 Extended case study – crowdsourcing
Harnessing the crowd,
Prediction Markets: A New Tool for Strategic Decision Making,
by Adam Borison, Gregory
Hamm
•
•
• How can prediction markets help decision making?
What are the technologies available?
What are the success factors for involving stakeholders in organisational decision making? Assignment 2 due 24:00
SUNDAY
5 November
2017, via
Blackboard
TURNITIN

1. Reflection – thinking about the questions in regard to your own experience, organisational environment capabilities and desires.
2. Collaboration – exchanging ideas with your colleagues, friends and mentors and testing out the solutions and directions you have arrived at
3. Information – researching further, using your existing knowledge of the Internet, business and the materials presented in this course.
You should use a small number of academic references for each activity ( = 5), but refer to other reliable or useful Internet resources such as online articles, reports, videos and so on.
Task 1 - Decision Making Typologies
This task is directed at your ability to conceptualise problems or real life situations using material and concepts from the unit (CLO 2.1)
1. Consider Simon’s normative model of decision making (intelligence, design, choice, implementation)
2. Think of a decision you made recently in your personal or family life.
3. Write down exactly how you approached the decision in terms of the model
4. Where does the model break down?
5. Is the model still useful, can it be adapted or improved to support everyday decision making?
Task 2 - Inputs to decision making – data, information & knowledge; systems analysis
This task is directed at your ability to apply technical skills to authentic situations using material and concepts from the unit (CLO 2.2)
Identify a recurring or annoying problem or inefficiency at work. Consider the business analysis and mapping tools presented in the lecture.
1. Define the problem clearly
2. Map the processes and show where the problem occurs.
3. Annotate the map with information inputs / outputs and knowledge inputs / outputs, explaining the problem in terms of poor information or knowledge, lack of information or knowledge transfer, and where bad decisions are being made.
4. Present a solution(s) to the problems
Task 3 - Decision making issues – uncertainty, biases, in personal and group decision making
This task is directed at your ability to critically reflect on processes and assumptions using material and concepts from the unit (CLO 2.4)
1. Reflect critically upon the lecture information about group decision making.
2. Which distortions disturb you the most and why?
3. What alternative decision-shaping technologies, techniques or processes will you use to improve your managerial practice?
Task 4 - Methodologies and tools for solving complex problems: soft systems, dialogue mapping, IBIS, satisficing.
This task is directed at your ability to solve complex problems using material and concepts from the unit (CLO 2.3)
Consider the various tools and methodologies presented in the lecture about complexity, wicked problems and group deliberation: in this exercise you will identify a problem at work and collect a group of colleagues to resolve the issue and consensually decide a course of action. You should:
1. Identify a genuine, but not necessarily major, issue which may contribute to improvement at work or home
2. Select a group of colleagues, some friends or a partner to work on this.
3. Decide upon a workshopping tool such as soft systems, brainstorming, decision quadrant etc. You may download or use from the cloud a free piece of software to project on the screen, such as Dialogue Manager or MindMeister.
4. Conduct the workshop for about one half to one hour
5. Document any outcomes, new knowledge, solutions, decisions or consensus to emerge
6. Compare the meeting to one which might NOT use such a tool

Marking Rubric: Personal Learning Portfolio
Criteria Fail
Pass
Threshold Credit Distinction High Distinction
TASK1:
Conceptualises and analyses the problem using formal decision models. [25 marks] Insufficient analysis and/or flawed conceptualisation. Does not apply decision models successfully. Some analysis and conceptualisation of the problem situation that is mostly accurate. Applies some decision models with some understanding of principles. Accurate analysis and mostly sound conceptualisation of the problem situation. Applies decision models with a solid understanding of principles. Detailed analysis and sound conceptualisation of the problem situation. Applies and justifies decision models with some expertise and insight. Outstanding analysis and original (or exemplary) conceptualisation of the problem situation. Applies and justifies decision models with expertise and insight.
Percentage 0-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-100
TASK 2: Applies technical skills to problem situations. [25 marks] Does not successfully deploy a methodology and/or decision tool(s) to a problem situation. Adequately applies analytical and mapping tools to gain some understanding
of a problem situation. Uses decision tools with some proficiency. Adequately applies analytical and mapping tools to gain sound understanding
of a problem situation. Uses appropriate decision tools with proficiency. Thoroughly applies analytical and mapping tools to gain a full understanding of a problem situation. Uses appropriate decision tools with skill. Meticulously applies analytical and mapping tools to gain full insight into a problem situation. Uses appropriate decision tools for complex problems with skill.
Percentage 0-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-100
TASK 3: Critically reflects upon problem solving and decision making practices. [25 marks] Evaluates decision processes and/or
critically reflects on personal practices at insufficient depth showing limited insight. Does not explore alternatives and/or possible outcomes that might result. Evaluates decision processes and
critically reflects on personal practices superficially. Explores limited alternatives and possible outcomes. Evaluates decision processes and
critically reflects on personal practices at some depth.
Explores alternatives and possible outcomes. Evaluates a decision process and critically reflects on personal practices at depth and with great insight.
Critiques alternatives
and possible outcomes. Fully evaluates decision processes and critically reflects on personal practices at depth and with great insight.
Critiques alternatives
and possible outcomes.
Percentage 0-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-100
TASK 4: Resolves complex problems using decision support methods or tools.
[25 marks] Does not address or resolve the problem adequately. Flawed solutions. Insufficient documentation of results and process. Addresses complex problems in part and provides some solutions. Adequate documentation of results and processes. Addresses complex problems and provides reasoned solutions. Clear and sound documentation
of results and processes. Soundly addresses complex problems and provides detailed and reasoned solutions. Clear and thorough documentation of results and processes. Fully addresses complex problems and provides detailed and fully justified solutions. Exemplary documentation of results and processes.
Percentage 0-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-100
Assignment 2 – Case Studies Assignment (40%)
The topics in the assignment will be those not covered in the portfolio: data analytics, collaboration and crowdsourcing.
Submission information
Weighting Details
Date/Week See Study Schedule
Place Via Blackboard Turnitin
Format MS-WORD (Not PDF or PowerPoint or Publisher)
Tasks - ASSIGNMENT 2
Choose 2 (TWO) of the following three topics taken from the unit plan. There is a strict word limit of 1500 words per answer and ONLY 5 references per answer. So make them good – the words and the references. The due date is in the unit plan.
Question 1 - Data Analytics and Decision Making
You are in charge of a medium-large organization in an industry of your choosing. Select ONE key functional area of business decision making (finance, sales, engineering, logistics etc) which you think can benefit from the use of data analytics and in particular big data.
1. Describe in detail how the data will be sourced, refined and exploited.
2. How will you structure and manage this project?
3. What specific barriers to success do you see in your organisation?
Question 2 - Collaboration within the Firm
You are in charge of a medium-large organization in an industry of your choosing. Select ONE key functional area of business decision making (finance, sales, engineering, logistics etc but DIFFERENT to the area in Question 1) which you think can benefit from the use of collaboration tools such as social networking, wikis, blogs, forums, voting and so on.
1. Describe in detail how you will improve decision making through collective intelligence.
2. What technologies will you implement, for which sets of users and for which contributions from them?
3. What are the critical success factors?
Question 3 – Crowdsourcing beyond the Firm
Choose a story or article about crowdsourcing from an online journal, newspaper, magazine or web site
1. Describe in detail how in the normative decision model crowdsourcing is being used and the role of technology.
2. Describe which conventional decision-making problems or distortions are being overcome through crowdsourcing in the article
3. In general, discuss and evaluate the objections and resistance to using crowdsourcing for making decisions.
Marking criteria
Marks will be allocated according to the following criteria:
Rubric Criteria Mark
(100 max) Weightings Weighted Mark
Relevant and interesting The answers are relevant and answer the questions directly. 50% 0
Professional The answers to the exercises are well written, professionally presented, have a clear structure. 10% 0
Learning demonstrated The student uses language and concepts from the unit, demonstrating learning and application of theory. 20% 0
Critical The work is reflective, considered and critical. 10% 0
Supporting resources Adequate, reliable references have been used. 10% 0
TOTAL % 0%
Grade (maximum 100 – and will be scaled to 40% overall)
Marking Range
All students will receive a mark out of 100%. The marks will be allocated based on the following criteria:
50%
DOES NOT MEET REQUIREMENTS AS PER UNIT PLAN AND/OR DOES NOT ANSWER IN A WAY THAT INDICATES DEPTH IN PREPARATION OR KNOWLEDGE.
50% – 69% MEETS REQUIREMENTS AS PER UNIT PLAN, ANSWERS USUALLY CORRECT AND INDICATES (SOME) PREPARATION.
70% - 79% MEETS OR EXCEEDS REQUIREMENTS. ANSWERS INDICATE DEEP PREPARATION AND THOUGHT. QUALITY DOCUMENTATION, EXAMPLES AND JUSTIFICATIONS.
80% MEETS OR EXCEEDS REQUIREMENTS. GIVES EVIDENCE OF MORE READING AND KNOWLEDGE THAN REQUIRED. INDICATES THOROUGH PREPARATION. DEMONSTRATES INSIGHT AND CRITICAL THINKING. DOCUMENTS BEST PRACTICE. VERY WELL JUSTIFIED.
Referencing
You must reference all ideas that are not of your own origination. This includes paraphrasing, or re-stating another’s ideas in your own words. Remember that it is not only direct quotations that must be referenced, but also the ideas. You are being assessed on the basis of your contribution to original thought, and it must be obvious to the reader whose ideas are being presented at each and every point in your paper. If it is not clear to the reader just whose ideas are being referenced, the paper will be returned with a failing mark.
Assessment Grading
The real aim of assignments is to develop your learning capability, building your ability to learn again in the future not just your ability to collect and repeat the words of others. It is the goal of assignments that you explore an area of learning and display your ability to use that data to construct your perspective, displaying the use of what you have found.
Good assignments always answer the question,
Good assignments are easy to read,
Good assignments show a critical approach to reading and writing, Good assignments are less descriptive and more evaluative.
There is also a need for a critical approach. A university degree-level response to a topic question requires your own ‘critical interpretation’ and reviewers ‘look for evidence of “thought” in answering the question, not just a simple rehash and recall of the content area. It is not sufficient to make statements without justifying them with an argument and supporting them with evidence. Mere regurgitation of the arguments of other people (often in almost the same words) is not acceptable, although you may, of course, summarise these in order to comment on them.
The most effective assignments will demonstrate critical analysis of specific applications, the development of criteria for judgement, a confidence in identifying key issues, and evidence of wide research and new perspectives. The place to start, when beginning work on your assignment, is therefore to take a careful look at the assignment specification.
Testing of Unit Learning Outcomes and Course Level Outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes and Course Level Outcomes are tested across assignments as follows:
Unit Learning Outcomes Course Level Outcome 2:
Apply critical thinking skills to solve authentic business problems. Assessment 1
Personal Learning Portfolio Assessment 2
Intensive Home
Assignment
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 1 Task 2 Task 3
Analyse situations from a decision-making perspective 2.1: Conceptualise problems or situations x x x x
Specify key contemporary information technologies relevant to decisionmaking. 2.2: Apply technical skills to authentic situations x x x x x
Formulate appropriate solutions to decisionmaking issues. 2.3: Solve complex problems x x x x x x x
Evaluate alternative decision-making solutions. 2.4: Critically reflect
on processes and assumptions x x
Recommend the
application of information technologies to decisionmaking. x x x
Plan for the implementation of decision-making solutions. x x x
Note: For AACSB AoL processes, we will use student results from Portfolio tasks 1–4 as indicated above by the shaded blue boxes.
Addendum
Email protocol
All emails should be sent from your student email account or via Blackboard, otherwise anti-spam filters may prevent it from being delivered to your lecturer.
When using email to communicate with lecturers or tutors, you should always make sure that your message contains the following:
1. A subject that contains the unit code, and clearly describes the nature of your query or request. Your lecturers receive many emails a day, and may also teach more than one unit, so if your email does not contain the unit code, it is not possible to place your message in context. If the subject does not indicate the nature of the message, it may well remain unanswered.
2. Change the default setting on your email program to include previous messages in replies, and make sure that previous messages are included in an ongoing exchange. Your lecturer deals with many students. Having a copy of the previous exchanges included in your message will expedite a response.
You should still make sure that the subject indicates what the email is about.
3. Address your lecturer appropriately by name.
4. State your question or request clearly and concisely.
5. Insert a signature at the end of your email that contains:
a. your name in full as it appears in SIMO
b. your student number
c. the campus at which you attend classes for the unit in question
(also indicate if you are an off campus student)
Your lecturer will inform you if there are additional requirements for communicating by email.
While lecturers cannot be available on line all day, in normal circumstance your lecturer will reply within 2 working days.
Unit and Teaching Evaluation (UTEI)
At the end of the semester, all students will be requested to complete the ECU UTEI online survey. This survey will ask questions concerning your level of satisfaction with the unit, your lecturer and your tutor. Your feedback is needed to help us to improve the quality of our courses. We endeavour to use the feedback we receive from the UTEI survey to improve the quality of the unit when it is next run.
Towards the end of the semester you will receive an email notification about how to complete the UTEI survey. Please take the time to complete it for us. There are small incentives offered to encourage participation and your feedback is anonymous and confidential.
Assignments
Extensions for submission dates
Any student who wishes to defer the submission of an assignment must apply to the lecturer before the due date for an extension of the time within which to submit the assignment. The application must be in writing and must set out the grounds on which deferral is sought.
An assignment submitted after the fixed or extended time for submission shall incur a penalty to be calculated as follows:
• where the assignment is submitted not more than 5 working days late, the penalty shall, for each working day that it is late, be 5% of the maximum assessment available for the assignment;
or
• where the assignment is more than 5 working days late, a mark of zero shall be awarded.
Exams
Illness on the day of an exam
This happens very rarely. If you should find yourself in this unusual and difficult position you should not attend the exam as you could not perform to your best. However, if not attending you must see a doctor and submit the doctor’s certificate with your request for a deferred exam on the grounds that you were ill at the time of exam.
Failing a unit
Failing a unit 3 times may result in you being excluded from the unit, the major to which the unit belongs, or even the course. Clarification and further assistance can be obtained by contacting the Student Information Office,
Joondalup campus – building 6 or Mt Lawley campus – building 10 or by email at businessandlaw@ecu.edu.au.