Methodologies in Management Sciences

Recommended Prerequisites

NA

Teaching Methods

Classroom interaction, consisting mainly of presentation of the themes promoting debate (student-student and student-teacher).

The presentation of the themes emphasizes the motivation of the students by using concrete examples of research activities carried out by the teacher, invited researchers, or former students in the program.

Evaluation:

- Individual assignment about a scientific article, to be placed into context and reflecting about its epistemological, ethical and methodological aspects – 100%.

Although there are no formal office hours, students can meet the teacher outside the class in order to seek clarification and explanations, to debate a theme, or to seek guidance for the research assignment.

Learning Outcomes

O1. To know the nature, the origins, and the evolution of Management Science / Decision Aiding Science (MS/DAS).

O2. To recognize the multifaceted character of MS/DAS associated with several epistemological ruptures.

O3. To debate the nature and validity of models used in MS/DAS and their results.

O4. To question MS/DAS results, including ethical aspects.

O5. To ponder on the methodological options of proposed research plans.

These learning outcomes contribute to develop mainly the generic skills of debate and critical reasoning.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

This course addresses the epistemological, ethical and methodological aspects of a research program or real-world intervention of Management Science / Decision Aiding Science (MS/DAS). It addresses:

1. The nature, origins, and evolution of MS/DAS.

2. The epistemological bases of MS/DAS.

3. The debate on hard vs. soft operational research.

4. Models, model validation and rationality.

5. Evaluation of interventions and ethical aspects.

6. On the possibility of optimizing. Sensitivity and robustness analysis.

7. Discussion of different types of research (this includes presentations by researchers and former PhD students invited to debate their work).

Head Lecturer(s)

Luís Miguel Cândido Dias

Assessment Methods

Evaluation
Individual assignment about a scientific article: 100.0%

Bibliography

PIDD, M., Tools for thinking, Wiley, 1996.

KEENEY, R, Value-Focused Thinking: a Path to Creative Decisionmaking. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1992.

Rosenhead J, J Mingers (eds), Rational Analysis for a problematic world, Wiley, Chichester, 2001. (existe na FEUC)

Outra bibliografia (sobretudo artigos científicos) a disponibilizar oportunamente.