Public policy is the collection of decisions and means used by governments / institutions to respond to the diverse and complex combination of social, environmental, economic and cultural problems, issues and circumstances. Policy making is linked to a rational, objective and leading process of steps and stages. The aim of this course is to improve students’ decision-making capacity, to acquire leadership skills and to provide strategies for further improvement in the future.

We look at how individuals and groups make decisions, and formulate policies to solve problems, individually and collectively. Students will understand different styles of decision-making, leadership and motivation behind each style, learn to make decisions more deliberately and systematically and will be able to use decision-making techniques and group management procedures in decision-making.

Upon completion of this course, students will have developed decision-making skills, understanding how individuals and groups are making decisions and shaping behaviors and policies. The aim of the course is also to make students understand the techniques of analysis, understand different ways of making decisions, developing processes in groups, integrating factors (eg values, prejudices, expertise, habit and power of will) in decision-making. Through this process they will learn to manage policy-making issues through the process of negotiating and implementing gaming theory.

The course has a strong experiential component. Students will repeatedly participate in a variety of strategic situations thereby developing the ability to translate their analyses into practice. To help to bridge the gap between the analytic tools and their use in the real-world business situations, you will be asked to prepare an “issue-spotting analysis”. This analysis, which should be 5-10 pages long, asks you to analyze a real-world issue “ripped from the headlines” where the techniques of game theoretic analysis might be fruitfully applied to aid in developing strategy. You will be asked to make a 10 minute presentation of the issue you chose and your analysis during class. (40%) The final project, which is the “capstone” component to the class, asks you to find an issue or situation of strategic relevance where you can bring to bear a variety of ideas and techniques developed during the course. The final project can be a broadening and deepening of the issue-spotting analysis you did earlier or can be on a completely separate issue. Again, you are free to work in groups. (60%) One-third of your grade for this project is determined by a 10 minute oral presentation during the last week of class. The remaining two-thirds of your grade for the project is determined by a 10-20 page write-up of your analysis. The page limit is based on a double-spaced paper exclusive of any tables or exhibits you wish to include

Course Bibliography (Eudoxus)
• Το σύστημα λήψης αποφάσεων στην εξωτερική πολιτική (Κωδικός Βιβλίου στον Εύδοξο: 30476), Συγγραφείς: Τσαρδανίδης Χαράλαμπος, Έκδοση: 1η έκδ./2006, ISBN: 978-960-02-1979-1, Διαθέτης (Εκδότης): ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ ΠΑΠΑΖΗΣΗ ΑΕΒΕ
• Εισαγωγή στη Θεωρία Παιγνίων (κωδικός στον Εύδοξο 35241) Osborne Kλειδάριθμος ΕΠΕ, 2010 Θεσσαλονίκη
• Θεωρία παιγνίων (κωδικος στον ευδοξο 1063) Μηλολιδάκης Σοφία Α.Ε., 2009 Θεσσαλονίκη
Additional bibliography for study
• Gibbons, R., Game Theory for Applied Economists, Princeton University Press, 1992.
• Dixit, A. and B. Nalebuff, The Art of Strategy, WW Norton, 2008 Dixit, A. and B. Nalebuff, Thinking Strategically, WW Norton, 1991.
• Νικολόπουλος, Ανδρέας. Η Στρατηγική των Διαπραγματεύσεων. ISBN13: 9789609443203