COURSE NUMBER: MBA 211.1

COURSE TITLE:  Game Theory

UNITS OF CREDIT:  3 Units

INSTRUCTOR:  John Morgan

E-MAIL ADDRESS: morgan@haas.berkeley.edu

CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/rjmorgan/mba211

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME:  Monday and Wednesday, 11:00AM – 12:30 PM

PREREQUISITE(S):  None 

CLASS FORMAT: The class consists of strategy and negotiation exercises, case studies, discussion, and lectures.

REQUIRED READINGS: The course will have a course reader, use the text The Art of Strategy, and various exercises.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: 

25% Class Participation and problem sets

25%  Mid semester project including in-class presentation

50% Term project including in-class presentation

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

This course is a survey of the main ideas and techniques of game-theory as they relate to competitive strategy, bargaining, conflict, and negotiation. As such, the course emphasizes the identification and analysis of archetypal strategic situations frequently occurring in strategic situations.

The key learning objectives are:

1. Apply game-theoretic analysis, both formally and intuitively, to formulate and implement strategy.

2. Develop the ability to engage in outward thinking—planning and strategy based on the idea that rivals have their own objectives and capabilities that must be accounted for in developing strategy.

3. Build a toolbox of key game theory concepts, such as the value of commitment, that can be used to fundamentally alter unfavorable strategic situations and transform them into something more promising. Simply put, students will learn how to “change the game” in exploiting strategic situations.  

The course has a strong experiential component. Students will repeatedly participate in a variety of games based on real-world business situations thereby developing the ability to translate their analyses into practice. The mid-semester and final projects also emphasize translating the core concepts into usable strategies in real-world markets.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

John Morgan is a Professor at the Haas School of Business School and the Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley. He won the Cheit Award in the Day MBA Program in 2007 for the Game Theory course. 

Morgan is the Gary and Sherron Kalbach Chair in Entrepreneurship. He is also the Founding Director of Xlab, Berkeley's laboratory for economic experiments, Faculty Director for the Center for Executive Educations, and Research Scientist at Yahoo.

Prior to joining Haas, Dr. Morgan was at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. Professor Morgan holds a Ph. D. in Economics from The Pennsylvania State University and is a CPA. He is an alumnus of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Professor Morgan's research concerns three questions central to many businesses

-How should firms optimally price and advertise in the online marketplace?

-How should a firm organize so those with authority possess the necessary information to make good decisions?

-How can a firm optimally gather and use information for successful innovation?