In our day-to-day lives we constantly make decisions which are simply 'good enough' rather than optimal. Most computer-based decision-making algorithms, on the other hand, doggedly seek only the optimal solution based on rigid criteria and reject any others. In this book, Professor Stirling outlines an alternative approach, using novel algorithms and techniques which can be used to find satisficing solutions. Building on traditional decision and game theory, these techniques allow decision-making systems to cope with more subtle situations where self and group interests conflict, perfect solutions can't be found and human issues need to be taken into account - in short, more closely modelling the way humans make decisions. The book will therefore be of great interest to engineers, computer scientists and mathematicians working on artificial intelligence and expert systems.

Superb non-technical introduction to game theory, primarily applied to social sciences. Clear, comprehensive coverage of utility theory, 2-person zero-sum games, 2-person non-zero-sum games, n-person games, individual and group decision-making, more. Bibliography.

Game theory is a key element in most decision-making processes involving two or more people or organisations. This book explains how game theory can predict the outcome of complex decision-making processes, and how it can help you to improve your own negotiation and decision-making skills. It is grounded in well-established theory, yet the wide-ranging international examples used to illustrate its application offer a fresh approach to an essential weapon in the armoury of the informed manager. The book is accessibly written, explaining in simple terms the underlying mathematics behind games of skill, before moving on to more sophisticated topics such as zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and multi-person games, coalitions and power. Clear examples and helpful diagrams are used throughout, and the mathematics is kept to a minimum. It is written for managers, students and decision makers in any field.

The authors are both mathematical economists; one teaches in an economics department and the other in a business school The latter is also editor of a prestigious economics journal and the author of 12 books in pure and applied mathematics. Because of their prestige as scholars and teachers, the National Science Foundation awarded them a grant to develop an interdisciplinary course, combining decision theory and game theory, for primary use in business and economics departments.The heart of business, and much of economics, is decision making. This book is a fully self-contained treatment of almost everything that can be called decision theory, from classical optimization, often covered in courses in mathematical economics and management science, to modern game theory, the cornerstone of modern managerial (micro) economics which provides the foundation for management strategy and competitive analysis. Only a knowledge of simple calculus and probability is required. Although some coverage in later chapters requires extra mathematical knowledge, that knowledge is developed as an integral part of the text. This book will be a key text for all professors who want to take a serious look at a decision theory, whether they are teaching undergraduate game theory or undergraduate or MBA courses in optimization and game theory.With careful selection of topics not to intimidate students, the authors show the integration of decision and game theory, as part of the same body of knowledge and demonstrates that unity. They move from the problem of the decision-maker, to progressively more complex decision problems, such as sequential rationality, culminating in topics of great immediate interest, auctions and bargaining. By building chapters squarely on what goes before, the authors avoid any unnecessary confusion in presenting a technical subject such as game theory, where ideas are often carelessly and callously presented out of proper sequence. The first chapter introduces optimization theory with a single decision-maker, by using problems from finance and business, to demonstrate how to find solutions to optimization problems. Building on concepts of the single decision-maker in the first chapter, Chapter 2 introduces fundamentals of modern game theory by developing the theory of strategic form games and their solutions, e.g. markets, voting auctions. Chapters 4 and 5 on sequential games builds on the foundation of Chapter 3 devoted to sequential decision-making. The concluding chapters (6&7) cover auctions and bargaining using what has preceded in Chapters 1-5.While the book is sound enough mathematically to be used in introductory mathematics courses on game theory, its broadest appeal will be in courses that show applications of decision theory in economics and business (perhaps even some political science courses at the graduate level). It has been successfully class tested in a management science course at the Krannert School of Management. The book shows the increasing importance of sound mathematical knowledge in decision-making for sustained competitive advantage.

This book describes conditional games, a form of game theory that accommodates multiple stakeholder decision-making scenarios where cooperation and negotiation are significant issues and where notions of concordant group behavior are important. The book extends the concept of a preference ordering that permits stakeholders to modulate their preferences as functions of the preferences of others.

Games and Decision Making, Second Edition, is a unique blend of decision theory and game theory. From classical optimization to modern game theory, authors Charalambos D. Aliprantis and Subir K. Chakrabarti show the importance of mathematical knowledge in understanding and analyzing issues in decision making. Through an imaginative selection of topics, Aliprantis and Chakrabarti treat decision and game theory as part of one body of knowledge. They move from problems involving the individual decision-maker to progressively more complex problems such as sequential rationality, auctions, and bargaining. By building each chapter on material presented earlier, the authors offer a self-contained and comprehensive treatment of these topics. Successfully class-tested in an advanced undergraduate course at the Krannert School of Management and in a graduate course in economics at Indiana University, Games and Decision Making, Second Edition, is an essential text for advanced undergraduates and graduate students of decision theory and game theory. The book is accessible to students who have a good basic understanding of elementary calculus and probability theory.

Written for majors courses in economics, business, political science, and international relations, but accessible to students across the undergraduate spectrum, Joseph Harrington's innovative textbook makes the tools and applications of game theory and strategic reasoning both fascinating and easy to understand. Each chapter focuses a specific strategic situation as a way of introducing core concepts informally at first, then more fully, with a minimum of mathematics. At the heart of the book is a diverse collection of strategic scenarios, not only from business and politics, but from history, fiction, sports, and everyday life as well. With this approach, students don't just learn clever answers to puzzles, but instead acquire genuine insights into human behavior