Deck 6: Decision Making

Question 1

________ involves selecting the first alternative solution that meets a minimum criterion while ________ involves selecting the best alternative from among multiple criteria.

A) Optimizing; high acceptance
B) Optimizing; satisficing
C) Satisficing; optimizing
D) Satisficing; high acceptance

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The first stage of decision making is

A) generating alternative solutions.
B) choosing the best alternative.
C) evaluating the results.
D) identifying and diagnosing the problem.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

When television network executives continued the Seinfeld sitcom after poor ratings in the first two season, they were making the decision under a condition of

A) certainty.
B) uncertainty.
C) risk.
D) conflict.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The effect and time horizon of the decision are referred to as

A) risk.
B) decision conflict.
C) decision scope.
D) certainty.

Question 5

Identifying a problem and matching it with established routines and procedures for resolving it is a(n)

A) tactical decision.
B) programmed decision.
C) operational decision.
D) non-programmed decision.

Question 6

A technical decision of which machine should replace current machinery would most likely require ________ quality and ________ acceptance.

A) high; high
B) low; low
C) high; low
D) low; high

Question 7

Which decisions tend to have the shortest time horizon?

A) Strategic decisions
B) Operational decisions
C) Tactical decisions
D) Programmed decisions

Question 8

Decisions that have long-term perspectives of two to five years and affect the entire organization are

A) operational decisions.
B) strategic decisions.
C) programmed decisions.
D) tactical decisions.

Question 9

Decision making is the process of

A) resolving problems.
B) identifying problems and resolving them.
C) identifying problems.
D) identifying problems and opportunities and resolving them.

Question 10

When a manufacturer plans annual labor costs based on the labor union contract that has locked in employee wage rates for the year, the decision is made under a condition of

A) certainty.
B) uncertainty.
C) risk.
D) conflict.

Question 11

Which of the following is not considered a characteristic of management decision making?

A) Programmability
B) Risk
C) Budget
D) Crisis

Question 12

Molly is a marketing manager who is deciding how to allocate the financial resources among three different product launches over the next few years. Molly is making a(n)

A) strategic decision.
B) operational decision.
C) tactical decision.
D) opportunistic decision.

Question 13

Selecting the best alternative among multiple criteria is referred to as

A) satisficing.
B) optimizing.
C) decision making.
D) opportunistic.

Question 14

Situations with important consequences for the organization that are poorly defined and unstructured are

A) tactical decisions.
B) programmed decisions.
C) operational decisions.
D) non-programmed decisions.

Question 15

Which of the following reflects a crisis situation?

A) A highly ambiguous circumstance in which causes and effects are not known
B) A rare and extraordinary event that can threaten the survival of the organization
C) A surprise to organizational members
D) all of the above

Question 16

Which of the following is not true of non-programmed decision making?

A) It is important to develop creative alternative solutions and to suspend judgment of their worth until all possible alternatives have been developed.
B) Lower quality solutions may result if solutions are evaluated too soon.
C) Seldom are groups used to generate solutions.
D) Novel situations require non-programmed decision making.

Question 17

When the availability of each alternative and its outcomes are associated with probability estimates, decisions are being made under a condition of

A) certainty.
B) uncertainty.
C) risk.
D) conflict.

Question 18

When hiring employees, John generally makes a job offer to the first person who meets the basic selection criteria. John is

A) satisficing.
B) optimizing.
C) making a premature evaluation.
D) all of the above

Question 19

________ occurs when people who are affected by a decision agree with what is to be done.

A) Decision quality
B) Decision acceptance
C) Decision effectiveness
D) Decision feasibility

Question 20

When John draws on well-developed procedures in his job of grocery store inventory clerk to determine which products to stock first, he is making which type of decision?

A) Tactical decision
B) Programmed decision
C) Operational decision
D) Non-programmed decision

Question 21

The tendency for decision makers to be overconfident of their ability to control activities and events is known as

A) escalation of commitment.
B) the illusion of control.
C) intuition.
D) groupthink.

Question 22

The decision-making pitfall that favors programmed solutions based on what worked in the past, even though that may no longer be relevant, reflects

A) overlooking important constituencies.
B) a bias toward objective data.
C) the "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" syndrome.
D) premature evaluation.

Question 23

Which decision-making model is most likely to be used when decision makers are undisciplined and have no clear immediate goals?

A) The garbage can model
B) The nominal group technique
C) The administrative model
D) The Delphi technique

Question 24

The ability of a manager to be perfectly rational is limited by factors such as cognitive capacity and time constraints. This is known as

A) a heuristic.
B) bounded rationality.
C) escalation of commitment.
D) the illusion of control.

Question 25

Which of the following may help make the implementation phase more successful?

A) Providing needed resources
B) Developing communication systems that enable management to know if the decision alternative is meeting its planned objective
C) Exercising leadership to persuade others to move the implementation forward
D) all of the above

Question 26

What is the final stage in the decision-making process?

A) Generating alternative solutions
B) Choosing the best alternative
C) Evaluating the results
D) Identifying and diagnosing the problem

Question 27

Emotions and personal preferences may result in poor decisions. The two emotions that are the most disruptive to quality decision making are

A) anger and frustration.
B) anger and depression.
C) egotism and anger.
D) egotism and frustration.

Question 28

Former President Richard Nixon's cover-up in the Watergate break-in that eventually led to his resignation is an example of

A) escalation of commitment.
B) the illusion of control.
C) intuition.
D) groupthink.

Question 29

Which of the following is not considered a benefit of group decision making?

A) Greater pool of knowledge
B) Increased acceptance
C) Increased logrolling
D) Different perspectives on problems

Question 30

The refusal to abandon a choice from an earlier decision even when it is no longer appropriate is called

A) escalation of commitment.
B) the illusion of control.
C) intuition.
D) groupthink.

Question 31

Which of the following is not one of the categories of decision styles?

A) Directive
B) Conceptual
C) Nondirective
D) Behavioral

Question 32

Which decision style is used by managers who place a high priority on other people's concerns and talk to them about how they feel about the problem and the effect of the decision on them?

A) Directive style
B) Behavioral style
C) Conceptual style
D) Analytical style

Question 33

When the accounting manager depends on a gut feeling about a circumstance at work, the basis of his decision is

A) escalation of commitment.
B) the illusion of control.
C) intuition.
D) groupthink.

Question 34

Which of the following is not one of the assumptions of rational decision making?

A) The problem is clear and unambiguous.
B) All the alternatives and their consequences are not known.
C) There are no time and cost constraints affecting the decision.
D) The decision solution will maximize the economic pay off.

Question 35

The non-rational decision-making approach developed by Herbert Simon is

A) the garbage can model.
B) the nominal group technique.
C) the administrative model.
D) the Delphi technique.

Question 36

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan liked to make decisions according to his values and intuition by considering fewer alternatives. This suggests which decision style?

A) Directive style
B) Behavioral style
C) Conceptual style
D) Analytical style

Question 37

Which decision style is used by those decision makers who base the decision on a rational and objective analysis of data gathered from different sources to make the best possible decision from the information that is available?

A) Directive style
B) Behavioral style
C) Conceptual style
D) Analytical style

Question 38

Which decision-making style is Randy most likely to select when completing a routine customer product order?

A) Directive style
B) Behavioral style
C) Conceptual style
D) Analytical style

Question 39

Organization politics can limit rational decision making by

A) controlling resources.
B) influencing policy.
C) favoring the solution that sustains the power of the dominant group.
D) all of the above

Question 40

Bankers who throw good loan money after bad are engaged in

A) escalation of commitment.
B) the illusion of control.
C) intuition.
D) groupthink.

Question 41

The most difficult decisions require high quality and high acceptance.

Question 42

When Jason transfers decision-making authority to a team reporting to him, he is choosing to

A) displace goals.
B) delegate.
C) be proactive.
D) logroll.

Question 43

Jim tends to anticipate problems before they become pervasive. He also sets aside time on a regular basis to set goals and priorities. Jim would most likely be described as a

A) devil's advocate manager.
B) proactive manager.
C) reactive manager.
D) opportunistic manager.

Question 44

Decision criteria to evaluate alternatives can include costs, profits, whether the decision will work, and fairness.

Question 45

Which decision-making technique helps a group generate and select solutions while letting group members think independently?

A) The nominal group technique
B) Brainstorming
C) Storyboarding
D) The Delphi technique

Question 46

Greed is the emotion that drove bank executives to take risks that wreaked havoc on the financial industry in 2008.

Question 47

To reduce the threat of groupthink, a group member may be assigned the role of

A) nominal group member.
B) proactive manager.
C) devil's advocate.
D) reactive manager.

Question 48

Problems that involve technical or specialized knowledge are best solved

A) by the group.
B) alone by the decision maker.
C) by the decision maker after consulting with the group.
D) by the devil's advocate.

Question 49

Programmed decisions tend to be more important than non-programmed ones because they are more complicated and difficult to make and are likely to have a greater effect on organizational performance.

Question 50

Which decision-making technique is most useful when the group members are geographically dispersed?

A) The nominal group technique
B) Brainstorming
C) Storyboarding
D) The Delphi technique

Question 51

Delegation may lead to higher quality decisions that result in greater customer satisfaction since

A) lower level employees are closer to customers and more aware of their needs.
B) customers relate better to lower level employees.
C) higher level managers tend to use too much intuition when deciding customer preferences.
D) all of the above

Question 52

Which of the following statements about delegation is true?

A) Delegation is synonymous with participation.
B) The group shares decision-making authority with management.
C) When a manager delegates decision-making authority, the subordinate makes a recommendation and then the manager makes the final decision.
D) Managers delegate to have more time to spend on the most important tasks and decisions.

Question 53

Conflict can enhance the quality of a decision by sharply focusing attention on diverse ways of thinking about the consequences of the decision from the diverse agenda of those involved.

Question 54

Which decision-making technique tabulates and summarizes anonymous questionnaires then returns them to group members again for solutions until a consensus is reached?

A) The nominal group technique
B) Brainstorming
C) Storyboarding
D) The Delphi technique

Question 55

Which decision-making style requires no participation from subordinates?

A) Discover facts and decide
B) Consult and decide
C) Decide and persuade
D) Group decision

Question 56

What is the first step in effective delegation?

A) Be sure you communicate clearly when assigning the task.
B) Match the desired task with the most appropriate employee.
C) Determine what you want done.
D) Hold the employee responsible for the work and any difficulties that may emerge.

Question 57

Which decision-making technique does not allow critical and judgmental reactions to ideas from group members?

A) The nominal group technique
B) Brainstorming
C) Storyboarding
D) The Delphi technique

Question 58

Which management type is always dealing with the most urgent problems and putting out fires?

A) Devil's advocate manager
B) Proactive manager
C) Reactive manager
D) Opportunistic manager

Question 59

Which of the following is an effective time management practice?

A) Make a daily to-do list.
B) Schedule difficult and challenging activities when you are at your highest level of energy and alertness.
C) Say no to nonessential tasks.
D) all of the above

Question 60

The decision-making technique used to generate creative ideas for solving problems by reducing critical and judgmental reactions to ideas from group members is

A) the nominal group technique.
B) brainstorming.
C) storyboarding.
D) the Delphi technique.

Question 61

One of the limiting factors in group decision making is time.

Question 62

Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking, focused on escalation of commitment.

Question 63

What is the illusion of control? Who is most likely to be impacted by this?

Question 64

List the six stages of decision making.

Question 65

Simon's garbage can model suggests that managers have a set of pre-established solutions to problems located in "garbage cans."

Question 66

What are the three decision-making environments?

Question 67

Discuss decision quality and decision acceptance.

Question 68

List the benefits and problems of group decision making.

Question 69

Discuss the four categories of personal decision styles.

Question 70

Discuss some techniques to stimulate creativity in group decision making.

Question 71

Why do managers delegate?

Question 72

Discuss escalation of commitment and provide an example.

Question 73

What are the assumptions of rational decision making?

Question 74

Explain Simon's administrative model of decision making and the concept of bounded rationality.

Question 75

Contrast reactive and proactive management.

Question 76

Recently many corporations have relieved middle management of decision-making authority and have given it to teams of front-line employees, attempting to eliminate unnecessary layers of management in the process.

Question 77

Reactive managers tend to lose control of their time and lose sight of the "big picture."

Question 78

Discuss programmability as it relates to decision making.

Question 79

Define strategic, tactical, and operational decisions. Be sure to address who makes each of these decisions in the organization.

Question 80

Explain the difference between optimizing and satisficing.