Question 1

The three requirements for effective group decision making are an appropriate leadership style, the constructive use of disagreement and conflict, and the enhancement of _____.
A)conflict
B)groupthink
C)satisficing
D)creativity
E)framing

Accepted Answer

The leader of a decision-making body must attempt to minimize process-related problems. Furthermore, total and consistent agreement among group members can be destructive and can lead to groupthink. Finally, the group may need to be creative in generating ideas, especially if custom-made solutions to problems are needed.

Question 2

During a crisis that involved a toxic spill, the executives of ABC Industrial were straightforward in sharing the bad news with the public and providing daily updates on the containment and cleanup process. What is the likely long-lasting effect of this communication strategy?
A)A loss of respect for the company
B)A gain of credibility for the company
C)An increase of anger against the company
D)A decrease of trust in the company
E)An increase in the company's legal liability

Accepted Answer

As a leader during a crisis, don't pretend that nothing happened. Communicate and reinforce the organization's values. Don't ignore the problems or downplay them and reassure too much; don't create hopes. Give people the bad news straight-you'll gain credibility, and when the good news comes, it will really mean something.

Question 3

Which of the following statements about brainstorming is true?
A)Criticism of ideas during the session produces better results.
B)Praise of ideas during the session produces better results.
C)The group should generate as many ideas as possible.
D)Each person keeps his or her ideas private until the end of the session.
E)Participants should avoid building on previous ideas.

Accepted Answer

A common technique used to elicit creative ideas is brainstorming. Brainstorming is a process in which group members generate as many ideas about a problem as they can. As the ideas are presented, they are posted so that everyone can read them, and people can use the ideas as building blocks. Criticism of other people or their ideas is not allowed.

Question 4

Qing's employees have requested that he switch the office to flextime so that they can better manage their childcare and commuting schedules. Qing is reluctant to make a drastic change all at once, so he agrees to experiment with staggering the starting and ending times of the workday over a 90-minute period for three months. If, at the end of that time, productivity does not decline, he will consider implementing a more extreme version of flextime. What model of decision-making is Qing using?
A)Bounded rationality
B)Incremental
C)Coalitional
D)Garbage can
E)Crisis

Accepted Answer

The incremental model of decision making occurs when decision makers make small decisions, take little steps, and move cautiously in piecemeal fashion toward a bigger solution.

Question 5

Which of the following decisions is likely to be a nonprogrammed decision?
A)Decisions with certainty regarding cause-and-effect relationship
B)Decisions concerning diversification into new products and markets
C)Decisions regarding rules and definite procedures
D)Decisions concerning merit system for promotion of state employees
E)Decisions that depend on numerical computations

Accepted Answer

Nonprogrammed decisions are decisions concerning new, novel, complex decisions having no proven answers. They have a variety of possible solutions, all of which have merits and drawbacks. Decisions concerning diversification into new products and markets are likely to be nonprogrammed decisions.

Question 6

When decision makers carefully and conscientiously execute all six stages of decision making, the decision makers are said to have exercised ______.
A)optimizing
B)maximizing
C)satisficing
D)vigilance
E)diligence

Accepted Answer

Vigilance occurs when decision makers carefully and conscientiously execute all six stages of decision making, including making provisions for implementation and evaluation.

Question 7

Important, difficult decisions that require creative approaches tend to be
A)vigilant decisions.
B)programmed decisions.
C)non-vigilant decisions.
D)nonprogrammed decisions.
E)structured decisions.

Accepted Answer

Nonprogrammed decisions are new, novel, complex decisions having no certain outcomes. Important, difficult decisions tend to be nonprogrammed, and they demand creative approaches.

Question 8

Which of the following is a new area in which business crises might occur?
A)Pollution
B)Labor issues
C)Natural disasters
D)Crime
E)Information technology

Accepted Answer

Information technology is a new area for crises. Businesses, homes, government agencies, hospitals, and other organizations send critical information through the Internet and private networks around the clock, and any technical failure could be magnified by the speed and widespread use of information technology.

Question 9

_____ conflict is differences in perspectives or judgments about issues.
A)Affective
B)Intellectual
C)Cognitive
D)Emotional
E)Judgmental

Accepted Answer

The most constructive type of conflict is cognitive conflict, or differences in perspectives or judgments about issues. In contrast, affective conflict is emotional and directed at other people.

Question 10

The _____ model of decision making occurs when people aren't sure of their goals, or disagree about the goals, and likewise are unsure of or in disagreement about what to do.
A)bounded rationality
B)incremental
C)coalitional
D)garbage can
E)crisis

Accepted Answer

The garbage can model of decision making occurs when people aren't sure of their goals, or disagree about the goals, and likewise are unsure of or are in disagreement about what to do. This model implies that some decisions are chaotic and almost random.

Question 11

Which of the following is a psychological bias that can act as a barrier to good decision making?
A)Framing effects
B)Affective conflict
C)Cognitive conflict
D)Groupthink
E)Dialectic

Accepted Answer

People have biases that interfere with objective rationality. Illusion of control, discounting the future, and framing effects represent only a few of the many documented subjective psychological biases in decision making.

Question 12

José is trying to decide how to diversify his company so that it produces a larger variety of products and competes in new markets. This is a(n) example of a _____ decision.
A)routine
B)programmed
C)cognitive
D)nonprogrammed
E)noncognitive

Accepted Answer

José is facing a nonprogrammed decision; that is, it is a new, novel, complex decision having no certain outcomes.

Question 13

Which of the following is a disadvantage of group decision making?
A)Drawing on more perspectives
B)Having a larger pool of information
C)Understanding the decision
D)Experiencing groupthink
E)Being more committed to a decision

Accepted Answer

One potential disadvantage of using a group to make decisions is groupthink. Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs in decision making when group members avoid disagreement as they strive for consensus.

Question 14

Which of the following is a characteristic of managerial decisions that contributes to the difficulty in making a decision?
A)Guaranteed success
B)Certainty
C)Conflict
D)Structure
E)Speed

Accepted Answer

Several characteristics of managerial decisions contribute to their difficulty and pressure. Most managerial decisions lack structure and entail risk, uncertainty, and conflict.

Question 15

According to Simon's bounded rationality, which of the following factors prevents decision makers from being truly rational?
A)They have complete information about alternatives and consequences.
B)The problems they face are too simple.
C)Human beings are not exposed to very much information.
D)People have too much time on their hands.
E)People, including those in the same organization, have conflicting goals.

Accepted Answer

According to Simon's bounded rationality, decision makers cannot be truly rational because (1) they have imperfect, incomplete information about alternatives and consequences; (2) the problems they face are so complex; (3) human beings simply cannot process all the information to which they are exposed; (4) there is not enough time to process all relevant information fully; and (5) people, including managers within the same firm, have conflicting goals.

Question 16

David is a small business owner who thinks it is more important to spend money on marketing his current product line than to invest in research to develop new products. Which psychological bias is David displaying?
A)Framing effects
B)Discounting the future
C)Illusion of control
D)Affective conflict
E)Cognitive conflict

Accepted Answer

Often decision makers discount the future. That is, in their evaluation of alternatives, they weigh short-term costs and benefits more heavily than longer-term costs and benefits.

Question 17

In goal displacement, a decision-making group
A)loses sight of its original goal and a new, less-important goal emerges.
B)becomes so eager to avoid conflict that it adopts a goal or decision too quickly.
C)generates as many goals as it can but does not allow criticism of people or ideas.
D)disagrees on goals, or the members compete with one another for resources.
E)is unsure about goals and is in disagreement about what to do.

Accepted Answer

The goal of group members should be to come up with the best-possible solution to the problem. But when goal displacement occurs, new goals emerge to replace the original ones. Sometimes saving face and defeating the other person's idea become more important than solving the problem.

Question 18

The belief that one can influence events even when one has no power over what will happen is known as _____.
A)framing effects
B)discounting the future
C)illusion of control
D)affective conflict
E)cognitive conflict

Accepted Answer

The belief that one can influence events even when one has no power over what will happen is known as illusion of control.

Question 19

Which of the following statements about group decision making is true?
A)Group decisions are always better than individual decisions.
B)Individual decisions are always better than group decisions.
C)If enough time is available, groups usually make higher-quality decisions than most individuals.
D)If enough time is available, most individuals usually make higher-quality decisions than a group.
E)There are far more disadvantages than advantages to group decision making.

Accepted Answer

If enough time is available, groups usually make higher-quality decisions than most individuals acting alone. However, groups are often inferior to the best individual in decision making.

Question 20

Which of the following decisions is likely to be a programmed decision?
A)Decisions about diversification into new products and markets
B)Decisions with uncertainty regarding cause-and-effect relationships
C)Decisions about reorganization of state government agencies
D)Decisions regarding periodic reorders of inventory
E)Decisions involving the purchase of experimental equipment

Accepted Answer

Programmed decisions have been encountered and made before. They have objectively correct answers and can be solved by using simple rules, policies, or numerical computations. Decisions about periodic reorder of inventory are examples of programmed decisions.

Quiz 3: Managerial Decision Making

The three requirements for effective group decision making are an appropriate leadership style, the constructive use of disagreement and conflict, and the enhancement of _____.

During a crisis that involved a toxic spill, the executives of ABC Industrial were straightforward in sharing the bad news with the public and providing daily updates on the containment and cleanup process. What is the likely long-lasting effect of this communication strategy?

Which of the following statements about brainstorming is true?

Which of the following decisions is likely to be a nonprogrammed decision?

When decision makers carefully and conscientiously execute all six stages of decision making, the decision makers are said to have exercised ______.

Important, difficult decisions that require creative approaches tend to be

Which of the following is a new area in which business crises might occur?

_____ conflict is differences in perspectives or judgments about issues.

The _____ model of decision making occurs when people aren't sure of their goals, or disagree about the goals, and likewise are unsure of or in disagreement about what to do.

Which of the following is a psychological bias that can act as a barrier to good decision making?

José is trying to decide how to diversify his company so that it produces a larger variety of products and competes in new markets. This is a(n) example of a _____ decision.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of group decision making?

Which of the following is a characteristic of managerial decisions that contributes to the difficulty in making a decision?

According to Simon's bounded rationality, which of the following factors prevents decision makers from being truly rational?

David is a small business owner who thinks it is more important to spend money on marketing his current product line than to invest in research to develop new products. Which psychological bias is David displaying?

In goal displacement, a decision-making group

The belief that one can influence events even when one has no power over what will happen is known as _____.

Which of the following statements about group decision making is true?

Which of the following decisions is likely to be a programmed decision?