Question 1

Kathleen,a manager,is attempting to determine whether she has both the capability and the resources to produce one of several possible new products.In the context of decision making,on which of the following criteria of alternative courses of action is Kathleen focusing?

Accepted Answer

While focusing on practicality, managers must decide whether they have the capabilities and resources required to implement the alternative, and they must be sure that the alternative will not threaten the attainment of other organizational goals.

Question 2

Dale,a manager,is assessing possible alternatives for the solution of a quality problem in his department.As Dale does so,he attempts to determine if a possible alternative will threaten other company projects.Which of the following criteria of decision-making is being implemented by Dale?

Accepted Answer

While focusing on practicality, managers must decide whether they have the capabilities and resources required to implement the alternative, and they must be sure that the alternative will not threaten the attainment of other organizational goals.

Question 3

When the meaning of the information available to a manager is unclear and can be interpreted in several ways,the information is:

Accepted Answer

A reason as to why information is incomplete is that much of the information managers have at their disposal is ambiguous information. Its meaning is not clear, it can be interpreted in multiple and often conflicting ways. In a similar fashion, managers often interpret the same piece of information differently and make decisions based on their own interpretations.

Question 4

Patrick,a manager,is assessing possible alternatives for the solution of a problem.Patrick performs a cost-benefit analysis of several alternatives in order to determine the net financial payoff of each alternative.Which of the following criteria of decision making is Patrick implementing?

Accepted Answer

While focusing on economic feasibility, managers perform a cost-benefit analysis of the various alternatives to determine which one will have the best net financial payoff. Managers must decide whether the alternatives are economically feasible.

Question 5

Based on the work of March and Simon's administrative model of decision making,the first step in the managerial decision-making process is to:

Accepted Answer

The first step in the decision-making process is to recognize the need for a decision.

Question 6

A software firm is considering introducing a new product unlike any previously on the market.Managers cannot estimate the probability of success for the new product.Which of the following best describes the situation?

Accepted Answer

When uncertainty exists, the probabilities of alternative outcomes cannot be determined and future outcomes are unknown. Managers are working blind. Because the probability of a given outcome occurring is not known, managers have little information to use in making a decision.

Question 7

Margaret,a marketing manager,wants to budget the advertising for a new product launch.She is trying to determine the amount of money that her company can afford to spend on advertising this new product.In the context of decision-making,which of the following criteria of alternative courses of action is Margaret implementing?

Accepted Answer

Managers must decide whether the alternatives are economically feasible -that is, whether they can be accomplished given the organization's performance goals.

Question 8

The marketing managers of Rudolf Ltd.strive so hard to agree on an important decision to launch a product that they ignore information that a similar product already exists in the market and that the barriers to entry into the market are high.This refers to which of the following decision-making processes?

Accepted Answer

Groupthink is a pattern of faulty and biased decision making that occurs in groups whose members strive for agreement among themselves at the expense of accurately assessing information relevant to a decision.

Question 9

An organization decides to ask three advertising agencies to pitch a proposal to handle the organization's business,instead of asking all of the advertising agencies in the city where this organization's headquarters are located to pitch the account.What type of decision does this represent?

Accepted Answer

When managers satisfice, they consider only a limited number of alternatives, and make an acceptable choice among them, rather than considering every possible alternative. When managers satisfice, they search for and choose acceptable, or satisfactory, ways to respond to problems and opportunities rather than trying to make the optimal decision.

Question 10

Cameron,a plant manager,wants to initiate a diversity training program in his plant.He is considering whether his department has enough extra people to cover for the time his employees will be engaged in the classes.Which of the following criteria of decision making is Cameron implementing?

Accepted Answer

While focusing on practicality, managers must decide whether they have the capabilities and resources required to implement the alternative and they must be sure the alternative will not threaten the attainment of other organizational goals.

Question 11

When managers know the possible outcomes of a decision and can assign probabilities to each of these outcomes in terms of their likelihood of occurrence in the future,this is known as:

Accepted Answer

Risk is present when managers know the possible outcomes of a particular course of action and can assign probabilities to them.

Question 12

The purchasing manager for Telsa Motor Co.decides to call three suppliers of automobile windshields to ask for a bid on an order for 1,000 windshields for a new Ford car,instead of calling a hundred possible windshield suppliers for such a bid.What type of decision does this represent for the purchasing manager?

Accepted Answer

When managers satisfice, they consider only a limited number of alternatives, and make an acceptable choice among them, rather than considering every possible alternative. When managers satisfice, they search for and choose acceptable, or satisfactory, ways to respond to problems and opportunities rather than trying to make the optimal decision.

Question 13

A manager considers a limited sample of the potential alternative solutions for a problem and selects one that is acceptable instead of attempting to select the optimum solution.This type of decision is called:

Accepted Answer

Satisficing is exploring a limited sample of all potential alternatives. When managers satisfice, they search for and choose acceptable, or satisfactory, ways to respond to problems and opportunities rather than trying to make the optimal decision.

Question 14

Esteban,a manager,performs a financial analysis of several investment alternatives in order to determine which alternative is most likely to impact the organization's profitability.Esteban is focusing on:

Accepted Answer

Managers must decide whether the alternatives are economically feasible-that is, whether they can be accomplished given the organization's performance goals.

Question 15

With reference to the steps of decision-making process,which of the following is the last step in the managerial decision-making process?

Accepted Answer

The final step in the decision-making process is learning from feedback. Managers who always strive to learn from past mistakes and successes are likely to continuously improve the decisions they make. A significant amount of learning can take place when the outcomes of decisions are evaluated, and this assessment can produce enormous benefits.

Question 16

When managers cannot assign probabilities of future occurrence to possible alternatives to a decision,this is known as:

Accepted Answer

When uncertainty exists, the probabilities of alternative outcomes cannot be determined and future outcomes are unknown. Managers are working blind. Because the probability of a given outcome occurring is not known, managers have little information to use in making a decision.

Question 17

When managers decide that they have the capabilities and resources required to implement an alternative,and they are sure that the alternative will not threaten the attainment of other organizational goals,they are focusing on which of the following criteria of alternative courses of action?

Accepted Answer

Managers must decide whether they have the capabilities and resources required to implement the alternative, and they must be sure the alternative will not threaten the attainment of other organizational goals. At first glance an alternative might seem economically superior to other alternatives; but if managers realize it is likely to threaten other important projects, they might decide it is not practical after all.

Question 18

Managers in biotechnology know that new drugs have a 10 percent chance of passing advanced clinical trials.This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Risk is present when managers know the possible outcomes of a particular course of action and can assign probabilities to them.

Question 19

The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger is an example of poor managerial decision making by the managers at NASA and Morton Thiokol,who considered and then downplayed the criterion of:

Accepted Answer

In this case, the desire of NASA and Morton Thiokol managers to demonstrate to the public the success of the U.S. space program in order to ensure future funding (economic feasibility) conflicted with the need to ensure the safety of the astronauts (ethicalness). Managers deemed the economic criterion more important and decided to launch the space shuttle even though there were unanswered questions about safety. Managers must ensure that a possible course of action is ethical and will not unnecessarily harm any stakeholder group.

Question 20

The pattern of faulty and biased decision making that occurs in groups whose members strive for argument at the expense of good decision making is called:

Accepted Answer

Groupthink is a pattern of faulty and biased decision making that occurs in groups whose members strive for agreement among themselves at the expense of accurately assessing information relevant to a decision.

Quiz 5: Decision Making, Learning, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship

Kathleen,a manager,is attempting to determine whether she has both the capability and the resources to produce one of several possible new products.In the context of decision making,on which of the following criteria of alternative courses of action is Kathleen focusing?

Dale,a manager,is assessing possible alternatives for the solution of a quality problem in his department.As Dale does so,he attempts to determine if a possible alternative will threaten other company projects.Which of the following criteria of decision-making is being implemented by Dale?

When the meaning of the information available to a manager is unclear and can be interpreted in several ways,the information is:

Patrick,a manager,is assessing possible alternatives for the solution of a problem.Patrick performs a cost-benefit analysis of several alternatives in order to determine the net financial payoff of each alternative.Which of the following criteria of decision making is Patrick implementing?

Based on the work of March and Simon's administrative model of decision making,the first step in the managerial decision-making process is to:

A software firm is considering introducing a new product unlike any previously on the market.Managers cannot estimate the probability of success for the new product.Which of the following best describes the situation?

An organization decides to ask three advertising agencies to pitch a proposal to handle the organization's business,instead of asking all of the advertising agencies in the city where this organization's headquarters are located to pitch the account.What type of decision does this represent?

Cameron,a plant manager,wants to initiate a diversity training program in his plant.He is considering whether his department has enough extra people to cover for the time his employees will be engaged in the classes.Which of the following criteria of decision making is Cameron implementing?

When managers know the possible outcomes of a decision and can assign probabilities to each of these outcomes in terms of their likelihood of occurrence in the future,this is known as:

A manager considers a limited sample of the potential alternative solutions for a problem and selects one that is acceptable instead of attempting to select the optimum solution.This type of decision is called:

Esteban,a manager,performs a financial analysis of several investment alternatives in order to determine which alternative is most likely to impact the organization's profitability.Esteban is focusing on:

With reference to the steps of decision-making process,which of the following is the last step in the managerial decision-making process?

When managers cannot assign probabilities of future occurrence to possible alternatives to a decision,this is known as:

When managers decide that they have the capabilities and resources required to implement an alternative,and they are sure that the alternative will not threaten the attainment of other organizational goals,they are focusing on which of the following criteria of alternative courses of action?

Managers in biotechnology know that new drugs have a 10 percent chance of passing advanced clinical trials.This is an example of:

The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger is an example of poor managerial decision making by the managers at NASA and Morton Thiokol,who considered and then downplayed the criterion of:

The pattern of faulty and biased decision making that occurs in groups whose members strive for argument at the expense of good decision making is called: