Deck 8: Decision Making and Problem Solving

Question 1

The rational decision-making process assumes that managers follow an unsystematic, random process when evaluating alternatives.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The behavioral model focuses on human behaviors and tendencies when evaluating the decision-making process.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A nonprogrammed decision usually recurs often enough for decision rules to be developed.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A crucial assumption of the behavioral approach to decision-making is that decision makers operate with bounded rationality rather than with the perfect rationality assumed by the rational approach.

Question 5

Decision making is choosing one alternative from among several.

Question 6

Programmed decisions are common at the higher levels of the organization.

Question 7

Decisions in organizations can be classified according to their frequency and information conditions.

Question 8

The decision maker who lacks enough information to estimate the probability of outcomes faces a condition of certainty.

Question 9

Susan's recent decision about which company her conglomerate should buy was a programmed decision.

Question 10

The final stage of the rational decision-making process involves implementing the decision.

Question 11

The practical approach combines elements of both the rational and behavioral approaches.

Question 12

The creative process generally involves seven different steps that have to occur before a creative idea can be generated.

Question 13

Insight represents a period of less intense conscious concentration during which knowledge and ideas develop.

Question 14

Contingency plans are alternative actions that can be taken if the primary course of action is disrupted or rendered inappropriate.

Question 15

Verification is the final step in the creative process.

Question 16

The rational decision-making process begins with the identification of a problem.

Question 17

Post-decision dissonance is doubt about a choice already made.

Question 18

Suboptimizing involves selecting the first acceptable solution that meets minimal requirements.

Question 19

Nonprogrammed decisions require problem solving that identifies answers to unique questions or issues.

Question 20

Decision rules are used to make programmed decisions.

Question 21

According to the rational decision-making approach, what is the second step of the decision-making process?

A) Identify the problem
B) Generate alternatives
C) Evaluate alternatives
D) State the situational goal
E) Determine the decision type

Question 22

The administrative model of decision making does not attempt to prescribe how managers should make decisions.

Question 23

The rational decision-making approach assumes decision makers

A) have complete information.
B) are objective.
C) are systematic in their approach to decisions.
D) work in an organization that encourages logical choices.
E) all of these

Question 24

If a customer voices a complaint about food taste and temperature, certain restaurants always offer a complimentary meal.This represents

A) a standard decision.
B) a decision rule.
C) a nonprogrammed decision.
D) experience.
E) cognitive dissonance.

Question 25

The Delphi technique is a method to systematically gather the judgments of experts who work closely together at a common worksite.

Question 26

A decision maker's actions should be guided by

A) personal opinions.
B) a goal.
C) an operating budget.
D) interpersonal relationships.
E) a code of honor.

Question 27

In problem-solving tasks, groups usually develop more and better solutions than do individuals.

Question 28

____ decisions tend to involve situations that occur often in a company.

A) Nonprogrammed
B) Procedural
C) Repetitive
D) Major
E) Programmed

Question 29

Nonprogrammed decisions are most common at what level of the organization?

A) Lower
B) Top
C) Managerial
D) Subordinate
E) Middle

Question 30

What information condition lies between certainty and uncertainty in making decisions?

A) Risk
B) Coin tossing
C) Problem solving
D) Decision rules
E) Guesswork

Question 31

Which of the following statements about programmed decisions is FALSE?

A) Information is readily available.
B) Specific methods for handling them exist.
C) They are highly structured.
D) Judgment and creativity are the basis of solution.
E) Goals are clear and well known.

Question 32

Decisions that recur infrequently and have no decision rules are ____ decisions.

A) certain
B) risk
C) programmed
D) nonprogrammed
E) uncertain

Question 33

In the nominal group technique, group members share their ideas with each other and then vote on them in private.

Question 34

An illusion of invulnerability and stereotyped views of "enemy" leaders are symptoms of groupthink.

Question 35

Group polarization is the tendency for group members to converge on a common decision outcome or solution.

Question 36

Decision making is

A) finding the answer to a question.
B) choosing one alternative from among several.
C) staffing positions within the organizational hierarchy.
D) motivating employees to pursue organizational goals.
E) fixing problems that arise in the operations of the business.

Question 37

Nonprogrammed decisions are usually made by

A) all employees within an organization.
B) union workers.
C) upper management.
D) middle management.
E) lower management.

Question 38

Which of the following statements about nonprogrammed decisions is FALSE?

A) The decisions are poorly structured.
B) The problem situation is nonroutine.
C) The consequences of decision making are far reaching.
D) The decisions are rarely a responsibility of top management.
E) Goals are often vague.

Question 39

If a Human Resources manager can estimate the probability that a certain percentage of employees will take advantage of a proposed benefit plan, the manager is operating under a condition of

A) certainty.
B) estimation.
C) risk.
D) uncertainty.
E) rationalization.

Question 40

One basis for making programmed decisions is

A) a lack of information.
B) a set of decision rules.
C) creativity.
D) movement.
E) group formation.

Question 41

According to research, the common attributes of creative individuals include which of the following?

A) Being forced to work at a very young age
B) Living in a highly developed country
C) Changing basic personality attributes as a teenager
D) Being raised in an environment that nurtured creativity
E) Having fewer brothers and sisters

Question 42

____ is the extent to which a decision maker is willing to gamble when making a decision.

A) Individual ethics
B) Risk propensity
C) Individual stressors
D) Organizational culture
E) Leadership style

Question 43

Contingency plans are a part of what phase of the decision-making process?

A) Stating the goal
B) Evaluating alternatives
C) Choosing an alternative
D) Implementation
E) Alternative generation

Question 44

Which of the following represents the step of the rational decision-making approach in which the outcomes of the decision are compared to the desired goal?

A) Analyze the decision
B) Control: measure and adjust
C) Determine the goal
D) Collect data
E) Analyze the situation

Question 45

An innate belief about something without conscious consideration is called

A) escalation of commitment.
B) coalition.
C) intuition.
D) groupthink.
E) self-reaction.

Question 46

Jim is using the rational decision-making process to decide a course of action for the marketing department.While selecting a preferred alternative, a fellow worker asks, "What if something unexpected happens during the implementation of the alternative we have selected?" This type of question is an example of ____.

A) implementing the plan.
B) developing marketing strategies.
C) planning for contingencies.
D) negative thinking.
E) groupthink.

Question 47

____ refers to the inability of human beings to process an unlimited amount of information, causing most decisions to be made in a partially irrational manner.

A) Post-decision dissonance
B) Groupthink block
C) Satisficing
D) Bounded rationality
E) Suboptimizing

Question 48

Being able to see differences between situations, phenomena, or events is a creative ability called ____ thinking.

A) referent
B) convergent
C) divergent
D) emergent
E) parallel

Question 49

The sales department at a local company determines that Product A will moderately boost sales and have a shorter production schedule, so it is decided that this product will be manufactured and sold without considering other options.In choosing this product, the sales department is

A) controlling.
B) engaged in bounded rationality.
C) suboptimizing.
D) satisficing.
E) using procedures and rules of thumb.

Question 50

When ______________ arises, a decision maker questions the decision made and searches for information to bolster it.

A) post-decision uncertainty
B) conflict reduction
C) rationalization bias
D) post-decision dissonance
E) positive reinforcement

Question 51

The creative process normally begins with a period of ____.

A) Verification
B) Insight
C) Incubation
D) Preparation
E) Application

Question 52

The last step in the rational decision-making process is

A) Create a contingency plan
B) Determine the type of decision
C) Evaluate alternatives
D) Control: Measure and Adjust
E) Implement the plan

Question 53

Which of the following statements about ethical dilemmas is FALSE?

A) They may center on direct personal gain.
B) They may center on indirect personal gain.
C) They may center on risk propensity.
D) They may center on simple personal preferences.
E) All of these are true

Question 54

When ____, the decision maker knowingly accepts less than the best possible outcome.

A) optimizing
B) suboptimizing
C) compromising
D) satisficing
E) narrowing

Question 55

According to the rational decision-making approach, evaluate the alternatives

A) puts the decision into action.
B) involves assessing all possible alternatives.
C) involves selecting an alternative with the highest payoff.
D) is the most crucial step.
E) diagnoses the problem.

Question 56

Managers who are cautious and try to adhere to the rational decision-making model

A) are more likely to make mistakes.
B) frequently make decisions that lead to big losses.
C) have a lower risk propensity than other managers.
D) frequently make decisions that lead to big successes.
E) suffer from bounded rationality.

Question 57

The decision-making conditions of certainty, uncertainty, and risk are relevant while the decision maker is

A) stating the situational goal.
B) identifying the problem.
C) evaluating alternatives.
D) generating alternatives.
E) determining the decision type.

Question 58

A person's beliefs about what constitutes right and wrong behavior are called

A) hypervigilance.
B) ethics.
C) self-reactions.
D) rationalizations.
E) escalations of commitment.

Question 59

The behavioral approach to decision-making is characterized by all of the following EXCEPT

A) it uses procedures
B) it uses rules of thumb
C) it uses suboptimizing
D) it uses logic
E) it uses satisficing

Question 60

Jim purchases stock in a public company and refuses to sell it even after repeated drops in the original price he paid for the stock.Jim has decided to purchase more of the stock in anticipation of making a profit, and has decided to keep the stock in the face of increasing losses.Jim is suffering from

A) organizational delusion.
B) problem misidentification.
C) escalation of commitment.
D) groupthink.
E) suboptimizing.

Question 61

According to prospect theory, people are more motivated by

A) the threat of losing something than by the prospect of gaining something.
B) the prospect of gaining something than by the threat of losing something.
C) internal values than by external rewards.
D) external rewards than by internal values.
E) none of these

Question 62

According to the rational decision-making approach, what is the third step of the decision-making process?

A) Identify the problem
B) Generate alternatives
C) Evaluate alternatives
D) State the situational goal
E) Determine the decision type

Question 63

Satisficing refers to making a(n) _________ rather than _________ decision.

A) intuitive, rational
B) short-term, long-term
C) correct, incorrect
D) optimal, satisfactory
E) satisfactory, optimal

Question 64

In ________, the decision maker examines alternatives only until a solution that meets minimal requirements is found.

A) optimizing
B) suboptimizing
C) compromising
D) satisficing
E) narrowing

Question 65

A(n) _______ is an informal alliance of individuals or groups formed to achieve a common goal.

A) group
B) coalition
C) team
D) armada
E) union

Question 66

Being able to see similarities between situations, phenomena, or events is a creative ability called ____ thinking.

A) referent
B) convergent
C) divergent
D) emergent
E) parallel

Question 67

The Delphi technique is designed for use by groups

A) that are very large
B) that are very small.
C) that do not meet face-to-face.
D) that have suffered from groupthink in the past.
E) that are familiar with the rules of brainstorming.

Question 68

While driving home from a hard day at work, Susan finally realizes the solution to the problem she had been having with a certain customer.Susan just reached which stage of the creative process?

A) Instigation
B) Insight
C) Incubation
D) Verification
E) Preparation

Question 69

One important method for enhancing creativity is to make it a part of the organization's ____.

A) standard operating procedures.
B) decision-making processes.
C) culture.
D) strategic plans.
E) none of the above.

Question 70

All of the following are features of group discussion that contribute to group polarization EXCEPT

A) group members could take an extreme view of an opinion
B) task uncertainty can be impacted by the decision
C) persuasive arguments can encourage polarization
D) members may feel they are not individually responsible
E) members will accept a more radical decision from their own

Question 71

The third step of the creative process is ___________.

A) verification
B) insight
C) incubation
D) preparation
E) application

Question 72

All of the following are used in the nominal group technique of decision-making EXCEPT

A) individuals convene to address an issue.
B) the issue is described to the group.
C) each proposed idea must be wholly original.
D) initially, no discussion among the members is permitted.
E) members take turns reporting their ideas.

Question 73

According to the rational decision-making approach, what is the fifth step of the decision-making process?

A) Identify the problem
B) Generate alternatives
C) Evaluate alternatives
D) State the situational goal
E) Determine the decision type

Question 74

Which of the following statements about brainstorming is FALSE?

A) It's used in the idea generation phase of decision making.
B) Members present ideas and clarify them.
C) Ideas are recorded in secret.
D) Ideas are recorded on a flip chart.
E) It does not provide resolution to the problem.

Question 75

According to the rational decision-making approach, what is the fourth step of the decision-making process?

A) Identify the problem
B) Generate alternatives
C) Evaluate alternatives
D) State the situational goal
E) Determine the decision type

Question 76

According to the rational decision-making approach, what is the first step of the decision-making process?

A) Identify the problem
B) Generate alternatives
C) Evaluate alternatives
D) State the situational goal
E) Determine the decision type

Question 77

All of the following are symptoms of groupthink EXCEPT

A) an illusion of invulnerability.
B) collective efforts to rationalize or discount warnings.
C) a lack of idea promotion from the group leader.
D) stereotyped views of enemy leaders.
E) direct pressure on members who present contrary views.

Question 78

The second step of the creative process is __________.

A) verification
B) insight
C) incubation
D) preparation
E) application

Question 79

The fourth step of the creative process is ___________.

A) Verification
B) Insight
C) Incubation
D) Preparation
E) Application

Question 80

Which of the following includes conditions conducive to groupthink?

A) Group cohesiveness, leader's promotion of personal preferences, insulation from expert opinions
B) Group cohesiveness, members' promotion of personal preferences, best decision is goal
C) Group cohesiveness, leader promotion of personal preferences, critical thinking urged
D) Members' promotion of personal preferences, best decision is goal, critical thinking urged
E) Group cohesiveness, member's promotion of personal preferences, insulation from expert opinions