Deck 8: Decision Making and Problem Solving

Question 1

A basis for making programmed decisions would be

A)readily available.
B)decision rules.
C)creativity.
D)movement.
E)group formation.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

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

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

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to the rational decision-making approach, what is the starting point for the decision-making process?

A)Identification of the problem
B)Determination of who will make the decision
C)The collection of pertinent data
D)The statement of goals
E)The establishment of rules and procedures

Answer 3

D

Question 4

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 5

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

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

Question 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

The rational decision-making approach assumes decision makers

A)have complete information.
B)are subjective.
C)are motivated by greed.
D)are often distracted by the environment.
E)engage in interpersonal conflict.

Question 11

Which of the following represents the step of the rational decision- making approach in which information is compiled regarding the goal and the actual state?

A)Analyze the decision
B)Identify the problem
C)Determine the goal
D)Collect data
E)Analyze the situation

Question 12

decisions often involve ambiguous or unavailable information.

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

Question 13

A decision maker's actions are guided by

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

Question 14

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 15

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 16

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)Cognitive dissonance
E)Positive reinforcement

Question 17

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 18

Characteristics of programmed decisions include all but which of the following?

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 19

Characteristics of nonprogrammed decisions include all but which of the following?

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 a primary responsibility of top management.
E)Goals are often vague.

Question 20

The third 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 21

Problem solving involves finding the answer to a question.

Question 22

The sales department at a local company indicates that product A will greatly increase sales but require a long production schedule (which is bad for the manufacturing group), while product B will moderately boost sales and have a shorter production schedule.In choosing product B, the sales department is

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

Question 23

is the period of less intense conscious concentration during which the knowledge and ideas acquired during preparation mature and develop.

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

Question 24

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

Question 25

In the decision maker searches until an alternative is found that meets minimal requirements of the problem.

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

Question 26

While driving home from a hard day at work, Susan finally realized 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 27

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

A)are more prone to escalate commitment.
B)infrequently make decisions that lead to big losses.
C)have a higher risk propensity than other managers.
D)operate under information conditions of certainty.
E)often build coalitions while making decisions.

Question 28

If a decision maker answers "yes" to all the questions in the Janis- Mann conflict model, the decision maker will be in a state of

A)unconflicted change.
B)hypervigilance.
C)defensive avoidance.
D)unconflicted adherence.
E)vigilant information processing.

Question 29

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 30

Which of the following is not a characteristic of the Janis-Mann conflict model?

A)It recognizes occasional ambivalence regarding alternatives.
B)It combines the rational and behavioral approaches.
C)It provides for self-reactions.
D)It deals only with important life decisions.
E)It recognizes avoidance mechanisms, such as procrastination.

Question 31

An innate belief about something without conscious consideration is called

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

Question 32

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 33

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 34

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 35

According to the Janis-Mann conflict model, determining that risks are not a serious factor in changing a situation leads to

A)defensive avoidance.
B)hypervigilance.
C)unaffected change.
D)unconflicted adherence.
E)unconflicted change.

Question 36

Jim purchases stock in a public company and he 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)self-reactions

Question 37

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 these.

Question 38

involves comparison of alternatives with inner moral standards.

A)Vigilance
B)Ethics
C)Self-reaction
D)Rationalization
E)Escalation of commitment

Question 39

Decision making is choosing one alternative from among several.

Question 40

refers to the inability of decision makers to process all aspects of information so that the decision is made with a limited subset of information.

A)Post-decision dissonance
B)Groupthink block
C)Rational bias
D)Bounded rationality
E)Suboptimizing issuing

Question 41

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

Question 42

Information conditions can be divided into programmed and nonprogrammed decisions.

Question 43

The rational decision-making process begins with the statement of a situational goal.

Question 44

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

Question 45

Ethics are a person's beliefs about what constitutes right and wrong behavior.

Question 46

The rational decision-making process assumes that managers follow a systematic, step-by-step process.

Question 47

A coalition is a formal alliance of individuals or groups formed to achieve a common goal.

Question 48

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

Question 49

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 50

A programmed decision recurs often enough for decision rules to be developed.

Question 51

Decision rules are used to make nonprogrammed decisions.

Question 52

The Janis-Mann conflict model of decision making deals with important life decisions.

Question 53

Suboptimizing is knowingly accepting less than the best possible outcome.

Question 54

Programmed decisions usually require that the decision maker exercise judgment and creativity.

Question 55

Satisficing is the process of examining alternatives only until a minimally acceptable alternative is identified.

Question 56

The final stage of the rational decision-making process is measure and adjustment.

Question 57

The behavioral model is appealing because of its logic and focus on economic considerations.

Question 58

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

Question 59

Susan's recent decision about which company her conglomerate was to buy was a nonprogrammed decision.

Question 60

Insight represents a coming together of all the scattered thoughts and ideas that were maturing during incubation.

Question 61

plans are alternative actions that are an important part of the choice phase of making decisions.

Question 62

Under a state of , the decision maker lacks enough information to estimate the probability of outcomes.

Question 63

Examining alternatives only until a solution that meets minimal requirements is found and then ceasing to look for a better one is called .

Question 64

The fact that decision makers have limited capabilities to make rational decisions is called .

Question 65

A programmed decision occurs frequently enough for a_
to be developed.

Question 66

is knowingly accepting less than the best possible outcome.

Question 67

The most crucial step in the decision-making process is selecting an
_.

Question 68

The of decision recurrence can help determine whether the decision is programmed or nonprogrammed.

Question 69

is when the decision-maker objectively analyzes the problem and all alternatives, thoroughly searches for information, carefully evaluates the consequences of all alternatives, and diligently plans for implementation and contingencies.

Question 70

The approach to decision making combines the worthwhile features of the behavior and rational approaches to making decisions.

Question 71

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

Question 72

In situations where the information condition is , the decision maker knows all outcomes and makes the decision on the basis of the highest payoff.

Question 73

The creative process generally involves three phases.

Question 74

decisions generally require the decision maker to exercise judgment and creativity.

Question 75

Under conditions, little information about the outcomes is available, but the decision maker is able to estimate the probability of occurrence of each alternative.

Question 76

One of the strengths of the to decision making is that is forces the decision maker to consider a decision in a logical, sequential manner, and the in-depth analysis of alternatives enables the decision maker to choose on the basis of information rather than emotion or social pressure.

Question 77

Post-decision refers to the doubt, tension, or regret that often follows making a decision when more than one alternative was attractive.

Question 78

A nonprogrammed decision involves a nonroutine, poorly structured problem and cannot be made with existing decision .

Question 79

decisions are well structured, are recurring, and are made according to decision rules.

Question 80

Verification determines the validity or truthfulness of the insight.