Deck 14: Decision-Making and Problem-Solving Processes

Question 1

Which of the following is not true about decision making in organizations?

A) Groups make better decisions about ill-structured problems than individuals.
B) Group decision making works well when managers need the commitment of those affected by the decision.
C) Individuals make better decisions than groups when working with complex problems.
D) Managers use group decision making in situations affecting multiple constituencies.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A decision maker will likely use a programmed decision-making strategy for decisions with all the following qualities except

A) Recurring.
B) Routine.
C) Unusual.
D) Predictable.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A decision maker will likely use an unprogrammed decision-making strategy for decisions that are

A) Nonroutine.
B) Nonrecurring.
C) Unpredictable.
D) All answers are correct.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

An executive who needs to choose a new strategic vision for the organization will use which of the following decision strategies?

A) Unprogrammed decision strategy.
B) Programmed decision strategy.
C) It is impossible to tell from the information given.
D) The executive will use none of the decision strategies described in the answers.

Question 5

An organization has a strong policy that those employees with seniority get first chance at promotions, vacation time, and other privileges. A supervisor who needs to decide who gets priority for vacation time will likely use which of the following decision strategies?

A) Unprogrammed decision strategy.
B) Programmed decision strategy.
C) It is impossible to tell from the information given.
D) The supervisor will not use any decision strategy described in the answers.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is false about the decision-making process?

A) Decision makers can repeat the decision-making process.
B) Decision makers move in only one direction in the decision-making process.
C) Decision makers can stop for some time at any point in the decision-making process.
D) Decision makers can restart the decision-making process at an earlier phase.

Question 7

The first phase of the decision-making process is

A) Developing alternatives.
B) Problem identification and diagnosis.
C) Assessing alternatives.
D) No answers are correct.

Question 8

The phase of the decision-making process that includes identifying criteria for assessing the decision outcome is

A) Assessing the decision's effects.
B) Choosing an alternative.
C) Carrying out the decision.
D) Problem identification and diagnosis.

Question 9

What is the phase of the decision-making process where the decision maker considers whether those affected by the decision will accept it?

A) Choosing an alternative.
B) Comparing alternatives.
C) Developing alternatives.
D) Carrying out the decision.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is false about dilemmas managers face in choosing the best alternative for a decision problem?

A) There may be many alternatives perceived as acceptable.
B) No alternative can solve the issue or problem.
C) Choosing the best alternative is usually straightforward.
D) No alternatives have enough positive results to offset expected negative results.

Question 11

Which of the following is not an assumption of the rational model of decision making?

A) The decision maker uses a function to order preferences.
B) The decision maker has a goal to maximize or minimize.
C) The decision maker searches for less than optimal solutions.
D) The decision maker knows all alternatives and their results.

Question 12

In which of the following decision-making models will satisficing occur?

A) Bounded rationality.
B) Garbage can.
C) Political.
D) Rational.

Question 13

Which of the following is false about satisficing behavior?

A) Decision makers choose an alternative to maximize a goal.
B) Decision makers do not assess all possible alternatives.
C) Decision makers can change the goal of the decision problem.
D) Decision makers choose an alternative that is good enough to reach the goal.

Question 14

Which of the following statements is false about unstructured decision-making models?

A) Decision makers rely on satisficing approaches to find solutions.
B) Decision makers assess many alternatives simultaneously.
C) A favored alternative emerges at the end of the decision-making process.
D) Political forces in the organization can affect the decision-making process.

Question 15

Which of the following is not a stream in the garbage can model of decision making?

A) Choice opportunity.
B) Participant.
C) Solution.
D) Alternative.

Question 16

Which of the following is not true about the garbage can model of decision making?

A) It was developed to explain decision making under situations of high ambiguity.
B) The most important stream that contributes to decision making is the participant stream.
C) Decision making is a time-sensitive process of four independent streams.
D) It sees solutions looking for problems to solve.

Question 17

The decision-making model that views power as a central feature of the decision process is

A) Rational.
B) Political.
C) Garbage can.
D) Unstructured.

Question 18

Which of the following decision-making models is most correct for a well-structured problem?

A) Garbage can.
B) Political.
C) Unstructured.
D) Rational.

Question 19

Which of the following decision-making models is most correct for an ill-structured problem?

A) Garbage can.
B) Rational.
C) Bounded rationality.
D) No answers are correct.

Question 20

A manager who is interviewing candidates for a new position in her organization hires the first applicant who meets the minimum criteria. This manager is likely using which of the following decision-making models?

A) Rational.
B) Political.
C) Bounded rationality.
D) Garbage can.

Question 21

Managers who decide allocations of tight financial resources will likely use which of the following decision-making models?

A) Garbage can.
B) Rational.
C) Unstructured.
D) Political.

Question 22

Which of the following is not a group decision-making asset?

A) Increased information.
B) Job satisfaction.
C) Favored alternative.
D) Personal development.

Question 23

Which of the following statements is not true about group decision-making assets and liabilities?

A) Participation in a decision-making group can lead to increased satisfaction and acceptance of the decision.
B) Group decision making works well for problems that require a fast response.
C) The goal in group decision making can be deflected from finding the best solution to gaining acceptance of one's favored alternative.
D) Group decision making can help the personal development of those who participate.

Question 24

Which of the following statements is a group decision-making liability?

A) People can feel social pressures to conform to an emerging norm.
B) One person can dominate the decision group.
C) Group decision making takes time, making it ill suited for certain types of problems.
D) Each statement is a group decision-making liability.

Question 25

Which of the following does not occur as the social process for decision making goes from authoritative to group approaches?

A) Social processes for decision making become more complex.
B) There is increased conflict potential in the group.
C) The time to make a decision decreases.
D) Group members can better understand the decision problem.

Question 26

Which of the following is true about the Vroom-Yetton model (a normative model of decision making)?

A) The model uses a set of rules to protect decision quality and decision acceptance.
B) A decision maker assesses a decision problem's characteristics by asking some diagnostic questions.
C) The model picks the decision-making social process that best fits the rules for protecting decision quality and decision acceptance.
D) All answers are true about the Vroom-Yetton model.

Question 27

The judgment bias that describes the tendency to recall and use information easily retrieved from memory is

A) The representativeness heuristic.
B) The anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
C) The availability heuristic.
D) The framing effect.

Question 28

The judgment bias that leads a decision maker to compare a current event to past events about which the person has knowledge is

A) The representativeness heuristic.
B) The anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
C) The availability heuristic.
D) No answers are correct.

Question 29

A heuristic decision makers use to get a starting point for a decision and adjust beyond that point is

A) The representativeness heuristic.
B) The anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
C) The availability heuristic.
D) Decision makers use none of the heuristics listed in the answers.

Question 30

When entering into salary negotiations, a new employee requests a figure higher than what she really wants, and the manager offers a figure lower that what she is prepared to offer. These people are using which of the following heuristics?

A) The representativeness heuristic.
B) The anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
C) The availability heuristic.
D) The framing effect.

Question 31

Most retail outlets tell customers an item's original price, in addition to the sale price, to get customers to believe they are getting a good price. Retail managers are using which of the following heuristics?

A) The availability bias.
B) The representativeness heuristic.
C) The anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
D) All answers are correct.

Question 32

A salesperson makes a single large mistake in a presentation to prospective clients. The total presentation is of high quality other than the one mistake. Clients do not buy anything from the salesperson because of this error. The clients are using which of the following judgment biases?

A) The framing effect.
B) The anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
C) The representativeness heuristic.
D) The availability heuristic.

Question 33

People often overestimate the frequency of plane crashes because these events are vivid and newsworthy. This is an example of which of the following heuristics?

A) Representativeness.
B) Framing.
C) Availability.
D) Anchoring.

Question 34

A manager decides to hire the applicant she is currently interviewing and does not seek negative information about that applicant. This is known as

A) Regression to the mean.
B) Confirmation trap.
C) Retrievability.
D) Conjunction fallacy.

Question 35

Which of the following is not a heuristic used by decision makers?

A) Anchoring and adjustment.
B) Groupthink.
C) Representativeness.
D) Availability.

Question 36

When a manager must choose between two downsizing plans in which either 400 workers will be laid off or 600 workers might be laid off, the manager will most likely be ______________ in approaching the problem.

A) Risk seeking.
B) Risk averse.
C) Risk neutral.
D) It is impossible to tell from the information given.

Question 37

When a manager must choose between two downsizing plans in which either 200 jobs will be saved for certain or 600 jobs might be saved, the manager will most likely be ______________ in approaching the problem.

A) Risk seeking.
B) Risk averse.
C) Risk neutral.
D) It is impossible to tell from the information given.

Question 38

Which of the following does not contribute to escalation of commitment to a losing course of action?

A) Inconsistent decision behavior.
B) Ego defensiveness.
C) Desire to appear rational.
D) Justification.

Question 39

A manager hired an employee whose performance is not up to the organization's standards. The manager sends the employee to several costly training seminars and devotes much time to individually counseling the employee, but the employee's performance does not improve. This is an example of

A) Confirmation trap bias.
B) Escalation of commitment.
C) Framing.
D) Conjunction fallacy.

Question 40

Which of the following is false about groupthink?

A) It affects groups that have worked together for a short time.
B) It affects groups that are operating in times of crisis.
C) It affects cohesive groups.
D) It affects groups that share a common set of values.

Question 41

Which of the following are ways a group leader can avoid groupthink?

A) Assign a member the devil's advocate role.
B) Stimulate conflict during group meetings.
C) Invite outsiders to critique the group's deliberations.
D) Each answer describes a way to avoid groupthink.

Question 42

What is the main theme underlying all suggestions on ways to avoid groupthink?

A) To stop members from stereotyping.
B) To stimulate conflict.
C) To decrease decision-making time.
D) No answers are correct.

Question 43

Which of the following is false about brainstorming?

A) Bizarre ideas are discouraged.
B) No criticism is allowed.
C) People are encouraged to build on others' ideas.
D) Quantity, not quality, is important.

Question 44

Electronic brainstorming may offer an improvement over traditional brainstorming for which of the following reasons?

A) It assures anonymity of responses.
B) It creates more alternatives.
C) Computer linkages let people from diverse geographic locations participate.
D) All answers are correct.

Question 45

The best group decision-making method to use when groups are geographically scattered is

A) Brainstorming.
B) The nominal group technique.
C) The Delphi method.
D) Dialectical inquiry.

Question 46

The group decision-making method in which the assumptions underlying the group's choice of alternatives are examined in a structured debate is

A) The devil's advocate technique.
B) Dialectical inquiry.
C) The nominal group technique.
D) Brainstorming.

Question 47

The group decision-making method in which a person is assigned the role of critically assessing the group's chosen alternative is

A) The devil's advocate technique.
B) Dialectical inquiry.
C) The nominal group technique.
D) Brainstorming.

Question 48

Which of the following statements is false about the nominal group technique?

A) Group members publicly vote on the ideas generated.
B) In the early stages of the process, there is no verbal interaction.
C) Because there is no interaction, one person cannot dominate the conversation.
D) The nominal group technique generates a large amount of information about a problem.

Question 49

Which of the following is not a computer-based method of improving decision making?

A) Management information systems.
B) Expert systems.
C) The nominal group technique.
D) Decision support systems.

Question 50

Which of the following is false about decision support systems?

A) They change and evolve as decision makers use them.
B) They automate the decision processes of organizations.
C) An organization can have different systems for different classes of decisions.
D) They are tailored to decision makers' ways of making decisions.

Question 51

Managers from which of the following countries likely attack and solve problems?

A) Indonesia.
B) Malaysia.
C) United States.
D) Taiwan.

Question 52

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Decision making moves more quickly in U.S. organizations than in Egyptian organizations.
B) Decision makers in Japan and China usually consider all alternatives before choosing.
C) U.S. decision makers usually use a serial decision-making process.
D) Decision making is more centralized in Sweden than in the Philippines.

Question 53

Which of the following statements is true about ethical issues in decision making?

A) Ethical questions can arise in all phases of the decision-making process.
B) Ethical decision makers do not use deception during discussions.
C) Decision makers who face ethical issues apply a decision rule with a minimum cutoff for an ethical criterion.
D) All answers are correct.

Question 54

The problem-solving process identifies the problem, tries to find root causes, and creates options that become input to a decision-making process.

Question 55

The decision-making process defines a decision problem, creates alternative courses of action, and chooses among them using decision criteria.

Question 56

Groups are better at decision making than individuals with ill-defined or complex problems.

Question 57

Individuals make better decisions than groups with well-structured problems that have tightly coupled parts.

Question 58

Unprogrammed decision strategies apply to routine, recurring, and predictable decisions.

Question 59

Decisions about handling exchanges and returns of gifts are programmed decisions.

Question 60

Decision makers follow the decision-making process in sequence and go through the entire sequence before starting over.

Question 61

Once a decision is made, moving that decision to action is usually easier than making the decision.

Question 62

The rational model of decision making views the decision maker as knowing all alternatives and results.

Question 63

The term satisficing behavior refers to a decision maker's efforts to find optimal solutions.

Question 64

The bounded rationality decision-making model sees limits on information available to the decision maker and limitations in dealing with complex problems.

Question 65

Political decision-making models view power as a central feature of the decision process.

Question 66

The unstructured decision-making models refer to decision making under ambiguity.

Question 67

The garbage can decision-making model views decisions as happening at the convergence of problem streams, solutions streams, participant streams, and choice opportunity streams.

Question 68

In the garbage can decision-making model, the solutions are directly connected to the problems.

Question 69

In unstructured decision-making models, decision makers can have an implicitly favored alternative that emerges during the decision-making process.

Question 70

Group decision making is usually better than individual decision making in a crisis.

Question 71

A dominant figure in a decision-making group is not a liability of group decision making.

Question 72

Groups of people can bring more knowledge and information to a decision problem.

Question 73

Heterogeneous decision groups feature little discussion and debate.

Question 74

Individuals who participate in group decision making usually feel little social pressure to conform to an emerging norm.

Question 75

The "G" approach to decision making tries to get consensus among group members.

Question 76

As the decision-making process becomes less authoritative, conflict potential increases.

Question 77

As the decision-making process becomes less authoritative, social interaction decreases between the decision maker and others involved in the decision.

Question 78

As the decision-making process becomes less authoritative, the time needed to make a decision increases.

Question 79

People are always aware of using decision heuristics.

Question 80

Stereotypes are an example of the availability heuristic.