Question 1

Koki, a production manager, was engaged in the development of a core component of a machine. He realized that the component would not be ready for QC testing as per the fixed deadline and suggested allotting two more weeks for its complete development or sending only a part of it for testing in the first cycle. Which two decision-making steps does this represent?
A)choose among alternatives and assess alternatives
B)generate alternatives and choose among alternatives
C)recognize the need for a decision and generate alternatives
D)recognize the need for a decision and choose among alternatives

Accepted Answer

The answer of Koki, a production manager, was engaged in...

Question 2

Why is group decision making considered beneficial?
A)It takes less time than individual decision-making.
B)It is easy to get two or more managers to agree to the same solution.
C)It allows more information processing and correction of errors.
D)It cannot be undermined by biases.

Accepted Answer

Group decision making is beneficial because it allows for more information processing and the opportunity to correct errors, as multiple perspectives and expertise are involved.

Question 3

Lila is a manager involved in group decision making with other managers. She wants to make sure that the group avoids groupthink. Which of the following actions should she take to ensure that the group makes the best possible decision?
A)encourage the group to agree with one of the alternatives to support esprit de corps and to facilitate a quick resolution
B)challenge the way the group evaluates alternatives and points out some reasons why the alternative preferred by the group is not acceptable
C)make sure the group has a healthy mix of women and men and that various ethnic backgrounds are represented
D)staunchly support one of the alternatives, providing detailed data to back her position

Accepted Answer

Challenging the group's evaluation of alternatives and pointing out reasons why the preferred alternative is not acceptable helps to avoid groupthink by encouraging critical thinking and consideration of different perspectives.

Question 4

The marketing managers of Compliant, 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?
A)dialectical inquiry
B)devil's advocacy
C)groupthink
D)intuition

Accepted Answer

Groupthink occurs when a group prioritizes consensus and agreement over critical evaluation of alternatives, leading to poor decision-making, such as ignoring important information.

Question 5

KJ, Inc., has received a poor rating for one of its newly launched products from the customers. Joe, a top manager at KJ, Inc., wants to find out why this product performed poorly. To accomplish this, which of the following decision-making steps does Joe have to implement?
A)generate alternatives
B)learn from feedback
C)recognize the need for a decision
D)implement the chosen alternative

Accepted Answer

Joe needs to learn from feedback to understand why the product performed poorly, which involves analyzing customer feedback and identifying the reasons for the poor rating.

Question 6

Kareem is the new owner of a major league baseball team. Over the last several years, the team has consistently had a losing record and, as a result, attendance is slumping. Kareem is currently evaluating potential solutions, including revamping the affiliated minor league team, moving the team to a new city, and hiring all new coaching staff. Kareem's next step is to
A)evaluate the effect that revamping the minor league team has on the major league team.
B)decide that revamping the minor league team is better than moving the team to a new city or hiring new coaches.
C)revamp the affiliated minor league team by firing most of the managers, coaches, and scouts.
D)determine whether there is anything he can do to positively impact the team's losing record.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Kareem is the new owner of a...

Question 7

A critical analysis of a preferred alternative to ascertain its strengths and weaknesses before it is implemented, with the purpose of identifying all the reasons that might make the preferred alternative unacceptable, is
A)dialectical inquiry.
B)devil's advocacy.
C)groupthink.
D)the Delphi technique.

Accepted Answer

Devil's advocacy involves critically analyzing a preferred alternative by identifying potential weaknesses and reasons it might be unacceptable, which aligns with the description provided.

Question 8

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?
A)legality
B)ethicalness
C)economic feasibility
D)practicality

Accepted Answer

Managers are focusing on practicality, which involves assessing whether the organization has the capabilities and resources to implement the alternative without compromising other goals.

Question 9

Ayaru, 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 Ayaru implementing?
A)legality
B)ethicalness
C)economic feasibility
D)practicality

Accepted Answer

Ayaru is considering the economic feasibility of the advertising budget, which involves determining how much money the company can afford to spend.

Question 10

Stojan, 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 Stojan implementing?
A)legality
B)practicality
C)devil's advocacy
D)economic feasibility

Accepted Answer

Stojan is considering the practicality of implementing the training program by assessing if there are enough staff to cover for those attending the classes.

Question 11

Briana, 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 Briana focusing?
A)practicality
B)ethicalness
C)legality
D)economic feasibility

Accepted Answer

Briana is focusing on practicality, which involves assessing whether the organization has the capability and resources to implement a particular course of action.

Question 12

With reference to the steps of decision-making process, which of the following is the last step in the managerial decision-making process?
A)generate alternatives
B)learn from feedback
C)recognize the need for a decision
D)implement the chosen alternative

Accepted Answer

The answer of With reference to the steps of decision-making...

Question 13

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
A)bounded rationality.
B)ethicalness.
C)economic feasibility.
D)dialectical inquiry.

Accepted Answer

Economic feasibility involves analyzing the financial aspects of different alternatives to determine which one is most likely to enhance profitability.

Question 14

You are a manager assessing possible alternatives for the solution of a problem. To do this, you have to determine the net financial payoff of each alternative. Which of the following criteria of decision making do you have to implement to accomplish this?
A)economic feasibility
B)practicality
C)ethicalness
D)legality

Accepted Answer

Economic feasibility involves evaluating the net financial payoff of each alternative to determine if it is financially viable.

Question 15

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
A)ethicalness.
B)practicality.
C)legality.
D)economic feasibility.

Accepted Answer

The managers downplayed the ethicalness of their decision, prioritizing the launch schedule over safety concerns raised by engineers about the O-rings in cold temperatures.

Question 16

You are a manager assessing possible alternatives for the solution of a quality problem in his department. As part of this process, you want to determine if a possible alternative will threaten other company projects. To accomplish this, which of the following criteria of decision-making will you implement?
A)economic feasibility
B)practicality
C)legality
D)ethicalness

Accepted Answer

Practicality involves assessing whether a solution can be implemented without negatively impacting other projects or operations within the company.

Question 17

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)choose among alternatives.
B)assess alternatives.
C)implement the chosen alternative.
D)recognize the need for a decision.

Accepted Answer

The administrative model of decision making by March and Simon suggests that the first step in the decision-making process is to recognize the need for a decision. This involves identifying and acknowledging a problem or opportunity that requires a decision to be made.

Question 18

Which step of the decision-making process requires managers to be sure all the information available is brought to bear on the problem or issue at hand while ranking the alternatives?
A)assess alternatives
B)choose among alternatives
C)recognize the need for a decision
D)generate alternatives

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which step of the decision-making process requires...

Question 19

The pattern of faulty and biased decision making that occurs in groups whose members strive for agreement at the expense of good decision making is called
A)brainstorming.
B)groupthink.
C)devil's advocacy.
D)bounded rationality.

Accepted Answer

Groupthink is a pattern of faulty and biased decision making that occurs in groups whose members strive for agreement at the expense of good decision making.

Question 20

To access the ethicalness of an alternative for a restaurant, the manager would
A)decide if the cost of advertising on both TV and radio is affordable.
B)decide if serving alcoholic beverages would be legal in a city.
C)determine if the lower-priced beef source used inhumane methods to slaughter the livestock.
D)determine if profits are high enough to open an additional restaurant location in another city.

Accepted Answer

The ethicalness of an alternative involves evaluating the moral implications of a decision. In this case, determining if the beef source used inhumane methods relates to ethical considerations regarding animal welfare.

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

Why is group decision making considered beneficial?

Lila is a manager involved in group decision making with other managers. She wants to make sure that the group avoids groupthink. Which of the following actions should she take to ensure that the group makes the best possible decision?

KJ, Inc., has received a poor rating for one of its newly launched products from the customers. Joe, a top manager at KJ, Inc., wants to find out why this product performed poorly. To accomplish this, which of the following decision-making steps does Joe have to implement?

A critical analysis of a preferred alternative to ascertain its strengths and weaknesses before it is implemented, with the purpose of identifying all the reasons that might make the preferred alternative unacceptable, is

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?

Stojan, 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 Stojan implementing?

Briana, 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 Briana focusing?

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

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

You are a manager assessing possible alternatives for the solution of a problem. To do this, you have to determine the net financial payoff of each alternative. Which of the following criteria of decision making do you have to implement to accomplish this?

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

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

Which step of the decision-making process requires managers to be sure all the information available is brought to bear on the problem or issue at hand while ranking the alternatives?

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

To access the ethicalness of an alternative for a restaurant, the manager would