Question 1

Carol has designated Kevin to be the group's "Devil's Advocate." His job is to challenge the majority opinion on each issue and to offer divergent perspectives. Which group decision-making problem is Carol attempting to avoid?

Accepted Answer

Carol is attempting to avoid groupthink, which is a phenomenon where group members strive for unanimity at the expense of considering alternative viewpoints, leading to flawed decision-making. By designating Kevin as the Devil's Advocate, Carol is specifically trying to encourage the group to consider alternative perspectives and avoid the negative consequences of groupthink.

Question 2

A weakness of group decision-making is

Accepted Answer

Group decision-making often takes more time because it involves discussions, deliberations, and reaching a consensus among multiple members.

Question 3

Todd has a tendency to rely too much on the initial information at his disposal about any given issue; he fails to integrate and give weight to new information being given to him. This is known as

Accepted Answer

Todd's tendency to rely too much on initial information is characteristic of anchoring bias, which occurs when an individual tends to rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive in making subsequent judgments or decisions.

Question 4

Gill has been criticized for making decisions superficially without digging for the information that he really needs. This is known as

Accepted Answer

Availability bias occurs when people make decisions based on the information that is most readily available to them, rather than seeking out all necessary information. This can lead to superficial decision-making, as described in the scenario with Gill.

Question 5

A group decision-making method in which each individual team member preplans their ideas and solutions for the problem and brings these ideas to the group, is known as

Accepted Answer

The description given is of nominal group technique, which is a structured group decision-making method that combines individual and group processes. Each member preplans their ideas and solutions, presents them to the group, and then the group discusses and evaluates them to arrive at a decision.

Question 6

Terry has been accused of being quite selective when researching an issue by only taking into consideration information that confirms his initial point of view and ignoring information to the contrary. This is known as

Accepted Answer

The behavior described is known as confirmation bias, which involves selectively searching for or interpreting information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses while disregarding contradictory evidence.

Question 7

Hari has a long history of success, but more recently his judgment has come into question in some decisions that he has made. Some believe that he is too optimistic about his own performance, and that affects his judgment. Hari may be committing

Accepted Answer

The description of Hari being too optimistic about his own performance suggests that he may be subject to overconfidence bias, which is the tendency to overestimate one's own abilities or the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments.

Question 8

After reflecting on his staff's decision-making abilities, James reaches the conclusion there are limitations on a person's ability to interpret, process and act on information. His opinion reflects

Accepted Answer

James' recognition of the limitations of human decision-making abilities suggests that he is referring to bounded rationality, which acknowledges that individuals have limited cognitive ability to processing information and that they utilize shortcuts to make decisions.

Question 9

If someone settles on an alternative that is "good enough" because it meets the minimum requirements of the situation, this is known as

Accepted Answer

Satisficing is the term used to describe the act of selecting a solution that meets the minimum requirements of the situation, rather than looking for the optimal solution. Option A, rational decision making, involves a thorough analysis of all available options to select the best one. Framing refers to the way a problem or decision is presented. Heuristics involve mental shortcuts to simplify decision making. Intuition is the act of making a decision based on a "gut feeling".

Question 10

The tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is readily available to them rather than complete data is known as

Accepted Answer

The tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is readily available to them rather than complete data is known as availability bias. Therefore, the correct answer is D. The other options - framing, bounded rationality, intuition, and regression - describe different concepts.

Question 11

Fred is a great decision maker, but he is superstitious, so he steadfastly maintains that he will not make any big decisions on Friday the 13th. This is known as

Accepted Answer

Fred's belief in avoiding decision-making on Friday the 13th due to superstition is an example of randomness error, where individuals believe they can predict the outcome of random events.

Question 12

Liam makes a lot of decisions simply by "gut feel," and more often than not he makes the right one. This is known as ________ decision making.

Accepted Answer

Liam's decision making is based on his intuition or "gut feel," indicating that he relies on his instincts rather than solely rational or logical thinking.

Question 13

Ted decided to discontinue a product line a year ago; since then, it is clear this was the wrong decision. Nevertheless, Ted insists that he will be proven correct in time and he has no plans to change his mind. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of escalation of commitment, which refers to the tendency to continue investing in a decision even when evidence suggests it is a mistake. Ted is persisting in his decision despite evidence that discontinuing the product line was a wrong decision.

Question 14

Omar has noticed that a chronic problem facing the work team he is on is the is pressure to conform; when the team is discussing a situation, it seems there is pressure to move quickly to agreeing on a decision, which means that the group does not usually adequately consider other alternatives that are less popular and less well known. This phenomenon is known as

Accepted Answer

Groupthink is a phenomenon where the desire for consensus and conformity within a group overrides realistic and critical thinking. This often results in a rushed decision-making process where alternatives are not thoroughly considered, as described in the situation Omar is facing.

Question 15

A strength of group decision-making is that

Accepted Answer

When a group discusses and comes to a decision collectively, there is a higher level of acceptance of the decision since it was made by a group, which had a discussion and brain-stormed ideas. This way, everyone involved has a sense of ownership of the decision, which leads to increased commitment and motivation towards achieving the decision.

Question 16

As a practice, we should assume our most of our decisions are ________, and evaluate them with a critical process.

Accepted Answer

Our decisions are often based on judgments, which are subjective opinions based on our own experiences and beliefs. Therefore, it is important to critically evaluate them to ensure they align with objective facts and logical reasoning.

Question 17

Compared to group decision-making, individual decision-making outperforms on the criteria of

Accepted Answer

Individual decision-making typically results in faster decisions because it involves only one person, avoiding the need for group discussion and consensus-building.

Question 18

You have observed that the group tends to arrive at consensus very quickly and you know that the group is very cohesive. You conclude that they may be suffering from

Accepted Answer

The observation of the group arriving at consensus quickly and being highly cohesive indicates that the group may be suffering from groupthink. Groupthink refers to a phenomenon where group members tend to conform to the group's decisions or beliefs, even if they go against their own individual judgments. This can lead to flawed decision-making and a lack of consideration of alternate perspectives or information.

Question 19

Freda's best skill as a group leader is to be able to get the group to generate a large number of alternatives while encouraging everyone to withhold criticism of any of the proposed alternatives. This technique is known as

Accepted Answer

Freda's skill is described as getting the group to generate a large number of alternatives without any criticism. This technique is called brainstorming, where the aim is to come up with as many ideas as possible before evaluating them. Therefore, the best choice is C.

Question 20

Ben has noticed that after his team discusses any issue, the conservative people become even more cautious and the aggressive people get even bolder. This phenomenon is known as

Accepted Answer

Groupshift is the phenomenon where members of a group tend to exaggerate their initial positions/attitudes after group discussion. In this case, conservative people become even more cautious and aggressive people become even bolder after team discussions which suggests that groupshift is occurring.

Quiz 12: Decision Making, Creativity, and Ethics