Chapter 7
Which of the following is the lowest level of employee involvement?
Asking individual employees for specific information without describing of the problem the information is needed for
______ is the development of original ideas that make a socially recognized contribution.
Creativity
______ is a creative process that is focused on generating innovative solutions by applying both intuition and analytical thinking.
Design thinking
Which of the following energizes us to make an initial preferred choice even before we have evaluated alternatives?
Emotion
Emotions affect the evaluation of alternatives in the decision-making process in which of the following ways?
Emotions determine our preferences for each alternative before we consciously evaluate them. We "listen in" on our emotions to gain guidance when making choices.
Which of the following represents the first step in the rational decision making process?
Identify the problem or opportunity
Under which of the following circumstances should employees be involved in the decision-making process?
If they possess more knowledge and experience than the supervisor If they are unwilling to accept a decision without their involvement
Which of the following statements about satisficing is true?
It is the act of choosing an alternative that is "good enough."
Which of the following are benefits of employee involvement in the decision-making process?
It strengthens employee commitment to the decision. It increases the number and quality of solutions generated. It may improve the evaluation of alternatives.
Which of the following elements does design thinking draw on to help employees in the decision-making process? (Check all that apply.)
Logical analysis Intuition Creative thinking
Which of the following personality traits and values support an independent imagination?
Moderately low need for affiliation High openness to experience
True or false: Employee involvement serves to strengthen employee commitment to the decision because they are involved in making the decision.
True
Joachim is the sales manager of a large car dealership. He wants to increase sales significantly over the next 12 months, and he and his staff have brainstormed several ideas to achieve this. Joachim now has to choose among these alternatives. Joachim is involved in the process of ______.
decision making
An organizational culture that discourages complacency and satisfaction with the status quo is referred to as ______.
divine discontent
People have a tendency to be more creative when they ______.
have a comfortable level of job security
The tendency to define problems in terms of a preferred solution happens because _____.
it provides comforting closure to an ambiguous problem
Visual or relational images in our mind that fill in information we don't immediately see and help us understand and navigate in our surrounding environment are referred to as ______.
mental models
We have a tendency to protect ourselves against threats to our self-concepts by blocking out bad news. This is referred to as ______.
perceptual defenses
The gap between "what is" and "what ought to be" is referred to as a(n) ______.
problem
One of the problems with problem identification is that organizational decisions and actions are influenced by what attracts a manager's attention, rather than what is truly important. This is known as _______.
stakeholder framing
Match each of the rules for design thinking (on the left) with a description (on the right) of its application in finding solutions.
The Human Rule matches Choice, Form a team of people with diverse knowledge Form a team of people with diverse knowledge The Ambiguity Rule matches Choice, Question and refine problems and solutions Question and refine problems and solutions The Re-Design Rule matches Choice, Review solutions that worked in the past Review solutions that worked in the past The Tangible Rule matches Choice, Embrace a learning orientation by being willing to fail Embrace a learning orientation by being willing to fail
The tendency to repeat an apparently bad decision or allocate more resources to a failing course of action is referred to as ______.
escalation of commitment
One of the problems with publicly establishing a preset level at which a decision is abandoned or reevaluated is that ______.
it may be difficult to identify an appropriate point to abandon a project
An organizational culture in which leaders recognize and accept reasonable mistakes as part of the creative process is referred to as a __________ orientation.
learning
Which associative play activity involves listing different dimensions of a system and the elements of each and then looking at each combination?
Morphological analysis
______ occurs when people with vested interests present their interpretation of a problem or opportunity in an effort to influence the decision maker.
Stakeholder framing
Intuition relies on programmed decision routines that speed up our responses to pattern matches or mismatches. What term is used to describe these programmed routines?
Action scripts
What are ways to improve the process of identifying problems and opportunities?
Becoming aware of problem identification biases Discussing perceptions of the situation with colleagues or coworkers Creating a mindset that actively searches for problems and opportunities
______ is the idea that, in decision making, people are limited by their ability to process information, their cognitive abilities, and the finite amount of time they have to make decisions.
Bounded rationality
________ thinking involves reframing the problem in a unique way and generating different approaches to the issue.
Divergent
Xavier met with his supervisor to discuss a problem he was having with a coworker. After listening for a few minutes, his supervisor said, "The problem is that you need to stop taking things so personally." This is an example of which limitation in effective problem identification?
Solution-focused problem identification
Under which of the following circumstances would employee involvement in decision making be preferable?
The problem relates to a nonprogrammed decision.
Which rule for design thinking stresses the importance of building low-cost prototypes as a rich form of communication?
The tangible rule
How do mental models affect the decision-making process?
They prevent decision makers from seeing unique problems or opportunities.
True or false: Creativity helps us in the decision making process because it assists us in visualizing the future and seeing the impact of our alternatives.
True Creativity helps us choose alternatives because we can visualize the future in different ways and figure out how each choice might be useful or a liability in those scenarios.
Scott wanted to buy a pre-owned car. Before he started shopping, he formed an idea of what he thought the price should be for the model he wanted, given age, and mileage. This estimate is an example of the ______.
anchoring and adjustment heuristic
Art classes, impromptu storytelling, and acting are all forms of ______.
associative play
The alternative that the decision maker prefers and that is used as a comparison with other choices is referred to as the ______.
implicit favorite
The stage in the creative process model in which we put the problem aside, but our mind is still working on a solution in the background, is referred to as ______.
incubation
is a deviation between the current and desired situation.
problem
Characteristics of creative people include ______.
independent imagination persistence cognitive and practical intelligence
A deviation between current expectations and a potentially better situation that was not previously expected is referred to as a(n) ______.
opportunity
Mercy Hospital has developed a detailed set of plans to safeguard patients, staff, and hospital assets in the event of catastrophic situations, such as airplane crashes or terror attacks. This is an example of ______.
scenario planning
Janys was planning a trip to the beach. However, she recently saw a frightening video of a shark attack and she now thinks it is likely that there will be shark attack at the beach. This is an example of ______.
the availability heuristic
Jake bought stock in a company several months ago and has seen it lose value ever since then. The stock is now worth less than half of what he paid for it, but he doesn't want to sell it now and accept the loss. He'd rather hold onto it, hoping that the stock will recover, even though he knows it is unlikely. This is an example of ______.
the prospect theory effect
The tendency to experience stronger negative emotions when losing something of value than the positive emotions experienced when gaining something of equal value is referred to as ______.
the prospect theory effect
You've gone to the movie theater to see the latest release by your favorite actor. Ten minutes into the film, you realize that it's a loser, but instead of walking out, you stay to watch the rest of the movie because you figure that you've already spent $9.50 for a movie ticket and $6.50 for popcorn. This is an example of ______.
the sunk costs effect
Sherri had never traveled to New York City before, but she had been on recent business trips to Albuquerque and Phoenix. When she learned that that the price of the hotel room she wanted was $260 per night, she was shocked because she thought that New York hotels would be priced similarly to those in Albuquerque and Phoenix. This is an example of the ______.
anchoring and adjustment heuristic
The ______ refers to a decision maker's tendency to estimate the probability of something occurring by how easily we can recall those events.
availability heuristic
Perceptual defenses cause us to ______.
block out information that threatens our self-concept
The concept that decision makers process limited and imperfect information and rarely select the best choice is referred to as ______.
bounded rationality
When evaluating decisions, people often ignore or downplay the negative outcomes and overemphasize the positive outcomes of the decision. This is known as ______.
confirmation bias
Calculating the conventionally accepted "right answer" to a logical problem is referred to as ______.
convergent thinking
The process of making choices among alternatives with the intention of moving toward a desired state of affairs is known as ______.
decision making
Strategies to minimize escalation of commitment and confirmation bias include ______.
ensuring that people who made the original decision are not the same as those who later evaluate it finding a source of systematic and clear feedback setting a level at which the decision will be abandoned if not successful
Place the steps in the rational decision-making process in the correct order, with the first step at the top.
Identify the problem or opportunity. Choose the best decision-making process. Identify and develop possible solutions. Choose the alternative that offers the best chance of satisfaction.. Implement the selected alternative. Evaluate whether the solution has effectively addressed the problem or opportunity
Systematic thinking about alternative futures and what an organization should do to anticipate and react to those environments is known as ______.
scenario planning
Jaime championed making changes in the company's employee benefits package but now sees that many employees are angered over the changes. Instead of suggesting modifications to her plan, she tells herself that she couldn't have implemented the project without others' help, so she isn't completely to blame. This is an example of the ______.
self-justification effect
Selecting a preferred alternative and then skewing other alternatives to make the chosen one appear to be "the best" is known as ______.
the implicit favorite
Place the following steps in the creative process model in the correct sequence, with the first step at the top and the last step at the bottom.
Preparation Incubation Illumination Verification
Apex Manufacturing realizes it has made a mistake in hiring its new CEO but, according to the employment contract, the company paid him a sign-on bonus of several million dollars, so they decide to keep him on. Which of the causes of escalating commitment does this represent?
Sunk costs
