Man Chapter 7

What are appropriate actions for a manager to take if a decision is not working as intended? (Choose every correct answer.)

Start over. Give it more time. Try another alternative. Change it slightly.

Which one of the following best describes the decisions made by a person with an analytical style?

Carefully considers lots information and alternatives

Which decision-making style is characterized by a high tolerance for ambiguity and the consideration of many options together with a willingness to take risks?

Conceptual

Tyler has never gotten along with his employee Marcus. Although Marcus has been a top performer during his three years with the company, Tyler tends to fixate on the one quarter when Marcus performed poorly. Tyler uses that quarter as an example of Marcus being a "poor fit" with the company. What type of bias is this an example of?

Confirmation

Which of the following is the newest and least common type of AI used for business needs?

Customer and employee engagement

Which of the following are the top challenges associated with AI? (Choose every correct answer.)

Data issues Implementation Cost

Michelle met with her five employees around a table and asked each of them to take five minutes to write down what they personally thought their new facility should include. She then collected the information and wrote it on the white board for all of them to view and decide upon. Michelle is using the ______ technique.

brainstorming

Minority ______ occurs when a minority in a group publicly opposes the beliefs, attitudes, ideas, procedures, or policies assumed by the majority of the group.

dissent

______ are strategies such as "rules of thumb" that simplify decision making.

Heuristics

Conducting a(n) ______ involves analyzing the underlying causes of a problem or an opportunity.

diagnosis

All the following are characteristics of group decision making except ______.

groups make decisions quickly

Which of the following are ways in which artificial intelligence is expected to improve the interactions between businesses and employees or consumers? (Choose every correct answer.)

Reducing work demands and freeing up more time for family or leisure Tailoring products to the personal needs and preferences of individual consumers

Stores of data that are so large or complex that it is difficult to process them using traditional database management applications are known as ______.

big data

List the steps of the rational model of decision making in the correct order, with the first step listed at the top and the last step listed at the bottom.

1. Identify the problem or opportunity 2. Think of alternative solutions. 3. Evaluate alternatives and select a solution 4. Implement and evaluate the solution chosen.

During which of the following is positive team spirit and striving for unanimity most likely to lead to poor decision making?

Groupthink

Goal ______ occurs when the primary goal is subsumed by a secondary goal.

displacement

Which of the following business needs are typically supported by artificial intelligence? (Choose every correct answer.)

Automating business processes Analyzing data Engaging customers and employees

Which of the following is a primary use of AI among U.S. companies?

To gain competitive advantage

In general, managers are most likely to tolerate unethical behavior among which of the following groups of employees?

High-performing salespeople

According to Ed Catmull of Pixar and Disney Animation, what is the absolute minimum that should be accomplished in a project post-mortem?

Write down five things you would do again and five things you wouldn't.

Ramona is bidding on an auction item against several other people. She knows the bid is already too high, but she doesn't want to give up, so she continues bidding. This is an example of the ______ bias.

escalation of commitment

In order to prevent groupthink, it is important to do which of the following?

Allow criticism

In a recent team meeting, Terry agreed to vote in favor of rearranging the office so long as his desk would be near a window. Which negative method of achieving consensus does this illustrate?

Log rolling

Which two of these options are important in combating groupthink? (Choose every correct answer.)

Allowing criticism Allowing other perspectives

Brainwriting is the process of brainstorming by using ______.

a computer network

The ______ bias is demonstrated when managers add up all the money already spent on a project and conclude it is too costly to simply abandon it.

sunk-cost

Which examples illustrate prosocial lying? (Choose every correct answer.)

Martin inflates the sales figures on a quarterly report to make his boss look better. Jody approves a loan for a couple even though they are unlikely to be able to afford their payments.

Which of these is another term for hindsight bias?

The "I-knew-it-all-along" effect

The tendency of people to view events as being more predictable than they really are is referred to as ______ bias.

hindsight

A person's decision-making style is a combination of how a person perceives something as well as ______.

how they respond to it

The first stage in the rational decision-making process involves ______.

identifying the problem

In the fourth stage of rational decision making, managers will ______.

implement and evaluate the chosen solution

When a few members of a group publicly oppose the beliefs, ideas, policies, or procedures assumed by the majority of the group, it is referred to as ______.

minority dissent

The ______ bias occurs when people's positive feelings about their own decision-making ability is greater than their objective accuracy.

overconfidence

You fall prey to the overconfidence bias when you ______ your knowledge or expertise in a decision situation.

overestimate

One obstacle to making evidence-based decisions is that stories are often more ______ than evidence.

persuasive

A data-mining technique used to predict future behavior and anticipate the consequences of change is known as ______ analytics.

predictive

The rational model of decision making is considered ______ in that it describes how managers should make decisions rather than how they actually make them.

prescriptive

True or false: CEOs are at a higher risk of being fired for ethical violations than ever before because the public has become less forgiving of unethical behavior.

True

Which of these are examples of business analytics? (Choose every correct answer.)

Portfolio analysis Time-series forecast

What strategies are effective for achieving consensus in a group? (Choose every correct answer.)

Use active listening. Involve as many group members as possible.

People with a(n) ______ decision-making style have a low tolerance for ambiguity and are task oriented. They are efficient, logical, and practical in their approach to solving problems and making decisions. Which style do they use?

directive

When rivals are focused on winning an argument rather than the goal of a meeting and the topics of the meeting are not discussed, it is an example of ______.

goal displacement

A _____ is a choice made from available alternatives.

decision

Which of the following are disadvantages associated with group-aided decision making? (Choose every correct answer.)

A few people may influence or intimidate the rest of the group. The group may fall into groupthink. Group members may engage in satisficing to avoid prolonged debate.

Andi has recently joined her company's new product development team. She has a number of innovative ideas, but because the group is so unified in its support for more traditional ideas, Andi decides to keep her ideas to herself and go along with the group. Which symptom of groupthink does this situation illustrate?

Belief in "the wisdom of crowds"

True or false: Predictive analytics is a groupthink technique.

False

After a major product launch, managers at McLaughlin Industries meet to evaluate outcomes and how those outcomes differ from what the group expected. This approach is part of which group problem-solving technique?

Project post-mortem

Evidence-based management attempts to introduce which factor into the decision-making process?

Rationality

In which of the following ways are companies using AI to help with customer and employee engagement? (Choose every correct answer.)

To assist with password reset requests To answer technical support questions To address product and service issues

What is the goal of conducting a project post-mortem?

To determine what could be done better and incorporate those insights into future decisions

Which of the following is the best diagnostic question for an organization practicing evidence-based decision according to Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton?

What happens when people fail?

Which techniques are effective ways to reduce the escalation of commitment? (Choose every correct answer.)

Rotate managers in key positions during a project. Make decision makers aware of the costs of persistence. Set minimum performance targets and compare performance results.

Apex Enterprises spent a large amount of money to customize a pumping system it bought many years ago. A supplier is now offering a new pumping system that will save the company money in the long term. However, Apex decides to keep the older system because it has already spent so much money on the older system. What type of bias is this an example of?

Sunk-cost

Which of the following are examples of big data? (Choose every correct answer.)

Surveillance data Social network communications Web-browsing data trails Data in corporate databases

Sam gave employees a 5% raise last year and expects to give the same raise this year, even though it will push his company's salaries above what is normally paid in the industry. This is an example of the ______ bias.

anchoring and adjustment

Ronnie's company uses large numbers of snow blowers. After several failed, Ronnie determined that the failures were due to defective motors and decided that the company would use a different vendor for future purchases. In this situation, Ronnie is making a(n) ______.

diagnosis

In the ______ method, groups engage in a structured debate between opposing positions (thesis and antithesis) with the aim of reaching a consensus.

dialectic

"Throwing good money after bad" characterizes the ______ bias.

escalation of commitment

Someone who is trained about matters of ethics in the workplace, particularly about resolving ethical dilemmas, is called a(n) ______.

ethics officer

Which of the following questions would you use to evaluate alternatives in the third stage of the rational model of decision making? (Choose every correct answer.)

Is it ultimately effective? Is it feasible? Is it ethical?

What are common results of groupthink? (Choose every correct answer.)

Loss of new ideas Failure to consider new information

What are three characteristics that affect decision making by a group? (Choose every correct answer.)

The knowledge of group members The efficiency of the group The size of the group

True or false: The availability bias means that your manager may give more weight to your most recent work rather than everything you have done over the course of year.

True

True or false: The increased focus on business ethics that followed the business scandals of the early 2000s, including the Enron collapse and civilian contractor abuses in Iraq, also lead to the growing use of ethics officers.

True

In the devil's advocacy technique, the group assigns one person to do which of the following?

Uncover all possible objections to a plan or an idea.

A consensus is reached when all members are able to express their opinions ______.

and reach agreement to support the final decision

Knowledge of decision-making styles can assist managers in many ways except for which one of the following?

It increases the biases of the manager toward their favorite style.

True or false: Overconfidence bias is the tendency of decision makers to be influenced by the way a situation or problem is presented to them.

False

True or false: Soft skills do not have a role in evidence-based decision making.

False

True or false: Value orientation reflects the extent to which a person is unethical.

False

Select the reasons it can be difficult to make evidence based decisions. (Choose every correct answer.)

People are trying to mislead you. There is too much evidence. There is not enough good evidence.

An individual with a high tolerance for ambiguity would most likely be attracted to which style of decision making?

Analytical

When making decisions for her department, Ellie tends to take a long time because she takes into consideration a large amount of information. What type of decision-making style does Ellie demonstrate?

Analytical

What are the four general styles of decision making associated with a person's value orientation and tolerance for ambiguity? (Choose every correct answer.)

Behavioral Conceptual Directive Analytical

Which of these describe how knowledge of decision-making styles affects managers' work? (Choose every correct answer.)

It allows managers to better identify personal strengths and weaknesses. It gives managers an understanding of how different people reach different conclusions.

Which of these assumptions are made in the rational model of decision making? (Choose every correct answer.)

Managers have complete, error-free information about alternative courses of action and their consequences. Managers are able to make logical decisions without prejudice or emotional blind spots. Managers will always select the course of action that they know will most benefit the organization.

A recent survey of U.S. companies showed that most companies use AI to do which of the following? (Choose every correct answer.)

Optimize internal processes Enhance current offerings Make more effective decisions

Which of the following career readiness competencies are typically exhibited by middle managers? (Choose every correct answer.)

Oral/written communication Understanding the business Decision making

Which of these are reasons for the increase in ethical violations among business leaders in the 21st century? (Choose every correct answer.)

The 24/7 news cycle places more scrutiny on unethical behavior. Globalization allows businesses to operate in regions where ethical risks are greater. Digital communications are more susceptible to hackers and whistleblowers.

Which of the following is an accurate description of decision making?

The process of identifying and choosing alternative courses of action

Decision-making styles vary along which two dimensions? (Choose every correct answer.)

Tolerance for ambiguity Value orientation

Samantha had never traveled to New York City before, but she had been on a recent business trip to Houston. When she learned that the hotel room she wanted in New York City cost $300 per night, she was shocked because she thought the hotel rooms would be priced similarly to those in Houston. This is an example of the ______ bias.

anchoring and adjustment

Bob was unsure how his boss was going to react to his proposal, so he was careful to put an upbeat "spin" on the situation to emphasize the positive aspects rather than the negative aspects. Bob's method of presenting the situation demonstrates the ______ bias.

framing

Lower-level managers often focus on analyzing and safeguarding data, which require the ______ career readiness competencies of computational thinking and information technology application.

hard

Evidence-based decision relies on ______.

observations about what actually works

All of the following are advantages to group decision making except ______.

superiors dominating or intimidating the group

Kendall is frustrated with her co-worker Jill. She feels that Jill doesn't care that their manager seems to be showing favoritism toward the two other members of their team. Jill just focuses on the work she is supposed to do, which demonstrates her ______.

value orientation

One method of reducing the escalation of commitment is to measure performance against which metric?

Minimum performance targets

What is the name of a technique used to help groups generate multiple ideas for solving problems in which potential ideas or solutions are collected (sometimes anonymously) and written on a board or flip chart?

Brainstorming

The managers of Coastal Imports are having a meeting to decide whether the company should raise prices on its best-selling products. During the meeting, the team engages in a debate in which one side argues that the company should lower its prices while the other side argues in favor of raising them. Which problem-solving technique is the group using?

Dialectic method

Jai is a member of a tight-knit team at work that avoids any kind of disagreement. Team members, therefore, avoid considering new ideas. What behavior is Jai's team exhibiting?

Groupthink

Which of these characteristics are associated with someone with a high tolerance for ambiguity? (Choose every correct answer.)

Thriving in uncertain situations Lacking a strong need for control

Situations that present possibilities for exceeding existing goals are known as ______.

opportunities

When Kendra's manager asked the team to come up with new ideas for attracting people to their trade show booth, Kendra suggested installing a video game in the booth. Which part of the rational decision-making process does Kendra's idea exemplify?

Think up alternative solutions.

In what way is artificial intelligence expected to help businesses with enhanced decision making?

By impacting the precision, speed, and credibility of decisions related to products and operations

Jackson likes to hear the facts of a situation and make a quick decision based on these facts. His employees say he likes to focus on the here and now and doesn't consider future repercussions of his decisions. What type of decision-making style does Jackson use?

Directive

Ryan learns that distribution problems caused a competitor's sales to fall in his region. He decides to take advantage of the situation by adding a salesperson to capture some of the competitor's lost business. Ryan is demonstrating how a(n) ______ affects decision making.

opportunity

A manager who hires all applicants who have graduated from a certain college because a particularly good employee came from that same college is an example of ______.

representativeness bias

The tendency of decision makers to be influenced by the way a situation or problem is presented to them is referred to as the ______ bias.

framing

What are symptoms of groupthink? (Choose every correct answer.)

A sense of invulnerability An illusion of unanimity Rationalization

Which of the following career-readiness competencies relate to evidence-based decision making? (Choose every correct answer.)

Critical thinking and problem solving Information technology application Computational thinking

An online retailer uses complex data-mining software to evaluate the preferences and buying habits of its customers and makes decisions based on these findings. This is an example of the use of ______ in the decision-making process.

analytics

Even though not everyone in the meeting agreed with the final decision, the group decided to proceed and replace all existing machine parts in the warehouse. In this situation, the group had ______.

reached a consensus

Which strategies are recommended for conducting a successful project post-mortem? (Choose every correct answer.)

Have an agenda. Encourage honest feedback from all participants. Prepare and circulate a written report at the end of the meeting.

Successful implementation of major decisions requires which of the following? (Choose every correct answer.)

Careful planning Sensitivity to those affected by the decision

Which type of bias is described by the tendency of decision makers to classify people or information based on observed or inferred characteristics?

Categorical thinking

Sam follows Fox News Channel on Facebook so she can occasionally see news from a viewpoint that contrasts with the posts on her regular Newsfeed. As a result, Facebook mislabels Sam as "conservative." What is this an example of?

Categorical thinking bias

Which of the following applications of big data are typically used by employees at the lower managerial level of an organization? (Choose every correct answer.)

Safeguarding data Analyzing data

What is the third stage of the rational model of decision making?

Evaluate alternatives and select a solution.

Which application of big data is typically used by employees at the top managerial level of an organization?

Influencing others to support data-driven decisions

People with a conceptual decision-making style are likely to do which of the following? (Choose every correct answer.)

Take risks Find creative solutions Rely on intuition

Which model of decision making explains how managers should use logic to determine the optimal means of furthering the organization's best interests?

The rational model

Which personality dimension indicates the extent to which a person has a high need for structure or control in his or her life?

Tolerance for ambiguity

Which of these are part of the seven implementation principles of evidence-based decision making? (Choose every correct answer.)

Treat your organization as an unfinished prototype. Like everything else, you still have to sell it. If all else fails, slow the spread of bad practice.

Eileen had provided the weekly inventory report to the management team every Friday for the past four months, but she wasn't able to generate the report last week because she was attending a seminar learning how to use the new inventory software. Her boss sent her an e-mail reminding her of the importance of the report and asking her to be sure and submit it every Friday. This is an example of ______.

the availability bias

What is the fundamental concern shared among all critics of artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence has the capacity to become smarter than humans, threatening their very existence.

What is the most valuable competitive resource for a manager who needs alternative solutions to a problem?

Employees with ideas

Which of the following are examples of what can function as the first stage in rational decision making by managers? (Choose every correct answer.)

Poor product quality Sales shortfalls Customer complaints

The ______ bias reflects our tendency to generalize from a small sample or single event.

representativeness

During meetings, Stacy likes to challenge new ideas, even those that she agrees with, in order to make sure that her team has considered every angle. What role is Stacy playing?

Devil's advocate

Rather than holding formal meetings in the board room, Kevin prefers meeting with his group over lunch at a restaurant. He feels that his group opens up more during these lunches and opinions are openly exchanged. Which style of decision making does Kevin use?

Behavioral

Which of the following is an advantage of group decision making?

Intellectual stimulation

Heuristics are strategies that ______ the process of making decisions.

simplify

Which decision-making style is the most people oriented of the four styles?

Behavioral

Electronic brainstorming, also called ______, is a technique used to help members of a group come together over a computer network to generate ideas and alternatives for solving problems.

brainwriting

The ______ bias occurs when people seek data to support their point of view and disregard information that does not support it.

confirmation

What is the most common type of AI used today?

Automated business processes

The results of rational decision making should be evaluated because things may occur that were not foreseen, a "law" in economics known as the Law of ______ Consequences.

Unintended