Management - Chapter 4

More alternatives are likely to be generated.

Which of the following is an advantage of group decision making when compared to individual decision making?

recognizing and defining the decision situation

One of the four coffee machines at Jolanta's coffee shop has broken down three times in two weeks. Jolanta is trying to decide if the problem is a bad machine or if people are just using the machine wrong. Jolanta is currently _____.

satisfactoriness

Petra was looking for ways to double her plant's production capacity, and she considered acquiring the production plant of a rival company. The engineers in Petra's company advised her against it because acquiring the new plant would only increase their company's production by 15 percent. Petra's idea failed the test for _____ in the context of the rational decision-making process.

Nonprogrammed

R&D at Venus Electronics Inc. has created an innovative new device. Management now needs to decide if Venus should launch this device as its next new product. This is an example of a(n) _____ decision.

satisficing

Ramon is in a hurry to appoint a personal assistant to help him. He posts an advertisement on a job website and picks the first person who sends in their resumé. He only checks for the candidate's qualifications and does not consider their work experience. This is an example of _____.

administrative

Rather than prescribing how decisions should be made, the _____ model describes how they are made.

it might allow political processes to play too big a role

A disadvantage of using interacting groups, instead of Delphi or nominal groups, to make decisions is that _____.

Evaluating the results

A plant manager had taken measures to try to reduce worker turnover. For four months, they monitored the implementation of the measures. They now find that the turnover rate is reduced by 10 percent. Which step of the rational decision-making model is illustrated in the scenario?

administrative

Bounded rationality is assumed in the _____ model of decision making.

Escalation of commitment

Dorian is using a new process for screening potential employees in his department, but he is unsure if it is efficient and helps recruiters find the best candidates. However, Dorian continues to require the process because it was so expensive to set up the initial system. Which of the following concepts is illustrated in the scenario?

Nonprogrammed

Each summer the local running club hosts a marathon and looks for sponsors to support the event. This year, the club contacted the local water bottling plant. The manager of the plant can see the benefits of this event, but the plant has never participated in something like this. Which type of decision needs to be made about the potential sponsorship of the local marathon?

Delphi group

General Motors has asked industry leaders, research scientists, environmental experts, and design engineers to consider the impact of global warming on the automobile industry, particularly how it will impact fossil fuel, electric, battery, and other types of vehicles. Which type of group is General Motors using to shape the future of their vehicles?

often leads to choosing a wrong alternative

Groupthink _____.

Certainty

In decision making, a condition of _____ exists when a decision maker knows what the alternatives are and what conditions are associated with each alternative.

Evaluating alternatives

In which step of the rational decision-making model does the decision maker test the feasibility and satisfactoriness of alternatives before choosing one?

Political forces

Jinhoon owns and manages a franchise sandwich shop and pays his employees minimum wage. Recently, his employees have met to discuss how difficult it is to live on minimum wage, and to ask Jinhoon to increase the wages for all workers. Which type of decision-making element must Jinhoon now respond to?

Step 4: Selecting the best alternative

The Pour House coffee shop wants to increase sales and local foot traffic. The owner has considered daily specials, loyalty programs, and expanding his menu selection. Ultimately, he decided to implement a loyalty program because it stimulates repeat business and customer loyalty. Which step has the manager of the Pour House reached in his rational decision-making process?

recognizing and defining the decision situation

The first step in rational decision making is _____.

is used to generate creative and innovative ideas

The nominal group decision-making technique _____.

Coalitions

What is one major element of organizational politics that is especially relevant to decision making because of the alliance to achieve a common goal of the group?

Satisficing

What is the tendency to search for alternatives only until one is found that meets some minimum standard of sufficiency?

Certainty

When Ozlem buys new laptops for her department, with preinstalled software used by her company, she's making a decision under a condition of _____.

nominal

When managers want to generate innovative and creative ideas, they will often create a(n) ____ group.

Programmed

When the low-indicator light turns red on the frozen drink machine, Kareem follows an established set of procedures to refill and reset the machine. In doing so, he's making a(n) _____ decision.