Sales Management Final Exam 2

Identify an example of process control.

A city's park district asks its maintenance crew to suggest ways to keep its parks clean and attractive.

Which of the following most likely illustrates a scenario in which rationalization interferes with good decisions?

A decision maker concentrating only on justifying an alternative

Identify a true statement about bounded rationality in decision making.

A decision maker places limits on the rational model of decision making.

Identify the disadvantages of group decision making. (Check all that apply.)

A group can sometimes fall victim to failing to think independently. A group can reach an inferior decision by letting one person or a small subgroup dominate.

_____ is a quality-control technique using statistics to monitor production quality on an ongoing basis and making corrections whenever the results show a process is out of control.

Statistical process control (SPC)

Identify a characteristic of a decisive supervisor.

He or she assumes complete responsibility for getting the facts needed to solve a problem.

Which of the following should a supervisor do if a creative idea fails?

He or she should admit there is a problem.

Rex, a supervisor in the marketing department of a firm, implements a new marketing strategy while executing a project. Which of the following should Rex do if the strategy fails?

He should concentrate on finding a solution.

Identify the areas that a supervisor needs to focus on when reinforcing high-quality performance in an organization. (Check all that apply.)

Product Process

An organization that focuses on ways to improve a product itself uses _____ _____ _____

Product quality control

_____ refers to an organization's efforts to prevent or correct defects in its goods or services or to improve them in some way.

Quality control

The tendency to remember more easily those events that have occurred recently is known as the ___________ ___________.

Recency Syndrome

Identify a common decision-making trap that supervisors face while making decisions.

Responding in an inappropriate manner to failure

What are the steps that individuals can take when they need creative ideas? (Check all that apply.)

Set up meetings to discuss ideas with others. Bring in new faces for contribution of ideas.

__ refers to a process-oriented quality-control method designed to improve the product or service output to 99.9997 percent perfect.

Six Sigma

People relying on intuition and gut instinct instead of collecting impartial data when analyzing alternatives is known as _____.

Subjective Rationality

Identify a true statement about subjective rationality in decision making.

The alternatives chosen or data collected in the process are not completely accurate.

Which of the following should a supervisor in an organization do to combat problems related to rationalization?

The supervisor should stick to what carries the highest importance.

Identify a true statement about decisive supervisors.

They keep their employees informed of what is expected of them.

A downside of a supervisor's attempt to choose simplicity in decision making is that _____.

it tends to bypass innovative solutions

When the consequences of a decision are slight, a supervisor should _____.

limit the time spent on identifying and evaluating alternatives

In decision making, supervisors use the tool of simplicity by _____.

mulling over their similar experiences in the past

In an organization, a cure for stereotyping is to _____.

not assume that everyone is alike

The _____ refers to a body of techniques used for comparing the consequences of possible decisions in a risk situation.

probability theory

An organization's focus to consider how to do things in a way that leads to better quality is known as _____.

process control

When a city's park district considers ways to upgrade its playground equipment, it focuses on _____.

product quality control

The amount of results achieved by an organization for a given amount of inputs is known as_____

productivity

When the consequences of a decision are great, a supervisor should _____.

spend more time on the decision

Jacob works at a manufacturing plant that produces spare parts for the automobile industry. He records the accuracy of the thread patterns on screws and bolts and plots this information on a control chart. This helps him monitor the production quality on an ongoing basis. In this scenario, Jacob is using _____.

statistical process control (SPC)

Rigid opinions about categories of people are known as _____.

stereotypes

One basic way by which the problems of brainstorming can be forestalled is to _____.

take the emphasis off talking by asking individuals to draw diagrams or build models of their ideas

One of the traps that supervisors face in the decision-making process is that they _____.

tend to promise too much, Overlooking precedent, Treating every decision like a crisis, Responding inappropriately to failure, assuming only one choice is right.

One of the barriers to creativity is _____.

the isolation of supervisors

By implementing _____ in an organization, employees and managers at all levels seek to build quality into every aspect of their work.

the zero-defects approach

To use the probability theory, a supervisor needs to know the _____.

value of each possible outcome

Decision-making software requires a user's _____.

values and priorities

Supervisors can help a Total Quality Management (TQM) effort succeed by behaving as if quality is important. Among TQM users, this commonly is called _____.

walking the talk

In an organizational context, the failure to think independently and realistically as a group because of the desire to enjoy consensus and closeness is known as . Listen to the complete question

groupthink

Poor-quality work in an organization can lead to _____.

high costs

In a crisis situation, a supervisor should _____.

implement a solution and interpret feedback instead of waiting to evaluate alternatives

Identify a true statement about group decision making.

Failure to thinking independently

True or false: An event should carry more weight simply because it is more recent.

False

Identify an advantage of group decision making.

Group members can contribute more ideas for alternatives than an individual.

True or false: In the process of brain-writing, names are listed on the paper on which individuals write their ideas in order to identify whose ideas are best.

False

True or false: The term benchmarking describes how much variation there is in a product.

False

True or false: While evaluating alternatives during the decision-making process, a supervisor should consider the opinions of higher-level management only.

False

Identify a disadvantage of brainstorming.

Group members who are naturally talkative may dominate a conversation.

Identify the types of decisions that a supervisor should inform managers about. (Check all that apply.)

- Responses to crisis - Decisions that affect meeting departmental objectives

Identify a formal criterion that supervisors should take into consideration while selecting and implementing alternatives.

An acceptable alternative should be feasible.

True or false: When a manager needs to know about a decision, it is usually smart for a supervisor to discuss a problem after reaching and announcing the decision.

False. Discuss BEFORE reaching and announcing the decision.

_____ is an annual award administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and given to the company that shows the highest quality performance in seven categories.

Baldridge performance excellence program

Identify a barrier to creativity.

Being overtly busy

Choosing an alternative that meets minimum standards of acceptability is a form of _____.

Bounded Rationality

_____ is a process in which everyone writes down their ideas for solving a problem on a paper and is then exchanged with others.

Brain-writing

Identify a way for a supervisor to encourage participation of the members in group decision making.

By reacting positively when people contribute ideas

Identify the last step in the rational model of decision making.

Get feedback and take corrective action

Identify the final step in the rational model of decision making.

Getting feedback

_____ is the ability to bring about something imaginative or new.

Creativity

A choice from among available alternatives is known as a _______.

Decision

A _____ _____ is a graph that helps decision making by showing the expected values of decisions in varying circumstances.

Decision Tree

Which of the following scenarios most likely exemplifies rationalization in decision making?

Decision makers exhibiting a tendency to like solutions that they believe they can justify to others

A _____ ______ is a graph that helps decision making by showing the expected values of decisions in varying circumstances.

Decision tree

Identify a true statement about brain-writing.

Exchanging of ideas continues until everyone has had the opportunity to read and comment on all other ideas.

Identify a consequence of poor quality of production in an organization.

It becomes difficult to attract resources.

Identify a true statement about the guidelines for quality control.

It is more efficient to design and build quality into a product than to try to improve the product later.

How does stereotyping interfere with rational decision making?

It limits a decision maker's understanding of the people involved.

Identify a true statement about creativity in decision making.

It means being able to generate different alternatives from those used in the past.

Identify a true statement about lean manufacturing.

It refers to continually identifying and eliminating waste through the use of a variety of assessment, scheduling, and production control tools.

Identify a true statement about productivity.

It refers to the amount of acceptable work employees do for each dollar they earn.

What are the personal practices that can develop a supervisor's creativity? (Check all that apply.)

Keeping a file of ideas to review later Including ideas that pop up during reading and daydreaming

Identify a personal practice that can develop a supervisor's creativity.

Keeping an open mind

Identify a true statement about brainstorming.

No team member should criticize the ideas of group until the end of the process.

Identify a way of creatively solving a problem.

Noting down all the alternatives without rejecting any

Identify a relevant criterion required for supervisors to evaluate alternatives in the decision-making process.

Time required

Identify a goal of an employee involvement team.

To directly include employees in planning on ways to improve quality

Why is it necessary for employees in an organization to care about quality?

To maintain or enhance the organization's reputation

True or false: Being open to one's own ideas is a fundamental way to become more creative.

True

True or false: Supervisors can benefit by using the rational model of decision making when the consequences of a decision are great.

True

True or false: The scientific method of decision making is logical and systematic and allows a decision maker to be as unbiased as possible when working within the parameters of the information that is known at the time.

True

True or false: When choosing and implementing the best alternative during the decision-making process, a supervisor has to take into consideration the cost of the chosen alternative.

True

Identify a result of the poor quality of production in an organization.

Wasted time and materials

The quality-control technique where an organization works toward making its goods and services free of problems is known as the _____ _____ _____

Zero-defects approach

One of the advantages of group decision making is that _____.

a group will look at a problem from a broader perspective

A supervisor can overcome the barriers of difficulty in being creative by _____.

accepting that employee failures will occur

When creative ideas in a group fail, a supervisor should _____.

acknowledge that failure is a sign that people are trying

A formal criterion that supervisors should consider while evaluating and selecting alternatives is that the _____.

alternative chosen should be able to solve a problem

A basic step that supervisors can take to maintain a creative work climate is to _____.

attempt to implement employees' ideas

One basic way of encouraging participation by a supervisor in group decision making is to _____.

avoid monopolizing a discussion

In a crisis, a supervisor should quickly select the course of action that seems best. This is an appropriate application of _____.

bounded rationality

_______ is an idea-generating process in which group members state their ideas no matter how far-fetched they may seem.

brainstorming

Identify a way in which supervisors can address the problem of an "us-them" mentality in group decision making.

by inviting the quiet individuals to speak up

When making decisions, once a supervisor has evaluated all the alternatives, he or she should _____.

choose and implement the best alternative

One basic way for supervisors to address the problem of an "us-them" mentality in group decision making is to _____.

convey a clear objective for the entire group

The available alternatives in a decision tree stem from _____.

decision points

A computer program that leads a user through the steps of the formal decision-making process is known as a _____.

decision-making software

Often supervisors and employees experience difficulty in being creative because they _____.

fear that their ideas will fail

Successful problem solving depends on _____.

good decisions