Ch 8 Questions

Once an alternative has passed the test of feasibility, what must be considered as it relates to that alternative?

Whether the alternative satisfies the conditions of the decision situation

When using the administrative model of decision making, decision makers _____ .

are limited by unconscious reflexes

Apoorva's organization makes decisions using evidence-based management. What can Apoorva do to support a culture in which facts are encouraged?

Allow people to tell the truth, even if it is unpleasant.

Which concept can be used by managers to develop a better understanding of their inherent biases and limitations?

Bounded rationality

Which type of decision-making approach assumes that managers are logical, that they have complete information, that they can eliminate uncertainty, and that all of the decisions they make will be in the best interests of the organization?

Classical

Several managers agreed that the current course of action in the firm was leading to disaster. The managers submitted a plan to the CEO suggesting an alternative they think will be significantly more effective, and they have agreed to continue to work together until this new plan is put in place. Which of the following have these managers used to promote the new goal?

Coalition

Which of the following does the administrative model of decision making claim?

Decision makers are constrained by bounded rationality.

Which of the following is false about evidence-based management?

Decisions should be made based on evidence, experiences, and principles of thought and analysis.

Which of the following can be used to achieve a consensus from ideas that have already been generated, through the process of averaging the opinions of all task force members?

Delphi group

Which of the following questions is least important to ask when evaluating alternatives in the decision-making process?

How will the alternative affect competitors?

Dajhia must make significant budget cuts in order for her organization to remain profitable. No matter what is decided, employees will be impacted. If employees disagree with the specific cuts that are made, there is great potential to harm morale, which could, in turn, impact productivity and cut profits even more. Dajhia has the authority to make all budget decisions, but she has opted to assemble a team from across the organization to make these decisions. How will she benefit from the group decision-making process?

More acceptance of the final decision is likely.

Before instituting budget cuts, Apoorva wants to get feedback from her managers and work on developing creative and innovative alternatives. She asked each of her managers to brainstorm a list of ways they can cut their budgets without affecting workers. Ideas were placed on a flip chart, and each was then discussed. Which type of team is Apoorva using?

Nominal

In which way is crowdsourcing a solution different than using the Delphi technique?

Not everyone is an expert.

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?

Political forces

Which of the following can be a major disadvantage to a task force or committee?

Politics

Decisions about when to reorder standard supplies based on quantity-on-hand information are most likely to be which type of decisions?

Programmed

Which type of decisions are relatively structured or recur with some frequency?

Programmed

Which of the following is a difference between programmed and nonprogrammed decisions?

Programmed decisions recur with more frequency than nonprogrammed decisions.

Which of the following is true of nominal groups?

There is very limited interaction among members.

One disadvantage of team decision making is that _____.

compromise decisions may emerge

Dajhia has assembled a task force to consider ways to respond to the threat of unionization by some hourly employees. This task force is an example of a(n) _____ .

interacting team

Because the process of group or team decision making takes longer, _____.

it is costlier

Blair works at a convenience store. One of the three slushy machines in the store has clogged four times this week. Now Blair is looking at the machine and trying to decide if the problem is a bad machine, if employees are not filling it properly, or if people are just using it incorrectly. Blair is currently

recognizing and defining the decision situation

The site manager for a company is negotiating for a new site to build an office complex. After several counter offers, the seller gave the company a final offer. The manager has the option to accept or reject the offer. If the manager accepts the offer, he gets a site in time to meet the relocation schedule, but at a price above budget. If he rejects the contract, he may get a more favorable price if the seller is bluffing. But he may lose out on the location and not be able to find another one in time if he does not get a more favorable price. The manager is making a decision in a state of

risk

Aviva is considering a capital expenditure to upgrade the plant. Aviva is considering various financing options, but she is worried about what the interest rates will be, the benefits of issuing stocks or bonds, or if she will win a contract large enough to cover the cost of the upgrade. Aviva is making a decision under conditions of _____.

uncertainty

According to the proponents of evidence-based management (EBM), what does it mean to treat your organization as an unfinished prototype?

Encourage experimentation and learning by doing.

WholePath Cereals introduced a new line of whole grain cereal for children. Formal surveys have shown that customers do not like the taste of the cereal, and even those who bought it once are not repeat customers. WholePath invested a lot of money in developing and marketing the new product. To protect their investment, they have increased the advertising budget to try to increase enthusiasm and generate additional sales. Which of the following concepts is illustrated in the scenario?

Escalation of commitment

To manage a large seasonal order, Teresita's firm instituted an overtime policy instead of hiring additional staff or adding a second shift. Six months later, Teresita is reviewing production costs to determine how well this approach worked so that she can begin planning for this year's seasonal increase. Which step in the rational decision-making process is Teresita in?

Following up and evaluating the result

After winning a large contract, Aisha needs to decide how to staff the project. She is currently calculating the costs of hiring new employees, using overtime, and adding a second shift. At which stage of the decision-making process is Aisha in?

Identifying alternatives

Aisha is putting together a task force, but she is concerned that one key member may become dominant and not allow others to offer input. Unfortunately, that person is important to the ability of the group to understand the background of the problem. What can Aisha do to manage this?

Include other strong-willed people on the task force

Nila has formed a task force to develop a cafeteria-style benefits package for all employees. They have generated many alternatives and provided a great deal of information as to which benefits will be most important to employees. What else will this task force help provide?

Increased acceptance of the decision

Which of the following can managers use to promote effective group decision making?

Insist that a group evaluate all alternatives.

Anke is planning her production schedule for the upcoming quarter. While she does not know for sure, she feels strongly that her company will win a large contract that will affect production. Based on her intuition, Anke is thinking that she should include the purchase of additional equipment and hiring staff in her production schedule, but she does not have specific reasons for making this decision. Why is the classical model of decision making an unsuitable approach for Anke to use in this situation?

It rests on the assumption that managers are logical and rational.

Bhavik needs to address overcapacity at his plant, but he wants to avoid inappropriate assumptions and common pitfalls associated with making decisions. He wants his approach to be based on logic and sound reasoning. He also expects that his strongly held belief in benchmarking will enhance the quality of his decision. Which decision-making model should Bhavik use in this situation?

Rational

What refers to a condition in which the decision maker knows with reasonable certainty what the alternatives are and what conditions are associated with each alternative?

State of certainty

Maya would like to increase sales for the upcoming holiday season. She plans to increase advertising in the local paper, cut prices on selected items, or implement a loyalty program. Which step has Maya reached in the rational decision-making process?

Step 2: Identifying alternatives