MOB 11
58. Which of the following statements regarding techniques for making better decisions is INCORRECT? a. The nominal group technique is a technique used routinely at most meetings. b. Consensus requires more time to carry out, but it works well when support is needed for a plan. c. The Delphi technique is a group process using written responses to a series of questionnaires so individuals are not physically brought together to make a decision. d. Majority rule is simple, speedy and easy to use.
a) Difficult/Synthesis
10. A decision which centers on how things get done is an) a. tactical decision. b. strategic decision. c. operational decision. d. programmed decision.
a) Easy/Comprehension
1. Making choices among alternative courses of action, including inaction, is a. decision making. b. programmed decisions. c. satisficing. d. consensus
a) Easy/Knowledge
43. Which of the following would NOT be good piece of advice to offer a company that is trying to enhance organizational creativity? a. Ensure team stability by keeping team membership intact for extended periods of time. b. Use the nominal group technique to avoid the pitfalls of the common group process. c. Diversify your team. d. Incorporate creative behavior into the performance appraisal process.
a) Medium/Analysis
17. Doris and Lydia are members of the Board of Directors at Beta Corporation. They are giving very serious consideration to voting to merge their company with Zeta Company for enhanced efficiency, effectiveness and competitive advantage. Doris and Lydia are making an) a. strategic decision. b. tactical decision. c. operational decision. d. programmed decision.
a) Medium/Application
25. Jennifer has to decide which of two job offers she is going to choose. She begins her process by listing the key criteria she is looking for in a job including salary level, location, promotional opportunities, and so on. She then takes each job offer letter and carefully goes through each line assessing the offer in relationship to the criteria she has established. Jennifer is using which of decision-making model to choose her job? a. the rational decision-making model b. the creative decision-making model c. the intuitive decision-making model d. the programmed decision-making model
a) Medium/Application
34. Experts make decisions in the intuitive decision-making models based on all the following but a. climate. b. training. c. experience. d. knowledge.
a) Medium/Comprehension
28. Which of the following statements regarding the rational decision-making model is INCORRECT? a. The decision maker should generate alternatives before establishing criteria. b. The decision maker should make certain to clearly identify the problem before undertaking any other step. c. Successful managers tend to be clear on what they want at the outset of the decision making process. d. One research study indicated that no alternative generation occurred in 85% of the decisions examined.
a) Medium/Evaluation
45. The bounded rationality model should be used to make decisions when a. the minimum criteria are clear. b. the decision is important. c. there is time pressure. d. new solutions need to be generated.
a) Medium/Evaluation
52. Escalation of commitment occurs because a. decision makers do not want to admit they were wrong. b. strict "turn back" points have been established. c. persistence pays off. d. decision makers lack personal pride.
a) Medium/Evaluation
13. Operational decisions a. refer to those things that employees do each day to make the organization run. b. refer to things that might happen in the future. c. refer to those that set the course of the organization. d. refer to those that occur frequently enough to develop an automated response to them.
a) Medium/Knowledge
56. Which of the following is NOT a symptom of groupthink? a. collective rationalizations b. illusion of vulnerability c. direct pressure d. illusions of unanimity
b) Difficult/Analysis
19. A series of steps that decision makers should consider if their goal is to maximize their outcome and make the best choice describes a. the bounded rationality model. b. the rational decision-making model. c. the intuitive decision-making model. d. the creative decision-making model.
b) Easy/Comprehension
26. Which is the first step in the rational decision-making model? a. Establish decision criteria. b. Identify the problem. c. Weigh decision criteria. d. Generate alternatives.
b) Easy/Comprehension
30. The availability of too much information leading to more and more time being spent on gathering information and thinking about it, resulting in no decisions being made is a. satisficing. b. analysis paralysis. c. wildstorming. d. anchoring.
b) Easy/Knowledge
39. The creativity level evaluation factor of fluency is a. how different the ideas are from one another. b. the number of ideas a person is able to generate. c. how unique a person's ideas are. d. the set number of ideas a group must reach.
b) Easy/Knowledge
47. Individuals are influenced in their decision making by all of the following EXCEPT a. escalation of commitment. b. foresight bias. c. anchoring. d. framing bias.
b) Easy/Knowledge
54. The tendency to avoid a critical evaluation of ideas that the group favors is called a. anchoring. b. groupthink. c. analysis paralysis. d. wildstorming.
b) Easy/Knowledge
15. An example of an operational decision is a. Should we consider a merger with our biggest competitor? b. How often do I go back to the stockroom to get additional products for display? c. Should we develop a new corporate structure? d. Which advertising firm should we choose for our fall advertising campaign?
b) Medium/Analysis
42. Which of the following is NOT a way to enhance organizational creativity? a. Promote brainstorming as a way to generate ideas. b. Make teams more homogeneous so as to reduce the possibility of conflict c. Build a physical space conducive to creativity. d. Role model creative behavior.
b) Medium/Analysis
32. Anita finishes her college semester on April 15. She will be home from April 15 until May 20 when she is scheduled to have her wisdom teeth removed. She will be going on a family vacation during the third week in July and will be returning to school on August 10 for majorette camp. Anita is looking for a job for the summer. She figures she will take the first job that pays minimum wage and will allow her flexibility for her dental appointment and vacation. Anita is making a decision using the a. rational decision-making model. b. bounded rationality decision-making model. c. intuitive decision-making model. d. creative decision-making model.
b) Medium/Application
50. A movie called the "Money Pit" starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long focused on the couple buying a house and continually having to spend money repairing one part of it after another. A number of times they should have sold the house, but they kept thinking that if they did just one more thing, the house would be great. This is situation is an example of what decision-making trap? a. anchoring b. escalation of commitment c. framing bias d. overconfidence bias
b) Medium/Application
6. In 2003, six people died from Hepatitis A and 660 were sickened after eating at Chi Chi's, a popular Mexican restaurant in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the days following the first death, the CEO of the Chi Chi's chain made a decision to have all restaurant workers and the restaurant itself tested to determine what established the dangerous conditions. Eventually the hepatitis outbreak was traced to the green onions in the firm's salsa.) The decision to order such testing in the crisis situation is an example of a. a programmed decision. b. a nonprogrammed decision. c. a decision rule. d. a tactical decision.
b) Medium/Application
12. Which of the following questions is an example of a tactical decision? a. Should we takeover our competitor? b. How should we market the new product line? c. What should I say to the customers about our return policy? d. How will I balance my master's degree workload with my work assignments?
b) Medium/Comprehension
37. Which of the following is the correct order of the phases in the creative decision-making model? a. Problem identification, incubation, immersion, illumination, verification and application. b. Problem identification, immersion, incubation, illumination, verification and application. c. Problem identification, illumination, immersion, incubation, verification and application. d. Problem identification, illumination, incubation, immersion, verification and application.
b) Medium/Comprehension
41. To enhance organizational creativity, a manager should consider focusing on all the following areas EXCEPT a. team composition. b. employee pay. c. culture. d. leadership.
b) Medium/Comprehension
55. Which of the following is true for group decision making? a. Group decision making is faster than individual decision making. b. Groups often perform lower than the best individual in the group. c. Groups make it easier to achieve accountability for decisions. d. Groups generate fewer ideas than individuals.
b) Medium/Evaluation
22. The bounded rationality decision-making model a. describes a series of steps that decision makers should consider if their goal is to maximize their outcome and make the best choice. b. recognizes the limitations of decision making processes by having individuals knowingly limit their options to a manageable set and choose the best alternative without conducting an exhaustive search of alternatives. c. refers to arriving at decisions without conscious reasoning, arguing that experts make decisions by scanning the environment for cues to recognize patterns. d. refers to arriving at decisions after first gathering information about the problem and then setting the problem consciously aside until an insightful solution to the problem arises.
b) Medium/Knowledge
35. The incubation step in the creative decision-making process is a. the step where the decision maker consciously thinks about the problem. b. the step where the decision maker sets the problem aside and does not consciously think of it. c. the step where the decision maker gains insight into the problem and has a "eureka" moment. d. the step where the decision maker verifies the feasibility of the solution and implements the decision.
b) Medium/Knowledge
16. Antonio, Alpha Company's marketing manager, will be listening to the advertising pitches from the final four firms today as he chooses the television ad campaign for his product for the fall season. Antonio is making an) a. programmed decision. b. strategic decision. c. tactical decision. d. operational decision.
c) Difficult/Application
33. Susan is a paramedic for the county ambulance service. Yesterday there was a terrible accident on the interstate when a bus carrying senior citizens to an Atlantic City casino was struck by a small dump truck as the truck tried to change lanes. Fifteen of the bus riders were killed and 25 injured. As Susan arrived on the scene to perform triage on the accident victims, she quickly made decisions as to which victims needed immediate care and who could wait. Susan was using what decision-making model in making these stressful decisions? a. bounded rationality model of decision making b. creative decision-making model c. intuitive decision-making model d. rational decision-making model
c) Difficult/Evaluation
31. To satisfice is to a. generate new ideas that are original, fluent and flexible. b. set parameters against which all of the potential options can be evaluated. c. accept the first alternative that meets your general criteria. d. be influenced by the way in which problems are framed.
c) Easy/Knowledge
38. All of the following are factors that researchers focus on to evaluate the level of creativity in the decision making process EXCEPT a. fluency. b. flexibility. c. rationality. d. originality.
c) Easy/Knowledge
7. Strategic decisions a. refer to those that make the organization run on a daily basis. b. refer to how things get done. c. refer to those setting the course of the organization. d. refer to those that occur frequently enough to have an automated response to them.
c) Easy/Knowledge
53. The advantages of group decision making over individual decision making include all of the following EXCEPT a. the decision is more creative. b. the decision-making process is more enjoyable. c. the decision-making process is more efficient. d. the implementation of the decision is easier.
c) Medium/Analysis
18. Claudia is a salesperson with a major department store chain that is currently running a "secret coupon sale." The program allows the salesperson to randomly award a savings coupon to any shopper of the salesperson's choice. Who the salesperson chooses to award the coupon to is an) a. strategic decision. b. tactical decision. c. operational decision. d. programmed decision.
c) Medium/Application
3. Mark works as the frozen food manager in a major grocery store chain. When his stock of two-pound bags of frozen shrimp gets down to two cases, he e-mails his warehouse to send ten cases to restock. The type of decision Mark is making about restocking shrimp is a a. strategic decision. b. nonprogrammed decision. c. programmed decision. d. tactical decision.
c) Medium/Application
14. Operational decisions are made by a. managers. b. top management teams. c. employees throughout the organization. d. CEOs.
c) Medium/Comprehension
21. When the goal of the decision making exercise is to make a satisfactory decision because you are limited in some way such as time, you should utilize a. the rational decision-making model. b. the intuitive decision-making model. c. the bounded rationality decision-making model. d. the creative decision-making model.
c) Medium/Comprehension
24. The decision-making process where decisions are arrived at without conscious reasoning, arguing that experts make decisions by scanning the environment for cues to recognize patterns is a. the creative decision-making model. b. the bounded rationality model. c. the intuitive decision-making model. d. the rational decision-making model.
c) Medium/Comprehension
27. What is the most challenging or difficult step in the rational decision-making process? a. Identify the problem. b. Establish decision criteria. c. Generate alternatives. d. Evaluate alternatives.
c) Medium/Comprehension
40. Experts propose that creativity occurs as a result of the interaction between all of the following factors EXCEPT a. situational context like physical structure). b. personality traits like risk-taking). c. serendipity or luck. d. attributes like expertise).
c) Medium/Comprehension
9. An example of a strategic decision is a. How often should I communicate with my new coworkers? b. How should we market the new product line? c. Should we downsize our organization? d. What should I say to customers about our new product?
c) Medium/Comprehension
44. Which decision-making model would you use when your goals are unclear, there is time pressure, and you have experience with the problem? a. the rational decision making model b. bounded rational model c. intuitive decision making model d. creative decision making model
c) Medium/Evaluation
11. Tactical decisions are generally made by a. CEOs. b. engineers. c. managers. d. Boards of Directors.
c) Medium/Knowledge
59. Which of the following statements regarding group decision support systems GDSS) is INCORRECT? a. GDSS could make employees reluctant to share information. b. GDSS could become too complex. c. GDSS improves the output of group collaborative work through higher information sharing. d. GDSS avoids all possibilities of information overload.
d) Difficult/Analysis
49. Sara's laptop started causing her problems. It was taking a long time to boot up, and froze unexpectedly a number of times. Now the laptop has shut down completely and she cannot get it started up again. One of the group members on her project said to Sara, "You should have gone for help when it started acting up, now you've affected all of us." This scenario is an example of what type of decision-making trap? a. framing bias b. anchoring c. overconfidence bias d. hindsight bias
d) Difficult/Application
2. Programmed decisions are a. unique, nonroutine, and important, requiring conscious thinking, information gathering and careful consideration of alternatives. b. decisions that are made to set the course of an organization. c. a set of parameters against which all of the potential options in decision making will be evaluated. d. ones which occur frequently enough that an automated response is developed for them.
d) Easy/Knowledge
48. Overconfidence bias a. is the tendency of decision makers to be influenced by the way that problems are framed. b. occurs when looking backward in time where mistakes seem obvious after they have already occurred. c. refers to the tendency for individuals to rely too heavily on a single piece of information. d. occurs when individuals overestimate their ability to predict future events.
d) Easy/Knowledge
51. The tendency for decision makers to be influenced by the way that a situation or problem is presented is a. escalation of commitment. b. anchoring. c. overconfidence bias. d. framing bias.
d) Easy/Knowledge
57. The decision-making technique designed to help with group decision making by ensuring that all members participate fully is a. majority rule. b. consensus. c. the Delphi technique. d. the nominal group technique.
d) Easy/Knowledge
29. Which of the following is NOT an unrealistic assumption made in the rational decision making model? a. People completely understand the decision to be made. b. People know all their available choices. c. People want to make optimal decisions. d. People have perceptual biases.
d) Medium/Analysis
36. Which of the following statements about the creative decision-making model is INCORRECT? a. Creativity is the generation of new, imaginative ideas. b. The dynamic nature of today's organizations, including structural changes and cost cutting, have driven creativity in the business. c. Problem identification is the first step in the creative decision making model. d. Innovation and creativity are the same process.
d) Medium/Analysis
20. If the goal of your decision making is to make the optimum decision or make the best choice, you should utilize a. the bounded rationality model of decision making. b. the intuitive decision-making model. c. the creative decision-making model. d. the rational decision making model.
d) Medium/Comprehension
46. If you do not have relevant expertise in the issues to make a decision, you should NOT use which decision making model? a. bounded rationality decision-making b. rational decision-making model c. creative decision-making d. intuitive decision-making
d) Medium/Evaluation
60. Which of the following is a guideline in determining whether a decision is ethical? a. Will I feel better or worse about myself after I make this decision? b. Does the decision break any organizational rules? c. Is the decision fair? d. All of the above
d) Medium/Evaluation
61. Which of the following statements regarding decision-making styles in other cultures is correct? a. Chinese managers value quicker decision making more than their American counterparts. b. Though they use consensus group decision making, the Japanese make much faster decisions than Dutch decision makers. c. Dutch managers tend to complete consensus decision making much more than their Japanese counterparts. d. Japanese managers using consensus decision making implement those decisions much faster than other cultures.
d) Medium/Evaluation
23. The creative decision-making process a. describes a series of steps that decision makers should consider if their goal is to maximize their outcome and make the best choice. b. recognizes the limitations of decision making processes by having individuals knowingly limit their options to a manageable set and choose the best alternative without conducting an exhaustive search of alternatives. c. refers to arriving at decisions without conscious reasoning, arguing that experts make decisions by scanning the environment for cues to recognize patterns. d. refers to arriving at decisions after first gathering information about the problem and then setting the problem consciously aside until an insightful solution to the problem arises.
d) Medium/Knowledge
8. Who is most responsible for making strategic decisions? a. managers b. engineers c. low-level employees d. CEOs.
d) Medium/Knowledge
5. A unique, nonroutine, important decision requiring conscious thinking, information gathering, and careful consideration of alternatives is a
n) a. programmed decision. b. operational decision. c. nonprogrammed decision. d. decision rule. (c) Easy/Knowledge
4. The "automated" ordering of ten cases when supply gets to two cases in the store is called a
n) a. consensus decision. b. decision rule. c. alternative. d. anchor. (b) Medium/Application