Why Does Planning Matter - Benefits and pitfalls of planning - How to Make a Plan That Works - Planning from Top to Bottom- Steps and Limits to Rational Decision Making - Using Groups to Improve Decision Making

_____ refers to choosing a "good-enough" alternative when making a decision.

satificing

procedures

standing plans that indicate the specific steps that should be taken in response to a particular event

single-use plans

plans that cover unique, one-time-only events

rules and regulations

standing plans that describe how a particular action should be performed or what must happen or not happen in response to a particular event

decision crieteria

the standards used to guide judgments and decisions

An action plan contains which of the following elements needed to meet a goal? Check all that apply.

time period (when) people (who)

purpose statement

a statement of a company's purpose or reason for existing

Which of the following statements is true about the strategic objective of an organization?

it unifies company-wide efforts

Continue developing my professional network in ways that can connect me with graduate schools, scholarships and career opportunities

operational

strategic plans

overall company plans that clarify how the company will serve customers and position itself against competitors over the next two to five years

tactical plans

plans created and implemented by middle managers that specify how the company will use resources, budgets, and people over the next six months to two years to accomplish specific goals within its mission

satisficing

choosing a "good enough" alternative

s.m.a.r.t. goals

goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely

In the context of conflicts, a-type conflict is a disagreement that focuses on _____.

individuals or personal issues

delphi technique

a decision-making method in which members of a panel of experts respond to questions and to each other until reaching agreement on an issue

Get a job in the industry I am targeting at a company I admire

long term

Identify and get accepted into the program I want to attend

long tern

distal goals

long-term or primary goals

budgeting

quantitative planning through which managers decide how to allocate available money to best accomplish company goals

_____ is a process of weighing decision criteria in which each criterion is compared with every other criterion.

relative comparisons

Get an internship that will offer me experience in the field

short term

Participate in student organizations that will help build my practical experience and make me a more competitive candidate

short term

proximal goals

short-term goals or subgoals

goal commitment

the determination to achieve a goal

option-based planning

maintaining planning flexibility by making small, simultaneous investments in many alternative plans

standing plans

plans used repeatedly to handle frequently recurring events

_____ are standing plans that indicate the general course of action that should be taken in response to a particular event or situation.

policies

Strategic planning begins with the creation of a _____.

purpose statement

policies

standing plans that indicate the general course of action that should be taken in response to a particular event or situation

decision-making

the process of choosing a solution from available alternatives

evaluation apprehension

fear of what others will think of your ideas

rational decision-making

a systematic process of defining problems, evaluating alternatives, and choosing optimal solutions

In the context of conflicts, c-type conflict is a disagreement that focuses on _____.

issue-related differences of opinion

a-type conflict (affective conflict)

disagreement that focuses on individuals or personal issues

c-type conflict

disagreement that focuses on problem and issue related differences of opinion

problem

a gap between a desired state and an existing state

groupthink

a barrier to good decision making caused by pressure within the group for members to agree with each other

planning

choosing a goal and developing a strategy to achieve that goal

maximize

choosing the best alternative

Identify a true statement about the planning process.

The final step in developing an effective plan is to maintain flexibility.

Which of the following is a pitfall of planning?

It can impede change and prevent or slow needed adaptation.

Which of the following techniques can managers use to increase an employee's goal commitment? Check all that apply.

Ask the employee to publicly state his or her goals Ask top management to speak publicly about their support for the employee's goals

If you want to encourage group members to be innovative and creative in generating a list of decision alternatives, then it is best to use this approach.

Brainstorming

Dawn is a manager for a pet grooming shop. She has decided to engage in planning by creating goals for her employees. Dawn has created a plan to increase revenues at the store by setting goals for each employee to upsell customers into dog pedicures and hair dyeing services, which bring in higher revenues than dog bathing and trimming. Which of the following are likely results of the plan that Dawn has created? Check all that apply.

Dawn notices her employees staying past their shifts the entire month in order to meet their goals. The pet groomers become more efficient at bathing and trimming dogs so they have more time for dog pedicures and hair dyeing. Dawn's employees work harder during their shifts. In general, companies with plans havelarger profits than companies without plans.

Jennifer couldn't believe her bad luck. The business-planning cycle at Allworld Insurance was almost over. The only thing her boss had asked her to do was to make copies of four sets of final plans. Each set contained a different level of planning, and each was supposed to be delivered to a different manager for review. But now those documents are all over the floor. Everything has to be back in the right order as quickly as possible. Knowing that you are a planning expert, Jennifer asks for your help. She tells you that Allworld Insurance uses an aligned, or cascading, goal system. You can expect to see each set of plans flow in a logical way throughout the company.

Each human resource employee will use advertisements and personal networking to attract at least 10 qualified applicants per open position. *operational* We will eliminate redundancies throughout the corporation to decrease our overall expenses by 20 percent. *strategic* The Human Resource Division will reduce the overall cost of fulfilling employment requisitions by eliminating the use of outside recruiting agencies. *tactical* We are known for our operating efficiency and for reducing insurance costs for our customers. *purpose statement*

management by objectives

a four-step process in which managers and employees discuss and select goals, develop tactical plans, and meet regularly to review progress toward goal accomplishment

strategic objective

a more specific goal that unifies company-wide efforts, stretches and challenges the organization, and possesses a finish line and a time frame

Using your knowledge of S.M.A.R.T. goals, select the best goal.

I will outline two chapters of my management textbook before class starts next Tuesday. I will save $40,000 by January 3, 2022, to use as a down payment on a home.

Businesses commonly rely upon groups to make decisions because of the many advantages to group decision making. Which of the following are advantages of group decision making? Check all that apply.

More acceptance of the final decision is likely. More information and knowledge are available.

a-type conflict

disagreement that focuses on individuals or personal issues

Case Study In 2002, Markus Braun, a German entrepreneur, joined Wirecard, a small financial technology company which, at that time, was on the brink of collapsing. Mr. Braun built up Wirecard, and in 2005, the company was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. By 2008, questions were raised about Wirecard's finances. Wirecard's 2007 consolidated accounts were said to be incomplete and misleading. Wirecard hired Ernst & Young (EY) to audit their books, and the company found no irregularities. The company continued to grow, getting 500 million euros from shareholders. It also bought up small companies in Asia, which made its share price go up. Apparently, Wirecard set up escrow accounts through the small businesses it acquired. This allowed the company to do business in countries where it didn't have a license. These companies supposedly brought Wirecard a large amount of its revenue and profit over the years, but those funds may never have existed, despite the fact that they were supposed to be deposited into escrow accounts. In 2015, Wirecard bought an Indian payments business for 340 million euros. At the same time, J Capital Research put out a report saying that Wirecard's Asia investments were smaller than the company was reporting. Wirecard said that short sellers had requested and paid for that report. But in 2016, the Financial Times also started asking questions about Wirecard. The journalists who wrote these stories reported that Wirecard harassed them in numerous ways, from phishing emails to threats of making police complaints. But all through this time, Wirecard was becoming bigger and bigger, eventually gaining a place in the DAX Index, a stock index representing the 30 largest companies in the German stock market. In 2020, Wirecard hired KPMG to audit its books after delaying the 2019 annual report from EY. That audit reported that the company was unable to prove that 1 billion euros of revenue existed. By July of 2020, Wirecard had filed for insolvency, and Markus Braun was arrested on charges that his company had defrauded investors of 3.7 billion dollars.

Suppose that Markus Braun was trying to decide where he should open businesses next. He wants to make a rational decision. What should be his first step in making that decision? *define the problem* Suppose that Markus Braun has a set of steps that Wirecard takes each time they acquire a new company. This *standing plan* is known as a *standard operating procedure* . Which of the following is a limitation of the planning process at Wirecard? Check all that apply. *Goals can make managers think they know what the future will be like, even when they don't.* *Goals and plans can derail innovation and creativity.* *Employees may find that the pressure created by goals is too much for them to handle.*

Next, you and Javier discuss some of the problems that can occur in the various phases in the decision-making process. For example, when generating alternative courses of action, Javier should be careful:

To generate new ideas, instead of considering only tried and true solutions

slack resources

a cushion of extra resources that can be used with options-based planning to adapt to unanticipated changes, problems, or opportunities

Word of your management expertise is starting to spread, and recently the CEO of VoxSigns, a company that develops and maintains electronic billboards similar to this one in Times Square, reached out to you for advice. Javier, the CEO, is trying to determine whether they should lay off 20% of their employees due to declining revenues. Javier wants to know if you can help them make the right decision.

1. define the problem 2. identify the decision criteria 3. weigh the criteria 4. generate alternative courses of action 5. evaluate each alternative 6. compute the optimal decision

devil's advocacy

a decision-making method in which an individual or a subgroup is assigned the role of critic

dialectical inquiry

a decision-making method in which decision makers state the assumptions of a proposed solution (a thesis) and generate a solution that is the opposite (antithesis) of that solution

brainstorming

a decision-making method in which group members build on each others' ideas to generate as many alternative solutions as possible

electronic brainstorming

a decision-making method in which group members use computers to build on each others' ideas and generate as many alternative solutions as possible

nominal group technique

a decision-making method that begins and ends by having group members quietly write down and evaluate ideas to be shared with the group

production blocking

a disadvantage of face-to-face brainstorming in which a group member must wait to share an idea because another member is presenting an idea

action plan

a plan that lists the specific steps, people, resources, and time period needed to attain a goal

relative comparisons

a process in which each decision criterion is compared directly with every other criterion

absolute comparisons

a process in which each decision criterion is compared to a standard or ranked on its own merits

operational plans

day-to-day plans, developed and implemented by lower-level managers, for producing or delivering the organization's products and services over a thirty-day to six-month period

C-type conflict (cognitive conflict)

disagreement that focuses on problem and issue related differences of opinion