chapter #5

Diverse groups sometimes are not as prone to groupthink because group members _______.

1. are less subject to pressures for uniformity 2. already differ from each other

1. Which of the following is a way to bring distant managers together to brainstorm and is a written approach to creative problem solving?

Delphi technique

Which of the following are group decision making techniques?

Delphi techniqueBrainstormingNominal group technique

1. Why is group decision making considered beneficial?

It allows more information processing and correction of errors.

What is the result of a manager that chooses a course of action but fails to act on it?

It is the same result as not making a decision at all.

1. What do managers do to regulate routine activities?

They establish rules and guidelines.

The third step in decision making is to _______.

assess alternatives

The fourth step in decision-making is to rank the various alternatives and choose one, but only after the set of alternatives has _______. Multiple choice question.

been evaluated carefully

1. A group of managers meets face-to-face and generates and debates a wide variety of alternatives from which to make a decision. What is this process of decision making called?

brainstorming

The concept of bounded rationality states that _______ limitations hinder one's ability to interpret, process, and act on information.

cognitive

In group decision making, managers can draw upon the group's _______ to generate feasible alternatives and make good decisions.

competencies, combined skills, and accumulated knowledge

1. At the heart of organizational learning is

creativity

To draw attention to all possible problems associated with the chosen alternative by critiquing and challenging the way the group evaluated the alternatives and arrived at a decision is the goal of _______.

devils advocate

1. You are a manager assessing possible alternatives for the solution of a problem. To do this, you have to determine the net financial payoff of each alternative. Which of the following criteria of decision making do you have to implement to accomplish this?

economic feasibility

1. Esteban, a manager, performs a financial analysis of several investment alternatives in order to determine which alternative is most likely to impact the organization's profitability. Esteban is focusing on

economic feasibility.

1. To enhance the interaction between members of a brainstorming group, a manager should

encourage members to "piggyback."

1. An individual who looks for opportunities and is aware of mobilizing the resources required for producing new and improved goods and services is called a(n)

entrepreneur.

1. The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger is an example of poor managerial decision making by the managers at NASA and Morton Thiokol, who considered and then downplayed the criterion of

ethicalness

Shashir is part of a work group trying to decide on a promotional campaign for the company's new product. He notices that the members of the group are more concerned with reaching an agreement than with accurately assessing information. This situation is known as _______.

groupthink

When small groups begin to think as one, tolerate no dissension, and strive to remain cordial with each other, _______ occurs.

groupthink

1. An entrepreneur is likely to have

high self-esteem.

A manager, scientist, or researcher who works inside an organization and notices opportunities to develop new or improved products and better ways to make them is a(n) _______.

intrapreneur

Steve is a product manager at a large manufacturing company. In his job, he is able to consistently notice opportunities to improve on existing products. Steve is a(n) _______.

intrapreneur

1. Managers can increase their ability to make nonprogrammed decisions that will allow them to adapt to, modify, and even drastically alter their task environments so that they can continually increase organizational performance through organizational

learning.

Ed is in the process of making a decision. He has carefully evaluated his alternatives. The next step will be for Ed to rank the various alternatives and _______.

make a decision

In the last step in the decision making process, effective managers always conduct a retrospective analysis. Failure to do so results in _______.

making the same mistakes repeatedly, stagnation

According to Peter Senge, by empowering employees and allowing them to experiment, create, and explore what they want, managers can encourage employees to develop personal _______.

mastery

Nonroutine decisions made in response to novel situations in business are known as ________ decisions.

non-programmed

1. The most appropriate decision in light of what managers believe to be the most desirable consequences for the organization is called the ________ decision.

optimum

_______ occurs when top managers empower employees and allow them to experiment, create and explore what they want.

personal mastery

1. Stojan, a plant manager, wants to initiate a diversity training program in his plant. He is considering whether his department has enough extra people to cover for the time his employees will be engaged in the classes. Which of the following criteria of decision making is Stojan implementing?

practicality

A group is in the process of brainstorming. However, there are so many ideas being presented that group members find it hard to make sense of it all and wind up having a hard time coming up with additional ideas. This situation is referred to as ______.

production blocking

What is the main reason for loss of productivity in a brainstorming session?

production blocking

1. Decisions that have been made many times in the past and for which managers have rules and guidelines about how to make similar decisions in the future are known as ________ decisions.

programmed

Group decision making can be improved by _______.

promoting diversity in groups

Hiromi continually tries to get his employees to willingly understand and manage the organization and its task environment. In doing so, Hiromi feels his employees will be able to make decisions that will continually _______.

raise organizational effectiveness

1. Which step of the decision-making process requires managers to be sure all the information available is brought to bear on the problem or issue at hand while ranking the alternatives?

recognize the need for a decision

1. Managers in the field of biotechnology know that new drugs have a 10 percent chance of passing advanced clinical trials and always assign probabilities to the results of clinical trials. This is an example of

risk

Karen has explored a limited number of all the possible alternatives in order to make her decision. She is choosing an acceptable decision, rather than trying to make the optimal decision. This approach is called _______.

satisficing

1. After one person shares an idea, the next thing that should happen in a brainstorming session is

sharing of other ideas.

1. Individuals who pursue opportunities to address problems and needs in order to improve society and well-being, such as reducing poverty, are known as

social entrepreneurs.

Creativity results when employees have an opportunity to _______.

take risks make mistakes learn from mistakes experiment

As a result of group decision making, it is more likely that _______.

the decision will be successfully implemented

Devil's advocacy is _______.

the role of one group member to critically analyze a preferred alternative to determine its strengths and weaknesses

Organizational learning occurs when managers _______.

try to increase organizational effectiveness by improving employees' understanding and management of the firm and its task environment