OB Quiz 8 (Ch11)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

__________ decisions occur frequently and have automated responses developed for them, while ___________ decisions are unique and require conscious thinking, information gathering and careful alternative generation.

Programmed, nonprogrammed

Wildstorming is a process where the group focuses on ideas that are impossible and then tries to imagine what would need to happen to make them possible.

True

The old adage, "Don't throw good money after bad" is another way to describe the decision-making trap of ____________ _______ ____________ also known as the "sunken costs fallacy."

escalation of commitment

The phase of the creative decision-making process where the individual sets the problem aside and does not consciously think about it for a while is the ________________ phase.

incubation

Research suggests that _____________ decision making offers fewer ideas than ________ decision making.

individual, group

When time pressures arise, as when a life or death situation occurs, and an individual has expertise in the area, the _________ ________ ____________ __________ is often used to make decisions.

intuitive decision-making model

Ideas for enhancing organizational creativity focus on team composition, team process, ________ and ____________.

leadership, culture

The ________ _________ ____________ is a tool designed to help group decision making by ensuring that all members participate fully.

nominal group technique

The uniqueness of ideas generated during the creative decision-making process is _______________.

originality

A decision-making trap where people overestimate their ability to predict future events is called _______________.__________.

overconfidence bias

Some experts suggest that creativity is the interaction among the three factors of _______________, ________________, and ________________.

personality traits, attributes, situational context

When a decision is important and outcomes need to be maximized, use the __________ ___________ __________ __________ to make your decision.

rational decision-making model

"How should we market the new product line?" is an example of a ____________ decision made by managers.

tactical

Having a devil's advocate in meetings is a technique that can help avoid groupthink.

True

Immersion is to conscious thought as incubation is to unconscious thought.

True

In the intuitive decision-making process, only one choice is considered at a time.

True

One basic question to ask to ascertain the ethics of a decision is: "How would I feel if this decision was broadcast on the news?"

True

One way to avoid escalation of commitment is to have identifiable turning back points.

True

Tactical decisions are those concerned with how things get done.

True

The first step of both the rational decision-making model and the creative decision-making process is to identify the problem.

True

The intuitive decision-making model is best used when the decision maker has experience with the problem and there is time pressure.

True

The rational decision-making process is best used when the decision is important and you are trying to maximize outcomes.

True

When you say, "I know I should have taken this car in for service when I first heard the noises, and now it's just quit on me," you are exhibiting the decision-making trap, _________ ________.

hindsight bias

The insightful or "eureka" moment in the creative decision-making process is the ___________ phase.

illumination

The three factors that evaluate the level of creativity in the decision-making process are fluency, flexibility, and originality.

True

To satisfice is to accept the first alternative that meets minimum criteria.

True

A decision which centers on how things get done is a(n) a. tactical decision. b. strategic decision. c. operational decision. d. programmed decision.

A

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 a(n) a. strategic decision. b. tactical decision. c. operational decision. d. programmed decision.

A

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

Experts make decisions in the intuitive decision-making models based on all the following but a. climate. b. training. c. experience. d. knowledge.

A

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

Making choices among alternative courses of action, including inaction, is a. decision making. b. programmed decisions. c. satisficing. d. consensus

A

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 a(n) a. programmed decision. b. strategic decision. c. tactical decision. d. operational decision

C

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 a(n) a. strategic decision. b. tactical decision. c. operational decision. d. programmed decision.

C

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

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

Operational decisions are made by a. managers. b. top management teams. c. employees throughout the organization. d. CEOs.

C

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

Tactical decisions are generally made by a. CEOs. b. engineers. c. managers. d. Boards of Directors.

C

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who is most responsible for making strategic decisions? a. managers b. engineers c. low-level employees d. CEOs.

D

_________ _________ is making choices among alternative courses of action including inaction.

Decision making

The __________ ________ is a group process using written responses to a series of questionnaires instead of physically bringing individuals together to make a decision.

Delphi technique

All decisions have major consequences and require much thought.

False

Creativity is the interaction between personality traits, attributes, and serendipity.

False

Decision making requires action as a solution.

False

Decision trees are helpful in avoiding errors such as overconfidence bias.

False

Given research on anchoring bias, individuals are more likely to focus on "60% of all people taking the test pass", rather than "40% of all people taking the test fail."

False

Group decisions regularly outperform the decision of the group's best member.

False

Group decisions tend to be more creative than individual ones, but they are often not more effective than those made by individuals.

False

Groupthink is characterized by symptoms like questioning the morality of the group.

False

Hindsight bias is the opposite of framing bias.

False

Individual decision making produces a greater commitment to the ultimate decision than does group decision making.

False

Innovation and creativity are the same thing.

False

People are always interested in making an optimal decision.

False

Programmed decisions are unique, creative decisions.

False

Research shows that consensus decision making is less accurate and can even make group members feel less satisfied with a decision.

False

Strategic decisions are usually made by middle level managers.

False

The most difficult step of the rational decision-making process is to establish the decision criteria.

False

The nominal group technique involves using written responses to a series of questionnaires instead of physically bringing individuals together to make a decision.

False

The rational decision-making model limits the number of alternatives considered.

False

While setting high idea quotas appears to logically maximize the effectiveness of brainstorming, in reality it has just the opposite effect.

False

_________________ is how different ideas generate in the creative decision-making process are from one another.

Flexibility

___________ is the group pressure phenomenon that increases the risk of the group making flawed decisions by leading to a reduction in mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment.

Groupthink

___________ decisions set the course for an organization and are made by CEOs, while ______________ decisions are those that make the organization run and are made daily by employees.

Strategic, operational

A decision rule is an automated response to a problem or issue that occurs frequently.

True

American managers tend to value quick decision making while Chinese managers favor more reflective decision making.

True

An example of a nonprogrammed decision is deciding whether to merge with another firm.

True

Analysis paralysis is when more and more time is spent on gathering information and thinking about it, but no decisions are made.

True

Escalation of commitment is also known as "sunken cost fallacy."

True

Group decision support systems could make employees more reluctant to share information due to lack of control.

True

Groupthink is one of the reasons cited for the tragedy of the Challenger space shuttle.

True

_______________ is a variation on brainstorming where the group focuses on ideas that are impossible and then imagines what would need to happen to make them possible.

Wildstorming

Maria relied on knowing what an outstanding worker Gordon was to hire Gordon's sister for the entry-level position. Gordon's sister is very unreliable. Maria fell into the decision-making trap of _______________ in making her hiring decision.

anchoring

The __________ _____________ __________ recognizes the limitations of the decision-making process and thus the tendency of individuals to satisfice in their decisions.

bounded rationality model

The group process of generating ideas that follow a set of guidelines including no criticism of ideas during the process, the notion that no idea is too crazy, and that builds on other ideas is _______________.

brainstorming

In Japan, nemawashi refers to building _______________ within a group before a decision is made.

consensus

When the goal is to gain support for a particular idea or plan of action, the _______ form of decision should be used as it is inclusive, participatory, cooperative and democratic in nature.

consensus

The generation of new, imaginative ideas is ___________.

creativity

Automated responses that we use to make decisions are called _______ _________.

decision rules

A ___________ ____________ is a diagram where answers to yes or no questions lead decision makers to address additional questions until they reach the end of the tree.

decision tree

In assessing the level of creativity in the decision-making process, ______ is the number of ideas a person is able to generate.

fluency

The tendency for people to focus on television ads that say, "Medicine X is 60% effective in reducing symptoms" does not look at the fact that that statement means that "Medicine X fails to reduce those symptoms 40% of the time." This tendency is called ____________ ____________.

framing bias

An interactive computer-based system that combines communication and decision technologies to help groups make better decisions is a _________ _____________ __________ _____________.

group decision support system

One of the symptoms of ________ is the illusion of invulnerability that is shared by all group members and creates excessive optimism and encourages them to take extreme risks.

groupthink

Since research suggests that the quantity of ideas leads to better quality ideas in the end, setting ________ ___________ ________ where the group must reach a set number of ideas before they are done brainstorming is a recommended practice.

high idea quotas