Org B 320 Chapter 13 Quizzes

According to the groupthink theory, group members who are overconfident and willing to assume great risks are suffering from

an illusion of invulnerability

Which of the following would most likely be an example of a non-programmed decision by a nursing supervisor?

*changing the work schedule from five days a week to three 12-hour days per week*, deciding where to store medications that need to be refrigerated, deciding who should work the night shift

Which of the following is not one of the steps in the decision making process?

*form a coalition*, evaluate the alternatives, identify the problem, implement the decision, establish goals and objectives

Which statement is a useful guideline for obtaining a group consensus?

*if someone disagrees with you, explore their objection and even try to help the present their ideas better*, it is better to change your mind and go along with the group than to be the single dissenting member

Which of the following is NOT a symptom of groupthink?

*intense intra-group conflict*, stereotyping of opponents, feelings of invulnerability on the part of the group, belief in the morality of the group's actions

Which of the following is an example of a programmed decision?

*orientation of a new employee*, promotion strategy for a new product, location decision for a new subsidiary, determination of whether to implement a corporate daycare program

Which of the following illustrates the process of suboptimizing?

*the economics department asked the word processing center to provide multiple copies of a handout using their printers rather than having the copies made less expensively at the copy center where the economics department would be charged for them*, Janet accepted an inferior job offer because she didn't want to live in NYC, the marketing dept bought their own copy machine so they wouldn't have to wait in line behind other depts

Which of these statements about rational decision making is true?

*the rational decision maker chooses the alternative with the greatest expected value*, if something is suboptimized, it means everyone is better off with this decision

Which of the following illustrates the risky-shift phenomenon?

*three partners were reluctant to expand their business, but after discussing the matter, they decided to expand even though the economy was bad*, a manager quit her secure job in a large company to start her own business even though she had to mortgage her house

Three members of the executive board were university professors who enjoyed analyzing problems and discussing issues in their weekly board meetings, while the other two board members wanted to quit talking and make decisions. This contrast illustrates

action orientation versus contemplation

Herbert Simon received a Nobel Prize for his work on decision making. He explained that people are not perfectly rational decision makers because of the impossibility of processing all relevant information. This concept is called

bounded rationality

The idea that people are not perfectly rational decision makers because of the impossibility of processing all relevant information is called

bounded rationality

Individuals differ in terms of propensity for taking action. What is the opposite of an action orientation?

contemplation

One of the psychological aspects of our thought process is that we view the world in terms of opposites; good or bad, right or wrong, true or false. This process is called

dichotomized thinking

On of the explanations for the risky-shift phenomenon is

diffusion of responsibility

After discussing an issue as a group, group members tend to make decisions that are ___ the positions of individual members before discussion

either more risky or more conservative than

In Kurt Lewin's study of changing the eating habits of Americans, the most effective strategy for producing change was observed among

groups that participated in a group discussion and achieved a unanimous group consensus

A group problem-solving method that consists of having members systematically rotate around the group giving everyone an opportunity to describe their suggestions until each member has taken a turn is called

nominal group technique

Research comparing brainstorming with individual decision making, indicates that brainstorming produces

none of the above

Research on the effects of brainstorming relative to individual decision making indicates that this group decision making technique produces

none of the above

The diffusion of responsibility has been used as an explanation for

risky-shift phenomenon

Decision makers who establish an adequate level of acceptability for a solution and then screen solutions until they find one that achieves this level are

satisficers

Choosing a satisfactory, or "good-enoough" choice rather than seeking the ideal choice is known as

satisficing

A father suggested to his family that they participate in a service project, but none of them really wanted to do it. Out of respect for him, however, no one expressed how they really felt and everyone participated in the project. Which aspect of group think is illustrated by their reluctance to express opposition due to respect?

self-censorship

The first step in the rational decision making process is to

set objectives

Which step in the decision making process is illustrated by a student having to decide on his career to help him select a major?

set objectives

The group decision making technique most useful when participants are numerous, dispersed, and of diverse backgrounds is

the Delphi approach

A programmed decision would most likely be used

to solve a recurring problem that never seems to go away

When is individual decision making expected to be superior to group decision making?

when the problem requires a sequence of multiple stages such as solving a calculus problem