Chapter 3

A shirt manufacturer lost 45 percent of its market share last year. The CEO put together a committee to find out what was wrong. He included office staff and vendors. He did not include any current or former customers. Did the CEO make a mistake?

A. Yes. He did not include key stakeholders.

Abraham constructed a weighted rank alternatives table to decide where to go to graduate school. His most important criteria were cost, location, and publication opportunities. His four school choices all were ranked highest on the three criteria. Abraham does not know how to choose. He has reached a condition of:

A. equifinality. Organizational systems display what is known as equifinality, a condition in which different initial conditions lead to similar effects.

Rational problem-solving skills are deficient in most young managers because:

A. most problems are complex, without clear definition.

At a recent management department meeting, faculty were given five Sticky Notes to write down their responses to the question, "What are the possible causes of so many student cuts in class?" After all the Sticky Notes were posted, the chairperson said, "These ten seem to deal with the attendance policy, these five talk about how hard it is to walk from one class to the next in the time allotted between classes, and these ten all say that tests don't cover lecture material." The management department was:

A. using an affinity diagram.

When Jill was asked, she chose cars over stomach cancer as the cause of more U.S. deaths per year. When asked why she chose the wrong answer, she said, "I hear about fatal car accidents every day. I never hear about stomach cancer." Jill's type of judgment error was:

Availability

Managers can often spot bad decision making in others, but they may fail in identifying their own poor decisions. Psychologists refer to this as:

B. bias blind spot.

At the completion of a presentation, students were told by the professor that although their talk was solid as far as content, the grade was a "C." The professor failed to mention that the talk lacked several elements of excellence. The graphics were inconsistent, the presenters mumbled, and the team failed to answer any of the follow-up questions. The student team leader threw the documentation packet at the professor, shouting, "Whatever, toad!" and slammed the door on the way out. This scenario presents an ethical issue of

B. interactional

Brainwriting sessions can be improved by:

C. assuming a "perfect world."

Mental models are ________________________________ that sustain current systems.

C. prevailing assumptions, beliefs, and values

________________ is a defense against judgment biases.

Confidence estimate

_____ justice is perceived when people know that those with power in an organization are suspending their personal biases and relying on objective data to the best possible extent.

D. Procedural

According to Vroom and Yetton, which of the following approaches to problem-solving is most manager-driven?

D. Virtue ethics

Francesca Bailey, a hospital administrator, needs to tell the facilities manager what color to paint the break room. The color does not really matter to anyone; staff will use the room no matter what color is used. What should Francesca do?

E. Decide

The visual of a(n) __________ is helpful in illustrating the systems approach to problem solving.

E. iceberg

What are the two categories of ethical theories? Describe the theory most representative of the teleological approach.

Ethical theories may be divided into two categories: teleological and deontological. The distinction between the two is that teleological theories determine the ethics of an act by looking to the probable outcome or consequences of the decision (the ends), while deontological theories determine the ethics of an act by looking to the process of the decision (the means) and are based on concepts of universal principles or rights. The theory most representative of the teleological approach is utilitarianism, which directs us to make decisions based on the greatest "good" for the greatest number.

A good decision is the same as a good outcome. (True or False)

FALSE A good decision is different from a good outcome in that you can never fully control the outcomes of your decisions, but you can control "how" you will decide.

A manager should delegate a decision to subordinates if the decision outcome is of no significance to the organization and employee commitment does not impact the decision outcome. (True or False)

FALSE A manager should delegate a decision to subordinates if the decision outcome is of significance to the organization and employee commitment impacts the decision outcome.

Healthy skepticism leads managers to engage in satisficing. (True or False)

FALSE Bounded rationality leads managers to engage in what is known as satisficing or determining the most acceptable solution to a problem, rather than an optimal one.

Problems, by definition, have a clear solution. (True or False)

FALSE By definition, a "problem" does not have a clear solution; otherwise it would not be considered a problem.

Intuition should be totally discounted in problem solving in the workplace. (True or False)

FALSE Intuition should not be totally discounted in problem solving in the workplace. One should just bear in mind that most people have a difficult time applying their intuition systematically to solve problems.

Patterns are the prevailing assumptions, beliefs, and values that sustain current systems. (True or False)

FALSE Mental models are the prevailing assumptions, beliefs, and values that sustain current systems.

Problem-solving experts agree that some patterns like "boom and bust" cycles that appear in BOTs usually respond to a quick fix. (True or False)

FALSE Problem-solving experts agree certain patterns like "boom and bust" cycles that appear in BOTs can help to identify a systematic problem, one not likely to respond to a quick fix.

Research shows high performance standards usually stifle the creativity of problem solvers by putting undue pressure on them. (True or False)

FALSE Research shows a group of problem solvers can increase the number of ideas generated by setting high performance standards, as long as they are not impossible.

Research shows focused groups perform better than diverse groups on creative problem-solving tasks. (True or False)

FALSE Research shows diverse groups perform better than nondiverse groups on creative problem-solving tasks.

Risk can present itself in terms of dread, whereby people assume consequences truly are unknown. (True or False)

FALSE Risk can present itself in terms of dread, or circumstances in which people feel they have no control or influence. Risk often appears as unknown, whereby people assume consequences truly are unknown.

The "hot hand" in basketball is an example of the confirmation bias. (True or False)

FALSE The "hot hand" in basketball is an example of the representative bias.

The essence of the fundamental attribution error is people tend to overattribute behavior to external rather than internal causes. (True or False)

FALSE The essence of the fundamental attribution error is people tend to overattribute behavior to internal rather than external causes.

The first step in any good problem-solving process is to assess the various possible solutions. (True or False)

FALSE The first step in any good problem-solving process is to define and structure the problem.

Perfect decision making is a boundedly rational process. (True or False)

FALSE There is no such thing as a perfect decision. Bounded rationality prevents us from making optimal and effective decisions.

A disciplined protocol is counterproductive to idea generations from brainstorming sessions. (True or False)

FALSE While it may seem contradictory, good brainstorming sessions are more likely to result from a disciplined protocol.

With most problems, potential causes and solutions are limited. (True or False)

FALSE With most problems, potential causes and solutions are infinite.

The affinity (similarity) diagram is a tool for honing inquiry skills. (True or False)

FALSE The affinity (similarity) diagram is an idea generation method that allows you to sort the major aspects of the problem into themes or categories.

Framing problems correctly is difficult since our immediate need is to begin solving the problem. (True or False)

TRUE

Inference is drawing a conclusion about something we do not know based on things we do know. (True or False)

TRUE

Many managers have damaged their careers by implementing solutions they knew were incorrect but forged ahead even with this knowledge. (True or False)

TRUE

One of the problems with organizational problem solving is that symptoms are more visible than their underlying structure. (True or False)

TRUE

Problem-solving experts agree certain patterns that appear in BOTs can help to identify a systematic problem, one not likely to respond to a quick fix. (True or False)

TRUE

Escalation of commitment is a source of judgment error in problem solving. (True or False)

TRUE Escalation of commitment is a source of judgment error in problem solving.

Inquiry skills are aimed at understanding people's mental models. (True or False)

TRUE Inquiry skills are aimed at understanding people's mental models.

The self-serving bias is a type of fundamental attribution error. (True or False)

TRUE The self-serving bias is a type of fundamental attribution error, where we attribute personal successes to internal causes and personal failures to external causes.

Your community has seen a sudden spike in gunshot violence lately. The police department has directed all gun shops in the locality to not sell guns to potential customers who have previous criminal records. This is an example of which kind of ethical decision-making myth?

The action of the police department springs from the thinking that only those that have previous criminal record are likely to commit further crimes in the future. This is an example of the ethical decision-making myth that unethical action is simply a problem of "bad apples." The truth, on the contrary, is that even those assumed to have high ethical values make unethical decisions. This happens primarily because most of us learn or act simply by following others' leads.

Describe the judgment error of confirmation bias. Why is it important to avoid this bias when solving problems?

The confirmation bias represents people's tendency to collect evidence that supports rather than negates our intuition before deciding. In solving problems, one of the most insidious traps is gathering data that seeks to confirm our ideas and exclude data that might disconfirm them.

Which of the following statements, on the ladder of inference, provides objective data?

The invitation said "casual dress." Marx arrived in a tuxedo.

A racial minority interest group has recently gone to press saying that the government is discriminating against members of that race by infringing on their individual and privacy rights in the name of national security. What kind of a "right-versus-right" scenario does this ethical dilemma reflect?

This ethical dilemma reflects the "right-versus-right" scenario of individual versus community. The needs of individuals such as confidentiality or privacy often clash with those of the community. Terrorism has brought this dilemma clearly to the forefront with governments attempting to preserve individual rights and needs while also understanding the greater good of the community.

Jennifer has been a part of your group for last five years. She is both a sincere worker and the best performer in your group. She confided in you yesterday that her father is not doing well and she might have to soon take two weeks off to take care of him. She is not sure exactly when she will need the leave, so she also asks you to keep this information to yourself. Today, your boss informs you about a critical project that has to be finished within next two weeks. He also wants Jennifer to be a part of that project and casually asks you, "I hope she is available for this project. It is very critical that this project is done well and done on time." What kind of a "right-versus-right" scenario does this ethical dilemma reflect? What would your action be? Will you tell your boss about Jennifer's plans of taking leave? Explain.

This ethical dilemma reflects the truth-versus-loyalty kind of "right-versus-right" scenario. You would not like to tell your boss about Jennifer's plans of taking leave out of loyalty to her. On the other hand, not telling your boss might seem like not telling the truth to you. For solving this ethical dilemma, students might use the "trilemma" approach. Instead of thinking of this issue as tell boss versus not tell boss, students might look at this as how well to communicate to the boss that there is a chance Jennifer might not be available for this project. As a manager, it will also entail finding another member of your group to take on the project who might not be as good as Jennifer but comes a close second and who will be able to finish that project well and on time.

What is PADIL? What are its major steps?

Though there is no such thing as a perfect decision or a perfect decision process, adhering to a problem-solving model has been shown to improve decision quality, and a number of proven tools and techniques are worth utilizing in different situations. PADIL is one such popular problem-solving model. The five major steps of this model are: problem, alternatives, decide, implement, learn.

Which of the following warnings is a good defense for decision biases?

A. Do not jump to conclusions.

IDEO, a consulting firm, recommends appointing a team member to make sure the team honors brainstorming rules. Which of the following rules is being recommended?

B. Defer judgment. Do not dismiss ideas.

Which of the following types of justice judgments is considered a little "soft" or "touchy feely" to handle?

B. Interactional justice

John attended a PADIL workshop. He is developing inquiry skills to:

B.examine mental models.

In which step of PADIL are alternatives tables and weighted rankings used?

C. Decide

Where does an after action review (AAR) fit into the PADIL approach?

E. Learn

A CEO, heading a major two-year corporate restructuring, asked a stakeholder group such questions as, "Did you feel included in the process?" and "Were your voices heard throughout the two years?" These questions occur in the "___________" step of the PADIL approach.

E. learn

Equifinality is a condition in which different initial conditions lead to similar effects. (True or False)

TRUE

What is moral intensity? Give an example of how moral intensity affects our ethical decision-making.

The way in which we perceive ethical dilemmas depends heavily on the moral intensity the issue possesses. That is, something in the context or situation of how an ethical dilemma is perceived leads people to endorse the situation as unethical. Downloading music from the Internet without permission is not really different from stealing without permission, but people see stealing as clearly wrong and downloading as more acceptable.

Describe the three important dimensions of ethical behavior.

• Ethical commitment. Ethical commitment refers to your level of dedication or desire to do what is right even in the face of potentially harmful personal repercussions. This requires a healthy dose of courage and integrity to make decisions that may be unpopular or go against the prevailing culture. • Ethical consciousness. Those who are ethically conscious make themselves aware of the implications of their actions and are not oblivious to the many ethical concerns around us. • Ethical competency. This involves a thoughtful consideration of ethics in each stage of the problem-solving process.

According to researcher Thomas Jones, identify any four ways in which ethical issues are perceived as more or less intense and therefore as more ethical or unethical.

• Magnitude of consequences • Social consensus of evil/good • Probability of harm/benefit • Temporal immediacy • Proximity • Concentration of effect

Your cousin Vicky remodeled an old beach house last year. Vicky put on a new roof and shelled the driveway. This year, he needs to upgrade the electricity and replace most of the plumbing. You asked him, "Why don't you just sell?" Vicky waved a stack of invoices in your face and said, "I already put this much money into the place!" This statement is an example of the _______________ type of judgment error.

availability

Less than 1 percent of a group of high students ranked their ability to get along with others below average. This statement is an example of the _______________ type of judgment error.

overconfidence

The PADIL approach addresses the "picking the wrong stakeholders" issue in which step?

problem

The PADIL approach to problem solving includes five major steps. The first step is identified as:

problem

Describe two tools available for understanding the scope of a problem.

• Affinity diagram: The affinity (similarity) diagram is an idea generation method that allows sorting of the major aspects of the problem into themes or categories. • Is/Is not: This simple method determines boundaries of a problem by describing aspects that are part of the problem and those that are not. • Graphic displays: These include histograms, bar charts, BOTs (behavior- over-time displays) and Pareto graphing.

69. What are some useful tactics for avoiding common decision biases?

• Confidence estimates: This tactic of attaching an estimate of confidence to our beliefs is useful for curbing our overconfidence bias. • Trial-and-error calibration: If you want to improve your success rate and reduce failure tomorrow, you must learn from your successes and failures today. This is a familiar, but underutilized, method for improving problem solving. • Healthy skepticism: Approaching all decisions and presented evidence with healthy skepticism is another simple but powerful tool for avoiding common decision biases.

Identify a few reasons why the law may not align with ethics in organizations.

• Holding that obedience to the law is sufficient to fulfill one's ethical duties raises the question of whether or not the law itself is ethical. • Societies that value individual freedom will be reluctant to legally require more than just an ethical minimum. • Telling business that its ethical responsibilities end with obedience to the law is just inviting more and more legal regulation. • The law cannot possibly anticipate every new dilemma facing contemporary business, because so often there may not be a regulation for the particular dilemma confronting a business leader. • The perspective that compliance is enough relies on a misleading understanding of law. This kind of understanding suggests that laws are clear-cut unambiguous rules that can be easily applied though in reality they are not.

You are a student of an organizational behavior (OB) course. You are not entirely convinced that the course content you are being taught is relevant to the real world and would like to see a revision of it. Perform a stakeholder analysis for this issue.

• Identify key stakeholders. Create a chart of primary stakeholders—individuals or groups that have direct authority or economic influence over the problem—and secondary stakeholders—individuals or groups that might be affected indirectly by the problem. Primary stakeholders might include course students, course professor, academic department of the university, policymakers of the university. Secondary stakeholders might include businesses that employ students from your university. • Prioritize your stakeholders. Using a simple 2x2 matrix, with the dimensions of Stake and Power, classify (plot) each stakeholder to get a graphic representation of who your most important stakeholders to involve in the process are. • Examine support/resistance. Define and frame the problem and then gauge relative support or resistance of various stakeholders for it.

Identify a few of the most common rationalizations used to justify unethical behavior.

• If it is legal, it is ethical. • I was only trying to help. • Everyone else does it. • It is owed to me. • As long as I do not gain.

Describe three ethical decision-making myths.

• It is east to be ethical. The truth is, not just is it difficult to be ethical, it is even difficult to determine that one is in an ethical dilemma. • Ethics can be managed with codes of conduct. While codes of conduct are useful, what matters more is the knowledge that they actually matter and are followed diligently in day-to-day life in an organization. • People are less ethical than they used to be. Unethical behavior is not merely a by-product of modern life though better access to information and technology is letting people be unethical in more creative ways. • Managing Ethics is not my problem. In organizational life, ethical issues can crop up in many forms and it is a manager's job to understand them and act accordingly. • Unethical behavior is simply a problem of "bad apples." Even highly ethical people can end up making unethical decisions if they are just following the crowd and not thinking through their decisions.

Give two examples of the judgment error of anchoring and adjustment.

(1) A potential hire is negotiating her salary with the concerned HR executive. When asked for her salary expectation, she in return asks for the industry range for that kind of job. The HR executive tells her a range lower than the actual range hoping that her salary estimate will be correspondingly lower because the lower range will act as an anchor for her estimate. (2) A junior lawyer in a law firm is told by his boss that handling four lawsuits at a time for him should be entirely doable. His boss knows that junior lawyers are usually able to handle at the most one or two cases at a time but thinks that expectation of a higher initial number (anchor) might lead the new recruit to higher productivity.

Morgan is discussing a project rollout with his major suppliers as he begins the "_____________" PADIL stage.

D. implement

Satisficing:

D. is a result of bounded rationality.

The question, "How will this change affect other things?" is critical to being effective in problem solving. In the problem framing PADIL step, this refers to a:

D. systems approach.

Zack arrived late for a meeting this morning because there was a 20 -car pile-up on the beltway. Ryan, his manager, assumed Zack overslept because he partied too much last night. Which of the following statements is most accurate?

Ryan committed a fundamental attribution error.

A manager may solve the wrong problem if the right stakeholders are not included in defining the problem to be solved. (True or False)

TRUE

A productive failure is one that is regarded as an opportunity to learn. (True or False)

TRUE

Brainwriting is superior to brainstorming as a process for generating the highest volume of creative ideas. (True or False)

TRUE

Confidence estimates, trial and error, and healthy skepticism are tactics used to overcome judgment biases. (True or False)

TRUE

Should managers rely on intuition in problem solving?

Yes. Those who track what they learn can effectively replicate the process in future.

Should managers rely on intuition in problem solving?

Yes. Those who track what they learn can effectively replicate the process in future.

Salma asked Lillie, "How did you do in the final assessment?" Lillie responded, "I knew everything!" Salma said, "So you can expect a 100! That will be awesome!" Lillie thought for a moment and said, "Maybe not actually that much of everything. I would say 95 to 100." Lillie curbed Salma's judgment bias by using:

a confidence estimate

Carl, a corporate recruiter, advises his job applicants to start negotiating salaries from a higher bracket. He suggests this, knowing that the applicant will end up with a higher salary if the hiring employer is susceptible to the judgment error of:

anchoring and adjustment

Describe three myths of problem solving.

• Taking action is better than doing nothing: When faced with a problem, sometime the best course of action is "doing nothing." • Trust your gut: Intuition and experience can be a source of successful decision making provided such gut decisions have been tracked and their success rates analyzed. • I know when I am making a poor decision: It is easier to find decision biases and logical fallacies in other's decisions than in our own. Researchers term this as the "bias blind spot." • Dividing an elephant in half produces two small elephants: Most "problems" are actually symptoms of more complex issues. A narrow focus usually leads to mere treatment of the symptoms, not the underlying disease.