Exam 4: Foundations of Decision Making

A problem with groupthink is that no one is actually in charge of making the final decision or outcome, which results in _________.

_________decisions deal with situations where the factors are fairly structured and occur with some frequency.

"Good" decisions are expected to

Explain the relationship between groupthink and (1)group cohesiveness, (2)escalation of commitment, and (3)conformity.

Kay based the forecasted sales figure of the new product on last year's sales figures from a previous product. Kay is engaging in which of the following?

Which of the following group techniques allows group members to meet together, but allows independent thinking?

An assumption of the rational decision- making model is that the problem that is being solved is clear and unambiguous.

Decision criteria indicate the important factors in making a decision.

Application of the Decision- Making Process Net income has fallen for the second quarter, and Amanda is understandably worried. She knows at the board of directors meeting on Wednesday she will be closely questioned and expected to have a plan to avoid any third- quarter losses. Amanda begins to read slowly over the financial documents to try and ascertain areas that may be the cause. After much consideration, it appears that expenses have risen dramatically over the last few months. Amanda wonders why. She decides a meeting of the department heads is in order first thing tomorrow morning. At the meeting, Amanda would like to generate several possible solutions to the increased expenses. She wonders how to effectively explore all the options. At the meeting, the first option that is discussed is to downsize the research and development department since it is not essential to current operations. Several managers approve this plan. Amanda suggests that they need to look further at the issue. Several suggestions are made, many of which appear to be viable. Amanda wonders what to do next. -What should Amanda do after the problem is defined?

Decision implementation is conveying the decision to upper management.

An assumption of rational decision- making is that all alternatives and consequences can be clearly assessed by the decision- maker.

The last step in the decision- making process is to

Explain the components of creative work.

Choosing the best alternative is a relatively simple matter if we have done a good job in assigning _________ in step five.

The next step beyond expert systems is _________, which use computer software to imitate the structure of brain cells and connections among them. An example is sophisticated robots being used for their intelligence.

Most decisions involve judgments that are reflected in the criteria, the weighting of the criteria, and the evaluation of the alternatives.

Application of Decision- Making Styles Jeremy has noticed that the people within his organization make decisions in very different ways. Jackie is rational and has a low tolerance for ambiguity. She is efficient and generally makes decisions that are applicable to the short term. Andy tends to be very broad in his outlook and looks at many alternatives before making a decision. He generally focuses on the long term. Alexandra thinks intuitively and works well with others. She is open to suggestions and concerned about her coworkers. Jeremy himself wants to have complete information before making a decision and always carefully considers many alternatives. -Jeremy's decision- making style can be characterized as

Many decisions fail after the final choice has been made because which of the following occurs?

All of the following are examples of planning- function decisions except

When a plant manager who is trying to reduce turnover of production workers notices that turnover has decreased by 10 percent four months after he instituted a new training program, at which step in the rational decision- making process is this manager?