Exam 6: Managers As Decision-Makers

Decision-Making Conditions (Scenario) Sabah is the manager for CaterersRUs, a medium-sized catering company. She is responsible for initiating new client contacts, and staffing both existing and new assignments. She is currently struggling with existing information about the profitability of existing and future clients. -Sabah knows that she is operating in an uncertain environment. She is basically a pessimist, and we would, therefore, expect her to follow a ________ strategy.

Managerial decision making is assumed to be rational.

Risk is the condition in which the decision maker is able to estimate the likelihood of certain outcomes.

The solution to nonprogrammed decision making relies on procedures, rules, and policies.

The anchoring effect describes when decision makers fixate on initial information as a starting point and then, once set, they fail to adequately adjust for subsequent information.

Is the Picture Clear? (Scenario) Salwa was the regional manager of a large cable television company. She faced many problems and decisions daily, such as how to price each market, who to hire, what kind of technology she should purchase, and how she should handle the increasing customer complaints. She needed some help sorting these issues out. -Unfortunately, Salwa also faces issues containing information that is ambiguous or incomplete, such as what kind of technology to purchase. These are known as ________ problems.

Is the Picture Clear? (Scenario) Salwa was the regional manager of a large cable television company. She faced many problems and decisions daily, such as how to price each market, who to hire, what kind of technology she should purchase, and how she should handle the increasing customer complaints. She needed some help sorting these issues out. -Sometimes Salwa follows a ________, a series of interrelated sequential steps for responding to a structured problem.

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

In identifying a problem, a manager ________.

To make effective decisions in today's fast-moving world, managers need to ________.

What is the second step in the decision-making process?

Making decisions is the essence of management.

Decision-Making Conditions (Scenario) Sabah is the manager for CaterersRUs, a medium-sized catering company. She is responsible for initiating new client contacts, and staffing both existing and new assignments. She is currently struggling with existing information about the profitability of existing and future clients. -Rasheed, Sabah's best assistant, tells her that he believes he can estimate that there is a 75 percent probability that they can get the business of Salam Brothers, Inc., if they initiate a new service outside the city. Rasheed is operating under a condition of ________.

Managers tend to operate under assumptions of bounded rationality.

The First Job (Scenario) Upon graduation, you search for a job with the university's job placement center. Although you have studied and prepared to work in an advertising agency, the first job that you are offered is a supervisor in a manufacturing company working the afternoon shift from 3:00 P.M. until 11:00 P.M. -If you had made a larger search using the Internet and other employment search processes, you might have been able to find more employment opportunities. This would have been a more ________ decision-making process.

The Car (Scenario) Haifa is a student, and her older brother has loaned her an old car. The car is in need of several repairs before she will feel comfortable driving it. -In talking with an automotive repair person, Haifa needs to prioritize the repairs. Her first concern is safety of the vehicle. This step in the decision-making process is called ________.

In a short essay, discuss bounded rationality and satisficing.

In studying intuitive decision making, researchers have found that ________.

Rational analysis and intuitive decision making are complementary.

What is a characteristic that the experts say an effective decision-making process has?