Exam 12: Decision-Making Processes

High-velocity environments call for decision makers to depend heavily on one or two savvy, trusted colleagues as counsellors, even though everyone is ultimately involved in the decision.

Which of the following is the stage in which alternative courses of action are considered and one is chosen and implemented?

What term is used for the agreement among managers about the nature of a problem or opportunity and about which goals and outcomes to pursue?

If problem consensus were not achieved relative to a decision that was being made, what would you recommend that managers do first to deal with their decision-making process? After problem consensus had been achieved, would you recommend a different approach?

List and describe the steps of the rational approach to decision making.

Which of the following is part of the garbage can model of decision making?

Discuss the consequences of the garbage can decision process for organizational decision making.

Discuss the four cells of the contingency framework.

Problem consensus refers to understanding and agreement about how to solve problems and reach organizational goals.

What special considerations should a manager take who finds him- or herself in a high-velocity environment?

Why would managers in high-velocity environments worry more about the present than the future? Discuss.

Since programmed decisions are novel and poorly defined, and no procedure exists for solving them, a program must be devised using the garbage can method.

According to the contingency framework for decision models, when should the Carnegie Model for organizational decision making be used?

A small university department included six faculty members. During faculty meetings when the department was faced with a difficult decision, a faculty member would suggest they take a break. During the break, four faculty members would adjourn to the coffee room and agree on the decision that would be made. What is this an example of?

The Carnegie Model and the incremental model disagree with each other on how decisions are made-the former claiming that they are made through a political process and the latter claiming that they emerge over time following careful objective analysis.

What does the garbage can model show?

Based on the fact that the management science approach uses quantitative data, which are not rich, discuss limitations of the approach for organizational decision making.

When is it best to use the management science model for decision making?

Which type of organizational decision making is being used by a company that uses a computerized system extensively in its production process from the design stage through the automatic ordering of raw materials through preparation for delivery?

The Carnegie Model of organizational decision making was developed by Max Weber.