Exam 7: Individual and Group Decision Making: How Managers Make Things Happen

Wendy, the CEO of an oil drilling company, and her top management team recently discovered that their facilities are damaging a beach in Asia and the local wildlife. They understand that they need to decide if temporarily closing or not closing the facility is unethical. To help them make their decision, they consider the following four questions: "Is not temporarily closing the facility legal? If yes, does this proposed action maximize shareholder value? If yes, is not temporarily closing the facility ethical? If no, would it be ethical to take the proposed action?" Wendy and her top managers are using ________ to help them make their decision.

A ________ is a choice made from among available alternatives.

During a job interview, how can you demonstrate your decision-making skills?

Erin likes working in the banking industry because it has a lot of structure and certainty, and the daily work is routine. Erin probably

Macon, feels that he constantly confronted with problems. He tries very hard to create alternative solutions and then evaluate them. He often implements the selected solution, but then another problem arises. He begins to express his frustrations by accusing employees of not fully executing the solution as described in his plan. What style of decision making does Macon use?

Christin, the CEO of a national IT manufacturer, was approached by Ultimate Phones, a new company that is marketing a new type of phone, to partner with the company on a project. The results of the partnership are uncertain because the company (Ultimate Phones) and its technology are new. Christin is uncertain what to do because she is limited by numerous constraints, such as the uncertainty and complexity of the technology, the management success of Ultimate Phones, and time (because other companies are interested in the partnership). Christin is experiencing

Which of the following is not a hindrance to perfectly rational decision making?

An often forgotten step in the decision-making process is a project post-mortem. Define the term project post-mortem and identify its purpose. Then describe the actual meeting itself.

Isabel, the owner of The Daily Dispatch, a small city newspaper, started her business two years ago, believing that there was still enough demand for her product. However, because people are busy and because so much news is now available online, she has seen the demand for her paper drop steadily. Isabel made a decision to change the original direction of the company and focus more on an Internet news service. Isabel is relying on ________ by demonstrating that managers need to think and act as if their company is an unfinished prototype, and by seeing her business as outsiders do.

Max is in the marketing department with Loose Leaf Teas. He was given the responsibility of determining if customers liked the new calming chamomile. According to Loose Leaf's sales data, over 4,000 customers purchased the new tea last month. If Max surveys 25 of those customers to determine if they like the tea or not to base his marketing campaign on, he will most likely suffer from confirmation bias.

Little Rascals Child Care Center has decided to change its hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning at the start of the next month. The owner, Wanda, feels that the change is needed because only a few families were coming in before 7 a.m., and, therefore, it was not cost-effective to be open that early. In making her decision, was Wanda being sensitive to the families who brought their children to the center?

________ is the tendency for people with strong prior beliefs, when confronted with a choice, to make their decisions based on assumptions they've already made.

Readily available information may not present a complete picture of a situation due to

Charles believes in having his team members present conflicting proposals before choosing one. He feels that this leads to the best decision and saves time in the long run because all options are explored up front. Charles uses the ________ decision method.

Despite your best intentions, it's hard to bring the best evidence to bear on your decisions. Why?

This question contains two parts; be sure to answer both. First, explain at least five of the nine common decision making biases, giving an example of each. Next, imagine that you are a real-estate agent who is trying to sell a huge house to a wealthy couple. Explain how the buyers may be subject to each of the biases that you list.

Gloria, the controller of Luna Pizza, is purchasing several new delivery vehicles. Gloria has numerous work responsibilities, so she has limited time to shop for cars. Because of the time constraints, she cannot make an extensive search for the best alternative, so she looks for cars until she finds a model that is satisfactory. Gloria is following the ________ model.

Managers with a low tolerance for ambiguity and an orientation toward task and technical concerns when making decisions have an analytical decision-making style.

Luke and Mia are selling their home. They listed their house three months ago at an extremely high selling price, a price they randomly chose. They do not want to reduce the price to reflect what the marketplace shows their home is really worth. Luke and Mia are participants in ________ bias.

Doreen, a project manager, has been given a limited amount of money to run the new marketing campaign. She was also told that the client wants the campaign ready to roll out in less than two weeks. Doreen is feeling very limited by these constraints and is not sure that it will produce her team's best work. Her supervisor and career mentor, tells Doreen that she is