Exam 3: Managerial Decision Making

Gloria,as the executive assistant to the President of a small midwest university,has a large number of decisions to be made because several of her assistants are on vacation.One of the decisions she has to make today is which paper clips to purchase for the office.She looks at the office supply catalog and picks the first one she sees that is priced acceptably.Gloria is using _________ to make her decision.

Shannon left the meeting,frustrated as usual.The group really needed to make some decisions regarding next year's marketing campaign.Tony rammed all his ideas through;they were good,but nobody else dared to speak up or contribute.This group experienced

Characteristics of managerial decisions include which of the following?

Managers' faulty thought processes that can lead companies to failure include

Scenario C. Jeremy is the lead on a new project at work and it is essential that he make a good impression on top management. He recently had his first staff meeting to solve a fairly large problem with the project and it didn't go so well. The whole staff of 10 was there, which he thought would lead to buy-in from the group. Instead the group really didn't get anything much done in that meeting. -Jeremy decided to try another meeting because the project deadline was drawing closer and he was beginning to feel pressure to get something done with his group.He put the agenda out early and felt he was ready to lead the meeting.Shortly after the meeting began,one of his colleagues asked a question that didn't seem to relate to the issue at hand.Nonetheless,trying to be a good leader,Jeremy began to discuss the issues around this new question.Soon the group was in a heated discussion with each side seeming to stop at nothing to "win" the argument.In this meeting the group was engaged in

Managers prefer uncertainty to certainty because it makes the job more challenging and interesting.

Scenario A. The local Ace Hardware Store manager has several decisions she has to make as the week begins. She always comes in early on Mondays to sift through the paperwork on her desk and decide what needs to be done for the week and in which order. The decisions facing her this week are: 1. determining which sales representatives to see this week to place orders. 2. providing a report to the owner detailing her opinion of whether or not she should purchase several more Ace locations that are for sale in the area. 3. interviewing applicants for two open part-time positions and hiring them. 4. providing input to the owner on a possible upgrade to the checkout technology currently in use. -Decisions 1 and 3 are both ____________ decisions because ____________________.

The basic philosophy behind group decision making is that "two heads are better than one." But does this statement hold true in an organizational setting?

Differentiate between programmed and non-programmed decisions.Give an example of each.

The manager of the Capitol Restaurant noted that the restaurant had experienced a decreased number of evening customers.The manager promptly ordered the chef to rewrite the evening menu.Customer feedback later indicated that the problem had not been the menu but poor service from the wait staff.The manager's decision to have the menu revised suggests that he failed to

During and after Hurricane Katrina,which destroyed so much of the city of New Orleans,the decisions made by government officials were mostly programmed.

Incremental decision making occurs when managers make small decisions and move cautiously toward a bigger solution.

Contingency plans are best developed after the decision is made.

Students who don't study,dieters who sneak dessert and working people who take the afternoon off when they really need to work are all examples of which psychological bias?

Vigilance means that the decision maker evaluates every decision he or she makes.

Leaders of decision-making groups should

Scenario D. Effectively Organized, Inc. has hired a consultant to help them with organizational decision making. The consultant's first meeting is set up to describe to the managers of Effectively Organized, Inc. the models of organizational decision processes. Each of the managers seems to prefer one of the models over the others. -The Vice President of Production tells the group that in his area of the company,many managers don't even agree about what their goals are and certainly cannot agree on what action to take.His managers are using which model of decision making?

A condition that occurs when a decision-making group loses sight of its original goal and a new,less important goal emerges is called groupthink.

One potential advantage of a group for decision making is that people understand the decision.

The garbage can model of decision making occurs when people aren't sure of their goals,or disagree about the goals,and likewise are unsure of or in disagreement about what to do.