Exam 3: Solving Problems

Perfect decision making is a boundedly rational process.

Describe the judgment error of confirmation bias.Why is it important to avoid this bias when solving problems?

A shirt manufacturer lost 45 percent of its market share last year.The CEO put together a committee to find out what was wrong.He included office staff and vendors.He did not include any current or former customers.Did the CEO make a mistake?

With most problems,potential causes and solutions are limited.

Problems,by definition,have a clear solution.

Escalation of commitment is a source of judgment error in problem solving.

Describe two tools available for understanding the scope of a problem.

The PADIL approach addresses the "picking the wrong stakeholders" issue in which step?

What is PADIL? What are its major steps?

Inquiry skills are aimed at understanding people's mental models.

During an interview,Harry was asked: "Which of the following causes more deaths per year in the United States,suicide or homicide?" He answered homicide even though suicides lead to more deaths by a ratio of 2:1.What is this kind of bias called? Are there any uses of this kind of bias?

One of the problems with organizational problem solving is that symptoms are more visible than their underlying structure.

Amy works as a junior HR executive at a retail chain.She has been given the responsibility of organizing walk-in interviews on the day before Thanksgiving.She turns up one hour late that morning because of the unusually high traffic.You are her boss and are trying to determine why she came late.What would your response look like? (Hint: Answer this question in light of the fundamental attribution error)

The visual of a(n)__________ is helpful in illustrating the systems approach to problem solving.

The affinity (similarity)diagram is a tool for honing inquiry skills.

Inference is drawing a conclusion about something we do not know based on things we do know.

Vroom and Yetton noted that a decision maker could involve others on a broad continuum ranging from no involvement to full employee delegation.List the key participation approaches this entails.Also discuss four of the factors that must be addressed before you decide which approach is best.

Problem-solving experts agree that some patterns like "boom and bust" cycles that appear in BOTs usually respond to a quick fix.

Should managers rely on intuition in problem solving?

Less than 1 percent of a group of high students ranked their ability to get along with others below average.This statement is an example of the _______________ type of judgment error.