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

Companies that use evidence-based management seldom defeat their competition.

Alex is the R&D manager with Digital Copier. The company is having a problem with one of its most popular copiers jamming. The vice president of marketing told Alex that "we need to quickly discover how to make this a desirable situation. You need to determine the underlying cause of the problem and perhaps even make improvements to the copier." This is an example of ____.

When confronted with a problem, the decision to be made is how to make improvements. This is known as diagnosis or analyzing the underlying causes.

In the political ads for Representative Joe Smith, the Democratic candidate, he is portrayed by the Republican-sponsored ads as being dishonest and poor at his job. Yet, the ads for Joe Smith, which are paid for by the Democratic supporters, describe him as being caring, honest, and a hard worker. The sponsors of these advertisements know that ads can affect whom voters choose on Election Day. This tendency of decision makers, the voters in this case, to be influenced by how a situation or problem is presented to them is known as ____.

As a manager evaluates alternative solutions to a problem, that is the time to identify opportunities.

Define and describe analytics. Give an example of an organization using analytics and how they are using it.

Peter, the owner, is even more committed to making the used copier, which he recently purchased, work even though it keeps jamming and people have been telling him about other problems they have been having with it. Peter is affected by ______.

When an individual is aware of his or her decision-making style, this assists the individual in identifying his or her strengths and weaknesses as a decision maker, facilitating the potential for self-improvement.

A decision tree is ____.

George, a longtime hotel manager, was meeting with Sally, a new manager, and telling her about a recent decision related to whether or not to fire a front desk employee who has had customer service issues. George discussed the four stages of the decision process. He said, "I first identified the problem, and then, I gathered alternative solutions. I then evaluated each choice and selected a solution. I then implemented my decision to add training. Finally, I followed up with an evaluation of what I set in place." With this decision, George is using the ______.

The combination of how an individual perceives and responds to information reflects his or her ____.

Scott has a bachelor's degree in ethics and human resources, and has extensive experience working with employees and managers regarding ethics, especially in the area of ethical dilemmas. With his background of dealing with legal issues, he has assisted extensively in determining if decisions are both ethical and lawful. With Scott's background, he is a top candidate for the company's new _____.

Greg, Donna, and Paul are on the five-member Benefits Task Force that is researching options for the new benefits package. Over lunch, Greg, Donna, and Paul decided that adding Choice Health Club is a good idea, and that they plan on voting to agree to add it without ever researching and accurately assessing the decision. This is an example of ____.

Roberta, the computer department manager at IT Mart, is considering if she should use a group to develop a plan to help employees sell extended warranties on technology sales. Roberta should consider having the group make this decision if ______.

Dave is a salesperson who takes a long time to make decisions. He loves sales because he responds well to the pressure he faces in the many new or uncertain situations as a salesperson. Like most successful salespeople, he is high in his tolerance for ambiguity. Dave represents a person with a(n) _____ style.

Sue tends to have strong beliefs. When confronted with decision making, she tends to make her decisions based on her beliefs, even if evidence shows those beliefs are wrong. This is known as the past-beliefs perception.

Style Mart uses time-series forecasts, such as past holiday sales and the strength of store sales this year to predict future sales based on patterns of historical data. This is an application of ___.

Chad and his partner, John, have decided to update their computer network, although they have no expertise in this area. During a meeting with John, Chad commented that "Our decision is limited by numerous constraints, such as our understanding of the complexity of technology, time and money, imperfect information, and our conflicting goals." These limitations are hindrances to _____.

When the alternative chosen in a decision does not look like it is working, do not change things. You should always give it more time to work correctly.

Goal displacement, satisficing, and groupthink are ____.