Deck 7: Decision Making

Question 1

In using computer-mediated decision making, it is best to supplement them with

A) Video conferences
B) Careful management oversight
C) Informal chat rooms
D) Face to face meetings

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Decisions should be made by one or two group members when
a. Decisions are easy and everyone understands what to do
b. Members do not need to be committed to implementing the decision
c. Decisions have to be made quickly
d. a and b
e. b and c
f. All of the above
g. None of the above

Answer 2

F

Question 3

Group polarization is when

A) Group members share their unique information
B) Group members gain insight into the group process
C) Group members gain insight unknown to any individual member
D) Groups make decisions more extreme that the initial inclination of its
Members

Answer 3

D

Question 4

All group members should be involved in a group's decision-making because

A) It increases members' commitment to implement the decision
B) It fully uses the resources of each member
C) It allows members with extreme opinions to validate them
D) a & b
F) All of the above

Question 5

The quickest decision-making method is:

A) Averaging individuals' opinions
B) Decision by authority
C) Decision by majority vote
D) Decision by consensus

Question 6

A major problem with decision by the expert is

A) The group always knows more than the expert
B) Determining who the expert is
C) Overestimating the power of the expert
D) It takes too long

Question 7

An individual may outperform the group when it is

A) A disjunctive task
B) A conjunctive task
C) An additive task
D) A maximizing task

Question 8

Heterogeneous groups may be better than homogeneous groups when

A) Members complement one another
B) Each member must perform his or her role well
C) Groups have high turnover
D) Communication is less frequent

Question 9

In overcoming workers' resistance to change, research suggests that

A) To save time, management should explain a change and have workers implement it
B) Managers should meet with representatives of the workers to help solve problems in implementing change
C) Managers and the workers should plan the change together
D) Managers should hire new workers who are willing to implement change.

Question 10

All of the following are characteristics of an effective decision making group EXCEPT

A) Time is well used
B) The decision is quickly made
C) The resources of all members are used
D) Members implement the decision

Question 11

Group polarization may occur because members

A) Modify their opinions to go along with the group
B) Reject persuasive arguments if they are from other groups
C) Feel the group will protect them from ridicule
D) Are in a hurry to make a decision

Question 12

Process gain is when

A) Group members share their unique information
B) Group members gain insight into the group process
C) Group members gain insight unknown to any individual member
D) Groups make decisions more extreme that the initial inclination of its members

Question 13

All of the following are reasons groups are superior to individuals EXCEPT

A) Ideas emerge which no-one had thought of before
B) Incorrect solutions are recognized and rejected
C) Groups recognize solutions more quickly than individuals
D) Groups have more accurate memory than individuals

Question 14

Group polarization means that groups make decisions that are

A) Based on examining both sides of an issue
B) Based on a middle of the road compromise
C) Less extreme than the initial inclination of its members
D) More extreme than the initial inclination of its members

Question 15

What is NOT a reason group decision-making fails?

A) The group does not have accurate or relevant information
B) The group is biased against the ideas of the expert member
C) The group has no appointed leader to direct the group's work
D) The group has difficulty accommodating different cultures

Question 16

Groups are inferior to individual decision-making in

A) The quality of the decision
B) The number of person-minutes required
C) Commitment to implementing the decision
D) Motivation to make the decision

Question 17

If you wish to change people's attitudes and behaviors, which is most effective?

A) Entertaining and informative lectures
B) Interesting and informative reading materials
C) Group discussions
D) Second chance meetings

Question 18

Unique information is likely to be brought up in a group

A) Right away
B) Later over time
C) Interspersed throughout the process
D) All of the above

Question 19

Groups make better decisions than individuals because

A) They facilitate higher motivation to achieve
B) They lower the level of responsibility for implementing the decision
C) Individuals who are afraid to fail on their own feel more secure in the group
D) They polarize individual thinking

Question 20

Groups do not impair performance on individual tasks because

A) Every group member is equally at risk
B) They create evaluation apprehension
C) They provide psychological support
D) They are unconcerned about individual performance

Question 21

When members of a group engage in "free riding" the other members are likely to

A) Work harder
B) Work less hard
C) Continue to work the same
D) Eject the free rider from the group

Question 22

Janis indicates that groupthink is promoted when

A) The group is not cohesive
B) The group is insulated from outside criticism
C) The group leader is weak
D) The group considers too many alternatives

Question 23

In decision by majority, it is important to

A) Vote openly so everyone can see where the others stand
B) Emphasize that the majority is most likely to be right
C) Fairly consider the views of the minority
D) Insure that those in authority implement the decision

Question 24

A weakness of a decision by authority after group discussion is

A) In reality, the group members have no real input into the decision
B) Groups are usually too poorly structured to be of benefit
C) Members may tell the leader what they think he/she wishes to hear
D) The most persuasive arguments are often the most influential, rather than the
Most logical ones

Question 25

If you consider both time to make a decision and time to implement it, the least time-consuming decision making method is probably

A) Decision by authority
B) Decision by majority vote
C) Decision by consensus
D) Decision by expert

Question 26

In the Delphi Technique

A) Groups consult an expert in order to make a decision
B) Members are taught group skills so interaction improves
C) Individual opinions are circulated until a group average is determined
D) The authority makes the decision

Question 27

Social loafing may be present when

A) Members lack identifiable contributions
B) Group lacks cohesiveness
C) Group size is large
D) a and b
E) All of the above

Question 28

Total group member involvement in decision-making will likely result in

A) A better decision
B) Increased allegiance to the group
C) Stronger commitment to future group activities
D) a and b
E) All of the above

Question 29

Which is NOT a benefit of decision by consensus?

A) Allows the better debaters to convince the others
B) High quality decisions
C) Uses the resources of all group members
D) High group commitment to implementing the decision

Question 30

Decisions should be made by one group member when

A) Time does not allow for a group decision
B) Group members are extremely dissimilar
C) Group members cannot reach agreement
D) Never - all group members should be involved at all times

Question 31

Which of the following characterizes groupthink?

A) An extensive information search is used by the whole group
B) Anyone expressing doubts is pressured to conform
C) The group is paralyzed by the risks of making the decision
D) The group uses the ideas of outsiders instead of its own

Question 32

Which is NOT a guideline for decision by consensus?

A) Seek out and listen to differences of opinion
B) Change your mind when logically persuaded to do so
C) Use conflict-reducing procedures such as bargaining
D) Present the best case for what you believe

Question 33

A disadvantage of averaging individual opinions for decision-making is

A) It takes a great deal of time and psychological energy to collect the information
B) The leader is not taking responsibility for the decision
C) Members may change their mind afterward
D) Opinions of less knowledgeable members may outweigh more
Knowledgeable members

Question 34

When members of a group reduce their contributions during group efforts, they are engaging in

A) Free riding
B) Social loafing
C) Supervision
D) Groupthink

Question 35

What helps a group develop maturity

A) Time and experience working together
B) Socializing together before the meeting
C) Identifying experts early and listening to their advice
D) Insisting on consensus for each decision

Question 36

Social loafing can be reduced or avoided when

A) The success of the group depends on the total effort
B) The task is simple rather than complex
C) Each member's contributions are identifiable
D) The group uses dominant response techniques

Question 37

In group decision making, concurrence-seeking refers to

A) One side giving in to the other's argument.
B) One side promoting its point of view
C) The group coming to a quick decision
D) All sides agreeing to disagree

Question 38

The more heterogeneous the group

A) The more frequent the conflict
B) The less willing members are to accept incorrect responses
C) The greater the group productivity
D) b and c
E) c and d
F) All of the above

Question 39

Maxine's group is meeting right before lunch. What problem is most likely to arise to hinder good decision-making?

A) Free riding
B) Social loafing
C) Lack of cohesiveness
D) Dominant response

Question 40

Decision by minority is most useful when

A) Many decisions need to be made and time is short
B) An expert is unavailable to make the decision
C) Those in authority do not care about the outcome
D) Group members do not care who makes the decision

Question 41

When gathering information about a problem, groups should

A) Let the experts gather the information
B) Make a list of restraining and helping forces
C) Rely on the wishes of the high-power members
D) Eliminate possible courses of action

Question 42

Decision-making committees (minorities) can be efficient when a group has many decisions to make and not enough time to make all of them.

Question 43

Evaluation of the effects of the decision is

A) Outcome evaluation
B) Process evaluation
C) Supervisory evaluation
D) Group processing

Question 44

Which is NOT a step in force-field analysis?

A) Brainstorm all helping and restraining forces
B) Agree on the most important helping and restraining forces
C) Determine ways to reduce restraining forces and increase helping forces
D) Assign solutions to supervisors to implement

Question 45

What is the effect of reducing restraining forces?

A) Resistance in increased
B) Resistance is decreased
C) It has no effect
D) The administrative equilibrium is upset

Question 46

As groups get larger, more people try harder to solve the problem.

Question 47

In the Delphi Technique, members stay meeting together until a decision is made.

Question 48

In group decision-making, it is best to let the expert member make the decision and move on to the next agenda item.

Question 49

Computer mediated decisions are usually better than face-to-face decisions.

Question 50

When a group chooses one out of two attractive options, members tend to

A) Hold the unchosen option in reserve as an alternative
B) Discount the desirability of the unchosen option
C) Blame the expert if the chosen option does not work
D) Follow the group norms

Question 51

Heterogeneous membership is especially helpful on tasks requiring new solutions, flexibility, and quick adjustments to changing conditions.

Question 52

Group polarization is when half the group members are in opposition to the other half.

Question 53

49 Which is NOT a step in ensuring high-quality decisions?

A) Leaders communicate their position at the outset
B) Every member is assigned the role of challenging ideas
C) Devil's advocates are assigned the role of challenging ideas
D) Outside experts are invited to attend and challenge group views

Question 54

In identifying and defining a problem or issue, the group should

A) Appoint a leader to keep order among group members
B) Give unwilling members greater status in the group
C) Discuss the difference between the desired and actual state of affairs
D) Ask supervisors to leave the room so the issue can be discussed honestly

Question 55

Group size is important because

A) As groups get larger fewer members are involved in solving the problem
B) As groups get smaller, the quality of problem solving or decision-making is
Reduced
C) When a group member is missing, group performance suffers
D) Small groups make groupthink more likely to occur

Question 56

In force field analysis, the problem is seen as

A) An issue that administrators will need to negotiate
B) An issue that is too complex to be solved
C) A balance between forces working in the same direction
D) A balance between forces working in opposite directions

Question 57

On divisible, maximizing, and optimizing tasks, individuals tend to do better than groups.

Question 58

Evaluation of whether the decision was successfully implemented is

A) Outcome evaluation
B) Process evaluation
C) Supervisory evaluation
D) Group processing

Question 59

It is most important to effective decision-making that the group

A) Getting input from outside experts on feasible alternatives
B) Systematically analyze each alternative before making a final decision
C) Plan how to implement the decision quickly
D) Inform management of the reasons for their decision

Question 60

Second chance meetings allow for groups to

A) Reaffirm the wisdom of their decision choice
B) Discount the desirability of the unchosen options
C) Express remaining doubts and criticisms
D) Plan for evaluation of the implementation

Question 61

What are the differences between a social loafer and a free rider?

Question 62

What are the advantages and disadvantages of decision by consensus?

Question 63

Systematically analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative before making a final decision may be the most important factors in effective decision making.

Question 64

Explain how groups can be used to help change people's behaviors and attitudes.

Question 65

What are the advantages and disadvantages of decision by expert?

Question 66

Explain whether face-to-face or computer-mediated decision-making results in better decision-making and tell why.

Question 67

Discuss three factors that hinder group decision-making.

Question 68

Explain what group polarization is and why groups may polarize.

Question 69

What are the advantages and disadvantages of decision by averaging member's opinions?

Question 70

What are the advantages and disadvantages of decision by minority?

Question 71

What is the relationship between time and decision-making?

Question 72

Why do groups usually make better decisions than individuals?

Question 73

What are ways to reduce or eliminate social loafing?

Question 74

People generally feel like a sucker when they are contributing more than another member, even when that other member is trying hard to contribute but is unable to do so.

Question 75

What are the guidelines for making decisions by consensus?

Question 76

Discuss two reasons why it is important to have all members involved in decision-making.

Question 77

Once a decision has been made, the work of the group is done.

Question 78

What are the five characteristics of an effective group decision?

Question 79

What is the purpose of group decision-making?

Question 80

Explain how heterogeneous groups may be more productive than homogeneous groups.