Deck 9: Managerial Decision Making

Question 1

Ambiguity refers to a situation where the goals to be achieved or the problem to be solved is unclear, alternatives are difficult to define, and information about outcome is unavailable.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The administrative model of decision making describes how manager actually make decisions in difficult situations.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A choice made from available alternatives is called a decision.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The classical decision making model assumes that the decision-maker is rational, and makes the optimal decision each time.

Question 5

The political model represents an "ideal" model of decision making that is often unattainable by real people in real organizations.

Question 6

In 1999, WorldCom, a telecommunications company, decided to buy Skytel. This would be considered a programmed decision.

Question 7

Decision making is easy, given that everybody makes decisions everyday.

Question 8

Uncertainty is by far the most difficult decision situation.

Question 9

Uncertainty means that a decision has clear-cut goals, and that good information is available, but the future outcomes associated with each alternative are subject to chance.

Question 10

Normative decision theory recognizes that managers have only limited time and cognitive ability and therefore their decisions are characterized by bounded rationality.

Question 11

The main difference between risk and uncertainty is that with risk you know the probabilities of the outcomes.

Question 12

Normative means it defines how a decision maker should make decisions.

Question 13

According to Unlocking Innovative Solutions Through PEOPLE in Chapter 9, Southwest Airlines uses simulation to change its freight handling system.

Question 14

Two employees in Jessie's department quit. She is faced with the decision to fill these positions. This would be considered a nonprogrammed decision.

Question 15

According to the administrative model of decision making, managers' searches for alternative are limited because of human, information, and resource constraints.

Question 16

Programmed and structured are the two classifications of management decisions.

Question 17

Decision-making must not be done amid ever-changing factors, unclear information, and conflicting points of view.

Question 18

Gary's Groceries and Mike's Market decided to merge their operations. This would be considered a nonprogrammed decision.

Question 19

According to the administrative model of decision making, goals often are vague, conflicting, and lack consensus among managers.

Question 20

Programmed decisions are decisions that are made for situations that have occurred often in the past and allow decision rules to be developed to guide future decisions.

Question 21

Coalition building is the process of forming alliances among managers.

Question 22

Devil's advocate technique is similar to brainstorming in that both techniques prevent individuals from challenging other group member's assumptions.

Question 23

The Vroom-Jago model helps a manager gauge the appropriate amount of participation by decision makers in making a specific decision.

Question 24

Managers with an analytical decision style like to consider complex solutions based on as much data as they can gather.

Question 25

The Vroom-Jago model helps leaders to determine the best level of group involvement in the decision process, with five styles ranging from Decide through Delegate.

Question 26

Satisficing behavior occurs when we choose the first solution alternative that satisfies minimal decision criteria regardless of whether better solutions are expected to exist.

Question 27

The rapid pace of today's business environment requires only top management to make decisions and have the information, skills, and freedom they need to respond immediately to problems and questions.

Question 28

Once the problem or opportunity has been recognized and analyzed, the decision-maker should implement the alternative.

Question 29

The administrative model is considered to be normative.

Question 30

Intuition is a quick apprehension of a decision situation based on past experience but without conscious thought.

Question 31

Risk propensity refers to the willingness to undertake risk with the opportunity of gaining an increased payoff.

Question 32

People who prefer simple, clear-cut solutions to problems use the directive style.

Question 33

By making mistakes, people go through the process of decision learning, which means that they gain valuable experience and knowledge to perform more effectively in the future.

Question 34

Cognitive scientist Gary Klein has found that intuition begins with goals.

Question 35

Managers might block or distort negative information because they don't want to be responsible for a bad decision.

Question 36

The behavioral style is often adopted by managers who like to consider complex solutions based on as much data as they can gather.

Question 37

Nonprogrammed decisions require six steps, however, programmed decisions being structured and well understood requires only one step.

Question 38

The administrative model closely resembles the real environment in which most managers and decision makers operate.

Question 39

Feedback provides decision-makers with information that can precipitate a new decision cycle.

Question 40

Managers confront a decision requirement in the form of either a problem or an opportunity.

Question 41

When a small community hospital decides to add a radiation therapy unit, it is considered as a

A) programmed decision.
B) structured decision.
C) nonprogrammed decision.
D) poor management decision.
E) certainty decision.

Question 42

Tyke, a production manager at Kristal's Kites, recently chose to schedule his workers to work overtime. His alternative was to hire more workers. He is now monitoring the consequences of his choice. This is an example of

A) planning.
B) decision-making.
C) organizing.
D) controlling.
E) leading.

Question 43

If your instructor has an attendance policy, she/he is using a

A) programmed decision.
B) unique approach.
C) condition of ambiguity.
D) nonprogrammed decision.
E) none of these.

Question 44

Two area banks, Bank A and Bank B, decided to merge their operations. This is an example of a

A) programmed decision.
B) nonprogrammed decision.
C) decision rule.
D) structured decision.
E) bad community decision.

Question 45

Associated with the condition of __________ is the lowest possibility of failure.

A) ambiguity
B) uncertainty
C) certainty
D) risk
E) all of these

Question 46

Which of these decisions are associated with decision rules?

A) Nonprogrammed
B) Unique
C) Programmed
D) Ill-structured
E) Novel

Question 47

Examples of nonprogrammed decisions would include the decision to

A) reorder supplies.
B) develop a new product or service.
C) perform routine maintenance on one of the machines in manufacturing.
D) terminate an employee for violation of company rules.
E) fill a position.

Question 48

Under conditions of __________, statistical analyses are useful.

A) certainty
B) ambiguity
C) risk
D) uncertainty
E) conflict

Question 49

Nonprogrammed decisions are made in response to situations that are

A) unique.
B) unstructured.
C) important to the organization.
D) all of these
E) unique and important to the organization.

Question 50

Good examples of __________ decisions are strategic decisions.

A) nonprogrammed
B) programmed
C) insignificant
D) recurring
E) structured

Question 51

Managers are often referred to as

A) decision makers.
B) peace makers.
C) conflict creators.
D) unnecessary layer of employees.
E) profit suppressor.

Question 52

__________ is a choice made from available alternatives.

A) Decision
B) Plan
C) Goal
D) Tactic
E) Strategy

Question 53

__________ refers to the process of identifying problems and then resolving them.

A) Organizing
B) Controlling
C) Decision-making
D) Planning
E) Leading

Question 54

Choosing between a differentiation strategy and an overall cost leadership strategy is an example of

A) a plan.
B) an objective.
C) an alternative.
D) a decision.
E) a strategy.

Question 55

Programmed decisions are made in response to __________ organizational problems.

A) unusual
B) recurring
C) significant
D) minor
E) unique

Question 56

Nordstrom Department store's "No questions asked - Return's Policy" is an example of a(n)

A) programmed decision.
B) nonprogrammed decision.
C) novel decision.
D) poor management.
E) unstructured decision.

Question 57

__________ means that all the information the decision-maker needs is fully available.

A) Certainty
B) Risk
C) Uncertainty
D) Ambiguity
E) None of these

Question 58

Bierderlack has a policy that states that more than three absences in a six-month period shall result in a suspension. Erin, the manager, has just decided to suspend one of her shift employees for violating this policy. This is an example of

A) a programmed decision.
B) a nonprogrammed decision.
C) an insignificant decision.
D) poor management.
E) personal grudge.

Question 59

__________ means that managers know which goals they wish to achieve, but information about alternatives and future events is incomplete.

A) Certainty
B) Risk
C) Uncertainty
D) Ambiguity
E) Advocacy

Question 60

__________ means that a decision has clear-cut goals and that good information is available, but the future outcomes associated with each alternative are subject to chance.

A) Certainty
B) Risk
C) Uncertainty
D) Ambiguity
E) Brainstorming

Question 61

Which of these assumptions are included in the classical model of decision making?

A) Problems are unstructured and ill defined.
B) The decision-maker strives for conditions of certainty.
C) Criteria for evaluating alternatives are unknown.
D) The decision-maker selects the alternatives that will minimize the economic return to the organization.
E) The situation is always uncertain.

Question 62

__________ means that the goals to be achieved or the problem to be solved is unclear, alternatives are difficult to define, and information about outcomes is unavailable.

A) Certainty
B) Risk
C) Uncertainty
D) Ambiguity
E) Brainstorming

Question 63

Which of these has the highest possibility of failure?

A) The conditions of certainty
B) The conditions of ambiguity
C) The conditions of uncertainty
D) The conditions of risk
E) All of these

Question 64

Kari is a manager at My Size Clothing. Her job is very complex and she feels that she does not have enough time to identify and/or process all the information she needs to make decisions. Kari's situation is most consistent with which of the following concepts?

A) Bounded rationality
B) The classical model of decision making
C) Satisficing
D) Brainstorming
E) Scientific management

Question 65

__________ is the approach that defines how a decision maker should make decisions and provides guidelines for reaching an ideal outcome for the organization.

A) Administrative
B) Descriptive
C) Normative
D) Bounded rationality
E) None of these

Question 66

The condition under which ambiguity occurs include

A) alternatives are difficult to define.
B) objectives are well defined.
C) information about outcomes is readily available.
D) all the alternatives are known.
E) decisions are already made.

Question 67

Intuition is based on __________, but lacking in __________.

A) conscious thought, practicality
B) experience, applicability
C) a solid analysis, applicability
D) experience, conscious thought
E) thought-process, guts

Question 68

__________ approach describes how managers actually make decisions, where as __________ approach defines how a decision-maker should make decisions.

A) Normative, descriptive
B) Normative, classical
C) Descriptive, normative
D) Descriptive, administrative
E) Normative, administrative

Question 69

The __________ model of decision making is most valuable when applied to __________.

A) administrative, programmed decisions
B) classical, nonprogrammed decisions
C) classical, programmed decisions
D) classical, ambiguous decisions
E) administrative, structured decisions

Question 70

The essence of __________ is to choose the first solution available.

A) bounded rationality
B) creativity
C) decision maximization
D) satisficing
E) the classical model of decision making

Question 71

Micah is a manager at the Tennis Tools. She is expected to make decisions that are in the organization's best economic interests. Her decisions should be based on which of the following models?

A) The administrative model of decision making
B) The garbage can model of decision making
C) The scientific management model of decision making
D) The classical model of decision making
E) The humanistic model of decision making

Question 72

Kent, a product manager, wants to increase the market share of his product. He is unsure about how to go about it, not knowing for sure how costs, price, the competition, and the quality of his product will interact to influence market share. Kent is operating under a condition of

A) risk.
B) ambiguity.
C) certainty.
D) uncertainty.
E) brainstorming.

Question 73

The __________ approach defines how a decision-maker should make decisions.

A) normative
B) scientific
C) descriptive
D) reflective
E) humanistic

Question 74

__________ is the process of forming alliances among managers during the decision making process.

A) Networking
B) Socializing
C) Coalition building
D) Satisficing
E) Passing the buck

Question 75

__________ is by far the most difficult situation for a decision-maker.

A) Certainty
B) Risk
C) Uncertainty
D) Ambiguity
E) Brainstorming

Question 76

The concept that people have the time and cognitive ability to process only a limited amount of information on which to base decisions is known as

A) satisficing.
B) bounded rationality.
C) classical model of decision making.
D) normative approach.
E) scientific approach.

Question 77

The __________ model of decision making describes how managers actually makes decisions in situations characterized by nonprogrammed decisions, uncertainty, and ambiguity.

A) normative
B) classical
C) administrative
D) scientific management
E) objective

Question 78

When managers know which goals they wish to achieve, but information about alternatives and future events is incomplete, the conditions of __________ exists.

A) risk
B) uncertainty
C) ambiguity
D) certainty
E) problematic

Question 79

The classical model of decision making is based on __________ assumptions.

A) philosophical
B) irrational
C) economic
D) uncertainty
E) technological

Question 80

The __________ model of decision making is associated with satisficing, bounded rationality, and uncertainty.

A) classical
B) administrative
C) quantitative
D) rational
E) political