Deck 7: Decision Making and Creativity

Question 1

Selecting the best decision alternative tends to be more difficult when organizational goals:

A)are unknown
B)are ambiguous
C)conflict with each other
D)are not fully agreed upon by those participating in the decision
E)all of these statements are correct

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The rational choice model of decision making is impossible to apply in reality because:

A)it ignores the fact that problems must be defined before alternatives are chosen.
B)it assumes that human beings make decisions based on their emotions.
C)it assumes that people are efficient and logical information processing machines.
D)it ignores the fact that people evaluate their decision after an alternative has been chosen and implemented.
E)All of these statements are correct.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

One reason why the rational choice model doesn't fit reality is that it focuses on logical thinking and completely ignores:

A)emotions.
B)alternatives.
C)evaluation of solutions.
D)subjective expected utility.
E)organizational politics.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The tendency to define problems in terms of a preferred solution occurs because:

A)it reduces ambiguity of the situation.
B)decision makers prefer ambiguity rather than decisiveness.
C)this avoids the escalation of commitment problem.
D)it avoids problems of bounded rationality.
E)all of these statements are correct.

Question 5

When should decision makers bypass the search for alternative solutions and development of new solutions?

A)Never; bypassing these stages results in poorer decisions.
B)When the decision has ethical implications.
C)In most nonprogrammed decision situations.
D)In most programmed decision-making situations.
E)Only under conditions of bounded rationality.

Question 6

A nonprogrammed decision is:

A)any routine situation where the company has a ready-made solution.
B)any decision that does not relate directly to the employee's job description.
C)any nonroutine situation in which employees much search for alternative solutions.
D)any decision that is clearly within the employee's job description.
E)any decision that affects the employee's performance.

Question 7

The rational choice model of decision making begins with:

A)evaluating alternatives
B)recognizing and defining the problem
C)searching for alternatives
D)implementing the solution
E)searching for information about outcomes to each alternative

Question 8

Decision makers tend to rely on their implicit favourite when:

A)they are trying to determine the most appropriate decision style.
B)they evaluate decision alternatives.
C)they want to avoid escalation of commitment.
D)they want to make more creative decisions.
E)they don't have any alternatives to choose from,yet still want to make a decision.

Question 9

At what stage of the rational choice decision making model would we consider whether the decision is programmed or non-programmed?

A)Identifying the problem or opportunity.
B)Choosing the most appropriate decision style.
C)Developing alternative solutions.
D)Choosing the best alternative.
E)Evaluating decision outcomes.

Question 10

Perceptual defence causes us to:

A)defend the solutions we propose.
B)defend those who agree with us when we identify a problem.
C)defend the perception we have after making a decision.
D)block out bad news or information that threatens our self-concept.
E)justify our actions to defend our position.

Question 11

During a meeting,senior executives of a consumer products company tackled the problem that they were late in detecting several consumer trends,such as the trend towards using see-through plastics in kitchenware.While trying to determine the source of this problem,one executive said: "The main problem here is that we need to find a better industrial design firm to design our products." Which of the following best describes the decision-making problem that this executive is exhibiting?

A)The executive is engaging in escalation of commitment.
B)The executive is being too creative.
C)The executive is acting as a devil's advocate when the situation calls for consensus.
D)The executive is engaging in groupthink.
E)The executive is defining the problem in terms of a solution.

Question 12

The idea that decision makers rely on an implicit favourite to evaluate alternatives is:

A)an assumption that economists made in their early research about decision makers.
B)an emerging theory that has not yet been studied in organizational settings.
C)a recommendation put forward by organizational behaviour scholars to improve decision making.
D)the main reason why decision makers have difficulty identifying problems.
E)None of the answers are correct.

Question 13

Which of the following best describes how we can improve our problem identification skills?

A)Emotions have no effect on how people identify problems.
B)Becoming aware or the five common problems identification biases.
C)Emotions mainly signal us to follow either a programmed or nonprogrammed decision process.
D)If the rational brain center determines that the situation is a problem,it transmits this evaluation to the emotional center,which then energizes the decision maker to act without choosing alternatives.
E)Emotions ensure that we rely on the rationality and avoid intuition in the decision making process.

Question 14

Which of these statements about information processing in decision making is FALSE?

A)Decision makers typically look at alternatives at the same time rather than sequentially.
B)Perceptual biases distort the selection and interpretation of information.
C)Decision makers don't think through all of the possible alternatives and their outcomes.
D)Decision makers engage in a limited search for and evaluation of alternatives.
E)Decision makers compare each alternative against an implicit favourite.

Question 15

The rational choice paradigm of decision making does NOT assume that:

A)organizational goals are clear and agreed upon.
B)the outcomes of all alternatives are known.
C)all alternatives should be considered.
D)choices are affected by information is freely available.
E)decision makers tend to choose the first alternative exceeding the minimum standard.

Question 16

In what stage of the decision-making process do emotions influence human decision making?

A)Identifying problems
B)Identifying alternatives
C)Choosing alternatives
D)All of these statements are true.
E)All of these statements are false; emotions do not influence decision making.

Question 17

Which of the following is a potential problem when evaluating and choosing alternatives in decision making?

A)Limited information processing
B)Implicit favourite
C)Satisficing
D)All of these statements are potential problems
E)None of these statements are potential problems

Question 18

For the past 2,500 years,scholars in most western countries have mainly followed the ____________ model of decision making.

A)implicit favourite
B)bounded rationality
C)rational choice
D)prospect theory
E)programmed decision

Question 19

Mental models have what effect on the decision-making process?

A)They perpetuate assumptions that make it difficult to see new opportunities.
B)They cause production blocking in decision making.
C)They make it unnecessary to develop alternative solutions to the problem.
D)They cause decision makers to maximize rather than satisfice.
E)They help people to be more creative in decision making.

Question 20

The concept of bounded rationality holds that:

A)our perception of a rational reality is bounded by non rationality.
B)decision makers process limited and imperfect information and therefore rarely select the best choice.
C)decision makers are "bounded" by organizational limitations.
D)decision makers are bound to project images of themselves as rational thinkers.
E)our realities are bounded by our own perceptions so that everyone's reality is different.

Question 21

The textbook mainly identifies post-decisional justification as a problem with which stage of decision making?

A)Evaluating decision outcomes.
B)Implementing the selected alternative.
C)Developing alternative solutions.
D)Choosing the best decision style.
E)Identifying problems or opportunities.

Question 22

Escalation of commitment is more likely to occur when:

A)the decision maker has a strong need to justify their decision.
B)the costs of ending the project are high or unknown.
C)the decision maker screens out negative information about the decision due to perceptual defence.
D)The decision maker dislikes losing a particular amount more than he/she likes gaining the same amount.
E)all of these conditions exist.

Question 23

_________ heuristic is a natural tendency to evaluate probabilities of events or objects by the degree to which they resemble other events or objects rather than on objective probability information.

A)Insufficient
B)Anchoring and adjustment
C)Informational
D)Representativeness
E)Resemblance

Question 24

People with a high need to 'save face' are more likely to:

A)identify problems when none exist
B)engage in escalation of commitment
C)participate in risky decisions
D)follow the rational choice model of decision making
E)view problems as opportunities.

Question 25

The most accurate view of intuition is that it:

A)is a trait that people acquire mainly through heredity.
B)is more likely to be found in men than women.
C)is acquired more quickly by people whose careers span several unrelated industries.
D)is the ability to know when a problem or opportunity exists and select the best course of action without conscious reasoning.
E)does not really exist.

Question 26

After choosing among several computer server systems,the Director of Information Systems feels very positive about the choice made.However,some of this optimism is due to the fact that the Director forgot about some of the limitations of the chosen system and unconsciously downplays the importance of the positive features of the rejected systems.The Director of Information Systems is engaging in:

A)escalation of commitment
B)satisficing
C)rational choice thinking
D)post-decisional justification
E)The Director of Information Systems is engaging in none of these decision processes.

Question 27

The Director of Nursing is looking for a new work schedule for nurses throughout the hospital.She evaluates a schedule system as soon as she learns about it.Eventually,she finds a schedule that is 'good enough' for her needs,even though there may be better schedules available that she hasn't yet learned about.The Director of Nursing is engaging in:

A)escalation of commitment
B)satisficing
C)perceptual blinders
D)post-decisional justification
E)none of these statements describes the Director of Nursing's decision.

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways emotions affect our choices?

A)We make preferences too early in the decision-making process.
B)We change the process of evaluating alternatives.
C)We rely on emotions as if they were information.
D)We are influenced by the emotions of others.
E)All of the above are correct.

Question 29

Satisficing refers to:

A)the tendency to choose an alternative that is good enough rather than the best.
B)the feeling employees experience when they are not involved in a decision in which they would have made a valuable contribution.
C)a desirable outcome of decision making when several employees participate in the decision process.
D)the feeling employees experience when they make the right decision.
E)the tendency for decision makers to evaluate alternatives sequentially rather than comparing them all at once.

Question 30

A committee of employees developed a process whereby they would choose a new office-cleaning firm from the six companies that tendered proposals for the contract.The process involved carefully assessing each firm on the four factors that were most important (e.g.cost),weighting the importance of each factor and then choosing the firm with the highest score.This decision-making activity potentially minimizes problems with:

A)production blocking
B)constructive conflict
C)satisficing
D)problem identification
E)this process has no value in decision making and is discouraged in the textbook

Question 31

Scenario planning improves decision making by encouraging:

A)employees to engage in satisficing.
B)people to think about preferred solutions to problems long before they occur.
C)people to focus on solutions during the process of identifying problems.
D)bounded rationality.
E)employees to use their implicit favourite.

Question 32

Systematically evaluating alternatives through careful measurement and calculation tends to minimize:

A)satisficing
B)reliance on an implicit favourite
C)escalation of commitment
D)reliance on the rational choice process.
E)satisficing and reliance on an implicit favourite

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT a consequence of post-decisional justification?

A)The individual continues to look for alternatives better than the one selected.
B)The individual reduces the importance of negative aspects of the selected alternative.
C)The individual forgets about favourable aspects of the discarded alternatives.
D)The individual looks for more information that further supports the selected alternative.
E)The individual increases the importance of negative aspects of the discarded alternatives.

Question 34

Which of these statements about intuition is TRUE?

A)People sometimes justify biased and non-systematic decision making as intuition.
B)Intuition incorporates logical reasoning that has become habit over time.
C)Intuition is particularly valuable when the decision maker has extensive tacit knowledge.
D)Intuition is both an emotional experience and a rapid unconscious analytic process.
E)All of these statements are true.

Question 35

Intuition relies on which of the following?

A)Escalation of commitment
B)Satisficing
C)Bounded rationality
D)Post-decisional justification
E)Tacit knowledge

Question 36

Recent studies of human decision making conclude that which of the following ultimately energizes us to select the preferred choice?

A)logic
B)emotions
C)an implicit favourite
D)creativity
E)intuition

Question 37

The natural tendency for people to be influenced by an initial anchor point such that they do not sufficiently move away from that point as new information is provided refers to:

A)insufficient heuristic.
B)anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
C)anchoring and information deficiency heuristic.
D)representativeness heuristic.
E)obtuseness.

Question 38

A decision maker's need to justify their decision tends to cause:

A)more ethical decisions.
B)escalation of commitment.
C)creative decisions.
D)the decision maker to look for more alternatives.
E)All of these statements are correct.

Question 39

Which of the following decision-making activities tends to make the most use of tacit knowledge?

A)Intuition
B)Decision support systems
C)Escalation of commitment
D)Data mining
E)Both intuition and data mining

Question 40

Which of these statements about human decision making is FALSE?

A)Personal biases typically distort the selection and interpretation of information.
B)Decision makers engage in a limited search for and evaluation of alternatives.
C)Decision makers usually examine all alternatives at the same time.
D)Decision makers compare each alternative to an implicit favourite.
E)Decision makers have a limited capacity to process information.

Question 41

Insight and verification are:

A)two symptoms of groupthink.
B)the first two stages of creativity.
C)the two main differences between brainstorming and electronic brainstorming.
D)the last two stages of the creative process.
E)the first two stages of evaluation apprehension.

Question 42

The first stage of the creative process is:

A)divergent thinking
B)preparation
C)experimentation
D)insight
E)intuition

Question 43

A marketing specialist needed to find a new way of marketing the company's main product to clients.While watching a movie one evening,the marketing specialist saw a scene that gave her inspiration for a new marketing plan.According to the creative process model,the stage in this creative process after inspiration is:

A)preparation
B)incubation
C)verification
D)insight
E)morphological analysis

Question 44

Incubation and verification are:

A)stages of the creative process
B)elements of bounded rationality
C)elements of the MARS model.
D)problems with team decision making.
E)two forms of influence in organizations.

Question 45

Divergent thinking increases the level of:

A)programmed decision making.
B)creativity.
C)bounded rationality.
D)escalation of commitment.
E)Divergent thinking improves none of these decision processes.

Question 46

Convergent thinking mainly improves what stage of the creative process?

A)Incubation
B)Insight
C)Preparation
D)All of these statements are correct
E)Convergent thinking does not improve any part of the creative process.

Question 47

Establishing a preset level at which the decision is abandoned or re-evaluated is recommended mainly to:

A)minimize reliance on an implicit favourite.
B)avoid relying on mental models to recognize problems or opportunities.
C)minimize escalation of commitment.
D)minimize problem identification.
E)reduce the incidence of satisficing.

Question 48

An executive was trying to think of ways to increase sales of ballpoint pens among young people.While walking down a street with lots of neon signs,the executive got the idea that young people would want to buy pens with ink in bright neon colours and with pen containers that glow in the dark.This situation is an example of:

A)divergent thinking.
B)escalation of commitment.
C)devil's advocacy.
D)bounded rationality.
E)programmed decision making.

Question 49

Ensuring that the person who makes the decision is different from the person who evaluates that decision is recommended mainly to:

A)minimize escalation of commitment.
B)avoid making decisions in the future.
C)increase the incidence of an implicit favourite.
D)minimize reliance on an implicit favourite.
E)increase the incidence of satisficing.

Question 50

In decision making,creativity is used:

A)to find problems
B)to identify alternatives
C)to implement solutions more effectively
D)to assist all stages of decision making.
E)creativity is not part of the decision-making process

Question 51

The tendency for people to dislike losing a particular amount more than they like gaining the same amount is called:

A)implicit favourite.
B)bounded rationality.
C)intuition.
D)nonprogrammed decision making
E)prospect theory effect.

Question 52

In the creative process,insight:

A)produces a well-developed and tested solution to problems.
B)follows the verification stage.
C)almost always occurs at night,rarely during the daytime.
D)is the opposite of divergent thinking.
E)is none of these statements.

Question 53

Which of these statements about creativity is FALSE?

A)Very few people are creative.
B)Creative people have above-average intelligence.
C)Creative people tend to have a high need for achievement.
D)People tend to be more creative when they possess a good foundation of knowledge and experience on the subject.
E)Mental models potentially interfere with creativity.

Question 54

The creative potential of a person tends to increase with his or her:

A)ability to synthesize information.
B)ability to analyze ideas.
C)ability to apply ideas.
D)ability to be persistent.
E)All of these statements are correct.

Question 55

Which of the following occurs during the incubation stage of the creative process?

A)Escalation of commitment
B)Prospect theory effect
C)Convergent thinking
D)Divergent thinking
E)Decision choice

Question 56

Divergent thinking mainly contributes to which of the following?

A)Bounded rationality
B)The rationality choice decision model
C)Groupthink
D)Organizational politics
E)Creativity

Question 57

Prospect theory and closing costs are two reasons why people:

A)engage in escalation of commitment.
B)define problems in terms of preferred solutions.
C)make non-programmed decisions rather than programmed decisions.
D)engage in satisficing.
E)encourage employee involvement.

Question 58

The creative process includes,in order,the following stages:

A)incubation-verification-escalation-satisficing
B)verification-satisficing-preparation-insight
C)insight-verification-escalation-incubation
D)preparation-incubation-insight-verification
E)preparation-verification-escalation-satisficing

Question 59

People who are creative thinkers:

A)are generally less creative than people with an analytic thinking style.
B)have a strong tendency to follow fixed patterns of behaviour.
C)are persistent.
D)prefer spending their time improving existing things rather than creating new things.
E)are all of the above.

Question 60

Escalation of commitment can be minimized by ensuring that:

A)there are ready-made alternatives to resolve the problem.
B)those who choose the decision are different from those who implement and evaluate it.
C)the team leader has strong opinions about the preferred options.
D)organizational goals are relatively ambiguous.
E)the person who makes the decision is also responsible for terminating the project.

Question 61

You have just received seed money for a new internet business and you want to hire a dozen people with a lot of creative potential.To hire the most creative people,you would select applicants who:

A)have no experience in this industry,have high analytic intelligence,and have a relatively low need for achievement.
B)value self-direction,have a high degree of nonconformity,and have a relatively low need for affiliation.
C)have strong mental models regarding their field of knowledge,have high synthetic intelligence,and have a relatively low need for social approval.
D)try to avoid taking risks,have a high need for achievement,and have a high need for social approval.
E)have none of these sets of characteristics.

Question 62

The benefits of employee involvement increase with:

A)the routineness and similarity of the problem or opportunity.
B)management's knowledge of the situation.
C)the standardization and repetitiveness of the problem or opportunity.
D)the number and similarity of employees involved in the decision.
E)the novelty and complexity of the problem or opportunity.

Question 63

Need for stimulation,the ability to synthesize ideas,and low need for social approval are characteristics of:

A)people who tend to be more creative.
B)convergent thinkers.
C)employees with a high evaluation apprehension.
D)people who conform to peer pressure in decision making.
E)people who are anarchists and anti-social.

Question 64

You have just been assigned the task of developing an innovative new product,using people from engineering,marketing,purchasing and one or two other departments in the organization.To help the group to be as creative as possible,you would:

A)give the team a very tight deadline to come up with a creative idea.
B)threaten to fire any team member who suggests a silly idea that wastes time in the product-development process.
C)encourage competition among team members as to who has the best job performance.
D)move these employees out of their departments and into a common area where they can continuously communicate with each other.
E)apply all of these activities.

Question 65

Employees tend to be more creative when they:

A)avoid risk-taking.
B)enjoy abiding by rules and status.
C)have a high need for social approval.
D)value obedience to their bosses.
E)have none of these characteristics.

Question 66

Employee involvement is LESS valuable or successful when:

A)decisions are programmed.
B)employees are committed to decisions made by their bosses.
C)employees have the same information as their bosses.
D)employee norms conflict with organizational goals.
E)all of the above conditions exist.

Question 67

Employee involvement tends to have which of the following benefits in decision making?

A)Leads to a more accurate definition of the problem.
B)Improves the number and quality of alternative solutions.
C)Increases the likelihood of selecting the best alternative.
D)Strengthens employee commitment to the solution.
E)All of these statements are correct.

Question 68

Jamaal doesn't particularly like to abide by meaningless rules,is not bothered by ambiguous situations,is willing to take a chance by making mistakes and is less concerned about social approval than most other employees.Jamaal probably has:

A)a bad attitude.
B)an inventive thinking style.
C)a strong aversion to authority.
D)a high risk of engaging in groupthink.
E)a deep respect for the irrational choice paradigm.

Question 69

The preferred level of employee involvement depends on:

A)Source of decision knowledge
B)Risk of conflict
C)Decision structure
D)Decision commitment
E)The preferred level of involvement depends on all of these factors.

Question 70

Which of the following questions is NOT explicitly considered in the contingencies of employee involvement?

A)Do subordinates need to develop their decision-making skills?
B)Is conflict among subordinates over preferred solutions likely?
C)Is the problem well structured?
D)How important is subordinate commitment to the decision?
E)Do subordinates have sufficient information to make a high-quality decision?

Question 71

The contingencies of employee involvement include all of the following EXCEPT:

A)Source of decision knowledge
B)Decision quantity
C)Decision structure
D)Decision commitment
E)Risk of conflict

Question 72

Which of the following is a creative practice?

A)Asking people unfamiliar with the issue to explore the problem with you.
B)Looking through the notes and files of past projects.
C)Performing morphological analysis.
D)All of these statements improve creativity.
E)None of these statements improves creativity

Question 73

People tend to be more creative when:

A)they have a reasonable level of job security.
B)they are secluded from colleagues in other areas of the organization.
C)they risk losing their job if their ideas fail.
D)they lack personal freedom to try things out.
E)they have all of these conditions.

Question 74

An important resource for creativity is:

A)open communications.
B)programmed decision routines.
C)a job where you work alone.
D)a performance-based reward system.
E)a high level of pressure to perform.

Question 75

Associative play,morphological analysis,and cross-pollination are three strategies to:

A)increase group polarization.
B)apply brainstorming more exactly as originally described by Osborn.
C)increase conformity to peer pressure.
D)improve creativity.
E)make the problem-finding stage of decision making less emotional.

Question 76

What do impromptu storytelling,morphological analysis,and artwork have in common?

A)They are forms of cross-pollination.
B)They increase the risk of bounded rationality.
C)They are forms of associative play.
D)They significantly weaken the creative process.
E)They are mainly used to improve the rational choice process.

Question 77

Which of these statements about creativity is TRUE?

A)Creativity is found in only 15 per cent of the adult population in Canada.
B)Creative people have no knowledge of the fundamental issues on that decision problem.
C)Creativity is strongest when employees have formed strong mental models.
D)Creative people have a strong need for social approval.
E)Creative people possess sufficient knowledge and experience on the subject.

Question 78

A learning orientation is:

A)an important condition for creativity.
B)one of four causes of escalation of commitment.
C)one of the outcomes of the prospect theory effect.
D)a personal characteristic of someone who has low creative potential.
E)the label given to people who learn but are not creative in their learning.

Question 79

Which of the following would be considered employee involvement?

A)A legally mandated union-management health and safety committee.
B)A supervisor casually asking an employee whether the company should adopt a new type of work schedule.
C)A computer program that allows employees to submit information and ideas.
D)An arrangement whereby employees elect two colleagues to the company's Board of Directors.
E)All of these statements are considered employee involvement.

Question 80

Organizations can improve creativity by:

A)discouraging employees from making mistakes.
B)giving employees the freedom to pursue novel ideas and accepting they will make reasonable mistakes.
C)giving employees tight deadlines to develop new ideas.
D)all of these statements are correct.
E)none of these actions improve creativity.