Deck 7: Information and Decision Making

Question 1

Organizations send public information to stakeholders and the external environment for image building, financial reporting, and product advertising.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The raw facts and observations made useful and meaningful for decision making is called information.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Information that is complete is accurate, reliable, and can be used with confidence.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Computer competency is the ability to utilize computers and information technology to locate, retrieve, evaluate, organize, and analyze information for decision making.

Question 5

Information competency is the ability to use technology to locate, retrieve, evaluate, organize, and analyze information for decision making.

Question 6

Because of the increasing use of information technology, individuals and teams can communicate more easily and share information, and coordination and control among decision makers can be increased.

Question 7

In management, IT has planning, organizing, leading, and controlling advantages.

Question 8

Public information is the information gathered from stakeholders and the external environment.

Question 9

Because of the growth of management information systems, more managers are needed to coordinate the flow, sharing, and processing of information.

Question 10

At the organization's boundaries, information in the external environment is accessed and managers use this intelligence information to deal effectively with competitors and key stakeholders.

Question 11

A management information system is designed to use information technology to meet the specific information needs of managers as they make a variety of decisions on a day-to-day basis.

Question 12

Information that is understandable is clear and easily understood by the user and is free from unnecessary detail.

Question 13

The management process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling is ultimately driven by information.

Question 14

Analytical competency is the ability to understand new technologies and to use them to their best advantage.

Question 15

Information systems use the latest in information technology to collect, organize, and distribute data in such a way that they become meaningful as information.

Question 16

Management Information systems use technology that processes, organizes, analyzes, and distributes data.

Question 17

Neither supply chain management nor customer relationship management can be improved with information technology (IT) connections.

Question 18

Information technology assists us in acquiring, storing, and processing information.

Question 19

Information technology is changing organizations by breaking down traditional barriers that prevent people and departments from communicating and sharing information.

Question 20

Timeliness, quality, completeness, relevance, and understandability are characteristics of useful information.

Question 21

Problem solving and decision making are dependent on quality information being available to the right people at the right time.

Question 22

A performance deficiency occurs when an actual situation turns out either better than anticipated or offers the potential to be better than anticipated.

Question 23

A person who approaches problems in a rational, step-by-step, and analytical fashion is engaging in systematic thinking.

Question 24

Problem avoiders ignore information that would otherwise signal the presence of a problem; problem seekers try to solve problems as they arise; and problem solvers actively process information and look for problems to solve or opportunities to explore.

Question 25

Systematic thinkers are likely to break a complex problem into smaller components, make a plan before taking action, and search for information to facilitate problem solving in a step-by-step fashion.

Question 26

Managers who ignore information that would otherwise signal the presence of a problem are problem deniers.

Question 27

Intuitive thinkers will broadly and quickly evaluate a problem situation, explore and abandon alternatives very quickly, and consider a number of alternatives and options simultaneously.

Question 28

A performance opportunity occurs when actual performance is less than desired performance.

Question 29

Intuitive thinking tends to work best in situations where facts are limited and few decision precedents exist.

Question 30

Problem solvers actively process information and constantly look for problems to solve.

Question 31

A performance threat occurs when the actual performance is less than desired or is moving in an unfavourable direction.

Question 32

Multidimensional thinking is the capacity to view many problems at once, in relationship to one another, and across long and short time horizons.

Question 33

Problem solving is the process of identifying a discrepancy between actual and desired states, and then taking appropriate corrective action.

Question 34

Problem solvers are managers who try to solve problems but only when forced to by the situation.

Question 35

Managers should use systematic thinking in high uncertainty situations where limited facts and few decision precedents exist.

Question 36

Problem avoiders deal reasonably well with performance threats but miss many performance opportunities.

Question 37

Systematic thinkers are likely to deal with many aspects of a problem simultaneously, consider hunches, and jump quickly from one issue to another.

Question 38

Strategic opportunism is the ability to remain focused on long-term objectives while being flexible in dealing with short-term problems and opportunities in a timely manner.

Question 39

Problem seekers actively process information and constantly look for problems to solve or opportunities to explore.

Question 40

A performance opportunity offers a chance for a better future if the right steps are taken.

Question 41

Unstructured problems are ones that are familiar, straightforward, and clear with respect to the information needs.

Question 42

A programmed decision is made when a new and unfamiliar problem arises and a novel solution is crafted to meet the demands of the unique situation at hand.

Question 43

Sensation thinkers are comfortable with abstraction and unstructured situations.

Question 44

Programmed decisions use solutions already available from past experience to solve structured problems.

Question 45

When decision makers lack complete information on action alternatives and their consequences but have some knowledge of the probabilities associated with the various outcomes, they are operating in an environment of uncertainty.

Question 46

Cognitive styles are the various ways individuals deal with information while making decisions.

Question 47

Most problem situations encountered by higher-level managers can be classified as routine and structured.

Question 48

An appropriate rule for crisis management is to never back off of a crisis because there will never be a better opportunity than the present time to resolve a crisis situation.

Question 49

A crisis may be made worse if critical decisions are made with poor or inadequate information and from a limited perspective.

Question 50

Most managers react to crisis situations by readily involving others in solving the problem.

Question 51

A crisis is an unexpected problem that can lead to disaster if not resolved quickly and appropriately.

Question 52

Structured problems can be dealt with through programmed decisions as they are routine and occur over and over again.

Question 53

A programmed decision is made when students are placed on academic probation for not maintaining a minimum grade point average.

Question 54

Unstructured problems are full of ambiguities and information deficiencies, and require nonprogrammed decisions that craft novel solutions to meet the demands of a unique situation.

Question 55

Decision making in a certain environment requires the use of probabilities to estimate the likelihood that a particular outcome will occur.

Question 56

An appropriate guideline for crisis management is to take the time to understand what is going on with the crisis situation and the conditions under which the crisis must be resolved.

Question 57

The four cognitive styles are sensation thinkers, intuitive thinkers, intuitive feelers, and systematic feelers.

Question 58

Proactive managers try to identify those situations that are likely to be susceptible to a crisis, and then develop basic contingency plans for crisis management.

Question 59

An appropriate guideline for crisis management is to never "fight fire with fire" by starting another crisis to get people's attention.

Question 60

Intuitive feelers prefer broad and global issues, and they value flexibility and human relations.

Question 61

A cost/benefit analysis compares the costs of implementing an alternative with its expected benefits.

Question 62

Uncertain environments force managers to rely heavily on intuition, judgment, informed guessing, and hunches.

Question 63

A risk environment is a decision situation in which factual information is available about the possible alternative courses of action and their outcomes.

Question 64

The third step of the decision-making process involves selecting a preferred course of action.

Question 65

According to classical decision theory, managers choose the satisfactory alternative.

Question 66

According to the behavioural decision model, managerial decisions are rational only within the boundaries defined by available information.

Question 67

A manager who chooses the alternative giving the absolute best solution to a problem is making an optimizing decision.

Question 68

Common mistakes in defining problems include: focusing on symptoms instead of causes, choosing the wrong problem to address, and defining the problem too broadly or too narrowly.

Question 69

The first step in the decision-making process involves gathering information, processing information, and deliberating.

Question 70

Generation and evaluation of alternative course of action is the decision-making stage at which people assemble the facts and information that will be helpful for problem solving.

Question 71

Making decisions within the constraints of limited information and alternatives is known as bounded rationality.

Question 72

The behavioural decision model describes decision making with complete information, where the manager faces a clearly defined problem and knows all possible action alternatives as well as their consequences.

Question 73

According to classical decision theory, managers make rational choices in a certain world because they have complete information regarding all possible alternatives and their consequences.

Question 74

Uncertainty is the most difficult decision environment for any manager.

Question 75

A classical decision model describes decision making within the constraints of limited information and alternatives.

Question 76

Typical criteria for evaluating alternative solutions include benefits, costs, timeliness, acceptability, and ethical soundness.

Question 77

The second step of the decision-making process will be effective when alternatives meet ethical standards that are acceptable to the organization's various stakeholders.

Question 78

The second step of the decision-making process will be effective when the search for alternatives is completed rapidly.

Question 79

A key aspect of problem identification and definition involves clarifying goals by determining exactly what a decision should accomplish.

Question 80

The behavioural decision model describes decision making where people are assumed to act only in terms of what they perceive about a given situation.