Deck 6: Designing a Motivating Work Environment

Question 1

Terry,a sales manager,is trying to improve his team's performance in order to achieve the sales target for the quarter.Terry and his team are very aware of the reason for the lagging sales performance and by using a decision tree,he and his team are able to decide on a course of action to improve sales.Which of the following methods of decision making has Terry used?

A)The intuitive decision-making method
B)The rational choice method
C)The political method
D)The incremental trial-and-error method

Answer 1

B

Question 2

From a conventional point of view,which of the following is true of identifying a problem in a decision-making process?

A)Decision makers use only tacit knowledge over explicit knowledge to identify a problem.
B)Decision makers value overall well-being rather than maximizing monetary outcomes.
C)Decision makers place a particular emphasis on maximizing shareholder wealth.
D)Decision makers appreciate healthy debates over goals that don't receive a high level of agreement.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

During a decision-making process,when goal consensus is high,the criteria for making the decision are:

A)Agreed upon.
B)Always unclear.
C)Always uncertain.
D)Related exclusively to quality.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Low goal consensus means that:

A)There is high available knowledge.
B)The criteria for decision making are clear.
C)The criteria for decision making are always related to performance and not people.
D)There is considerable debate about an organization's goals.

Question 5

Henry's firm has noticed that its employee benefits plan is quite dysfunctional.There is a high level of consensus among all the stakeholders that the plan needs to be replaced.Using several analysis tools,such as analytical models and break-even analysis,Henry and his team are able to come to a decision on the alternate plan to be employed.In this scenario,which of the following methods of decision making was used?

A)The subjective method
B)The incremental trial-and-error method
C)The uncertainty choice method
D)The rational choice method

Question 6

A political method of decision making is appropriate when:

A)Goal consensus is low.
B)Available knowledge is low.
C)There is an absence of intense debate.
D)There are no competing goals.

Question 7

Which of the following is an advantage of programmed responses?

A)They help decision makers avoid going through all the steps of the decision-making process.
B)They don't run the risk of being dysfunctional.
C)They don't need regular review because they are standard.
D)They are less subject to change over long periods of time and don't run the risk of being obsolete.

Question 8

From a conventional point of view,which of the following is true of decision makers who are developing alternatives?

A)They choose one of the alternatives that have been developed,appreciating the healthy tension among various goals.
B)They value overall well-being rather than maximizing financial outcomes.
C)They use only tacit knowledge as it is easy to quantify.
D)They work toward ensuring that financial benefits of an alternative outweigh its financial costs.

Question 9

Which of the following methods of decision making is appropriate when there is high goal consensus but a low level of technical knowledge?

A)The subjective method
B)The incremental trial-and-error method
C)The rational choice method
D)The political method

Question 10

Which of the following is true of the rational choice method of decision making?

A)It is used when goal consensus is low.
B)It is appropriate when a problem is clearly understood.
C)It is suitable when there is inadequate time to collect necessary information.
D)It is a non-analytical approach to decision making.

Question 11

A team of sales executives wishes to increase unit sales of their cosmetic products by using advertising,but are unclear about which medium to use.This is because they have little knowledge about the relative effectiveness of each medium.In this scenario,which of the following methods of decision making is appropriate?

A)The rational choice method
B)The political method
C)The subjective method
D)The incremental trial-and-error method

Question 12

Which of the following is true of the incremental trial-and-error method of decision making?

A)It is inappropriate for pilot testing a decision.
B)It helps in fine-tuning existing strategies.
C)It is evident when there is a high level of technical knowledge.
D)It is found in situations with low levels of agreement on goals.

Question 13

With regard to developing alternative responses,which of the following kinds of responses is more appropriate when the overall cost of doing something exceeds the benefits of doing it?

A)Doing nothing
B)Following a routine response
C)Adhering to standard operating procedures
D)Developing a nonprogrammed response

Question 14

Which of the following is true of programmed responses?

A)They are new alternatives that are developed solely for preventing short cut decision making.
B)They are the most appropriate kinds of responses to unsolicited mails.
C)They are non-routine responses specifically programmed for an exclusive purpose.
D)They are consistent with the adherence to standard operating procedures.

Question 15

With regard to developing alternative responses,which of the following is true of sustainable decision makers?

A)Owing to quantitative differences,they have more responses to choose from,in comparison to conventional decision makers.
B)Their emphasis is less likely to go beyond maximizing owners' short-term financial well-being,as opposed to conventional decision makers.
C)They are often presented with improved chances of innovation owing to the greater variety of stakeholders,in comparison to conventional decision makers.
D)They do not take into consideration stakeholders who seem quite distant from the organization.

Question 16

Which of the following is a difference between programmed decisions and nonprogrammed decisions?

A)Programmed decisions are routine responses,while nonprogrammed decisions are developed for specific situations based on group-oriented creativity techniques.
B)Programmed decisions call for discovering and choosing new alternatives,while nonprogrammed decisions are consistent with existing procedures.
C)Programmed decisions are made by going through all the four steps of the decision-making process,while nonprogrammed decisions are quick shortcuts to avoid the lengthy decision-making process.
D)Programmed decisions can never become dysfunctional,while nonprogrammed decisions are valid only for a short period of time.

Question 17

Which of the following is true of the political method of decision making?

A)It is applicable when there is a high level of agreement on which goal to pursue.
B)It is used when an organization has all the resources to pursue multiple goals at the same time.
C)It is appropriate when competing goals are mutually exclusive.
D)It is applicable when decision makers want to avoid trading favours or bargaining.

Question 18

With regard to developing alternative responses,which of the following is true of scripts?

A)They are usually nonprogrammed alternatives based on inputs from a single stakeholder.
B)They are inherent and cannot be taught to be applied in an individual's personal and professional lives.
C)Human resource policies are scripts that are less likely to change over a period of time.
D)They should be reviewed occasionally to ensure they have not become dysfunctional.

Question 19

The marketing and production teams of a manufacturing firm are debating about which goal the firm should focus on.While the former supports maximizing sales revenue,the latter supports minimizing production costs.Both teams have the information needed to facilitate the course of action they support.As a consequence of this debate,the two teams decided to form a coalition.Which of the following decision-making methods have the teams adopted?

A)The rational choice method
B)The political method
C)The subjective method
D)The incremental method

Question 20

Which of the following is true of decision makers following the sustainable approach to OB?

A)They put the needs of other stakeholders on the "backburner."
B)They adopt a listening posture.
C)They rely exclusively on criteria within the operating norms of an organization.
D)They primarily focus on immediate goals rather than long-term goals.

Question 21

The _____ method of decision making is evident when there is little or no agreement on goals and limited information.

A)Objective
B)Random
C)Incremental
D)Rational

Question 22

In which of the following situations is satisficing evident?

A)A manager trying to develop an optimal solution
B)A manager choosing the best possible alternative after considerable research rather than settling for the first solution he comes across
C)A manager trying to achieve an ideal solution rather than seeking an acceptability threshold
D)A manager choosing a particular alternative because it fits the budgeted amount for a project

Question 23

Which of the following is a consequence of having incomplete information and a lack of complete goal consensus?

A)Satisficing
B)Thresholding
C)Optimization
D)Flipism

Question 24

Which of the following is true of the administrative model method of decision making?

A)It is a less commonly used method of decision making.
B)It is used when decision makers have some knowledge and a partial goal consensus.
C)It is useful when decision makers want to prevent the tendency of satisficing.
D)It occurs when there is an absence of bounded rationality.

Question 25

Among the decision-making methods,which of the following is a similarity between the rational choice method and the incremental trial-and-error method?

A)Both are appropriate when goal consensus is high.
B)Both are appropriate when knowledge is unavailable.
C)Both are appropriate when there is a shortage of time.
D)Both are appropriate when there is considerable debate about which goal to pursue.

Question 26

_____ refers to presenting ideas and alternatives in a way that has an influence on the choices that people make.

A)Rationalizing
B)Cataloguing
C)Sampling
D)Framing

Question 27

A team of advertising professionals is involved in a decision-making process seeking breakthrough decisions.The team members rely on their intuition to make bold decisions so much so that the decisions go against the rational analysis of the information at hand.In which of the following decision-making methods does this occur?

A)The trial-and-error method
B)The rational choice method
C)The political method
D)The subjective method

Question 28

Ivan is appraising his team members based on their performances in the last quarter.His appraisal of Otto is based entirely on Otto's poor social skills,and he disregards all of Otto's performance achievements.As a consequence,Otto receives a poor appraisal.Which of the following biases does Ivan have?

A)An anchoring and adjustment bias
B)A representativeness bias
C)A halo/horn bias
D)An adjustment bias

Question 29

Which of the following is generally true of people that are presented with information that has been framed to show they are securing gains?

A)They tend to be risk adverse.
B)They tend to act spontaneously.
C)They tend to disregard the information.
D)They are likely to take risks.

Question 30

In his quarterly appraisal report,Cox feels that his project manager,Gerald,has appraised him with an anchoring and adjustment bias.By this,Cox identifies that Gerald is more likely to have:

A)Placed too much emphasis on his first impression of Cox.
B)Relied on one piece of known information to make a generalization about Cox's abilities.
C)Relied too much on memorable information about Cox.
D)Compared Cox's performance to the typical image he has of a successful employee.

Question 31

Which of the following is true of the random method of decision making?

A)It is an ideal approach in organizations that favor rational methods.
B)It is less likely to yield breakthrough decision making.
C)It occurs when there is little or no agreement on goals.
D)It occurs when extensive knowledge is available.

Question 32

Which of the following statements supports the usefulness of tacit knowledge?

A)It is easy to put into words and transmit across many individuals.
B)It helps linguists easily codify and store information effectively.
C)It helps art experts distinguish between authentic and counterfeit works of art.
D)It helps language experts to articulate information in a straightforward manner.

Question 33

In the context of subjective effects of employee appraisals,which of the following best defines availability bias of appraisers?

A)It occurs when the appraisers place too much emphasis on their first impressions of the employees and are not likely to change it.
B)It is evident when the appraisers use one piece of known information to generalize about an employee's performance on matters where no information is available.
C)It is evident when the appraisers rely too much on memorable information to make judgments and ignore other fuller information.
D)It occurs when the appraisers make judgments about an employee in comparison to a typical image they have of a successful employee.

Question 34

Which of the following best defines tacit knowledge?

A)It refers to information that can be communicated and stored easily.
B)It refers to knowledge that can be easily transmitted and understood.
C)It refers to information people possess that is difficult to articulate.
D)It refers to straightforward chunks of information that are codified.

Question 35

According to Herbert Simon,in the context of decision making,bounded rationality is:

A)A decision maker's set of rules to achieve goal consensus through rational methods.
B)A decision maker's set of constraints due to a lack of complete information as well as limited processing ability.
C)A decision maker's intuitive ability to arrive at a decision irrespective of external constraints.
D)The ratio of a decision maker's level of tacit knowledge to his or her level of explicit knowledge.

Question 36

Which of the following best defines satisficing?

A)It refers to an approach that particularly attempts to find the best possible solution available.
B)It refers to the process of developing alternatives until one that performs adequately on specific criteria is found.
C)It refers to the process of developing an optimal response to an inadequate problem.
D)It refers to the process of conducting an exhaustive search for the most suitable alternative solution.

Question 37

Kingston is a project manager who appraises his employees based only on their most recent performances and disregards their performance over the entire appraisal period.Based on these characteristics,which of the following biases does Kingston have toward his employees?

A)An anchoring and adjustment bias
B)A halo/horn bias
C)A representativeness bias
D)An availability bias

Question 38

With regard to subjective effects on employee appraisals,a(n)_____ is evident when an appraiser uses one piece of known information to generalize an employee's performance where no information is available.

A)Availability bias
B)Halo/horn bias
C)Adjustment bias
D)Anchoring bias

Question 39

Elizabeth has been given the task of making the production process more efficient.Her manager has failed to set any goals and Elizabeth is unaware of his requirements.Additionally,she has insufficient information on the process and how to improve it.This has forced her to rely on intuition and take inspiration from past experiences to implement her decision.Which of the following decision-making methods does this exemplify?

A)The subjective method
B)The rational choice method
C)The political method
D)The incremental trial-and-error method

Question 40

With regard to subjective effects on employee appraisals,an initial poor impression being weighed too highly in an appraisal is a typical example of a(n)_____.

A)Anchoring and adjustment bias
B)Halo/horn bias
C)Representativeness bias
D)Availability bias

Question 41

Identify the correct statement about a sustainable approach to decision making.

A)It involves placing more emphasis on explicit knowledge than tacit knowledge.
B)It is inclusive of written guidelines and seeks to go beyond it.
C)It is less likely to take into account concerns that are difficult to quantify.
D)It is always characterized by a lack of consensus.

Question 42

Which of the following is true of the image theory?

A)It assumes that people choose alternatives using a complex non-linear process.
B)It consists of a profitability test that helps in showing the best alternative that aligns with an individual's principles and values.
C)It is similar to the traditional decision-making theory.
D)It comprises a compatibility test that is inconsistent with the use of virtue theory to make decisions regarding ethical dilemma.

Question 43

Which of the following best defines explicit knowledge?

A)It refers to information that is difficult to codify.
B)It refers to information that can be easily articulated.
C)It refers to unwritten guidelines that are not easily understood.
D)It directly refers to inferences drawn based on an individual's body language.

Question 44

Teresa is an experienced manager who makes judgments about all her employees based on their comparison to the image that she has formed of a typical successful employee.In this case,Teresa is said to have a(n)_____ bias.

A)Halo/horn
B)Availability
C)Representativeness
D)Anchoring

Question 45

Derek is a project manager who is appraising his employees for the past quarter.Based on Monique's exceptional performance on an observed task,Derek generalizes Monique as a high performer in all instances,disregarding her actual performance.Which of the following biases does Derek have?

A)An adjustment bias
B)An availability bias
C)A representativeness bias
D)A halo/horn bias

Question 46

In the context of overcoming problems associated with escalation of commitment,which of the following is true of a sustainable approach to decision making?

A)It encourages selective use of participation.
B)It places less emphasis on participation of others at all levels of decision making.
C)It lets decision makers view decisions as experiments.
D)It decreases the likelihood that decision makers will learn from poor decisions.

Question 47

With regard to organizations characterized by sustainable organizational behaviour,which of the following is true of their decision-making processes?

A)They are less broad in scope.
B)They are less participative in nature.
C)They focus primarily on financial well-being rather than focusing on a range of forms of well-being.
D)They tend to engender more respect and more effort from followers.

Question 48

Which of the following is an example of overcoming resistance to implementing a chosen alternative?

A)Discouraging demotion
B)Discouraging punishment methods
C)Avoiding career advancement opportunities
D)Offering financial bonuses

Question 49

The tendency to overlook or downplay feedback that makes a decision look bad and focus instead on feedback that makes it look good is known as _____.

A)Administrative inertia
B)Path dependence
C)Information distortion
D)Progress trap

Question 50

Which of the following should decision makers do to reduce the likelihood of escalation of commitment?

A)They must view the results of previous decisions as a legacy that must be continued.
B)They need to ask themselves what they have learned during the decision-making process that will inform future decisions.
C)They must recognize past flawed decisions and use them to implement in the same way for new decisions.
D)They must discourage the inclusive use of participation to overcome resistance.

Question 51

Which of the following occurs when a decision maker perseveres with the implementation of a poor decision despite evidence that it is not working?

A)Progress trap
B)Information overload
C)Escalation of commitment
D)Evidential reasoning

Question 52

_____ is the most basic reason for escalation of commitment.

A)Progress trap
B)Information distortion
C)Path dependency
D)Evidential reasoning

Question 53

Among factors that influence decision making and implementation,which of the following is true when the level of participation is high?

A)The commitment of other team members becomes less significant.
B)The goals of a team are well aligned.
C)There is adequate time for decision making.
D)A decision maker has adequate information.

Question 54

The _____ describes that decisions are not determined "by the numbers," but rather by comparing with ideal states or ideal images of self or outcomes.

A)Image theory
B)Attribution theory
C)Game theory
D)Normative decision theory

Question 55

By applying a decision-making process that was successful in the past,Larry decided to acquire a new business.This business has started to incur significant losses.Despite this,Larry refuses to admit the incompatibility of his decision-making process with every premise and persists with it.In this scenario,which of the following is evident?

A)Progress trap
B)Information distortion
C)Evidential reasoning
D)Escalation of commitment

Question 56

From a conventional point of view,which of the following is true of choosing an alternative in a decision-making process?

A)Decision makers use only tacit knowledge over explicit knowledge to identify a problem.
B)Decision makers value overall well-being rather than maximizing monetary outcomes.
C)Decision makers place a particular emphasis on maximizing shareholder wealth.
D)Decision makers appreciate healthy debates over goals that don't receive a high level of agreement.

Question 57

Diego has decided to use previously successful processes to revive several obsolete employee benefits policies.Despite these processes not being appropriate for reviving such policies,Diego persists in using them and faces high levels of resistance and the possibility of losses.In this scenario,Diego's escalation of commitment occurs due to _____.

A)Faulty reasoning
B)Administrative inertia
C)Information distortion
D)Blind persistence

Question 58

With regard to implementing decisions through a sustainable approach,which of the following is true of overcoming resistance to implementation?

A)Involving other members early in the decision-making process is critical.
B)Encouraging selective use of participation is a preferred method to defend decisions.
C)Punishing members who do not support implementation is unsustainable.
D)Viewing decisions as experiments leads to poor results.

Question 59

_____ refers to the tendency of existing structures and systems to persist even though they may not be useful.

A)Information distortion
B)Path dependence
C)Bandwagon effect
D)Administrative inertia

Question 60

The sustainable approach to decision making has inherent advantages because:

A)Sustainable decision makers tend to look for feedback that will help improve their decisions.
B)A sustainable approach increases the likelihood of escalation of commitment.
C)A sustainable approach increases the likelihood of administrative inertia.
D)Sustainable decision makers are less likely to unlearn.

Question 61

A(n)_____ refers to a choice that is made among a number of available alternatives.

Question 62

_____ is evident when decision makers do not know what outcomes to expect with choosing a particular alternative.

Question 63

A company's president tends to ignore a team's sales and focuses instead on the community service his team does in the inner city.Which concept best applies to this situation?

A)Intuition
B)Level of participation
C)Information distortion
D)Administrative inertia

Question 64

The _____ method of decision making is generally not an ideal approach in organizations that favor rational methods.

Question 65

When an organization lacks the resources to pursue competing goals at the same time,it typically uses a _____ method of decision making.

Question 66

Faced with a new challenge,a manager needs to arrive at a nonprogrammed decision.Which would be an appropriate step for this manager?

A)Consult the existing guidebook
B)Review an old guidebook
C)Meet with outside consultants
D)Do nothing

Question 67

A banker has a gut feeling about a new start-up's potential success and agrees to finance the company.Which decision-making method does this represent?

A)Incremental trial-and error method
B)Rational choice method
C)Administrative method
D)Subjective method

Question 68

Carla,a sustainable decision maker,views her decisions as experiments.This approach helps her employees be open to change because they know

A)That if they do not change,they will be fired.
B)That Carla is subject to administrative inertia.
C)Carla will always follow what the Board of Directors tells her to do.
D)Carla will solicit feedback regarding her decisions.

Question 69

A software company wants to increase its sales and decides to try a variety of marketing,including mass emails,television ads and printed mailings.The marketing department is tasked with identifying which method is most effective.This strategy reflects which concept?

A)Incremental trial-and-error
B)Rational choice
C)Subjective method
D)Political method

Question 70

The _____ method of decision making is found in situations with high agreement on goals but a low level of technical knowledge.

Question 71

_____ are typically developed to handle organizational problems that recur frequently.

Question 72

A computer company asks high school students for their opinions on the company's products.This use of distant stakeholders is an example of which of the following?

A)Scripts
B)Sustainable decision-making
C)Programmed decision-making
D)Conventional decision-making

Question 73

The _____ method is an analytical method of decision making that is evident when goal consensus is high and there is adequate time to collect all the information required.

Question 74

Rick notices that one of his employees is constantly late for work.What should Rick do to ensure that he makes a good decision?

A)Read the employee guidebook
B)Informally reprimand the employee
C)Meet with the employee to discuss the situation
D)Formally write up the employee

Question 75

A small company has been family-owned since its inception in 1965.The current manager often considers what his grandfather would think before he makes key decisions.Which concept does this best reflect?

A)Rational choice
B)Incremental trial-and-error
C)Image theory
D)Intuition

Question 76

While implementing a chosen alternative,which of the following is a difference between conventional and sustainable methods of decision making?

A)A conventional method appreciates tension among various organization goals,while a sustainable method ignores them.
B)A conventional method uses a participative approach selectively,while a sustainable method uses an experimental approach.
C)A conventional method uses a balance between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge,while a sustainable method relies on explicit knowledge more than tacit knowledge.
D)A conventional method focuses on many forms of well-being,while a sustainable method aims at specifically maximizing stakeholder wealth.

Question 77

According to Lee Roy Beach's image theory,a decision maker uses a _____ to determine how well a particular alternative fits his or her self-image in terms of values,goals,and plans.

Question 78

Change in the government is often extremely slow,including policies such as healthcare or education.This slowness reflects which concept?

A)Administrative inertia
B)Image theory
C)Information distortion
D)Political choice method

Question 79

The _____ helps us to make decisions regarding ethical dilemmas.

Question 80

A soft drink company continues to produce a high-caffeine product,despite low sales and poor media coverage.The CEO believes that the product is still a good one and does not want to discontinue its production.Which concept does this decision reflect?

A)Intuition
B)Image theory
C)Escalation of commitment
D)Political method