Management question bank

TRUE/FALSE

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

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

3. A decision is a choice made from available alternatives.

4. 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.

5. Two classifications of management decisions are programmed and structured.

6. Two employees in Stacey's department quit which is normal for her department. She is faced with the decision to fill these positions. This would be considered a nonprogrammed decision.

7. Gerald's Groceries and Marty's Market decided to merge their operations. This would be considered a nonprogrammed decision.

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

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.

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

11. Uncertainty is by far the most difficult decision situation.

12. A situation where the goals to be achieved or the problem to be solved is unclear, alternatives are difficult to define, and information about outcomes is unavailable refers to ambiguity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

19. The administrative model is considered to be normative.

20. Goals often are vague, conflicting, and lack consensus among managers, according to the administrative model of decision making.

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

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

23. According to both research and managerial experience, intuitive decisions are best and always work out.

24. Managers need to take a balanced approach for effective decision making.

25. According to the New Manager Self-Test, linear means to use primarily intuition to make decisions; nonlinear means using logical rationality to make decisions.

26. The process of forming alliances among managers is called coalition building.

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

28. The political model consists of vague problems and goals, limited information about alternatives and their outcomes, and a satisficing choice for resolving problems using intuition.

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

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

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

32. Step one in the managerial decision-making process is recognition of decision requirement.

33. For a non-programmed decision, feasible alternatives are hard to identify and in fact are already available within the organization's rules and procedures.

34. For decisions made under conditions of low uncertainty, managers may develop only one or two custom solutions that will satisfice for handling the problem.

35. The best alternative is the one in which the solution best fits the overall goals and values of the organization and achieves the desired results using the fewest resources.

36. The formulation stage involves the use of managerial, administrative, and persuasive abilities to ensure that the chosen alternative is carried out.

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

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

39. In the implementation stage, decision makers gather information that tells them how well the decision was implemented and whether it was effective in achieving its goals.

40. Feedback is the part of monitoring that assesses whether a new decision needs to be made.

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

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

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

44. The most effective managers are consistent in using their own decision style rather than shifting among styles.

45. Most bad decisions are errors in judgment that originate in the human mind's limited capacity and in the natural biases of the manager.

46. Justifying past decisions is a common bias of managers.

47. 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.

48. Most people underestimate their ability to predict uncertain outcomes.

49. Brainstorming uses a face-to-face interactive group to spontaneously suggest a wide range of alternatives for decision making.

50. Interestingly, major decisions in the business world are commonly made by an individual.

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

52. Brainwriting refers to the tendency of people in groups to suppress contrary opinions.

53. Point-counterpoint is a decision-making technique in which people are assigned to express competing points of view.

54. Decision making involves effort both before and after the actual choice.

55. Making a choice is the most significant part of the decision-making process.

56. In the real world, few decisions are certain.

57. A highly ambiguous situation can create what is sometimes called a wicked decision problem.

58. The approach that managers use to make decisions usually falls into one of three types – the classical model, the administrative model, and the political model.

59. The growth of quantitative decision techniques that use computers has reduced the use of the classical approach.

60. According to the classical model of decision making, managers’ searches for alternatives are limited because of human, information, and resource constraints.

61. Good intuitive decision making is based on an ability to recognize patterns at lightning speed.

62. The classical model of decision-making works best in organizations that are made up of groups with diverse interests, goals, and values.

63. Administrative and political decision making procedures and intuition have been associated with high performance in unstable environments in which decisions must be made rapidly and under more difficult conditions.

64. Managers should be asking questions such as “What is the urgency of the problem?” during the development of alternatives stage of managerial decision-making.

65. Individuals with a conceptual decision-making style are more socially oriented than those with an analytical style.

66. When managers look for information that supports their existing instinct or point of view, avoiding information that contradicts it, they are justifying past decisions.

67. Studies show that electronic brainstorming generates about 20 percent fewer ideas than traditional brainstorming.

68. Groupthink refers to the tendency of people in groups to suppress contrary opinions.

69. One area where speed is not particularly crucial is when an organization faces a crisis.

CASE

Scenario - Vaughn Bately

Vaughn Bately manages a group of eight electrical engineers at Defiance Designs. His team is highly trained and well respected by experts both inside and outside the company. Recently one of Vaughn's engineers suggested a new technique for the development and use of an argon laser. There appeared to be rich potential for this technology, but Vaughn wasn't certain that developing this technology was the best use of his limited resources. Vaughn was facing a significant decision.

1. If Vaughn uses the classical model of decision making, which of these assumptions would he reject?

a.	The decision maker is rational and uses logic in assigning values and evaluating alternatives.
b.	The desired decision will maximize attainment of organizational objectives.
c.	The decision-maker strives for complete certainty, gathering complete information.
d.	Problems are precisely formulated and defined.
e.	All of these are accepted.

2. If Vaughn uses the administrative model of decision making, which of these assumptions would he reject?

a.	Decision-makers settle for a satisficing rather than maximizing solution
b.	The search for alternatives is limited because of information, human and resource constraints
c.	Rational procedures will normally lead to the best solution in a complex organization
d.	Decision objectives are often vague, conflicting, and lack consensus among managers
e.	All of these are accepted

3. Which of the following steps would Vaughn not take in making his decision?

a.	Sense and recognize the decision requirement
b.	Implement the chosen alternative
c.	Create a set of alternatives
d.	Diagnose and analyze problem causes
e.	All of these would be included

COMPLETION

1. A(n) ____________________ is a choice made from available alternatives.

2. ____________________ is the process of identifying problems and opportunities and then resolving them.

3. ____________________ decisions involve situations that have occurred often enough to enable decision rules to be developed and applied in the future.

4. ____________________ decisions are made in response to situations that are unique, are poorly defined and largely unstructured, and have important consequences for the organization.

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

6. ____________________ 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.

7. Under conditions of ____________________, managers know what goal they wish to achieve, but information about alternatives and future events is incomplete.

8. ____________________ 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.

9. The ____________________ model of decision making is based on economic assumptions.

10. A normative decision making model defines how a manager ____________________ make decisions.

11. In many respects, the ____________________ model represents an "ideal" model decision-making and can't usually be attained by real people in real organizations.

12. The ____________________ model of decision making describes how managers actually make decisions in difficult situations, such as those characterized by nonprogrammed decision, uncertainty, and ambiguity.

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13. The recognition that people have limits on how rational they can be is known as ____________________.

14. ____________________ means that decision-makers choose the first solution alternative that satisfies minimal decision criteria.

15. A(n) ____________________ approach describes how managers actually make decisions, not how they should.

16. ____________________ represents a quick apprehension of a decision situation based on past experience but without conscious thought.

17. ____________________ is the process of forming alliances among managers.

18. A(n) ____________________ occurs when organizational accomplishment is less than established goals.

19. ____________________ exists when managers see potential of enhancing performance beyond current levels.

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20. The step in the decision making process in which managers analyze the underlying causal factors associated with the situation is called ____________________.

21. ____________________ is the willingness to undertake risk with the opportunity of gaining an increased payoff.

22. The ____________________ stage involves the use of managerial, administrative, and persuasive abilities to ensure that the chosen alternative is carried out.

23. ____________________ is important because decision making is a continuous, never ending process.

24. Differences among people with respect to how they perceive problems and make decisions is called ____________________.

25. The ____________________ style is often the style adopted by managers having a deep concern for others as individuals.

26. People with a(n) ____________________ style usually are concerned with the personal development of others and may make decisions that help others achieve their goals.

27. A(n) ____________________ is assigned the role of challenging the assumptions and assertions made by the group.

SHORT ANSWER

1. List four of the eight questions Kepner and Tregoe recommend that managers ask when diagnosing and analyzing causes.

2. List the three guidelines of innovative group decision-making in today's businesses.

ESSAY

1. Explain the difference between programmed and nonprogrammed decisions and give an example of each.

2. Compare decision conditions of certainty, risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity.

3. Briefly describe the assumptions underlying the classical model of decision making.

4. Explain the four underlying assumptions of the administrative model.

5. List and describe the four basic assumptions of the political model.

6. What are the six steps in the managerial decision making process?

7. Explain how a manager selects the desired decision in the managerial decision making process.

8. Briefly describe the four major personal decision styles.