Organization Management Test 2 Chapter 7

____ occurs when people's subjective confidence in their decision making is greater than their objective accuracy. For example, Sara thinks she is a superb writer and editor, but her reports are always filled with typos, grammatical errors, and sentence fragments. A. Overconfidence bias B. Predisposition bias C. Confidence bias D. The tunnel vision effect e. Hindsight bias

Elvira is using the rational model of decision making. The alternative that she chose and implemented does not appear to be working. To correct the situation, Elvira should consider A. giving it more time, changing it slightly, trying another alternative, or starting over. B. giving it more time, cutting costs, or increasing organization synergy. C. doing nothing or starting over. D. doing nothing. E. giving it more time and not changing anything.

When Marcos, the sales manager, is deciding on who will train the new sales trainee, he tries not to look at just the recent sales numbers but also checks past sales reports to determine who is the most productive salesperson. By using this method he is not affected by the ______ bias. A. adjustment B. sunk-cost C. representativeness D. availability E. escalation of commitment

BP and Halliburton executives made the decision not to invest in the oil well blowout preventer that experts believe would have prevented the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and fire off the coast of Louisiana. The executives made their decision based on their belief that their decision would have no great negative consequences. Their decision is an example of A. the curse of knowledge. B. relaxed avoidance. C. satisficing. D. panic. E. relaxed change.

Marie is a small-business owner who loves to take risks. She also enjoys going out and meeting customers and potential clients—the social aspect of her job. Marie relies on intuition and discussions with others to acquire information. As an interior decorator, Marie utilizes her imaginative strengths, taking a broad perspective to problem solving, and she likes to consider many options and future possibilities. Marie's decision-making style is best described as A. analytical. B. conceptual. C. directive. D. ambiguous. E. behavioral.

Readily available information may not present a complete picture of a situation due to A. anchoring and adjustment bias. B. the representativeness effect. C. information bias. D. availability bias. E. confirmation bias.

When people seek information to support their point of view and discount data that do not, they are subject to ______ bias. For example, Joe uses the fact that his commute is now shorter to confirm his belief that there are fewer cars on the road. However, Joe is not accounting for the fact that he recently took over the graveyard shift, and that traffic is always lighter at night and in the wee hours of the morning. A. framing B. representativeness C. confirmation D. overconfidence E. blind

A decision tree is A. a location used by Chinese philosopher Confucius in times of intense pressure. B. an organization's decision network. C. a structure of problem-solving ideas, with its roots based on the organization's mission. D. a graph of decisions and their possible consequences. E. the hierarchy that must be followed when getting decisions approved.

Female investors make trades much less often than men because they A. rely strictly on intuition. B. do more research, and they tend to base their investment decisions on considerations other than just numbers. C. take longer to make decisions because of their busy lives. D. endeavor to involve their family in decisions and it takes longer to get agreement. E. are overcoming problems with the glass ceiling.

Gregory was talking with Kareem, his assistant manager, saying, "When I make a decision on which employees will do a project, I use three simple factors, which I call my decision-making 'rules of thumb.' I consider their attitude and knowledge, and how hard they work." Gregory's rules of thumb, _________, is what he uses when making a decision. A. decision steps B. thought steps C. the domino effect D. heuristics E. planning model

With the community interested in eating healthy, Sue Ellen, a restaurant owner, is considering adding more vegetarian dishes to her menu. This decision is uncertain and risky, and she finally decides to go with her gut feelings. Sue Ellen is exhibiting A. nonrational decision making. B. MBO. C. rational decision making. D. a code of ethics. E. analytics.

The model of decision making that explains how managers should make decisions, assuming managers will make logical decisions that will be the optimum in furthering the organization's best interests, is known as the ____. For example, a manager who uses this model may be personally opposed to outsourcing jobs overseas, but she nonetheless decides to outsource customer-service operations to India because doing so is in the company's best interests. A. solutions agenda B. interpersonal-decision agenda C. rational decision-making model D. focused decision-making model E. employee relations model

Orlando, the manager of a camera store, believes that his store may be closed by corporate in the near future, so he cannot sleep well at night and he is dealing with severe anxiety and irritability, and he has been ill several times this month. Several times Orlando has missed important details in his job, and he almost got in an automobile accident this morning. Orlando is experiencing A. management by avoidance. B. an outer defensive avoidance. C. inward attack. D. panic. E. blind avoidance.

A(n) _______ is a computer-based information system that provides a flexible tool for analysis and helps managers focus on the future. A. decision support system B. flexible computing system C. collaborative IT system D. IT synergy web E. group-web

Scott has a bachelor's degree in ethics and human resources, and he has extensive experience working with employees and managers regarding ethics, especially in the area of ethical dilemmas. In his current position he has assisted extensively in determining if the company's decisions are both ethical and lawful. Which position in the company does Scott's background make him ideally suited for? A. ethics officer B. values specialist C. ethical dilemma watchdog D. board of directors position E. decision tree manager

Republic advertisements about Representative Joe Smith, the Democratic candidate, portray him as lazy, dishonest, and poor at his job. At the same time, the Democratic ads for Joe Smith describe him as a caring, honest, hard worker. The sponsors of these advertisements know that ads can affect whom voters choose on Election Day. The tendency of decision makers (the voters in this example) to be influenced by how a situation or problem is presented to them is an example of A. stirring the waters. B. goal displacement. C. the fog effect. D. overconfidence bias. E. framing bias.

George, Donna, and Maria are on the five-member Benefits Task Force that is researching options for the new benefits package. Over lunch, George suggests that going with the Members' Choice HMO is the best course of action, and Donna and Maria agree with George for the sake of unanimity, without ever researching and accurately assessing the decision. George, Donna, and Maria are engaged in A. groupthink. B. heuristics. C. the Delphi technique. D. group marketing. E. goal displacement.

The advantages of _______ are having a greater pool of knowledge, gaining different perspectives, gaining intellectual stimulation, having a better understanding of decision rationale, and having a deeper commitment to the decision. A. group decision making B. more flexibility in the final decision C. a deeper commitment to the decision D. the less-thought required decision E. a quicker decision

"Is the proposed action legal? If yes, does the proposed action maximize shareholder value? If yes, is the proposed action ethical? If no, would it be ethical not to take the proposed action?" These four questions, which managers of all organizations should ask when confronted with a decision on an action, form the basis of A. Frank Gilbreth's code of ethical conduct. B. the stakeholder's value statement. C. Maslow's hierarchy of needs. D. the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. E. Bagley's ethical decision tree.

Satisficing is the tendency of A. decision makers to be influenced by the way a situation or problem is presented to them. B. people to see events based on what has happened in the past. C. group members to agree for the sake of unanimity and thus avoid accurately assessing the decision situation. D. people to view events as being more predictable than they really are. E. a group to settle on a decision that is "good enough."

Despite your best intentions, it's hard to bring the best evidence to bear on your decisions. Why? A. There's too much evidence; and there's not enough good evidence and the side effects outweigh the cure. B. There's no competition, or there's too much competition. C. It is too expensive; and it's not ethical and there's not enough good evidence. D. People are trying to mislead you; and the evidence will not allow MBO. E. It will hurt diversity and synergy within your organization.

_____ are difficulties that inhibit the achievement of goals. For example, the lack of parking may be the main reason why a new restaurant is failing. A. Objectives B. Synergies C. Values D. Problems E. Alternatives

With regard to decision making, it is accurate to say that groups A. take less time to make decisions, and their decision-making accuracy is higher. B. take less time to make decisions, and the larger the group, lower the quality of the decision. C. have higher decision-making accuracy when group members know a good deal about the relevant issues. D. that are larger make higher-quality decisions. E. take less time to make decisions, and are more confident about their choices than individuals are.

Malik and his managers spent a large sum of money on the new training program, and they feel that there has been little improvement as a result of the investment. The training is scheduled to continue for two more months, and Malik feels that the company has already spent too much money on the training to simply abandon it. Malik is experiencing A. blind bias. B. a training trap. C. confirmation bias. D. sunk-cost bias. E. a catch-22 effect.

Manuel, a server in a popular family restaurant, is the most popular employee with both customers and employees, and as a result, he usually earns the most in tips. He is always ready to lend a hand when asked, and with his warm personality and supportive nature, people confide in him. Manuel does have a problem telling people no, and he has a tendency to avoid conflict because he is concerned about hurting others or getting people mad. Manuel likely has a(n) ______ decision-making style. A. directive B. conceptual C. ambiguous D. behavioral E. analytical

Paula, the controller of Tasty Pizza, is purchasing several new delivery vehicles. Paula has numerous work responsibilities, so she has limited time to shop for cars. Because of the time constraints, she cannot make an extensive search for the best alternative, so she looks for cars until she finds a model that is satisfactory. Paula is following the _____ model. A. dilemma B. rational C. limited focus D. satisficing E. limited scope

Chad and his partner, John, have decided to update their computer network, although they have no expertise in this area. During a meeting with John, Chad commented that "Our decision is limited by numerous constraints, such as our understanding of the complexity of technology, time and money, imperfect information, and our conflicting goals." These limitations are hindrances to A. satisficing. B. rational decision making. C. intuitive decision making. D. MBO. E. nonrational decisions

Sam was recently promoted to the production manager of a busy shoe factory. He was chosen because prior to his promotion he had proven himself to be very efficient, and as a department manager he had a logical and practical approach to solving problems. Sam has a reputation for being decisive and getting things done. Most of the factory's employees like Sam, but they feel his style is autocratic, because he likes to do things by the book. Sam has a(n) ______ style. A. directive B. conceptual C. ambiguous D. behavioral E. analytical

How do you know that a group in which you're taking part is suffering from groupthink? A. All ideas and conclusions must be backed up with data. B. The group would rather take the time to come to the right decision rather than agree too quickly on what may be the wrong decision. C. Peer pressure makes you agree with the ideas of the other people in your group. D. Minority dissent is allowed, even encouraged. E. The group actively considers new ideas, even if these ideas challenge underlying assumptions.

__________ is the tendency for people with strong prior beliefs, when confronted with a choice, to make their decisions based on their beliefs even if their beliefs are false. A. Prior-hypothesis bias B. Narrow-minded perception C. Tunnel vision bias D. The curse of knowledge E. Single-vision stereotyping

____ is a technique used to help groups generate multiple ideas and alternatives for solving problems. A. Groupthink B. Big Data C. MBO D. Brainstorming E. Framing

The Safety Committee at Office Supply Mart was formed to help make the store a safer place, and some of the committee's suggestions are going to be costly. During the committee meeting, the vice president of accounting announced that company profits were much lower than expected, and she suggested that profits are more important than safety. The profit goal is now outweighing the committee's safety goal, which is an example of A. goal bumping. B. groupthink. C. secondary placement. D. satisficing. E. goal displacement.

George, a longtime hotel manager for Holiday Inn, was meeting with Sally, a new front-desk manager, and telling her about his recent decision not to fire a front desk employee about whom several guests had complained. George discussed the four stages of the decision process. He said, "I first identified the problem, and then I gathered alternative solutions. I evaluated each choice and selected a solution. I then implemented my decision to not fire the employee but instead to provide him with additional training. Finally, I followed up with an evaluation of the solution I'd chosen." George is using the ______ process. A. employee relations model B. focused decision-making model C. interpersonal-decision agenda D. solutions agenda E. rational decision-making model