Management-Chapter 9

Question 1

Decision Making

Answer 1

The process of identifying problems and opportunities and then resolving them

Question 2

Decision

Answer 2

A choice made from available alternatives.

Question 3

Programmed Decision

Answer 3

One made in response to a situation that has occurred often enough to enable managers to develop decision rules that can be applied in the future.

Question 4

Non-programmed Decision

Answer 4

One made in response to a situation that is unique, is poorly defined and largely unstructured, and has important consequences for the organization.

Question 5

Certainty

Answer 5

A situation in which all the information the decision maker needs is fully available.

Question 6

Risk

Answer 6

A decision has clear-cut goals and good information is available, but the future outcomes associated with each alternative are subject to chance.

Question 7

Uncertainty

Answer 7

Occurs when managers know which goals they want to achieve, but information about alternatives and future events is incomplete.

Question 8

Ambiguity

Answer 8

A condition in which the goals to be achieved or the problem to be solve is unclear, alternatives are difficult to define, and information about outcomes is unavailable.

Question 9

Classical Model

Answer 9

The ideal, rational approach to decision making which is based on the assumption that managers should make logical decisions that are economically sensible and in the organization’s best economic interests.

Question 10

Normative

Answer 10

The classical model and it defines how a manager should make logical decisions and provides guidelines for reaching and ideal outcome.

Question 11

Administrative Model

Answer 11

The concepts of bounded rationality and satisficing and describes how managers make decisions in situations that are characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity.

Question 12

Descriptive

Answer 12

The administrative model is descriptive, an approach that describes how managers actually make decisions rather than how they should make decisions according to a theoretical model.

Question 13

Bounded Rationality

Answer 13

Means that people have the time and cognitive ability to process only a limited amount of information on which to base decisions.

Question 14

Satisficing

Answer 14

Means choosing the first alternative that satisfies minimal decision criteria, regardless of whether better solutions are presumed to exist.

Question 15

Intuition

Answer 15

An aspect of administrative decision making that refers to a quick comprehension of a decision situation based on past experience but without conscious thought.

Question 16

Coalition

Answer 16

An informal alliance among managers who support goal or solution.

Question 17

Problem

Answer 17

A situation in which organizational accomplishments have failed to meet established goals

Question 18

Opportunity

Answer 18

A situation in which managers see potential organizational accomplishments that exceed current goals

Question 19

Diagnosis

Answer 19

The step in which managers analyze underlying causal factors associated with the decision situation.

Question 20

Risk Propensity

Answer 20

Selection of an alternative depends partly on managers’ risk propensity, or their willingness to undertake risk with the opportunity of gaining an increased payoff.

Question 21

Implementation

Answer 21

This step involves using managerial, administrative, and persuasive abilities to translated the chosen alternative into action.

Question 22

Decision Styles

Answer 22

Differences among people with respect to how they perceive problems and make choices.

Question 23

Brainstorming

Answer 23

A technique that uses a face-to-face group to spontaneously suggest a broad range of alternatives for making a decision.

Question 24

Electronic Brainstorming

Answer 24

Brings people together in an interactive group over a computer network rather than meeting face to face.

Question 25

Devil’s Advocate

Answer 25

A person who is assigned the role of challenging the assumptions and assertions made by the group to prevent premature consensus.

Question 26

Point-Counterpoint

Answer 26

A group decision-making technique that breaks people into subgroups and assigns them to express competing points of view regarding the decision.

Question 27

Groupthink

Answer 27

Refers to the tendency of people in groups to suppress contrary opinions in a desire for harmony.

Question 28

Escalating Commitment

Answer 28

Refers to continuing to invest time and money in a decision solution despite evidence that it is failing.