Chapter 6 Decision Making: The Essence of the Manager’s Job
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
1. Problem identification is purely objective.
2. The second step in the decision-making process is identifying a problem.
3. A decision criterion defines what is relevant in a decision.
4. The fourth step of the decision-making process requires the decision maker to
list viable alternatives that could resolve the problem.
5. Once the alternatives have been identified, a decision maker must analyze each
one.
6. The step in the decision-making process that involves choosing a best alternative
is termed implementation.
THE MANAGER AS DECISION MAKER
7. Making decisions is with the essence of management.
8. Managerial decision making is assumed to be rational.
9. One assumption of rationality is that we cannot know all of the alternatives.
10.Managers tend to operate under assumptions of bounded rationality.
11.Studies of the events leading up to the Challenger space shuttle disaster point
to an escalation of commitment by decision makers.
12. Managers regularly use their intuition in decision making.
13.Rational analysis and intuitive decision making are complementary.
14.Programmed decisions tend to be repetitive and routine.
15.Rules and policies are basically the same.
16.A policy is an explicit statement that tells a manager what he or she ought or
ought not to do.
17.The solution to nonprogrammed decision making relies on procedures, rules, and
policies.
18.Most managerial decisions in the real world are fully nonprogrammed.
19.The ideal situation for making decisions is low risk.
20.Risk is the condition in which the decision maker is able to estimate the
likelihood of certain outcomes.
21.Risk is a situation in which a decision maker has neither certainty nor
reasonable probability estimates.
22.People who have a low tolerance for ambiguity and are rational in their way of
thinking are said to have a directive style.
23.Decision makers with an analytic style have a much lower tolerance for ambiguity
than do directive types.
24.Individuals with a conceptual style tend to be very broad in their outlook and
will look at many alternatives.
25. Behavioral-style decision makers work well with others.
26.Most managers have characteristics of analytic decision makers.
27.According to the boxed feature, “Managing Workforce Diversity,” diverse
employees tend to make decisions faster than a homogeneous group of employees.
28.The anchoring effect describes when decision makers fixate on initial information
as a starting point and then, once set, they fail to adequately adjust for subsequent information.
29.The availability bias describes when decision makers try to create meaning out of
random events.
30. The sunk cost error is when decision makers forget that current choices cannot
correct the past.
DECISION MAKING FOR TODAY’S WORLD
31.Today’s business world revolves around making decisions, usually with complete
or adequate information, and under minimal time pressure.
32.Managers need to understand cultural differences to make effective decisions in
today’s fast-moving world.
33.According to the boxed feature, “Focus on Leadership,” when identifying
problems, managers might be from a culture that is focused on problem solving, or their culture might be one of situation acceptance.
34.According to the boxed feature, “Focus on Leadership,” findings from studies by
Geert Hofstede and from GLOBE researchers show that in high uncertainty avoidance countries, decision making tends to be based more on intuition than on formal analysis.
35.Highly reliable organizations (HROs) are easily tricked by their success.
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
For each of the following choose the answer that most completely answers the
question.
THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
36.Decision making is typically described as ________________, which is a view that
is too simplistic.
a. deciding what is correct b. putting preferences on paper c. choosing among alternatives
d. processing information to completion
37.A series of eight steps that begins with identifying a problem and concludes with
evaluating the decision’s effectiveness is the ________________. a. decision-making process b. managerial process c. maximin style
d. bounded rationality approach
38.________________ is the existence of a discrepancy between an existing and a
desired state of affairs. a. An opportunity b. A solution c. A weakness d. A problem
39.In identifying the problem, a manager _________________.
a. compares the current state of affairs with where they would like to be b. expects problems to be defined by neon lights c. looks for discrepancies that can be postponed
d. will not act when there is pressure to make a decision
40.Which of the following statements is true concerning problem identification?
a. Problems are generally obvious.
b. A symptom and a problem are basically the same.
c. Well-trained managers generally agree on what is considered a problem.
d. The problem must be such that it exerts some type of pressure on the manager to act.
41. What is the second step in the decision-making process?
a. identifying decision criteria
b. allocating weights to the criteria c. analyzing alternatives d. identifying a problem
42.To determine the _____________, a manager must determine what is relevant or
important to resolving the problem. a. geocentric behavior needed
b. number of allowable alternatives c. weighting of decision criteria d. decision criteria
43.What is the third step in the decision-making process?
a. allocating weights to the criteria b. analyzing the alternatives c. selecting the best alternative d. implementing the alternative
44.If all criteria in the decision making are equal, weighting the criteria
______________.
a. improves decision making when large numbers of criteria are involved b. is not needed
c. produces excellent decisions d. improves the criteria
45.In allocating weights to the decision criteria, which of the following is helpful
to remember?
a. All weights must be the same.
b. The total of the weights should sum to 1.0.
c. Every factor criterion considered, regardless of its importance, must receive some weighting.
d. Assign the most important criterion a score, and then assign weights against that standard.
46.What is the step where a decision maker wants to be creative in coming up with
possible alternative?
a. allocating weights to the criteria b. analyzing alternatives c. developing alternatives
d. identifying decision criteria
47. When analyzing alternatives, what becomes evident?
a. the strengths and weaknesses of each alternative b. the weighting of alternatives c. the list of alternatives d. the problem
48.When developing alternatives in the decision-making process, what must a manager
do?
a. list alternatives
b. evaluate alternatives c. weight alternatives
d. implement alternatives
49.Selecting an alternative in the decision-making process is accomplished by
__________________.
a. choosing the alternative with the highest score b. choosing the one you like best
c. selecting the alternative that has the lowest price
管理学第9版练习题附答案6
