Exam 5: Planning and Decision Making

The nominal group technique improves group decision making by decreasing a-type conflict.

Floyd, the chief finance officer of a company that sells rubber sheets, prepares an estimate that helps in calculating the rates of Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) and Free on Board (FOB) contracts. This pricing estimate is used every time the company gets an export order. In this scenario, Floyd has most likely prepared a _____.

The managers at Richellath follow standing plans that broadly define the action that needs to be taken when their subordinates do not meet deadlines. These plans also discuss the intended outcome of the given action. Given this information, the standing plans in this scenario can be referred to as _____.

Lewrice, an apparel manufacturer, has been finding it difficult to deliver its products to its retailers on time. The time taken to deliver the products has been more than the estimated time in almost all instances. The managers of the company have to make a decision on how to resolve the issue. In the context of rational decision making, which of the following is the first step that the managers should ideally take?

In the context of maintaining flexibility while planning, unlike traditional planning, options-based planning:

In an organization, _____ are responsible for the creation of tactical plans.

Chester, the operations manager at a chemical manufacturing company, finds that the air pollutants released by the company have become very high. To arrive at a decision to resolve the issue, he defines the problem and then identifies decision criteria. In the context of rational decision making, which of the following is the next step that Chester should ideally take?

Betty runs a boutique. She buys semi-automatic sewing machines for her tailors because she cannot afford the fully automatic ones. This scenario best illustrates the concept of _____.

Research suggests that the nominal group technique typically produces better decisions than the devil's advocacy and dialectical inquiry approaches.

The purpose of options-based planning is to commit people and resources to a particular course of action.

Robert has a list of characteristics that he wants his new house to have, and he has listed every item in that list in their order of importance to him. Among the items on his list, the proximity to a bus stop has the highest priority as it is his primary means of commuting, and the street name has the lowest priority. In this scenario, Robert is using _____ to make a rational decision.

Todd's manager rejected his leave application because project deadlines were getting closer. Todd considered this a personal offence and got into an argument with his manager. In this scenario, the disagreements between Todd and his manager can best be classified as _____.

_____ is a barrier to good decision making caused by pressure within a group for members to agree with each other.

Adamdata, a cell phone brand, is planning to collaborate with a few companies that create software for cell phones. It wants to try different operating system software for its phones and then buy the company that manufactures the software that is most compatible with its phones. In this scenario, Adamdata is most likely using _____.

The main objective of _____ is to keep choices open by making small, simultaneous investments in many alternative plans.

Which of the following is a benefit of planning?

The nominal group technique (NGT) begins by having group members act as individuals.

Carolyn, a designer at Logisign, was not given the promotion she was expecting during the annual performance appraisal. She took this personally and got into an argument with her supervisor. In this scenario, the disagreements between Carolyn and her supervisor can best be classified as _____.

_____ are standing plans that indicate the specific steps that should be taken in response to a particular event.

Deborah is a middle manager in a leading fashion magazine. She presents a half-yearly estimate on how she intends to use the budget allotted to her team for the next six months. In this scenario, Deborah has most likely contributed to developing the _____ for her team.