Exam 8: Decision Making

A(n)________ occurs when decision makers take credit for their successes and blame failures on outside factors.

Management Decisions: Declining Income (Scenario) Net income has fallen for the second consecutive quarter, and Amanda is understandably worried. She knows there will be a lot of questions for her at the board of directors meeting Wednesday, and she will be expected to reveal her plan to avoid any third-quarter losses. Amanda begins to analyze the company's financial reports to try to determine the cause of the loss. After much consideration, it appears that expenses have risen dramatically over the last few months. Amanda wonders why. She decides a meeting of the department heads is in order first thing tomorrow morning. At the meeting, Amanda would like to generate several possible solutions to the increased expenses. She wonders how to effectively explore all the options. Next morning, the first option presented at the meeting is to downsize the research and development department, since it is not essential to current operations. Several managers believe the plan will help stem the losses and immediately move to approve it. However, Amanda suggests that they need to look further at the issue and explore other potential solutions. Several suggestions are made, many of which appear to be viable. Amanda wonders what to do next. -Amanda's group has proposed a solution that does not have much data or evidence to support it.However,based on Amanda's 20 years of experience,the solution just feels right,and so she proposes it to the board of directors.Amanda has made her decision based on ________.

Decision-Making Conditions: Keep on Truckin' (Scenario) Fiona Lui is general manager of Westcoast Trucks, a medium-sized hauling service located in Vancouver, B.C. She is responsible for scheduling trucks, initiating new routes, and staffing both existing and new routes. She is currently struggling to find more information about the profitability of existing and future truck routes. -Willy,Fiona's best driver,estimates that there is a 75 percent probability that they can get the business of Northern Timbers Forest Products if they initiate a truck route through the remote areas of northern B.C.Willy is operating under a condition of ________.

The type of decision-making in which the solution is considered "good enough" is known as which of the following?

A manager who desires to minimize his maximum "regret" will opt for a minimax choice.

Unstructured problems require custom-made responses through programmed decision-making.

A retail clothing store manager who estimates how much to order for the current spring season based on last spring's outcomes is operating under what kind of decision-making condition?

Design thinking is an interesting new line of thinking with broad implications for making effective business decisions by integrating emotional elements into the process.

Types of Problems and Decisions (Scenario) It seems Dave spends most of his day making decisions. Every time he turns around, someone wants him to make a decision about something. This morning, the office assistant came in and asked if she could reorder paper for the fax machine. That seemed like a routine decision that he should not have to deal with. If Dave could avoid those types of decisions, then he could focus more time and attention on the more complicated issues, such as the one presented to him by the production supervisor this afternoon. According to the supervisor, a major piece of equipment urgently needs repairs, and the repair bill could cost almost as much as a new machine! -The problem of whether to repair a piece of equipment or to purchase a new machine is an example of a(n)________ problem.

In a short essay,explain in detail the five habits of highly reliable organizations.Give examples where possible to illustrate your answers.

Design thinking suggests that managers should look at problem identification collaboratively and integratively with the goal of ________.

Nonlinear thinking style is characterized by feelings,hunches and internal insights to guide decisions.

________ means that managers focus on opening up perspective and gaining insights by using observation and inquiry skills and not relying simply on rational analysis.

According to the concept of bounded rationality,managers make decisions rationally but are limited by their ability to process information.

An important element in making decisions using evidence-based management (EBMgt)is to consider ________.

Decision-Making Conditions: Keep on Truckin' (Scenario) Fiona Lui is general manager of Westcoast Trucks, a medium-sized hauling service located in Vancouver, B.C. She is responsible for scheduling trucks, initiating new routes, and staffing both existing and new routes. She is currently struggling to find more information about the profitability of existing and future truck routes. -Fiona can make accurate decisions if she is willing to pay $5,000 for research about the profitability of various truck routes.If she pays for the research,she believes that she will be operating under a condition of ________.

Sophie is in charge of recruitment at her company.During a particular interview,the first thing Sophie noticed about the applicant was that he was improperly dressed.Though the candidate possessed the necessary qualifications and effectively answered all her questions,Sophie rejected him.This is an example of the ________.

One assumption of rational decision making is that the decision maker is not aware of all possible alternatives and consequences.

A(n)________ occurs when decision makers seek out information that reaffirms their past choices and discount information that contradicts past judgments.

Nonprogrammed decision-making relies on procedures,rules,and policies.