Quiz 2 (Chapter 4 to Chapter 6)

Which of the following statements is true about the decision-making process?

It exclusively applies to problem situations.

A. It requires that the nature of a particular situation be defined.

B. It seldom applies to situations that are positive.
C. It typically involves only one individual and seldom applies to groups.
D. It results in the generation of only one alternative.

A(n) _____ is a management model of organization design based on a legitimate and formal system of
authority.

A. Adhocracy
B. Bureaucracy
C. Entropy
D. Autocracy

The term span of management refers to the

A. extent to which authority is delegated at the individual level.

B. extent to which authority is systematically delegated to middle and lower levels of
management.
C. number of people reporting to a particular manager.
D. process of grouping jobs according to some logical pattern.
E. number of managers assigned to a department.

Ryan, the production manager at the Tan Shoes Company, chose the cheapest leather-cutting machine
from a set of five machines from different manufacturers. Ryan was engaged in

A. decision making.
B. optimizing.
C. rationalizing.
D. brainstorming.
E. social loafing.

Which of the following statements is true in the context of decision making under a condition of
uncertainty?

A. A decision maker greatly relies on intuition, judgment, and experience.

B. A decision maker clearly knows all the risks associated with alternatives to a problem.
C. A decision maker puts in least effort and uses a pre-determined structure for decision making.
D. A decision maker is able to estimate the payoffs and risks associated with alternatives.
E. A decision maker identifies only two alternatives to the decision situation.
In job _____, the jobs do not change, but instead workers move from job to job.

A. Rotation
B. Specialization
C. Enrichment
D. Deskilling
E. enlargement

Relish Inc. is a large corporation in the food industry that manufactures canned foods, confectionery,
and baked foods. The organization has a separate department for each of these types of food
manufactured. Each department integrates all the activities required to manage its respective line of
food. Which of the following types of departmentalization is illustrated in the scenario?

A. Sequential
B. Customer
C. Product
D. Location
E. Functional

What reason do researchers give for their findings that there are more communication problems in tall
organizations than flat organizations?

A. The smaller number of managers as compared to line workers

B. The fewer number of subordinates reporting to each manager
C. The increased number of people through whom information must pass
D. Reductions in morale tend to prevent employees from communicating effectively
E. Reductions in production discourage employees from sharing information

_____ is the process by which a manager assigns a portion of his or her total workload to others.

A. Micromanagement
B. Delegation
C. Synergy
D. Centralization

At Delta Corp. the manufacturing and design department frequently consults with the research and
development department and the marketing and sales department regularly interacts with the
manufacturing and design department. This scenario illustrates _____ at Delta.

A. Coordination
B. Delegation
C. job rotation
D. job specialization
_____ is power that has been legitimized by the organization.

A. Entropy
B. Process gain
C. Synergy
D. Authority

Decisions made by top managers involving strategy, such as signing mergers or making acquisitions, are
examples of _____ decisions.

A. Frequent
B. Nonprogrammed
C. Structured
D. Operational
E. Programmed

What reason do researchers give for their findings that there are more communication problems in tall
organizations than flat organizations?

A. The smaller number of managers as compared to line workers

B. The fewer number of subordinates reporting to each manager
C. The increased number of people through whom information must pass
D. Reductions in morale tend to prevent employees from communicating effectively
E. Reductions in production discourage employees from sharing information

Managers sometimes decide to do something because it feels right or they have a hunch. This is an
example of using _____ in decision making.

A. Satisficing
B. Rationality
C. Intuition
D. Optimization
E. Logic

Job _____ was developed as a limited approach specifically intended to increase the total number of
tasks workers perform. As a result, all workers perform a wide variety of tasks, which presumably
reduces the level of job dissatisfaction.

A. Enlargement
B. Rotation
C. Enrichment
D. specialization

The classical decision model is a prescriptive approach, meaning that it

A. provides managers with alternatives.
B. tells managers how they should make decisions.
C. assumes all decisions are made subjectively.
D. allows no room for flexibility.
E. describes how decisions often are actually made.
In general, while identifying alternatives, the more important the decision,

A. the more alternatives should be generated.

B. the less the chances of managers making the right decision.
C. the less the time needed to make the decision.
D. the more the tendency of managers to ignore intuitions.

Pete, a manager, embraces the job characteristics approach. Pete thinks that when his employees have
more control over how their work is performed, they do better. Which characteristic is Pete
emphasizing?

A. Feedback
B. task identity
C. task significance
D. Autonomy
E. skill variety

When the prices of oil came down, the demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) increased. Automakers
chose to increase production of full-size SUVs as the profit from large vehicles is greater than that from
small vehicles. Which step in the rational decision-making model is illustrated in the scenario?

A. Developing a set of rational alternatives

B. Evaluating the possible alternatives
C. Selecting the best alternative and implementing it
D. Recognizing and defining the decision situation
E. Evaluating decision effectiveness

Tim is the production manager at a steel factory. One of the steel processing machines in the factory has
broken down and has to be replaced. Tim decides to buy a new machine from a company that he has
read reviews of in industry magazines, even though there are other companies offering a discount on
machines with better functionality. This is an example of how managers are constrained by _____.

A. bounded rationality
B. escalation of commitment
C. risk propensity
D. Groupthink
E. political forces

_____ encompasses the conversion processes used to transform inputs (such as materials or

A. Entropy
B. Technology
C. Synergy
D. Divestiture
The Delphi group technique is a group decision-making technique in which:

A. the members are involved in extensive discussions with each other.

B. the opinions of group member are combined and averaged.
C. the daily operational problems of an organization are addressed.
D. the members are most likely to indulge in groupthink.
E. the members are most likely to be first-line employees belonging to the same department.

By recognizing the _____ aspect of decision making, the administrative model better reflects subjective
considerations.

A. Rational
B. Groupthink
C. Classical
D. Behavioral
E. sequential

The _____ view of organizational design assumes that the optimal design for an organization depends
on a set of relevant factors, including technology, environment, size, and organizational life cycle.

A. Optimized
B. Situational
C. Bureaucratic
D. Differentiated

The first step in rational decision making is

A. identifying alternatives.
B. implementing an alternative.
C. selecting the best alternative.
D. recognizing and defining the decision situation.
E. evaluating alternatives.

In decision making, a condition of _____ exists when a decision maker knows what the alternatives are
and what conditions are associated with each alternative.

A. Risk
B. Uncertainty
C. Certainty
D. Ambivalence
E. Imperfect information

According to the job characteristics approach, increasing the presence of the five dimensions it identifies
will lead to all of the following EXCEPT
A. higher motivation.
B. higher turnover.
C. higher-quality performance.
D. higher satisfaction.
E. lower absenteeism.
In _____ technology, raw materials are transformed to a finished product by a series of machine
transformations in such a way that the composition of the materials themselves is changed.

A. product-customization
B. large-batch
C. mass-production
D. continuous-process

_____ is a commitment to finding and using the best theory and data available at the time to make a
decision.

A. Rational decision making

B. Classical decision making
C. Rational management
D. Evidence-based management

Venus Electronics has been negotiating with the owner of a new piece of property to move some of its
operations. When the property owner submitted his most recent counter offer, he said that it was a final
offer. The negotiator from Venus needs to decide whether to accept or reject this offer. If it is a bluff,
Venus may get the property at a better price. If it is not a bluff, Venus will need to resume its search for
a new site. The negotiator is making this decision in a condition of

A. risk.
B. certainty.
C. ambiguity.
D. pressure.
E. uncertainty.

_____ is the process of grouping jobs according to some logical arrangement.

A. Job rotation
B. Departmentalization
C. Job enrichment
D. Centralization
E. Industrialization