MGT 3200 Kerry Sauley Lecture Review

Henry Ford had a rule when hiring executives: “if they salted their food before they tasted it, then they would be poor decision makers and they were not hired.”  This is an example of

a programmed decision

Non-programmed decisions are associated with decisions made under conditions of ________.

both uncertainty and risk

A retail store uses a cognitive ability test to hire candidates for a managerial position.  They have found when they use a cut-score of 115 (an above average IQ score) to hire candidates, 7.5 times out of 10 they become successful managers.   This is a decision made under __________.

risk

Which of the following is true concerning decision-making under risk?

1 its the most common decision-making condition.

2 it involves probabilities between 0 and 1.

3.Even when you play the odds well, your decision can still have a negative result.

4.The key to good decision-making under risk is accurate probabilities.

All of the above are true.

Uncertainty as a decision making condition ________.

1.occurs when alternatives are known but the outcomes are unknown.

2.has probabilities that are unknown.

3.is the most difficult of the decision-making conditions.

4.occurs when alternatives and outcomes are both unknown.

5.all of the above.

The traditional economic model of decision-making assumes that managers make decisions under conditions of

certainty

Which of the following factors would bound one’s rationality?

1.limited mental capacity

2.emotional state

3.unforeseeability of future events

4.all of the above bound one’s rationality.

5.only 1 and 2 bound one’s rationality.

The behavioral model assumes that managers make decisions under conditions of __________.

risk and uncertainty

All of the following are true concerning satisficing except

satisficing can never lead to a  maximizing solution.

With the irrational/implicit favorite model, this type of decision-making is most likely to occur under conditions of _________.

uncertainty

Which of the following creativity techniques only generates solutions to a problem?

Brainstorming

Which of the following creativity techniques early on in its use did not separate the generation of alternatives from the evaluation of alternatives?

Synectics

Which of the following isn’t one of the 4 rules of brainstorming?

Quality of ideas is sought

Which of the following steps in NGT is incorrect?

Members vote twice publicly ranking the solutions from best to worst

Which technique uses analogy and fantasy to help participants become more creative?

synectics

In the Delphi technique,

1.members never meet.

2.input is gathered through surveys/questionnaires.

3.members remain anonymous.

4.All of the above.

5.Only 1 and 2.

Which of the following creativity techniques deemphasizes the group process to the greatest extent?

Delphi technique

Which of the following is NOT true concerning Operations Research (OR) techniques?

they’re a substitute for managerial decision-making

When are Operations Research (OR) techniques most useful?

Decision making under risk

Irrelevance is most like what task characteristic?

Task Significance

The concept of immeasurement is most similar to which of the following task characteristics?

Performance Feedback

An employee is given a job that allows her to make a product from beginning to end and to take pride in her work.  From the facts presented, which of the following task characteristics would be increased the most by such an action?

Task Identity

When an employee is given discretion over her job to decide what’s to be done, how it’s to be done, and when it’s to be done, this employee’s job is high on ______.

Autonomy

Which of the following job characteristics is most similar to the concept of job breadth?

skill variety

In specialized jobs,

1.workers perform simple and repetitive tasks.

2.all task characteristics are low.

3.efficiency is high but quality may suffer.

4.All of the above.

5.Only 1 and 3.

Which of the following is not a disadvantage typically associated with specialized jobs?

Low quantity performance

All of the following are true concerning job enlargement except

its motivational benefits are long-lasting

The optimal size for a decision-making group is ?

5 or 7 members

Which of the following would favor individual decision-making?

Subordinates don’t share the goals of the organization.

The compromise that takes place in group decision-making lowering the quality of the decision but increasing the acceptance of the decision is _____.

1.an assembly effect

2.the leveling effect

3.an individual contribution

4.a process loss

All of the above except 3.

Which of the following is not a theoretical advantage of job enrichment?

High quantity job performance

Which step of the job enrichment process entails creating a team and making the team responsible for completing a whole piece of work?

Form natural work units

Which step of the job enrichment process is most important?

vertical loading

If one eliminates vertical loading from the job enrichment process, which job design would be the result?

Enlarged job

Which step of the job enrichment process is job enlargement?

combine tasks

Which of the following would reduce the effectiveness of job enrichment?

1.An employee who has weak or marginal skill levels.

2.An employee who has an instrumental motivation to work.

3.An employee who is dissatisfied with his/her work environment.

4.All of the above

5.Only 1 and 2.

Which of the following is NOT true concerning the problems associated with job enrichment?

Supervisors welcome job enrichment

If an organization has a defender strategy, what type of job design strategy should it employ?

specialized jobs

According to the Yerkes-Dodson law, arousal and performance are

related in an inverted U fashion

Which of the following is true concerning the specialization-coordination dilemma in organizational design?

1.The more you specialize the more difficult it is to coordinate.

2.Specialization gives one greater efficiency and technical expertise.

3.Coordination gives one the ability to change quickly.

4.Coordination is more difficult to achieve between departments than within departments.

5.All of the above are true.

Which organizational design type was the most prevalent during the 1^st part of the industrial revolution?

Primitive/agency design

Which of the following is not an advantage associated with functional designs?

Coordination is easier to achieve due to increased focus on specialties.

One will use a functional design when

the environment is stable

Which of the following is a disadvantage associated with product designs?

1.Coordination between products can be difficult.

2.A change in product line can be disastrous.

3.Less technical expertise is developed.

4.It’s less efficient because of duplication of specialists.

5.All of the above are disadvantages associated with product designs.

One will use a product design when

1.the organization is large in size.

2.there are many product lines.

3.the environment is dynamic.

4.the organization has a prospector strategy.

5.all of the above.

A matrix design is a combination of ?

Functional and product designs

In the matrix design, the job of a functional manager ________.

1.is to decide where (i.e., which project teams) technical specialists are deployed

2.is to ensure that employees’ skills in their department are kept technically up to date

3.is to coordinate project teams making sure the projects are completed efficiently and effectively.

4.involves all of the above.

5.involves both 1 and 2.

Which of the following is true concerning matrix designs?

1.Burnout and turnover can be a significant problem.

2.It’s a design that was born out of necessity.

3.It violates the specialization-coordination dilemma.

4.Its personnel costs are expensive.

5.All of the above are true.

In which organizational design type is it most difficult to replace the CEO from within the organization?

Functional design

Which of the following organizational  designs accommodates growth readily?

Both product and matrix designs

Which of the following organizational designs has the simplest chain of command?

Agency design

Which of the following organizational design types bypasses chain of command the most?

Matrix design

Where is unity of command violated?

1.Functional design

2.Product design

3.Matrix design

4.All of the above; unity of command is violated to some extent in all organizations.

Which organizational design type violates the principle of parity of authority and responsibility?

Matrix design

Which of the following is necessary for effective delegation to occur?

1.The employee must have the ability to perform the task.

2.The employee must have the motivation to perform the task.

3.The employee must have role clarity to perform the task.

4.All of the above are required for effective delegation to occur.

Only 1 and 2 are required.

Which of the following organizational design types is completely centralized?

None of the above; no organization is completely centralized

In terms of centralization/decentralization of coordination decisions, the product design is _____ than the functional design and is ____ than the matrix design.

more decentralized; more centralized

When an organization decentralizes, the jobs of lower level managers become _______?

more enriched

Which of the following conditions will cause an organization to decentralize?

1.The organization grows in size.

2.The organization offers more products/services.

3.The organization’s environment is becoming more dynamic.

4.All of the above.

5.Only 1 and 3.

As spans of control widen in an organization, _________.

management levels decrease

Which of the following factors will narrow span of control?

the manager is managing in a dynamic environment