Ch 5 Planning - Planning and Decision Making

Question 1

choosing a goal and developing a strategy to achieve that goal

Answer 1

Planning

Question 2

goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely

Answer 2

S.M.A.R.T. goals

Question 3

the determination to achieve a goal

Answer 3

Goal commitment

Question 4

a plan that lists the specific steps, people, resources, and time period needed to attain a goal

Answer 4

Action plan

Question 5

short-term goals or subgoals

Answer 5

Proximal goals

Question 6

long-term or primary goals

Answer 6

Distal goals

Question 7

maintaining planning flexibility by making small, simultaneous investments in many alternative plans

Answer 7

Options-based planning

Question 8

a cushion of extra resources that can be used with options-based planning to adapt to unanticipated changes, problems, or opportunities

Answer 8

Slack resources

Question 9

overall company plans that clarify how the company will serve customers and position itself against competitors over the next two to five years

Answer 9

Strategic plans

Question 10

a statement of a company’s purpose or reason for existing

Answer 10

Purpose statement

Question 11

a more specific goal that unifies company-wide efforts, stretches and challenges the organization, and possesses a finish line and a time frame

Answer 11

Strategic objective

Question 12

plans created and implemented by middle managers that specify how the company will use resources, budgets, and people over the next six months to two years to accomplish specific goals within its mission

Answer 12

Tactical plans

Question 13

a four-step process in which managers and employees discuss and select goals, develop tactical plans, and meet regularly to review progress toward goal accomplishment

Answer 13

Management by objectives

Question 14

day-to-day plans, developed and implemented by lower-level managers, for producing or delivering the organization’s products and services over a thirty-day to six-month period

Answer 14

Operational plans

Question 15

plans that cover unique, one-time-only events

Answer 15

Single-use plans

Question 16

plans used repeatedly to handle frequently recurring events

Answer 16

Standing plans

Question 17

standing plans that indicate the general course of action that should be taken in response to a particular event or situation

Answer 17

Policies

Question 18

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

Answer 18

Procedures

Question 19

standing plans that describe how a particular action should be performed or what must happen or not happen in response to a particular event

Answer 19

Rules and regulations

Question 20

quantitative planning through which managers decide how to allocate available money to best accomplish company goals

Answer 20

Budgeting

Question 21

a systematic process of defining problems, evaluating alternatives, and choosing optimal solutions

Answer 21

Rational decision making

Question 22

the standards used to guide judgments and decisions

Answer 22

Decision criteria

Question 23

a process in which each decision criterion is compared to a standard or ranked on its own merits

Answer 23

Absolute comparisons

Question 24

a process in which each decision criterion is compared directly with every other criterion

Answer 24

Relative comparisons

Question 25

choosing the best alternative

Answer 25

Maximize

Question 26

choosing a “good-enough” alternative

Answer 26

Satisficing

Question 27

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

Answer 27

Groupthink

Question 28

disagreement that focuses on problem- and issue-related differences of opinion

Answer 28

C-type conflict (cognitive conflict)

Question 29

disagreement that focuses on individuals or personal issues

Answer 29

A-type conflict (affective conflict)

Question 30

a decision-making method in which an individual or a subgroup is assigned the role of critic

Answer 30

Devil’s advocacy

Question 31

a decision-making method in which decision makers state the assumptions of a proposed solution (a thesis) and generate a solution that is the opposite (antithesis) of that solution

Answer 31

Dialectical inquiry

Question 32

a decision-making method that begins and ends by having group members quietly write down and evaluate ideas to be shared with the group

Answer 32

Nominal group technique

Question 33

a decision-making method in which members of a panel of experts respond to questions and to each other until reaching agreement on an issue

Answer 33

Delphi technique

Question 34

a disadvantage of face-to-face brainstorming in which a group member must wait to share an idea because another member is presenting an idea

Answer 34

Production blocking

Question 35

fear of what others will think of your ideas

Answer 35

Evaluation apprehension