Decision Making and Team Decision Making (Chapters 6-7)

Question 1

What are the main information processing issues in decision making?

Answer 1

People tend to develop and evaluate only a few alternatives, identify and evaluate only a few outcomes for each alternative, evaluate alternatives sequentially rather than simultaneously, have an implicit favorite they compare alternatives to.

Question 2

What are the main problems with maximization in decision making?

Answer 2

Satisficing - Choosing an alternative that is satisfactory or “good enough.” Pick first alternative that exceeds standard of acceptance.
Lack capacity and motivation to process huge volume of info to identify best choice.

Question 3

Self-justification effect

Answer 3

People want to demonstrate that their decisions will be successful, so they support even when desired outcome not met. Don’t want to pull the plug and look incompetent.

Question 4

Self-enhancement effect

Answer 4

People want to feel good about themselves; when we realize things aren’t going well we still invest anyways. Our probability of rescuing the project is above average. We’re lucky. Want to maintain favorable image.

Question 5

Prospect Theory Effect

Answer 5

We want to avoid losses since negative emotions are stronger than when gaining something. It’s more painful to stop it than continue to fund it.

Question 6

Sunk Costs effect

Answer 6

The feeling that you’ve already invested so much into the project that you might as well invest more to try and make it work.

Question 7

Sunk Costs effect

Answer 7

The feeling that you’ve already invested so much into the project that you might as well invest more to try and make it work.

Question 8

Describe each of the 4 contingency factors and explain how they should influence the choice of how to involve employees in decision making.

Answer 8

Decision structure, source of decision knowledge, decision commitment, risk of conflict.

Question 9

Decision structure

Answer 9

Programmed decisions less likely to need employee involvement because solutions are worked out; benefits of employee involvement increase with novelty and complexity of problem/opportunity.

Question 10

Source of decision knowledge

Answer 10

Subordinates should be involved when leader lacks sufficient knowledge and they can improve decision quality with additional info. In complex decisions employees often possess relevant information.

Question 11

Decision commitment

Answer 11

Participation improves employee commitment, more unlikely to accept a decision made without their involvement.

Question 12

Risk of conflict

Answer 12

If employee norms and goals conflict with organization’s, low level of employee involvement advisable. Degree of involvement depends on if employees will agree with one another, if conflict is likely high involvement difficult.

Question 13

Production blocking

Answer 13

Time constraint in team decision making, have to hold on to thought, only one person speaks at a time.

Question 14

Evaluation apprehension

Answer 14

Individuals reluctant to mention ideas that seems silly because they believe other team members are silently evaluating them.

Question 15

Conformity pressures

Answer 15

Team cohesion leads people to conform to team’s norms. People might suppress dissenting opinions to keep status in group and not cause conflict.

Question 16

Conformity pressures

Answer 16

Team cohesion leads people to conform to team’s norms. People might suppress dissenting opinions to keep status in group and not cause conflict.

Question 17

Overconfidence

Answer 17

Teams efficacy far exceeds its actual abilities. Less vigilant when making decisions and debate less and seek out less info. Caused by team-level variation of self-enhancement. Stronger with external competition.

Question 18

Diffusion of responsibility

Answer 18

Group members feel less personally responsible for team decisions. Riskier and more polarized decisions by group.

Question 19

Process related guidelines for team decision making.

Answer 19

Emphasize process quality, structure team to support decision making.

Question 20

Emphasize process quality

Answer 20

Team norms encourage critical thinking and constructive conflict, no member dominates, each member’s opinions in open, generate many options then narrow, reach consensus but don’t get stuck, provide procedural justice.

Question 21

Structure team to support decision-making

Answer 21

Maintain optimal team size, use heterogenous team, brainstorm or use nominal group technique (effective decision-making structures), consider using independent subgroups to generate multiple recommendations.

Question 22

Useful practices to improve brainstorming process.

Answer 22

Trained facilitator, require members to develop ideas ahead of time, have high benchmarks and have accountability, use brain-writing, create team memory.

Question 23

What are the 4 main personal characteristics relating to creativity?

Answer 23

Cognitive and practical intelligence, persistence, knowledge and experience, idnependent imagination.

Question 24

Cognitive and practical intelligence

Answer 24

Ability to synthesize and analyse, and apply ideas

Question 25

Persistence

Answer 25

High need for achievement, strong task motivation, moderately high self-esteem and optimism.

Question 26

Knowledge and experience

Answer 26

Prerequisite knowledge and experience, not locked into a fixed mindset.

Question 27

Independent imagination

Answer 27

High openness to experience, moderately low need for affiliation, strong self-direction value, strong stimulation value.

Question 28

What are the main characteristics of creative jobs and work environments that promote creativity?

Answer 28

Learning-oriented culture, jobs have high task significance and autonomy, aligned with employee competencies, open communication exists across organization, employees have sufficient resources to perform work, experience comfortable degree of job security, nontraditional workspace, leaders and coworkers provide mutual support.