56) When ________ in the decision-making process, involving group members leads to greater
acceptance of the final outcome.
A) identifying alternatives
B) choosing alternatives
C) implementing the choice
D) evaluating alternatives
57) Which of the following occurs when agreement among members becomes so dominant that it
overrides a realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action?
A) escalation of commitment
B) cognitive dissonance
C) groupthink
D) perceptive distortion
58) ________ is a symptom of groupthink where group members often reassure themselves
about obvious dangers, become overly optimistic, and are willing to take extraordinary risks.
A) Self-censorship
B) Illusion of invulnerability
C) Illusion of morality
D) Illusion of unanimity
59) Groups that fall prey to groupthink have a(n) ________, where they ignore the obvious
ethical consequences of their decisions.
A) illusion of invulnerability
B) illusion of unanimity
C) illusion of morality
D) self-censorship
60) Groups suffering from groupthink tend to minimize the seriousness of the doubts members
raise and put tremendous pressure on them to agree to the group’s consensus. This symptom of
groupthink is known as ________.
A) self-censorship
B) illusion of invulnerability
C) illusion of morality
D) illusion of unanimity
61) Groups suffering from groupthink assume that individuals who remain silent agree with
them. This symptom of groupthink is known as ________.
A) illusion of invulnerability
B) illusion of unanimity
C) illusion of morality
D) self-censorship
62) Klint, a mobile manufacturer, has experienced a dip in sales in a particular area of the city.
Boret, the marketing head, wants to address the problem in its embryonic stage before the trend
continues in other areas. He feels that removing channel partners from the supply chain
(disintermediation) would solve the problem. He conducts a group meeting with senior managers
of his department to identify the problem and find a feasible solution. During the meeting, Boret
starts off with the problem and suggests possible solutions, emphasizing disintermediation. All
his other colleagues, though some of them are not convinced with disintermediation, are silent.
Boret assumes that they agree with his decision. This symptom of groupthink is known as
________.
A) illusion of invulnerability
B) self-censorship
C) illusion of morality
D) illusion of unanimity
63) Victims of groupthink often appoint themselves as mindguards to ________.
A) minimize the seriousness of the doubts members raise and put tremendous pressure on them
to agree to the group’s consensus
B) stereotype leaders of opposition groups in harsh terms and refuse to listen to their opinions or
negotiate with them
C) reassure themselves about obvious dangers, become overly optimistic, and be willing to take
extraordinary risks
D) protect the leader and other members of the group from adverse information that could cause
conflict over the correctness of a course of action
64) Which of the following consequences of groupthink is similar to retrospective decision
making?
A) Groups ignore possible roadblocks to their choice and, as a result, fail to develop contingency
plans.
B) Group members show interest in facts that support their preferred alternative and either ignore
or disregard facts that fail to support it.
C) Group members spend little time considering nonobvious advantages to alternative courses of
action.
D) Groups frequently fail to reexamine their chosen action after new information or events
suggest they need a change in course.
65) Groupthink can be prevented by appointing a member to serve as the ________, a person
whose role is to challenge the majority position.
A) dialectical inquiry
B) public defender
C) devil’s advocate
D) scrivener
66) Leo coordinates group meetings. Which of the following actions would make him a devil’s
advocate?
A) Leo makes sure that the members of the group do not digress from the topic.
B) Leo focuses on providing relevant information to help group member make accurate
decisions.
C) Leo’s primary job is to see that opposing group members do not get personal or violent during
discussions.
D) Leo focuses on challenging the decision that most of the group members agree on.
67) Which of the following occurs when decision makers adhere to a course of action after they
know it is a mistake?
A) escalating commitment
B) rational ignorance
C) superrationality
D) satisficing
68) Which of the following is an example of escalating commitment?
A) Polie is good at making hand-stitched decorative items like curtains, cushions, and so on. She
starts selling them and notices that the demand for her items is increasing in neighboring areas.
She hires two helpers and trains them to create more items to match the increasing demand.
B) Loana starts her dream restaurant without any business experience. After six months, it
becomes clear that her restaurant is not a successful venture. Loana continues to invest in the
restaurant because she feels that she can turn it into a successful venture.
C) Orlando, a senior manager in a manufacturing firm, wants to eliminate channel partners from
the selling process. As a trial, he eliminates channel partners of one area of the city to see if it has
an impact. This action results in increased sales in the area. Orlando then eliminates channel
partners of the entire city and expects similar results.
D) Beth is a highly motivated individual. Her motivation not only helps her productivity at work,
but also motivates her colleagues to work better than they normally do.
69) Which of the following occurs when managers “throw good money after bad”?
A) satisficing
B) rational ignorance
C) escalating commitment
D) superrationality
70) ________ is a belief that future courses of action are rational and correct.
A) Cognitive complexity
B) Rosy retrospection
C) Prospective rationality
D) Cognitive dissonance
71) Individuals with ________ convince themselves that they can “pull victory out of the jaws of
defeat.”
A) cognitive complexity
B) superrationality
C) prospective rationality
D) cognitive dissonance
72) Which of the following defines a cross-functional team?
A) a group of people who prepare for and respond to any emergency incident
B) a self-organized semi-autonomous team whose members determine, plan, and manage their
day-to-day activities and duties
C) a team consisting of people from the same department formed to solve a problem within the
department
D) a work group composed of employees from different departments to work together on
problem solving
73) Multiple advocacy is like the devil’s advocate approach except that ________.
A) more than one opposing view is presented
B) disagreement in group decisions is minimum
C) multiple corporations are involved in decision making
D) disagreement in group decisions do not exist
74) Which of the following statements is true about multiple advocacy?
A) It is devil’s advocacy when multiple corporations are involved.
B) Each group involved in making a decision is assigned the responsibility of representing the
opinions of its constituents.
C) It occurs when a group or individual is assigned the role of questioning the underlying
assumptions of problem formulation.
D) It forces group members to “think outside the box” and look at new ways to analyze the
problem.
75) ________ occurs when a group or individual is assigned the role of questioning the
underlying assumptions of problem formulation.
A) Devil’s advocacy
B) Multiple advocacy
C) Dialectical inquiry
D) Brainstorming
76) Which of the following statements is true about dialectical inquiry?
A) It is like the devil’s advocate approach except that more than one opposing view is presented.
B) It forces group members to “think outside the box” and look at new ways to analyze the
problem.
C) Each group involved in making a decision is assigned the responsibility of representing the
opinions of its constituents.
D) It is a frequently used mechanism to provide a maximum number of ideas in a short period of
time.
77) Which of the following techniques is used to improve problem formulation?
A) brainstorming
B) nominal group technique
C) dialectical inquiry
D) Delphi technique
78) ________ is a process of generating many creative solutions but not immediately evaluating
their merit.
A) Brainstorming
B) Delphi technique
C) Dialectical inquiry
D) Multiple advocacy
79) Which of the following statements is true about brainstorming?
A) It is like the devil’s advocate approach except that more than one opposing view is presented.
B) It forces group members to “think outside the box” and look at new ways to analyze the
problem.
C) Each group involved in making a decision is assigned the responsibility of representing the
opinions of its constituents.
D) It is a frequently used mechanism to provide a maximum number of ideas in a short period of
time.
80) The ________ allows the group to meet formally, but it does not allow members free
discussion.
A) nominal group technique
B) multiple advocacy approach
C) Delphi technique
D) devil’s advocacy approach
81) Which of the following statements is true about the nominal group technique?
A) It never allows decision-making participants to meet face-to-face.
B) In this technique, everyone independently considers the problem without other members of
the group influencing them.
C) Each group involved in making a decision is assigned the responsibility of representing the
opinions of its constituents.
D) It is like the devil’s advocate approach except that more than one opposing view is presented.
82) The ________ never allows decision-making participants to meet face-to-face.
A) nominal group technique
B) Delphi technique
C) multiple advocacy approach
D) dialectical inquiry
83) Which of the following statements is true about the Delphi technique?
A) In this technique, a problem is identified and members are asked through a series of carefully
designed questionnaires to provide potential solutions.
B) Each group involved in making a decision is assigned the responsibility of representing the
opinions of its constituents.
C) It forces group members to “think outside the box” and look at new ways to analyze the
problem.
D) In this technique, a group or individual is assigned the role of questioning the underlying
assumptions of problem formulation.
84) Which of the following is a decision-making strategy that uses questionnaires?
A) devil’s advocacy
B) Delphi technique
C) dialectical inquiry
D) nominal group technique
85) Which of the following techniques is used to improve the problem-solution process?
A) brainstorming
B) dialectical inquiry
C) devil’s advocacy
D) multiple advocacy
86) List the steps of the rational model.
87) List the decision-making process according to the bounded rationality model.
88) What is perceptual distortion? Explain it with an example.
89) Differentiate between programmed and nonprogrammed decisions.
90) Describe Gresham’s law of planning.
91) List the general factors that influence a decision’s quality. How do they influence a decision’s
quality?
92) List and explain the symptoms of groupthink according to the psychologist Irving Janis.
93) Define escalation of commitment. How can its effects be minimized?
94) List and explain strategies to improve problem formulation.
95) List and explain strategies to improve the problem-solution process.