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Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter 4: Creative Problem Solving and Decision Making
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Problem solving is ______.
a. taking corrective action to meet objectives
b. the process of selecting a course of action that will solve a problem
c. only evaluating the certainty, risk, and uncertainty of a situation
d. the situation that exists whenever objectives are not being met
2. Decision making is ______.
a. taking corrective action to meet objectives
b. the process of selecting a course of action that will solve a problem
c. only evaluating the certainty, risk, and uncertainty of a situation
d. the situation that exists whenever objectives are not being met
3. A problem is ______.
a. taking corrective action to meet objectives
b. the process of selecting a course of action that will solve a problem
c. only evaluating the certainty, risk, and uncertainty of a situation
d. the situation that exists whenever objectives are not being met
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Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
4. What is the most effective way to prevent future problems?
a. React as quickly as possible to each problem.
b. Think about each problem thoroughly when it happens.
c. Develop plans to prevent problems before they occur.
d. Evaluate all problems at the end of each week.
5. The first decision you face when confronted with a problem is ______.
a. whether you should use reflexive or reflective tactics
b. to analyze alternatives
c. whether or not to take corrective action
d. whether or not to use brainstorming
6. Nikki is a teacher at the local high school and often has students coming to her
asking for advice. When this happens, she is careful to take sufficient time to think of
the best response but makes sure to act as soon as she has enough information to do
so. This ensures that she is not acting too hastily or wasting time thinking in circles.
What would her decision-making style best fit under?
a. reflexive style
b. reflective style
c. consistent style
d. reactive style
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Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
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7. Which of the following is representative of reflective decision making?
a. The individual makes decisions quickly.
b. The individual is sometimes viewed as indecisive.
c. There is often waste and duplication.
d. The first possible method of problem solving is often chosen.
8. Which of the following is representative of reflexive decision making?
a. The individual takes lots of time to make a decision.
b. It is possible to lose out on opportunities from procrastination.
c. It can lead to waste and duplication.
d. Individuals tend to follow the steps in the decision making model.
9. Which of the following is representative of consistent decision maker?
a. They are often viewed as wishy-washy.
b. They tend to have the worst record for making good decisions.
c. There is often waste and duplication.
d. They tend to follow the steps in the decision-making model.
10. Mary, the director of human resources, frequently receives e-mails from colleagues
seeking advice about problems they are facing. Because Mary receives so many of
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
these e-mails, in order to save time, she typically responds with the first solution that
comes to mind. Mary is most likely a ______ decision maker.
a. reflexive
b. reflective
c. consistent
d. reactive
11. Mary, the director of human resources, frequently receives e-mails from colleagues
seeking advice about problems they are facing. Because Mary receives so many of
these e-mails, she quickly e-mails the colleagues back to let the individual know she
has received the e-mail and that she will respond to them within a few weeks once she
has considered various potential solutions. Mary is most likely a ______ decision
maker.
a. reflexive
b. reflective
c. consistent
d. reactive
12. Bryon, the accounting manager, has recently had to meet with his supervisor
because there have been several issues with the budget he constructed regarding
duplication; this led to a lack of efficiency and extra waste. His supervisor feels Bryon
might have been making some hasty decisions while working on the budget. What
should Bryon do at this point?
a. Continue to make decisions in the same manner.
b. Find a new job.
c. Start implementing the decision-making model when evaluating problems.
d. Request additional training.
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
13. The decision-making model includes all the following steps, EXCEPT ______.
a. classifying and defining the problem
b. controlling the decision
c. discussing the decision with relevant stakeholders
d. planning and implementing the decision
14. ______ of the decisions made by managers fail to solve the problems they are
aimed at solving.
a. 75%
b. 15%
c. 85%
d. 50%
15. Kimberly is a sales associate at a clothing store and a customer has come to her
with an item that needs to be returned. The customer said that the stitching was coming
undone. Kimberly followed the company’s policy on returns of defective merchandise
and completed the return transaction for the customer. What kind of a decision did
Kimberly have to make in this situation?
a. non-programmed decision
b. programmed decision
c. policy decision
d. non-policy decision
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16. A ______ decision is one that is expensive and/or has major consequences for the
department or organization.
a. significant
b. programmed
c. policy
d. recurring
17. ______ managers tend to make more non-programmed decisions than ______
managers do.
a. Lower-level; upper-level
b. Middle; upper-level
c. Upper-level; lower-level
d. Lower-level; middle
18. What decision-making style is used when meeting only the minimum requirements
of the situation?
a. satisficing
b. rationalizing
c. maximizing
d. minimizing
19. When under pressure, whether due to time, cost, or availability of information,
managers often made ______ decisions
a. satisficing
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Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
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b. rationalizing
c. maximizing
d. minimizing
20. Problems may be classified in terms of all the following, EXCEPT ______.
a. the decision structure involved
b. the conditions under which the decision will be made
c. the type of decision made using the decision-making model
d. the personality type of the decision maker
21. Which of these decisions is least likely to be a programmed decision?
a. scheduling employees
b. opening a new facility
c. reordering inventory
d. handling customer complaints
22. Under conditions of ______, lack of information or knowledge makes the outcome of
each alternative unpredictable.
a. risk
b. uncertainty
c. security
d. certainty
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Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
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23. Which of the following tend to make more decisions under conditions of uncertainty?
a. middle managers
b. first-line managers
c. top managers
d. All levels make decisions under conditions of uncertainty more often than they do
under the other conditions.
24. Maximizing is best when ______.
a. the decision is programmed
b. information is unavailable
c. the decision is significant
d. the decision must be made quickly
25. Current trends in management decision making include ______.
a. increased employee participation
b. consulting higher-level management
c. making autocratic decisions
d. minimizing decision making
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26. In which of the following situations is group decision making a likely better choice
over individual decision making?
a. programmed decision under conditions of high risk or uncertainty
b. programmed decision under conditions of low risk or certainty
c. non-programmed decision under conditions of high risk or uncertainty
d. non-programmed decision under conditions of low risk or certainty
27. In which of the following situations is individual decision making a likely better
choice over group decision making?
a. programmed decision under conditions of high risk or uncertainty
b. programmed decision under conditions of low risk or certainty
c. non-programmed decision under conditions of high risk or uncertainty
d. non-programmed decision under conditions of low risk or certainty
28. An important part of defining the problem is ______.
a. distinguishing the symptoms from the cause
b. asking others what is causing the problem
c. observing the problem
d. comparing the problem to past problems
29. ______ is the second step in the decision-making model.
a. Setting objectives and developing criteria
b. Classifying and defining the problem or opportunity
c. Planning and implementing the decision
d. Generating creative and innovative alternatives
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30. Cheyenne has decided her new start-up company is ready to obtain office space.
She has outlined criteria for her search. She has determined that she will require that
the space have 1200 square feet and the ability to renovate. She also would like to be
on an upper floor, if possible. How many must criteria has Cheyenne outlined for her
search?
a. none
b. one
c. two
d. three
31. What are the two types of criteria you can establish?
a. primary and secondary
b. must and want
c. maximizing and satisficing
d. non-programmed and programmed
32. The difference between objectives and criteria.
a. Objectives state what the decision should accomplish, criteria are the Standards that
alternatives should meet.
b. Objectives measure the severity of the problem, criteria define the causes.
c. Objectives are the standards that alternatives should meet, criteria state what the
decision should accomplish.
d. Objectives define the causes, criteria measure the severity of the problem.
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Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
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33. You are a regional manager who is looking to hire a new store manager for Dallas
Roadhouse, a popular steakhouse. You have a pile of 50 applications but only want to
interview the top four applicants. You have already defined your problem and your
Objective is to hire and train a new manager who has previous restaurant management
experience within one month. What would not be considered a must criteria?
a. able to start in time to complete training within one month
b. have restaurant management experience
c. a college degree in restaurant management
d. able to pass company-mandated drug screening
34. Which of the following is the third step in the decision-making model?
a. plan and implement the decision.
b. control the decision.
c. generate creative and innovative alternatives.
d. set objectives and criteria.
35. With programmed decision making, the alternative is usually determined by ______.
a. intuition
b. a policy
c. linear programming
d. maximizing
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36. Which of the following quotes is NOT a barrier to creativity?
a. “We have never done something like that before.”
b. “That is not in the budget.”
c. “Let’s have an open discussion about ideas.”
d. “Let’s form a committee.”
37. ______ is a type of innovation that introduces new goods or services.
a. Product innovation
b. Process innovation
c. Profit innovation
d. Performance innovation
38. ______ is a type of innovation that introduces a new way of doing things.
a. Product innovation
b. Process innovation
c. Profit innovation
d. Performance innovation
39. Which of the following is NOT one of the three stages in the creative process?
a. incubation and illumination
b. preparation
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c. clarification
d. evaluation
40. ______ is the final stage in the creative process.
a. Clarification
b. Preparation
c. Evaluation
d. Incubation and illumination
41. In the creative process, ______ is when your subconscious works on the problem.
a. illumination
b. incubation
c. preparation
d. evaluation
42. In the creative process, ______ is when you define the problem by getting others’
opinions, feelings, and ideas.
a. illumination
b. incubation
c. preparation
d. evaluation
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43. In the creative process, ______ is the “Aha, now I get it” phenomenon.
a. illumination
b. incubation
c. preparation
d. evaluation
44. In the creative process, ______ is when you make sure the idea is practical.
a. illumination
b. incubation
c. preparation
d. evaluation
45. When group members focus on defending a solution while others come up with
reasons the solution will NOT work, it is called ______.
a. the Delphi technique
b. brainstorming
c. nominal grouping
d. the devil’s advocate approach
46. ______ is the process of suggesting many possible alternatives without evaluation.
a. Brainstorming
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b. Consensus mapping
c. Synectics
d. Nominal grouping
47. Which of the following is NOT a recommendation for brainstorming?
a. Carefully evaluate alternatives as they are generated.
b. Everyone should have an equal voice.
c. Include diverse people.
d. Wild suggestions are welcome.
48. Research suggests that we are more creative when ______.
a. sitting
b. standing
c. running
d. walking
49. ______ is the process of generating novel alternatives through role playing and
fantasizing.
a. Synectics
b. Nominal grouping
c. Consensus mapping
d. The Delphi technique
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Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
50. ______ is the process of generating and evaluating alternatives using a structured
voting method.
a. Synectics
b. Nominal grouping
c. Consensus mapping
d. The Delphi technique
51. ______ is appropriate to use in situations in which groups may be affected by
disadvantages of domination, goal displacement, conformity, and groupthink, because it
minimizes these effects.
a. Nominal grouping
b. Consensus mapping
c. The Delphi technique
d. Synectics
52. ______ is the process of developing group agreement on a solution to a problem.
a. Synectics
b. Nominal grouping
c. Consensus mapping
d. Brainstorming
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53. When using ______, if the group cannot agree on a decision, no decision is made
and the leader may need to make the decision on their own.
a. brainstorming
b. synectics
c. nominal grouping
d. consensus mapping
54. In Japan, ______ is called ringi.
a. consensus mapping
b. the Delphi technique
c. synectics
d. nominal grouping
55. According to the textbook, a major benefit of consensus mapping is that ______.
a. decisions are made quickly and more cheaply than with other methods
b. group members are generally more committed to implementing the solution
c. managers can make creative decisions to plan for the future
d. it can be used with large groups of employees, up to and including entire
organizations
56. ______ involves using a series of confidential questionnaires to refine a solution.
a. Synectics
b. Nominal grouping
c. Consensus mapping
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d. The Delphi technique
57. Managers commonly use ______ for technological forecasting.
a. the Delphi technique
b. synectics
c. nominal grouping
d. consensus mapping
58. Which of the following is NOT part of the nominal grouping process?
a. listing
b. mapping
c. recording
d. ranking
59. A ______ is a diagram of alternatives, which makes it easier for people to analyze
them.
a. decision outline
b. decision map
c. decision tree
d. decision hierarchy