Decision Making Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Correct answer: Bounded rationality

Bounded rationality is Simon’s term for the gap between the rational ideal and human capability. The decision maker cannot gather all the information, cannot hold it all in mind, and cannot evaluate every alternative - so rationality operates within bounds set by the person and the situation rather than absolutely.

Answer: A

Correct answer: programmed

The defining features are in the stem: the problem recurs, and the response has already been worked out and is known to whoever must decide. Nothing is left to judgement, so the decision can be delegated, embedded in a procedure, or automated entirely.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Heuristics

A heuristic is a rule of thumb that shortens a judgement by substituting an easy question for a hard one. It usually works, which is why it persists, and its failures are systematic rather than random - which is what makes availability, representativeness and anchoring predictable biases rather than mere carelessness.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Routine and non-complex

A programmed decision is one that recurs often enough for a standard response to have been worked out, so it can be settled by rule or procedure rather than by fresh analysis. Complexity, risk and uncertainty are the marks of the non-programmed decision, which has no precedent to fall back on.

Answer: B

Correct answer: process improvement team.

A process improvement team draws its members from several functions and levels precisely because a process crosses departmental boundaries, and the people who work at each stage are the ones who can see where it fails. That cross-cutting membership is what distinguishes it from a team within a single unit.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Incomplete information

The rational model assumes the decision maker has complete information, together with an agreed goal, a well-structured problem and a predictable environment. Incomplete information is precisely the condition the model does not allow for, and recognising that real decisions are made under it is what led to the administrative model.

Answer: D

Correct answer: none of the above.

All three named properties are attributes of useful information. Information that cannot be reached is of no use however good, information arriving after the decision is of no use however accurate, and information not bearing on the question is of no use at all - so none of them is the exception.

Answer: A

Correct answer: systematic

Systematic decision making follows a defined sequence, gathers evidence and evaluates alternatives against stated criteria. It is slower than intuition and more defensible, and it is what a novel or consequential decision warrants - the two are complements rather than rivals.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Limited knowledge and uncertainty

The garbage can model applies where goals are unclear, the technology is not understood and participation shifts - conditions March called organised anarchy. Decisions there are not the outcome of analysis but of problems, solutions and participants meeting at a choice opportunity, which is why solutions sometimes precede the problems they are attached to.

Answer: B

Correct answer: establish specific goals and objectives.

Until it is clear what the decision is meant to achieve, there is no standard against which a problem can be recognised as a problem or an alternative judged better than another. Establishing the goals therefore precedes identifying the problem, which is the second step.