Management Chapter 4 Key Terms

Front 1

programmed decision

Back 1

a decision that is fairly structured or recurs with some frequency (or both)

Front 2

nonprogrammed decision

Back 2

a decision that is relatively unstructured and occurs much less often than a programmed decision

Front 3

state of certainty

Back 3

a condition in which the decision maker knows with reasonable certainty what the alternatives are and what conditions are associated with each alternative

Front 4

state of risk

Back 4

a condition in which the availability of each alternative and its potential payoffs and costs are all associated with probability estimates

Front 5

state of uncertainty

Back 5

a condition in which the decision maker does not know all the alternatives the risks associated with each, or the consequences each alternative is likely to have

Front 6

classical decision model

Back 6

a prescriptive approach to decision making that tells managers how they should make decisions assumes that managers are logical and rational and that their decisions will be in the best interests of the organization

Front 7

steps in rational decision making

Back 7

recognize and define the decision situation, identify appropriate alternatives, evaluate each alternative in terms of its feasibility satisfactoriness, and consequences, select the best alternative, implement the chosen alternative, follow up and evaluate the results of the chosen alternative

Front 8

administrative model

Back 8

a decision making model that argues that decision makers have 1) imcomplete and imperfect information 2) are contrained by bounded rationality and 3) tend to "satisfice" when making decision

Front 9

bounded rationality

Back 9

the concept that decision makers are limited by their values and unconscious reflexes, skills, and habits

Front 10

satisficing

Back 10

the tendency to search for alternatives only until one is found that mees some minimum standard of sufficiency

Front 11

coalition

Back 11

an informal alliance of individuals or groups formed to achieve a common goal

Front 12

intuition

Back 12

an innate belief about something, without conscious consideration

Front 13

escalation of commitment

Back 13

a decision maker's staying with a decision even when it appears to be wrong

Front 14

risk propensity

Back 14

the extent to which a decision maker is willing to gamble when making a decision

Front 15

interacting group or team

Back 15

a decision making group or team in which members openly discuss, argue about and agree on the best alternative

Front 16

Delphi group

Back 16

a form of group decision making in which a group is used to achieve a consensus of expert opinion

Front 17

nominal group

Back 17

a structured technique used to generate creative and innovative alternatives or ideas

Front 18

groupthink

Back 18

a situation that occurs when a group or team's desire for consensus and cohesiveness overwhelms its desire to reach the best possible decision