Chapter 1 Introduction to Managerial Decision Making
Multiple choice
1) An optimal search for alternatives should last:
a. As long as needed to find the best solution.
b. As long as needed to find the first good enough solution.
c. As long as the cost of the search does not outweigh the value of the added information.
d. As long as the cost of the search is within the appropriate limits set by the decision maker.
Ans: c
Response: p. 2-3
2) Rating alternatives on each of the decision criteria is considered the most difficult stage of the
decision-making process, because:
a. It assumes we have precisely defined our priorities.
b. It requires us to forecast how each alternative solution will achieve each of our decision
criteria.
c. It requires us to compare all of the alternatives simultaneously.
d. It is likely to fail if our problem is not defined correctly, and this failure will not be detected.
Ans: b
Response: p. 3
3) In the interplay between system 1 and system 2 thinking, the key goal for managers is:
a. To improve their use of system 1 thinking.
b. To attempt to use system 2 thinking as much as possible.
c. To apply both systems in making decisions in order to perform a more thorough and
complex search for alternatives.
d. To identify when they should move from system 1 to system 2 thinking. Ans: d
Response: p. 4
, 4) Which of the following is a typical characteristic of heuristics?
a. They provide us with a simple way of dealing with complex problems.
b. They have the best likelihood of reaching an optimal solution to a problem.
c. They are time and resource consuming.
d. They are used mainly by irrational decision makers.
Ans: a
Response: p. 6
Questions 5-8 describe examples of heuristics outlined in the chapter. For each question, indicate which
heuristic it describes:
a. The representativeness heuristic.
b. The availability heuristic.
c. The confirmation heuristic.
d. The affect heuristic.
5) Inner city crime in the U.S. gets considerable media coverage, such that every homicide is
reported in the news. In contrast, a story of a person who died from a heart attack rarely makes
the news. This leads people to overestimate the frequency of deaths due to homicides relative
to those due to heart failure.
Ans: b
Response: p. 7-8
6) John is over seven feet tall. When asked whether John is a professional basketball player or a
software programmer, many people predict the former, even though there are many more
software programmers, even very tall ones, than professional basketball players. Ans: a
Response: p. 8-9
Multiple choice
1) An optimal search for alternatives should last:
a. As long as needed to find the best solution.
b. As long as needed to find the first good enough solution.
c. As long as the cost of the search does not outweigh the value of the added information.
d. As long as the cost of the search is within the appropriate limits set by the decision maker.
Ans: c
Response: p. 2-3
2) Rating alternatives on each of the decision criteria is considered the most difficult stage of the
decision-making process, because:
a. It assumes we have precisely defined our priorities.
b. It requires us to forecast how each alternative solution will achieve each of our decision
criteria.
c. It requires us to compare all of the alternatives simultaneously.
d. It is likely to fail if our problem is not defined correctly, and this failure will not be detected.
Ans: b
Response: p. 3
3) In the interplay between system 1 and system 2 thinking, the key goal for managers is:
a. To improve their use of system 1 thinking.
b. To attempt to use system 2 thinking as much as possible.
c. To apply both systems in making decisions in order to perform a more thorough and
complex search for alternatives.
d. To identify when they should move from system 1 to system 2 thinking. Ans: d
Response: p. 4
, 4) Which of the following is a typical characteristic of heuristics?
a. They provide us with a simple way of dealing with complex problems.
b. They have the best likelihood of reaching an optimal solution to a problem.
c. They are time and resource consuming.
d. They are used mainly by irrational decision makers.
Ans: a
Response: p. 6
Questions 5-8 describe examples of heuristics outlined in the chapter. For each question, indicate which
heuristic it describes:
a. The representativeness heuristic.
b. The availability heuristic.
c. The confirmation heuristic.
d. The affect heuristic.
5) Inner city crime in the U.S. gets considerable media coverage, such that every homicide is
reported in the news. In contrast, a story of a person who died from a heart attack rarely makes
the news. This leads people to overestimate the frequency of deaths due to homicides relative
to those due to heart failure.
Ans: b
Response: p. 7-8
6) John is over seven feet tall. When asked whether John is a professional basketball player or a
software programmer, many people predict the former, even though there are many more
software programmers, even very tall ones, than professional basketball players. Ans: a
Response: p. 8-9
