1. Which of the following statements is not true in general?
a. Decision makers are comprised of multiple players holding different perspectives
b. Working outside the formal decision making process, stakeholders will try to influence decisions in order to achieve their desires
c. When making decisions, decision makers must accommodate the perspective of the community that will be affected by the decision
d. Decision makers and decision implementers generally view decisions from the same perspective
2. Which of the following is an important benefit associated with examining carefully the decision space of a decision?
a. It helps surface political issues that may be associated with the decision
b. It quickly highlights the most effective decision that can be made
c. It can be used by stakeholders to promote their specific interests
d. It assures that all the key players in the decision process ultimately agree with the decision that is made
3. Which of the following is an example of an external force that can be surfaced when conducting an analysis of the social space of a decision?
a. The election of a politician who supports the key goals pursued by your company
b. The hiring of a new CEO who has vowed to improve the company's IT infrastructure
c. Conflict among employees
d. Stakeholders who try to influence how decision implementers carry out their work
4. Which of the following findings is an important contribution of social psychology to decision making theory and practice?
a. The section of the brain that is most closely associated with decision making is the prefrontal cortex
b. Decision making is strongly affected by personality
c. In making decisions, people are primarily influenced by perceived financial rewards
d. When individuals make decisions, they are heavily influenced by peer pressure
5. Which of the following disciplines approaches decision making from a quantitative perspective?
a. Decision science
b. Public policy
c. Social psychology
d. Neuroscience
6. If good decision making is fundamentally rational, then Supreme Court decisions should:
a. Consistently be unanimous
b. Should chiefly entail split decisions
c. Should those who support and those who oppose a verdict agree with each other on underlying principles
d. Consistently support either liberal or conservative values
7. A key premise of the behavioral economics perspective on decision making is that:
a. When making decisions, people optimize the returns they achieve
b. People seldom approach decision making rationally
c. Decision making is most effective when it is built on quantitative models
d. Most decision making boils down to making supply vs. demand choices
8. What is a central characteristic of the homo economicus ("economic man") assumption of decision making in economics?
a. In making decisions, people should take into account the costs of services they receive
b. In making decisions, people should take into account the revenue they anticipate receiving
c. Of all the factors that go into decision making, economic factors are the most significant
d. When making decisions, people assume a rational perspective
9. Welfare economics is principally concerned with providing poor people with food and shelter.
a. True
b. False