Decision making can be a difficult process if managers are not well$-$versed in recognizing and addressing various hindrances they face when attempting to make rational decisions. This activity is important because leadership and decision$-$making go hand$-$in$-$hand; decision making is one of the critical KSAOs you will need in order to be career$-$ready.

The goal of this activity is to test your knowledge of the hindrances to rational decision making.

Read the scenarios. Then, match each person to the hindrance to decision$-$making that the scenario best represents.

Information overload

Different cognitive capacity, values, skills, habits, and unconscious reflexes

Time and money constraints Imperfect information Conflicting goals Different priorities Complexity

Match each of the options above to the items below.

Phoebe$$s department at work has gotten out of control. Everyone is fighting for resources, factions are forming, and no one is getting any real work done because of all of the interpersonal problems. She decides it$$s time to hire some new blood, even though the issues are so complicated that no one really has a good idea of what the department needs.

No answer

Tony needs to decide on a new copy machine for his office. This is a several thousand dollar decision and he wants to be sure he buys a machine that has the best features for all of the employees. But he limits himself to $8$ hours for his search, because time spent finding a copier is time lost on important work.

No answer

Jarrod wants to hire a female assistant, even though several males have applied who are objectively more qualified. Jarrod just thinks women do a better job at this type of work than men.

No answer

Annice, as CIO, is taking her company$$s training fully digital. She is being courted by four different learning technology companies and has to choose a platform from one of them. She has never used any of the platforms and knows that she couldn$$t possibly foresee all of the things that will annoy her employees about each platform until she chooses one and they start using it$.$

No answer

Broderick, as head of company benefits, is choosing a new healthcare plan for all of the company$$s employees. He has stacks of thick policy manuals on his desk reaching up to the ceiling. There is no way he can get through all of it alone. But he decides to do the best he can because he$$d rather not take other benefits workers off of their already busy workloads.

No answer

Lavonna is a finance professor who is choosing a new PhD student as her mentee. She has GMAT scores and three recommendation letters for each person. Lavonna pays more attention to the letters mentioning work ethic than she does to formal scores $$ she believes hard work can make up for a lack of sheer cognitive prowess.

No answer

Nickole is ready to fire one of her employees. He is a terrible manager, unkind to his subordinates, and performs fairly poorly year after year. Nickole brings the issue to her supervisor who asks her to hold off on firing the worker because he has connections that the company wants to continue to use.

No answer