Management Study Guide Exam 2 Essay

Management Study Guide: Test 2

Chapter 7: Information and Decision Making

3 “must have” competencies:
1. Technological competency: ability to understand new technologies and to use them to their best advantage
2. Information competency: ability to locate, gather, organize, and display information
3. Analytical competency: ability to evaluate and analyze information to make actual decisions and solve real problems

5 criteria for useful information:
1. Timely: the information is available when needed, it meets deadlines for decision making and action
2. High quality: the information is accurate, and it is reliable, it can be used with confidence
3. Complete: the information is complete and sufficient for the task at hand, it is as current and up to date as possible
4. Relevant: the information is appropriate for the task at hand, it is free from extraneous or irrelevant materials
5. Understandable: the information is clear and easily understood by the user, it is free from unnecessary detail

Information Needs
-At organizations boundaries, information in the external environment is accessed
Intelligence information: managers use this to deal with customers, competitors, and other stakeholders such as government agencies, creditors, suppliers, and stockholders
Public information: organizations can send this to stakeholders and the external environment
Forms of advertising, public relations messages, and financial reports that serve a variety of purposes ranging from image-building to product promotion to financial documentation
Involves the use of social media (Facebook, twitter)
Internet can be positive or negative
Ex: dominoes video went viral of workers misbehaving, so firm created twitter account to present its own view/message from CEO
Internal information: people need this to make decisions and solve problems in daily work (flows within organization)
Flows downward in forms as goals, instructions, feedback
Flows horizontally in ways that assist cross functional coordination and problem solving
Flows upward in forms of performance reports, suggestions for improvement, disputes

Problem Solving:
-Managers use information to make good decisions while facing daily problems
Performance threat: something is already wrong or has the potential to go wrong
When actual performance is less than desired or moving in an unfavorable direction
Examples: when turnover/absenteeism increases in the work unit, team member falls behind in work, customer complains about service delays
Performance opportunity: situation that offers the chance for a better future if the right steps are taken
When an actual situation either turns out better than anticipated or offers the potential to do so
-3 ways to approach problems:
Problem avoiders (avoidance): ignore info that would signal a performance opportunity or threat, passive in info gathering and not making decisions/dealing with problems
Problem solvers (solving): willing to make decisions and solve problems, but only when forced by the situation, reactive to gather info after but not before problem occurs, miss many performance opportunities
Problem seekers (seeking): constantly process info and look for problems to solve, anticipate performance threats and opportunities, take action to gain the advantage (best approach)
A way to distinguish exceptional mangers from good/bad ones
Ex: Toyota recall where data had been available but nothing was done

Thinking:
Systematic thinking: person approaches problems in rational, step-by-step, slow, analytical fashion
Breaks complex problem into smaller components then addresses them in logical way
Ex: managers who make a plan before taking action, and search for info to facilitate problem solving step by step
Intuitive thinking: more flexible and spontaneous problem solving
Uses quick and broad evaluation of situation and possible alternative courses of action
Ex: managers who deal with many problems at once, jump from one issue to another, and

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