Decision making

Multiple Choice.  Select the best answer

1. A Major difference between strategic and tactical decisions is that:
a. Tactical decisions are highly structured whereas strategic decisions are unstructured.
b. Strategic decisions are largely structured while tactical decisions are consistently unstructured.
c. Strategic decisions involve a long-range time frame while tactical decisions are relatively short-range in nature.
d. Tactical decisions affect the general direction of an organization whereas strategic decisions are more operationally oriented.

2. Collection and assimilation of information into a format that is conducive to analysis of the problem at hand is conducted during the _______ stage of the decision making process.
a. Problem analysis
b. Problem recognition
c. Information search
d. Alternative evaluation

3. Research that is systematic, controlled, empirical, and critically investigates hypothesized relations among phenomena is defined in the text as:
a. Business research.
b. Scientific research.
c. Exploratory research.
d. Informative research.

4. The two major formal means of communication between the manager and the researcher are:
a. The research project
b. The research report
c. The research proposal
d. Both B and C

5. The study of ethics in business research is important because
a. It can affect the image of the firm.
b. It can affect the career of the individuals conducting unethical research.
c. Unethical research can lead to poor quality data and, ultimately, poor decisions.
d. All the above are important reasons to study ethics in research.



6. New ethical challenges are being created by growth in the technology area of the research arena.  Which of the following is not an example of one of these challenges?
a. Privacy.
b. Blurring of the line between research and direct marketing.
c. Developing new use policies for technological resources.
d. All of the above are new challenges

7. Constructs can be distinguished from concepts in that constructs:
a. Are more directly tied to observable facts.
b. Exist at higher levels of abstraction.
c. Are not directly tied to observable facts.
d. B and C are true

8. Managerial problems all exhibit the following conditions:
a. There is more than one alternative with an equal chance of influencing the same objective.
b. Uncertainty exists in choosing an alternative.
c. An objective exists in the mind of the decision maker.
d. All of the above

9. With respect to methods-of-theory construction, deduction is:
a. Form of inference which derives conclusions by reasoning through premises and logic.
b. Developed from reality and facts and therefore requires no empirical testing.
c. A method that relies on repeated observations to create generalized statements.
d. None of the above

10. Which of the following characteristic(s) best describes the scientific method?
a. Critical and analytical
b. Logical and objective
c. Conceptual and theoretical
d. Empirical and systematic
e. All of the above

11. Conclusions about causality are determined during the _______ level of scientific endeavor.
a. Reporting
b. Production
c. Description
d. Explanation


12. Which of the following is usually not considered a characteristic of the approach commonly called data mining?
a. It is usually considered the seeking of information in databases.
b. It is formally known as KDD, or knowledge discovery in databases.
c. It involves an exhaustive search of many libraries databases
d. It is currently being done by such organizations as IBM, Microsoft and GTE.

13. Secondary information may be categorized as follows:
a. Problem recognition, problem clarification, identification of alternatives and research problem design.
b. Problem recognition, problem research proposal, identification of alternatives, and solution of the research problem.
c. Problem recognition, problem clarification, formulation of alternatives, and solution of the research problem.
d. Problem recognition, problem clarification, formulation of research proposal and solution to the research problem.

14. Manual retrieval methods involve:
a. Bibliographies and indices.
b. Librarian referrals.
c. Data base searches.
d. All of the above.
e. Only A and B.

15. Locating and identifying data is facilitates by the use of:
a. Databases and online services.
b. Indices, research guides, and bibliographies.
c. Statistical sources and references.
d. a and b.

16. Organizations that subscribe to multiple data-bases produced by others and subsequently offer timeshares to users are termed:
a. Data producers.
b. Data distributors.
c. Intermediaries.
d. Data specialists.

17. Primary criteria for the managerial evaluation of secondary data collection involve:
a. The timeliness of the data.
b. The accuracy of the data.
c. The cost of the data.
d. Two of the above.
e. All of the above.

18. Which of the following statements best characterizes the Internet in the context of business research?
a. The Internet should be thought of as a producer of data.
b. The Internet should be thought of as a medium or tool for finding information.
c. The Internet should be viewed as a source of information.
d. The Internet should be viewed as most unbiased source of information.

19. The type of problem with only two alternatives, with one of the actions having zero payoffs, is known as:
a. Intuitive analysis
b. Expected value analysis
c. Conditional analysis
d. Venture analysis
e. None of the above

20. The EMV of Perfect Information can be described as
a. The difference between EMV of perfect information minus the EMV with present information.
b. The maximum dollar amount paid for perfect information.
c. A means to determine the possibility of conducting research
d. All of the above
e. None of the above

21. Which method, to assess the value of research, views research from an investment standpoint?
a. Bayesian Decision Analysis
b. Simple Savings Method
c. Present Value Method
d. All of the above
e. None of the above

22. Which of the following are possible reasons why the problem formulation step of the business Research Process can be difficult?
a. Many problems are not blatantly obvious but are subtle in nature.
b. Problems can easily be misspecified.
c. Symptoms of problems can be mistaken for actual causes.
d. Two of the above
e. All of the above

23. The type of proposal developed for business decision making largely depends on:
a. The expertise of the researcher.
b. The amount of funds available for the research
c. The complexity of the problem
d. b and c only
e. None of the above
24. Which of the following statements is correct regarding managerial concerns over proposed research?
a. Total responsibility shifts from manager to researcher after the proposed research is initiated.
b. Often management acceptance of the proposed research the entire process is controlled by the researcher.
c. A manager has not business controlling or regulating research without proper expertise in research methodology.
d. A manager must actively engage and maintain contact with the researcher throughout the research process to ensure desired results

25. Which of the following is not one of major potential sources of error in the research design process as outlined in the text?
a. Analytical
b. Collection
c. Reporting
d. Planning
e. Statistical

26. Which of the following does not describe the general class of experimental research designs?
a. Experiments are generally used in problem situations where there I a low level of understanding by the researchers.
b. Independent variable(s) are manipulated in experiments.
c. The primary goal of the study is generally to make causal statements about some relationship(s).
d. Experimental designs are the only ones capable of generating causal statements of relationship

27. The degree of which a study's results can be generalized across populations and like settings is the definition of?
a. Internal validity
b. Internal reliability
c. External validity
d. External consistency

28. Which of the following experimental designs has been called the "ideal model for controlled experiments" because it explicitly controls for all sources of internal invalidity?
a. Static-group comparison design
b. Solomon four-group design
c. One-Shot case study
d. Pretest-posttest control group design
e. Posttest-only control group design

29. A researcher may attempt the experimental control of extraneous variables by which of the following methods?
a. Randomly assigning subjects to treatments
b. Holding a nuisance variable constant across subjects.
c. Building the nuisance variable into the research design.
d. Two of the above
e. All of the above

30. The development of devices utilized to assign numbers to certain aspects of objects and events is extremely important in business research.  These devices are commonly known as:
a. Levels of measurement.
b. Measurement scales.
c. Constitutive definitions.
d. Conceptual definitions

31. An important point to remember concerning levels of measurement is that _______ scales are only for the purpose of classifying or categorizing a variable.
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Ratio
d. Interval

32. When assessing the reliability of a measure of interest, under which of the following methods can the coefficient of reliability be used?
a. Test-retest
b. Internal consistency
c. Alternative forms
d. All of the above

33. Management ought to be concerned with measurement scales and development for the following reason(s):
a. Only with accurate measurement; the results will affect and have value for the manager.
b. The scaling of concepts and variables affects limitations of studies for future analysis.
c. Upon data collection and measurement; the researcher cannot easily collect retroactive or additional information.
d. All of the above






34. Which of the following reasons are important ones that require a manager to get involved in the measurement process?
a. Poor measurement leads to poor results.
b. The way in which variables are measured effects how the results of a study are analyzed.
c. Once the variables are measured, one cannot go back and change the process.
d. All of the above are important reasons.

35. Appropriate question phrasing considers the following:
a. Necessity of the question and wording of the question
b. How the question will be asked: open or closed question.
c. Media used to apply the questionnaire.
d. a and b
e. a and c

36. Response alternatives selected:
a. Reflect the purpose of the study.
b. Utilize open-ended questions in exploratory research.
c. Are dichotomous and multiple choice.
d. May utilize all of the above
e. Should be very structured

37. A graphic rating scale is a scale in which:
a. A graphic presentation is used to illustrate the scale utilized.
b. A limited number of categories are offered on an applied continuum.
c. An explicit reference is made by providing a norm or objective.
d. A respondent indicates an amount of agreement or disagreement to a statement(s).
e. Bipolar adjectives are used to evaluate an attitude object.

38. Managerial concerns in instrument design focus upon:
a. High quality data and simple instruments.
b. Image reflection and resource allocation.
c. Research instrument reflective of the research question.
d. All of the above
e. None of the above.

39. Which of the following are advantages of open-ended questions?
a. Easy to analyze.
b. Respondents can choose how to answer the question
c. Can be used to develop better closed-ended questions later on.
d. All the above are advantages.
e. Only b and c are advantages.


40. Which of the following statements is true about issues in the design of international measurement scales and instruments?
a. Yea-saying and nay-saying responses can be related to cultural background.
b. Graphic scales are not usually effective in international settings.
c. It is generally very easy to interpret open-ended questions in international studies.
d. Colors generally have the same meaning in differing cultures.

41. The type of methods used to select the units of analysis for a study is known as:
a. Sample design.
b. Sample efficacy.
c. Sample frame.
d. Sample efficiency.

42. Major types of sample designs are:
a. Probability and nominal measurements.
b. Non-probability and multinomial measurements
c. Probability and non-probability.
d. Binomial, multinomial, and normal distributions.
e. Interval and ratio level measurements

43. With respect to probability designs, a mechanical method of selecting every Nth element for a sample is a technique known as:
a. Systematic sampling.
b. Multistage sampling.
c. Stratified sampling.
d. Cluster sampling.
e. None of the above.

44. Which of the following sample selection techniques is being employed if the population is grouped into aggregates based upon physical proximity?
a. Stratified sampling
b. Cluster sampling
c. Stratified cluster sampling
d. Repetitive sampling

45. A special non-probability design which can be used when units of analysis who possess a desired characteristic are difficult to find is a:
a. Snowball sample.
b. Convenience sample.
c. Judgment sample.
d. Stratified sample



46. The use of screening questions in sampling is used to:
a. Screen bad sampling units from a sample.
b. Identify low incidence rate respondents for traits desirable in a study.
c. Identify poor likelihood to respond subjects.
d. Stratify a sample

47. When the units of analysis in research investigation are not people a researcher must usually rely on _______ data collection methods.
a. Active
b. Passive
c. Internal
d. External

48. Structured active methods may consist of:
a. Highly structured questionnaires.
b. Written or verbal questionnaires.
c. Interviews.
d. All of the above
e. a and b

49. A refusal to be personally interviewed by an interviewee selected in a preliminary telephone screening is an example of what type of error?
a. Response error
b. Method of administration
c. Nonresponse error
d. Respondent error

50. When planning a personal interview, serious consideration must be given to monitoring the process due to:
a. Interviewer bias.
b. Interviewer cheating.
c. Interviewee characteristics.
d. Two of the above.
e. All of the above.

51. Regarding anonymity of response, interview methods would typically be ranked from highest to lowest as follows:
a. Mail, telephone, personal
b. Personal, mail, telephone
c. Telephone, personal, mail
d. All rank about the same.
e. No generalizations can be drawn.



52. Which of the following is not true about the growing use of Internet based surveys?
a. Many companies have successfully used Internet based surveys to gain valuable information.
b. The Internet has successfully been used in both survey and focus group situations.
c. There are now consumer panels that are entirely Internet based.
d. Most of the problems with Internet based survey research has been solved.
e. One of the major problems in using the Internet as a delivery system is the one related to sampling.

53. Qualitative research is characterized by all of the following except.
a. Small sample sizes
b. Unrepresentative sample sizes.
c. Low interviewer skill
d. Largely unstructured, lengthy interviews

54. In a global research environment, which of the following statements is most correct.
a. Qualitative and quantitative research is unknown.
b. Certain countries and societies tend to favor one research approach over another.
c. Quantitative research is always preferred over qualitative research
d. Qualitative research studies of 100 or more respondents are routinely done.

55. Which of the following criteria must business research observation meet to be useful?
a. serve a research purpose
b. Systematically collected and recorded
c. Subjected to checks and controls on validity and reliability.
d. Only a and c
e. All of the above criterion should be met.

56. Upon termination, a salesperson is given an intensive unstructured personal interrogation about suggestions for improvement in sales practices.  This type of exit interview is an example of a:
a. Focus group.
b. In-Depth interview.
c. Motivation interview.
d. Protocol interview




57. Which of the following in-depth questioning strategies is designed to find the underlying attributes that distinguish things, people, or organizations.
a. Hidden issue questioning.
b. Symbolic questioning.
c. Laddering.
d. Deep digging.
e. Layering.

58. If a person is placed in a decision making situation and then the interviewer asks the subject to verbalize the important considerations in the decision making process, this is considered a:
a. Protocol technique.
b. In-depth interview.
c. Picture test.
d. Simulation.

59. What are the two-(2) purposes of business research?
a. Discovery, generalization
b. Truth, verification
c. Hypothesis generation, generalization
d. Discovery, tests of hypotheses

60. In the data editing step of the preanalytical process:
a. Immediate editing is required no matter what type of data is collected
b. Personal interviews require less immediate editing because ambiguities are at a minimum.
c. Survey data need more immediate editing because of illegible hand writing.
d. Editing data once thoroughly ensures the proper solution to clarity and readability problems.

61. In the collection process, what does a researcher do with incomplete questionnaires?
a. Omit that respondent's questionnaire from the analysis.
b. Code the questionnaire for process
c. Replace the questionnaire with a good one.

62. During the preanalytical computer check, which of the following errors are detected?
a. "Wild codes' or outliers
b. Internal inconsistencies
c. The precision of the software available
d. Two of the above
e. All of the above


63. A general outline for a data analysis plan should include the following issues:
a. Selecting appropriate statistical software
b. Constructing preanalytical data steps
c. Identifying specific statistical procedures
d. Identifying ways to organize the results of the study
e. All of the above

64. Which of the following statements about EXCELs analytical capabilities is correct?
a. EXCEL does not have any analytical capabilities.
b. While EXCEL's statistical capabilities are limited when compared to other viable options, it does contain popular and useful analytical tools.
c. EXCEL's statistical capabilities compare well with those of SPSS.
d. EXCEL's statistical capabilities compare will with those of SAS.

65. In terms of managerial acceptance and the implementation of models:
a. As model complexity increases, implementation effort also increases.
b. As model symbolism becomes more complex, implementation tends to decrease.
c. As expertise in model use and development increases, implementation tends to decrease.
d. Two of the above are true.
e. All of the above are true.

66. Which of the following statements about model building is (are) correct?
a. Model building is less expensive than experimentation.
b. The model building process may provide a higher payoff to the firm than the solutions it provides.
c. Model building rarely contributes to profitability.
d. None of the above.
e. All of the above.

67. What classification of model is likened to a movie in the text?
a. Deterministic
b. Static
c. Dynamic
d. Aggregate

68. What type of model is a set of rules that, if followed, will provide better outcomes?
a. Maximization
b. Circular
c. Hypothetical
d. Heuristic

69. A traditional approach to forecasting which is similar to the qualitative semantic type of model is called what kind of model?
a. Time series.
b. Causal model.
c. Subjective approach.
d. Moving average

70. Which of the following is not generally considered a characteristic of data warehouses?
a. Large integrated databases.
b. Consistent encoding structures.
c. Organized by subject.
d. Are relatively easy to put together
e. Its purpose is for managerial decision making

71. Which of the following is not a primary goal of scientific business research?
a. Prediction
b. Description
c. Cause and effect
d. Exploration

72. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient possesses which of the following characteristic?
a. Establishes strength of relationship.
b. Determines direction and percentage of variation expressed by relationship.
c. Is the inverse of Yule's ratio.
d. a and b
e. All of the above

73. The basic purpose of any analytical method employed in business research is to:
a. Check for inconsistencies and missing values in a data set.
b. Convert data into relevant information.
c. Uncover phenomena of interest to the scientific research community.
d. Two of the above
e. All of the above

74. Which of the following would not normally be considered an exploratory data analysis technique?
a. Histograms
b. ANOVA.
c. Frequency tables
d. Bar charts.



75. What analytical realm uses inferential statistics and can make generalizations to the population?
a. NSBR.
b. SBR.
c. BSR.
d. BSQR.

76. Apart from sampling, perhaps ;the most common use for a normal probability distribution in business research is:
a. Statistical significance testing.
b. Nonparametric statistics.
c. Covariance structure analysis.
d. Distribution-free statistics.

77. Which of the following best describes multiple regression analysis?
a. The use of two or more dependent variables and one or several independent variables.
b. The use of a single continuous dependent variable and one or several independent variables.
c. The use of a dichotomous dependent variable and several continuous independent variables.
d. The use of a dichotomous dependent variable and several continuous independent variables.
e. A set of orthogonal variables regressed against other variables.

78. Which of the following is not an assumption inherent in the linear model for hypothesis testing?
a. Scores are sampled at random.
b. Scores are sampled from normal populations.
c. Populations have equal variances.
d. Different samples are dependent

79. Which of the following statements about simple linear regression (SLR) is NOT true?
a. One variable is designate-d as dependent and the other as independent.
b. Sets of observations are used.
c. It is a method used to predict
d. It is a method of analyzing the variability of an independent variable through the use of information available on one or more dependent variables.

80. What is the major difference between the MLR and the SLR?
a. The MLR determines the relative contribution of each X in explaining Y.
b. The F-ratio is partitioned.
c. The sum-of-squares must be calculated used matrices.
d. None of the above
81. A marketing manager wishes to know whether or not two newly created promotional advertisements are superior to the one currently used.  Which of the following techniques would be most appropriate for the study?
a. Analysis of variance
b. Regression
c. Analysis of covariance.
d. Cross classification analysis

82. Whether or not a retail outlet is geographically located in the sunbelt is one variable used to predict the sale of a new innovative sun screening lotion.  This variable is an example of using a:
a. Categorical variable.
b. Dummy variable.
c. Contrast variable.
d. Dependent variable.

83. There are three questions that help determine the choice of an appropriate multivariate technique.  Two of the questions pertain to the specification of the relationship in the variables and the number of variables.  What is the third consideration?
a. The basis of the equations.
b. The identification of the variables.
c. The identification of the equations.
d. The metric of the variables.

84. Which of the following techniques is a statistical analytical technique that examines the relationship between a nominally scaled dependent variable and a set of explanatory variables (with interval properties)?
a. Multiple discriminant analysis
b. Automatic interaction detection.
c. Coefficient of discrimination.
d. Multivariate analysis of variance.

85. What statistical technique is likened to a systematic fishing expedition in the text?
a. Analysis of interdependency.
b. Automatic interaction detection.
c. MANOVA.
d. Factor analysis

86. In factor analysis, the indeterminacy problem is addressed through the use of the varimax and oblique solutions.  these solutions are a means of:
a. Exposing the characteristic roots.
b. Calculating the principle components.
c. Tightening the determinant for accuracy.
d. Rotating the initial factor structure.

87. Which of the following is not one of the decisions made in cluster analysis?
a. Should the variables be standardized?
b. What measure of interobject similarity to use?
c. How many clusters are expected to exist?
d. How many CPU's to use?
e. Number and type of variables to cluster on.

88. Which of the following is not a rule for selecting the appropriate multivariate technique?
a. Determine the final use of the outcome information.
b. Know the data characteristics and requirements.
c. Acknowledge the assumptions of the techniques
d. Yule's rule of redundancy.

89. Serious business researchers would prefer which of the following situations:
a. Strictly legislated codes of ethics from government agencies.
b. Voluntarily instituted high standards of ethical behavior.
c. No ethical codes of ethics whatsoever.
d. Serious researchers are not even concerned with ethical issues in research.

90. Of the parties involved in the conduct of business research, researchers also have the right to expect:
a. The honest solicitation of proposals.
b. The accurate representation of finding.
c. Confidentiality of data.
d. The accurate reporting of data.
e. All of the above.

91. Which of the following conditions support the development of voluntary codes of ethics in research organizations?
a. Rising public are about research abuses.
b. Increased government concern about research abuses.
c. It is a way to make the organization look good in the public's eye.
d. Only a and b above
e. All of the above support the development of voluntary codes of ethics.

92. Which of the following would be logical activities for management to do if they were concerned about ethical behavior in their organizations?
a. Develop a code of ethics to serve as corporate policy in the conduct of research.
b. Communicate ethical behavior down through the organization hierarchy through the use of formal sanctions.
c. Create an ethical review board to ensure all research activities of the firm conform to high ethical standards.
d. All of the above would be logical activities.

93. A researcher has just recently concluded a project where a maximum project cost of $100,000 was agreed upon in the research proposal.   On completion of the research project actual costs were determined to be $80,000.  How should the researcher charge the client for the project?
a. Charge the maximum fee without regard for the actual costs of the project.
b. Charge $90,000 by using creative accounting
c. Split the difference between the maximum and actual costs.
d. Charge $80,000 based on the actual calculated project costs.

94. A client desires a competitive monitoring study.  However, the researcher is aware that some of the information required tin the study would be highly sensitive and would require the deception of subjects to obtain the data.  Should the researcher:
a. Inform the client about the sensitivity of the data, but reassure the client that it can be obtained.
b. Inform the client that some of the data is highly sensitive and may not be obtainable.
c. Reassure the client that the information can be obtained.
d. Do not inform the client about the sensitive nature of the data.

95. The makeup and outline of a written research report depends entirely upon;
a. The predispositions of the researchers.
b. The audience to whom it is directed
c. Past research reports presented to the company.
d. All of the above are of equal importance.

96. The executive summary of the written report should include all but which of the following topics?
a. The essentials of the research reports.
b. Major implications of the study.
c. A detailed description of the methodology.
d. Significant conclusions drawn from the report

97. A number of guidelines for the development of good written reports is presented in the text.  Which of the following is not one of these guidelines?
a. Know your audience.
b. Watch your writing style.
c. Be succinct and visual.
d. Use of a lot of statistics to prove your point.
e. Note the limitations of the study

98. Written research reports are:
a. More important than oral research reports.
b. Are less important than oral research reports.
c. Are the only type of research report.
d. Are of equal importance to oral reports.
99. Generally stated, the limitations of a research study should be:
a. Ignored; it makes the researcher look bad.
b. Clearly presented in the research report.
c. Soft pedaled and put in the appendix.
d. Stated, but qualified heavily, saying how they really do not affect the results of the investigation.

100. According to the text, which of the following are guidelines for developing an effective oral presentation?
a. Do not read materials.
b. Use visual aids.
c. Be organized.
d. Know the audience.
e. All of the above

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