SCENARIO 12-7 Microchip Technology Is at the Heart of Everything

question 103

Multiple Choice

SCENARIO 12-7 Microchip technology is at the heart of everything electronic.The stakes for manufacturers are high and market fluctuation makes for an uncertain future.Jim Forrest is CEO of BigChip Inc.,a medium-sized company that manufactures specialty microchips used in a variety of computers to facilitate efficient graphics processing.Jim recognizes the need to diversify his manufacturing operations and is considering starting up a new division,which would design,develop and produce security chips.These would be used in situations ranging from data transmission to securing financial transactions.Other companies are also considering involvement since the security market is potentially a large one.Jim knows that the rapid advancements in the field of computer hardware and software necessitates an innovative approach to development of any new technology.Jim realizes that responding to market conditions and world economic influence will have to be carefully dealt with.
-Refer to Scenario 12-7.Jim knows that expansion into new technology will have to be carefully managed.Managers,in many instances,are content with reasonable rather than best-possible solutions.A weakness of rational decision-making in Jim's situation is the assumption that

• A)there are no time or cost constraints.
• B)decisions will never be made that produce the highest perceived value.
• C)decision criteria vary over time.
• D)all possible consequences of each alternative are unknown.
• E)criteria weights remain constant at all times.

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Definitions:

Superordinate Goal

In intergroup conflict, an objective held in common by all conflicting groups that cannot be achieved by any one group without the supportive efforts of the others.

Ultimate Attribution Error

A perceptual bias occurring in intergroup relations. Negative behaviors by out-group members are attributed to stable, internal factors such as undesirable personal traits or dispositions, but positive behaviors by out-group members are attributed to unstable, external factors such as situational pressures or luck. As a result, in-group observers will blame the out-group for negative outcomes but will not give it credit for positive outcomes.

Out-group Homogeneity

The perception that members of a group different from ours are more similar to each other than they actually are, often leading to stereotyping.

Goal Isomorphism

In groups, a state in which group goals and individual goals held by a member are similar in the sense that actions leading to the attainment of group goals also lead simultaneously to the attainment of individual goals.