Chapter 1 Decision Making, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, and Clinical Reasoning:Requisites for successful leadership and management 1. What statement is true regarding decision making? A) It is an analysis of a situation B) It is closely related to evaluation C) It involves choosing between courses of action D) It is dependent upon finding the cause of a problem Ans: CFeedback: Decision making is a complex cognitive process often defined as choosing a particular courseof action. Problem solving is part of decision making and is a systematic process that focuseson analyzing a difficult situation. Critical thinking, sometimes referred to as reflective thinking, is related to evaluation and has a broader scope than decision making and problem solving. 2. What 1. A) Its need for implementation time 2. B) Its lack of a step requiring evaluation of results 3. C) Its failure to gather sufficient data 4. D) Its failure to evaluate alternatives Ans: A Feedback: The traditional problem-solving model is less effective when time constraints are a consideration. Decision making can occur without the full analysis required in problem solving. Because problem solving attempts to identify the root problem in situations, muchtime and energy are spent on identifying the real problem. 3. Which of the following statements is true regarding decision making? 1. A) Scientific methods provide identical decisions by different individuals for the same problems 2. B) Decisions are greatly influenced by each persons value system 3. C) Personal beliefs can be adjusted for when the scientific approach to problemsolving is used 4. D) Past experience has little to do with the quality of the decision Ans: B Feedback: Values, life experience, individual preference, and individual ways of thinking will influence a persons decision making. No matter how objective the criteria will be, value judgments willalways play a part in a persons decision making, either consciously or subconsciously. is a weakness of the traditional problem-solving model?Page 1 4. What influences the quality of a decision most often? A) The decision makers immediatesuperior B) The type of decision that needs to be made C) Questions asked and alternatives generated D) The time of day the decision is madeAns: C Feedback: The greater the number of alternatives that can be generated by the decision maker, the betterthe final decision will be. The alternatives generated and the final choices are limited by eachpersons value system. 5. What 1. A) Good decision makers are usually right-brain, intuitive thinkers 2. B) Effective decision makers are sensitive to the situation and to others 3. C) Good decisions are usually made by left-brain, logical thinkers 4. D) Good decision making requires analytical rather than creative processes Ans: B Feedback: Good decision makers seem to have antennae that make them particularly sensitive to other