Business & Finance Homework Help

Chapter 11 Organizational Decision Making

In the Collins Text “Exploring Business” read:

• Chapter 2 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

We will only use Chapter 2, “Business Ethics and Social Responsibility” in the Collins text

Part 1

When do groups make better decisions than individuals? Describe a situation in which a group would make a better decision and discuss why they would make a better decision and the process or technique that they would use to make the decision.

Part 2

In Chapter 11 of the Bauer and Erdogan text, we learned about decision biases. One of the biases is called an “Escalation of Commitment.” Write a two page informative essay that describes escalation of commitment and the impact that it has within an organization. Use an example to illustrate escalation of commitment. You may use an example from your own personal experience or you may write about an example of escalation of commitment that you have learned about by reading a case study, magazine, or newspaper article. The following URL provides an overview of the history of a now bankrupt retail chain in the United States called Steve and Barry’s University Sportswear. (http://steveandberrys.com/) As you read the article, you can see how the managers of this organization were caught in a problem of escalation of commitment. Their decision to locate their stores within financially distressed malls obviously was not working, yet they continued to do this financing each store with incentives from their mall property owners, which only served to drive the company deeper in debt to the point that the company failed in bankruptcy and liquidation. For a humorous look at escalation of commitment I can think of no better example than the gambler in figure 11.9 in your text:

The attached picture is for here.

The gambler keeps making the same mistake, putting more money in the slot machine, purchasing the next lottery ticket in the hope to recover losses incurred.

Prepare a two page (double-spaced) informative essay. Use and cite at least one source which may be material in our textbook or additional sources from the internet, the LIRN, or other sources to which you have access that defines escalation of commitment.

Cite references to material that you use in preparing the essay using American Psychological Association (APA) format.

part 3

Your learning journal entry must be a reflective statement that considers the following questions:

1. Describe what you did. This does not mean that you copy and paste from what you have posted or the assignments you have prepared. You need to describe what you did and how you did it.

2. Describe your reactions to what you did

3. Describe any feedback you received or any specific interactions you had. Discuss how they were helpful

4. Describe your feelings and attitudes

5. Describe what you learned

Another set of questions to consider in your learning journal statement include:

1. What surprised me or caused me to wonder?

2. What happened that felt particularly challenging? Why was it challenging to me?

3. What skills and knowledge do I recognize that I am gaining?

4. What am I realizing about myself as a learner?

5. In what ways am I able to apply the ideas and concepts gained to my own experience?

Finally, describe one important thing that you are thinking about in relation to the activity.

Your Learning Journal should be a minimum of 500 words.