Business Decision Making
Basic Skills – 50 points
Due 4/9
Students will practice basic skills necessary to make effective decisions by completing the four areas below.
A.
Critical reasoning and reading skills (10 points)
Reading information and understanding what you read is critical for making decisions. The SAT evaluates reading, reasoning, and logic skills. To help assess your level of skill, we’ll try a section of the test.
1.
Start by going to the sample test.
(This is a .pdf file of 21 pages, so it may take a minute to download.)
2.
There are 40 questions within the sample test. Pick any ten of the questions and answer them to the best of your ability. You are not graded on accuracy, so don’t worry about being right or wrong.
3.
Put your answers to the questions you've chosen into a paper using Word and number them for the questions you are completing. For example, if you complete question 7 in Section I, type
"Question 7 – My answer is….." in the paper. Do the best you can to respond to the question and give your reasoning for the answer.
4.
Once you are complete, you can check your answers. On page 21 of the sample you will see the answers to the questions. Review how well you did.
5.
Evaluate your performance on the test. What did you have trouble with as you completed the test?
Was it vocabulary, structure of the questions, or understanding what was being asked? Did the wording seem tricky because it used lots of negatives? (ex: I didn’t dislike something?)
Something different? List at least three things that were a problem in your paper and explain why you think it was a problem.
6.
Once you've listed the problems, try to brainstorm three ideas of what you could do to improve your reading. Make sure you explain your ideas and why you think it would help you. Be creative!
B.
Evaluating Sources of information (10 points)
It’s important for students to be able to evaluate information to make sure it is accurate and reliable when using that information in a decision. Below is a web site dealing with how to evaluate websites. Read through the information on the site to make sure you understand how to evaluate a web site.
When you are finished, use the information to evaluate a site of your choice on all of the criteria explained . At the end decide if you believe the site you are using is a good site for academic usage. Record the site URL (the web address beginning with http:), the date of access, the entire evaluation on each criteria mentioned, and your overall conclusion into a paper.
Evaluating Internet Sources & Sites: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
C.
Logic (20 points)
Logic is a key skill in making decisions. There are many ways to help develop logical thinking. You can do several different activities to help your logical skills. You must complete five of the items below to demonstrate your logic skills.

Complete a logic, Sudoku, or ken-ken puzzle. There are puzzles available online at the resources on the instructor’s webpage. Puzzles must be completely accurately in order to receive credit.


Play one hour of poker or bridge. Document this event by detailing the time, location, date, participants, and your final outcome in the game.

Play one game of chess, backgammon, or go. Document this event by detailing the time, location, date, participants, and your final outcome in the game.

Play the game Clue. Document this event by detailing the time, location, date, participants, and who did it with what weapon in which room.
D.
Creativity (10 points)
Creativity is an attribute than can be improved through practice. On the instructor’s webpage are a variety of links to creativity resources. Your task is to practice your creativity using those resources. Choose one of the problems listed below. Then apply three techniques for creativity that you find online to develop solutions. You must show evidence of using the technique in order to get credit. For example, if you are brainstorming, you must show a list of brainstormed ideas. Group techniques may be used and submitted by multiple people for credit.
Problem 1: The Wisconsin Rapids local economy is having a difficult time. Most industries are mature and have strong companies in them. What could Rapids do to help grow our economy?
Problem 2: You manufacture a dog collar that is made of recycled tires. It still looks as fashionable as any collar and is comfortable for dogs, but is considered environmentally friendly. You don’t know how to get customers for your new product.
Grading Criteria
Students should turn in all four parts of this assignment by 4/9. Students are graded on two elements: completeness and professionalism. Completeness refers the amount of work done and whether the technique has been fully applied. Professionalism refers to the work being easily read and professionally assembled.