Deck 18: Solving Problems and Making Decisions

Question 1

When faced with making a decision, considering different perspectives by running your reasoning by people who are unlikely to agree with you and then examining both contradictory and supporting evidence with equal rigour can help you to avoid falling into the:

A) confirmation bias trap.
B) sticking with the status quo trap.
C) estimating and forecasting traps.
D) pattern recognition trap.
E) not cutting your losses trap.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Once the goal to be achieved has been determined, the next step in the problem-solving and decision-making process is to:

A) generate alternative solutions.
B) evaluate alternatives and select the most suitable.
C) establish the desired outcomes.
D) analyse the problem to determine its cause.
E) implement the decision.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The three components of implementing a decision are:

A) Planning, safeguarding and monitoring
B) Planning, safeguarding and communicating
C) Planning, safeguarding and evaluating
D) Planning, monitoring and evaluating
E) Planning, communicating and monitoring

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Asking, 'How regularly has the equipment been serviced?' is an example of:

A) analysing a problem.
B) describing a problem.
C) clarifying a problem.
D) identifying a problem.
E) solving a problem.

Question 5

Making assumptions based on prior experiences and judgements which may turn out to be inaccurate or false is an example of falling into the:

A) anchoring trap.
B) pattern recognition trap.
C) estimating and forecasting traps.
D) framing trap.
E) confirmation bias trap.

Question 6

Which of the following shows the order in which we mentally process a decision or solution to a problem?

A) Imagine, analyse, evaluate
B) Analyse, imagine, evaluate
C) Analyse, evaluate, imagine
D) Imagine, evaluate, analyse
E) Evaluate, analyse, imagine

Question 7

In which types of situations would it be appropriate to apply a programmed decision?

A) Simple situations
B) Complex situations
C) Chaotic situations
D) Crisis situations
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 8

In what type of situations are unknowables most likely to be present?

A) Simple situations
B) Complex situations
C) Chaotic situations
D) Crisis situations
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 9

A manager orders a large quantity of stock at a discounted price from their supplier. Sales over the following period are poor, but the supplier offers the same deal three months later. The manager purchases another large quantity of the same item, but sales remain poor. The manager has fallen into the:

A) framing trap.
B) confirmation bias trap.
C) not cutting your losses trap.
D) pattern recognition trap.
E) sticking with the status quo trap.

Question 10

To drill down to the root cause of a problem, you should ask, 'Why?':

A) once.
B) twice.
C) three times.
D) five times.
E) 10 times.

Question 11

When brainstorming, you should:

A) limit the number of suggestions each person can make to ensure fair and equal contributions from participants.
B) limit the total number of suggestions that can be put forward in order to save time that would be spent discarding wild or crazy suggestions.
C) discuss and evaluate each suggestion as it is made.
D) encourage criticisms of suggestions to be made and recorded as they occur for later consideration.
E) only allow suggestions to be made and recorded; evaluating each suggestion comes later.

Question 12

At what stage does problem solving become decision making?

A) When analysing the problem to determine its cause
B) When generating alternative solutions
C) When evaluating alternatives and selecting the most suitable
D) When implementing the decision
E) When monitoring and evaluating the results

Question 13

The more complex a problem, the more important it is to intervene at:

A) the individual performance level.
B) the incentives and information level.
C) the systems level.
D) the strategy or objectives level.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 14

Which of the following is not a benefit of a programmed decision or an automatic response?

A) It provides a consistent solution.
B) It makes dealing with routine matters easier and faster.
C) It makes dealing with routine matters more reliable.
D) It saves time, allowing people to attend to more important matters.
E) It can be used to provide a decision for a complex issue quickly and easily.

Question 15

When generating solutions, it is important to:

A) evaluate each solution immediately, and as part of the same step.
B) discount seemingly crazy or wild suggestions, since this will make the process more efficient.
C) evaluate suggestions as a separate step only once all possible solutions have been generated.
D) place greater emphasis on the first suggestions, since these are usually the best options.
E) place greater emphasis on the last suggestions, since these are usually the best options.

Question 16

To prioritise a range of decisions, each decision should be assessed according to:

A) its complexity and importance.
B) its complexity and urgency.
C) its urgency only.
D) its urgency and importance.
E) how many people it will affect.

Question 17

The only way to actually fix a problem is to:

A) identify the symptoms and then take action to solve them.
B) identify the symptoms and then take action to minimise them.
C) identify the symptoms and then take action to treat them.
D) look for a solution that minimises the cause of the problem.
E) find its cause, and then remove this.

Question 18

The benefit of using a diagram such as a cause-and-effect or a fishbone diagram to analyse a problem is that:

A) it allows you to 'see' the problem from its various aspects.
B) it allows you to identify the problem's most important features.
C) it allows you to break down the problem to determine its true cause.
D) it is useful for tackling complicated problems that require you to sort out a maze of facts so as to isolate the most likely cause/s of a problem.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 19

When choosing between alternatives, it may be desirable to conduct a risk analysis, especially where rapid change can occur. If this is the case, which of the following factors may need to be taken into account?

A) Changes in society
B) Changes in the economy
C) Changes in technology
D) Changes in the workplace
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 20

The trap of not making decisions due to people having come to accept problems as normal is known as:

A) standardisation bias of variance.
B) standardisation bias of deviance.
C) normalisation bias of variance.
D) outcome bias.
E) normalisation bias of deviance.

Question 21

Reaching decisions by voting and consensus are close to the same thing, since in both methods everyone agrees with the final outcome, or decision.

Question 22

A manager who seeks creative decisions based on receiving significant input from those around them demonstrates:

A) a decisive decision-making style.
B) a hierarchic decision-making style.
C) a flexible decision-making style.
D) an integrative decision-making style.
E) an autocratic decision-making style.

Question 23

Because decisions reached by consensus or with significant participation from group members almost always achieve a better outcome than decisions made by one person, managers should involve their team in all decisions.

Question 24

A manager who takes the time to search a wide amount of data to find the 'right answer', prefers to pursue multiple courses of action, and adapts to changing circumstances is an example of a:

A) single-focus satisficer with an integrative decision-making style.
B) single-focus optimiser with a flexible decision-making style.
C) multi-focus satisficer with a flexible decision-making style.
D) multi-focus satisficer with an integrative decision-making style.
E) multi-focus optimiser with an integrative decision-making style.

Question 25

The stepladder technique can be a useful way to:

A) help small groups to avoid anchoring.
B) help small groups to avoid confirmation bias.
C) help small groups to avoid groupthink.
D) help to ensure that everyone group member's ideas are considered equally.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 26

In an uncertain operating environment, managers are more likely to need to adopt a multi-focused decision-making style, while in a stable operating environment, a single-focused decision-making style may be more appropriate.

Question 27

In an emergency, or when there is no other possible course of action, it is likely that the most appropriate way to make a decision would be to adopt the:

A) unilateral approach.
B) participative approach.
C) factional approach.
D) voting approach.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 28

Which of the following ways to make decisions are likely to be the most useful in arriving at the best solution to address a problem and gaining support for and commitment to the decision from those affected by, or with a stake in it?

A) Factional and groupthink
B) Groupthink and unilateral
C) Unilateral and voting
D) Voting and consultation
E) Consultation and participation

Question 29

Which of the following statements is incorrect in relation to when it is or is not appropriate to involve team members in decision making?

A) The group does not need to be involved if the issue will not affect or involve them.
B) The group should be involved when group members are able to, and want to, become involved.
C) The group should be involved when it will be involved in implementing the decision.
D) The group should not be involved when the decision is extremely important.
E) The group should be involved when the decision needs to be accepted.

Question 30

Which of the following is not recommended when it comes to involving your team in decision making?

A) Do not make early, quick, easy agreements and compromises.
B) Reach an outcome by taking a vote, so that the majority of the team has the decision go their way.
C) Do not force the group into agreeing with you.
D) Encourage people, particularly the quieter ones, to offer their ideas.
E) All of these responses are correct.