Caliper Assessment Decision-Making and Strategic Thinking 5

Question 1

A manager notices that her team consistently agrees with her proposals in meetings but then fails to execute. The most likely strategic issue is:

Accepted Answer

Psychological safety is low, preventing honest feedback during planning

Answer

When teams agree in meetings but fail in execution, it often signals low psychological safety where honest concerns go unexpressed, creating false buy-in.

Question 2

Which of the following best describes 'satisficing' as a decision-making strategy?

Accepted Answer

Selecting the first option that meets a defined threshold of acceptability

Answer

Satisficing, coined by Herbert Simon, means choosing the first option that satisfies minimum criteria rather than searching exhaustively for the optimal solution.

Question 3

When building a strategic plan, which step is most commonly skipped that leads to execution failure?

Accepted Answer

Identifying the specific assumptions the plan depends on being true

Answer

Failing to surface and test the key assumptions a strategy rests on leaves organizations blindsided when those assumptions prove false during execution.

Question 4

A leader is choosing between a reversible and an irreversible decision with similar expected outcomes. Strategic best practice suggests:

Accepted Answer

Move faster on reversible decisions and invest more analysis in irreversible ones

Answer

Distinguishing reversible from irreversible decisions (Amazon's 'Type 1 vs. Type 2') allows organizations to be bold where stakes are low and careful where they are high.

Question 5

Which of the following describes 'confirmation bias' and its effect on strategic decision-making?

Accepted Answer

Favoring information that confirms existing beliefs while discounting contradictory evidence

Answer

Confirmation bias causes leaders to build strategies on selectively gathered evidence, reinforcing existing beliefs rather than testing them rigorously.

Caliper Assessment Practice Test

Caliper Assessment Practice Test

Caliper Assessment Decision-Making and Strategic Thinking 5