Decision Making & Problem Solving Flashcards
7 cards from real CBC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Decision Making & Problem Solving flashcards as text
A client's team keeps solving the same operational problem every quarter. What should the coach encourage the client to examine first?
Answer: Whether previous fixes addressed symptoms instead of the systemic root cause
Recurring problems usually indicate that past solutions treated symptoms rather than the underlying system cause.
Which decision-making model describes choosing the first option that is 'good enough' rather than searching for the optimal one?
Answer: Satisficing
Satisficing, a term from Herbert Simon, means selecting the first acceptable option rather than the perfect one.
When facilitating a client's cost-benefit analysis, which element is most often overlooked and should be probed by the coach?
Answer: Intangible and opportunity costs, such as time, morale, and foregone alternatives
Clients typically capture obvious monetary figures but miss intangibles and opportunity costs that change the decision.
A client wants input from many stakeholders but fears loud voices will dominate the meeting. Which structured technique should the coach suggest?
Answer: Nominal group technique, where ideas are written silently and then shared and ranked
Nominal group technique equalizes participation by having members generate ideas independently before group ranking.
What is the coach's most appropriate role when a client evaluates a high-stakes ethical dilemma in their business?
Answer: Facilitate exploration of values, stakeholders, and consequences without imposing the coach's own moral judgment
Coaches facilitate values-based reflection while keeping decision ownership and moral judgment with the client.
After implementing a chosen solution, what final step completes the problem-solving cycle?
Answer: Evaluating results against the original objectives and capturing lessons learned
Evaluation against objectives and capturing lessons learned closes the loop and improves future problem solving.
A client habitually escalates every decision to themselves, creating a bottleneck. What decision-making improvement should the coach explore?
Answer: Defining decision rights and delegation thresholds so team members can decide within clear boundaries
Clear decision rights and delegation thresholds remove bottlenecks by empowering others to decide within defined limits.