CBC Decision Making & Problem Solving 4

Question 1

Which tool visually maps a problem's potential causes into categories such as people, process, equipment, and environment?

Accepted Answer

Fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram

Answer

The fishbone or Ishikawa diagram organizes possible causes of a problem into major categories for analysis.

Question 2

A client anchors all salary negotiations to the first number mentioned, regardless of market data. Which bias is at play?

Accepted Answer

Anchoring bias

Answer

Anchoring bias is over-reliance on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions.

Question 3

What distinguishes a programmed decision from a non-programmed decision in a business context?

Accepted Answer

Programmed decisions are routine and rule-based; non-programmed decisions address novel, unstructured situations

Answer

Programmed decisions follow established procedures for recurring situations, while non-programmed decisions handle new, unstructured problems.

Question 4

During a coaching session, a client generates ten solutions but cannot choose. Which convergent technique helps narrow the list objectively?

Accepted Answer

Scoring each option against agreed criteria

Answer

Criteria-based scoring converts a long option list into a ranked, defensible shortlist.

Question 5

What is the main risk of a leader relying solely on intuition for major strategic decisions?

Accepted Answer

Intuition can encode unexamined biases and lacks verifiable supporting evidence

Answer

Unchecked intuition may reflect hidden biases and provides no evidence trail for validating high-stakes choices.

(CBC) Certified Business Coach Practice Test