CMAT Critical Thinking and Decision Making 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best illustrates 'groupthink' in an organizational setting?
- A team thoroughly debates all options before reaching a decision
- Team members suppress dissenting views to maintain group harmony (Correct answer)
- A manager makes a unilateral decision without consulting others
- A group uses a formal voting process to resolve disagreements
Correct answer: Team members suppress dissenting views to maintain group harmony
Groupthink occurs when the desire for group harmony overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives, causing members to suppress doubts and conform to the apparent consensus.
Question 2: In critical thinking, an 'ad hominem' fallacy occurs when:
- An argument attacks the person making it rather than addressing the argument itself (Correct answer)
- Statistical data is used incorrectly to support a claim
- Two unrelated events are linked as if one caused the other
- An argument appeals to the popularity of an idea as proof of its truth
Correct answer: An argument attacks the person making it rather than addressing the argument itself
An ad hominem fallacy occurs when someone attacks the character or circumstances of the person making an argument rather than addressing the argument's actual merits.
Question 3: Which problem-solving technique involves generating a large number of ideas without initial judgment or criticism?
- Root cause analysis
- Brainstorming (Correct answer)
- Cost-benefit analysis
- Delphi method
Correct answer: Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a creative technique where participants generate a large number of ideas freely, with evaluation deferred to a later stage to encourage creativity and volume.
Question 4: A manager notices that sales dropped after launching a new marketing campaign and concludes the campaign caused the drop. What logical error has been committed?
- Straw man fallacy
- False dichotomy
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Correct answer)
- Appeal to authority
Correct answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc
Post hoc ergo propter hoc is the fallacy of assuming that because one event followed another, the first must have caused the second, without establishing actual causation.
Question 5: The 'Pareto Principle' (80/20 rule) applied to decision making suggests that:
- 80% of managers make poor decisions 20% of the time
- 20% of causes produce approximately 80% of effects (Correct answer)
- Decisions should be reviewed every 80 days
- 80% of problems require only 20% of total available resources
Correct answer: 20% of causes produce approximately 80% of effects
The Pareto Principle states that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes, helping managers focus attention and resources on the most impactful factors.
Question 6: In decision making under risk, which technique calculates the average outcome by weighting each scenario by its probability?
- Maximin criterion
- Maximax criterion
- Expected Monetary Value (EMV) (Correct answer)
- Minimax regret
Correct answer: Expected Monetary Value (EMV)
Expected Monetary Value (EMV) is calculated by multiplying the value of each outcome by its probability and summing all products, providing an average outcome across all scenarios.
Question 7: Which of the following best represents 'lateral thinking' as a problem-solving approach?
- Following sequential, logical steps to arrive at a solution
- Approaching problems from unexpected or creative angles (Correct answer)
- Using historical data to predict and solve future problems
- Applying a proven single best solution repeatedly across situations
Correct answer: Approaching problems from unexpected or creative angles
Lateral thinking, a term coined by Edward de Bono, involves approaching a problem from creative, indirect angles rather than through conventional step-by-step logic.
CMAT Critical Thinking and Decision Making 2
Which of the following best illustrates 'groupthink' in an organizational setting?