CS Leadership & Decision Making 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A strategist must choose between two market expansion options under severe time pressure with incomplete data. Which decision-making approach is most appropriate?
- Delay the decision until full information is available
- Apply satisficing — choose the first option that meets minimum criteria (Correct answer)
- Default to the option with the highest potential upside regardless of risk
- Conduct a full multi-criteria analysis before acting
Correct answer: Apply satisficing — choose the first option that meets minimum criteria
Satisficing, a concept from Herbert Simon, is ideal under time pressure and uncertainty because it identifies an acceptable solution quickly rather than seeking the theoretically optimal one.
Question 2: Which leadership style is most effective when a team is highly skilled but lacks motivation on a strategic initiative?
- Directive
- Coaching
- Delegating
- Participating (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Participating
The participating (or supporting) style in Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership model is best when competence is high but commitment is low — the leader facilitates rather than directs.
Question 3: A CEO overrides market research data and proceeds with a failing product line because of the large investment already made. This is an example of which bias?
- Optimism bias
- Sunk cost fallacy (Correct answer)
- Confirmation bias
- Availability heuristic
Correct answer: Sunk cost fallacy
The sunk cost fallacy occurs when past, irrecoverable investments drive future decisions rather than forward-looking costs and benefits.
Question 4: In a strategic crisis, a leader who openly acknowledges uncertainty to the team while outlining a clear response plan is demonstrating which leadership quality?
- Charismatic leadership
- Authentic transparency (Correct answer)
- Laissez-faire management
- Authoritarian control
Correct answer: Authentic transparency
Authentic transparency — admitting what is unknown while still providing direction — builds trust and reduces team anxiety during crises.
Question 5: Which analytical tool helps a strategic leader identify the root cause of a recurring organizational problem before making a decision?
- SWOT analysis
- Five Whys technique (Correct answer)
- Balanced Scorecard
- Porter's Five Forces
Correct answer: Five Whys technique
The Five Whys technique iteratively asks 'why' to drill down to the root cause of a problem, preventing leaders from addressing only symptoms.
Question 6: A leader notices that every team meeting reaches consensus quickly and no one challenges proposed strategies. What is the primary risk?
- Overly democratic culture
- Groupthink (Correct answer)
- Analysis paralysis
- Excessive delegation
Correct answer: Groupthink
Groupthink occurs when the desire for harmony suppresses dissent, leading to poor strategic decisions that go unchallenged.
Question 7: According to the Vroom-Yetton decision model, when should a leader make a decision autocratically without consulting the team?
- When the team has the best information needed to solve the problem
- When team buy-in is critical to implementation success
- When the leader has sufficient information and quality is more important than acceptance (Correct answer)
- When the problem is ambiguous and requires creative input
Correct answer: When the leader has sufficient information and quality is more important than acceptance
The Vroom-Yetton model prescribes autocratic decision-making when the leader has the required information and the team's acceptance is not critical to implementation.
CS Leadership & Decision Making 2
A strategist must choose between two market expansion options under severe time pressure with incomplete data.
Which decision-making approach is most appropriate?