RBC Problem-Solving and Decision-Making 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which cognitive bias causes people to rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive?
- Confirmation bias
- Anchoring bias (Correct answer)
- Availability heuristic
- Dunning-Kruger effect
Correct answer: Anchoring bias
Anchoring bias occurs when an initial value or piece of information disproportionately influences subsequent judgments.
Question 2: A project is already 30% over budget but only 10% complete. Using a sunk-cost framework, the rational decision is to:
- Continue investing because too much has already been spent
- Reassess whether the projected future benefits justify the remaining costs (Correct answer)
- Double the budget to ensure completion
- Blame the team and restart from scratch
Correct answer: Reassess whether the projected future benefits justify the remaining costs
Rational decision-making requires evaluating future costs and benefits independently of money already spent, which is unrecoverable.
Question 3: A decision matrix is most useful when:
- Only one option is available
- Multiple options must be evaluated across several weighted criteria (Correct answer)
- The decision must be made in under one minute
- The decision involves purely emotional factors
Correct answer: Multiple options must be evaluated across several weighted criteria
A decision matrix structures the comparison of multiple alternatives against weighted criteria, making trade-offs explicit and objective.
Question 4: Root cause analysis (RCA) is best described as:
- A method for assigning blame to employees
- A structured process to identify the underlying cause of a problem (Correct answer)
- A financial audit technique
- A customer satisfaction survey tool
Correct answer: A structured process to identify the underlying cause of a problem
RCA aims to identify and address the fundamental reason a problem occurred so that it does not recur.
Question 5: When time is extremely limited, which decision-making approach is MOST appropriate?
- Comprehensive multi-criteria analysis
- Recognition-primed decision-making based on experience (Correct answer)
- Forming a committee to deliberate
- Postponing the decision until more time is available
Correct answer: Recognition-primed decision-making based on experience
Recognition-primed decision-making leverages expertise to quickly identify a workable solution when time prohibits exhaustive analysis.
Question 6: A bank risk manager notices an unusual spike in after-hours ATM withdrawals. The FIRST action should be to:
- Shut down all ATMs in the network immediately
- Investigate whether the spike correlates with a specific location, time, or account type (Correct answer)
- Send an email to all customers warning of fraud
- Wait 48 hours to see if the pattern continues
Correct answer: Investigate whether the spike correlates with a specific location, time, or account type
Targeted investigation before drastic action prevents service disruption while still addressing a potential fraud signal promptly.
Question 7: Which of the following is an example of a 'wicked problem'?
- Calculating the monthly payroll
- Reducing systemic financial inequality across a diverse population (Correct answer)
- Sorting customer accounts alphabetically
- Printing end-of-day transaction reports
Correct answer: Reducing systemic financial inequality across a diverse population
Wicked problems are complex, interdependent challenges with no clear solution, unlike routine operational tasks with defined processes.
RBC Problem-Solving and Decision-Making 3
Which cognitive bias causes people to rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive?