Module 1: Pre-Class Quiz Questions Flashcards
What can you do to try to screen out a**holes during the hiring process?
a. Ask referees to answer honestly and transparently in response to questions like, “do they work well with others?”
b. Call up referees to ask directly whether the potential hire is an a**hole.
c. Force references to choose between two negative qualities, such as: “What’s more likely: that this applicant will be a total pushover or maybe a little manipulative?”
c. Force references to choose between two negative qualities, such as: “What’s more likely: that this applicant will be a total pushover or maybe a little manipulative?”
Which lens reframes the current situation to help you take a learning perspective?
Long lens
Which lens builds empathy, which usually helps others behave better because they feel “seen”?
Reverse lens
Which lens helps open you up to alternatives besides the story you’re currently telling yourself?
Lens of realistic optimism
What assumption should you make when dealing with a difficult person, and why?
a. Assume you don’t know why the other person is being mean, because it helps you give them the benefit of the doubt, rather than getting defensive immediately.
b. Assume you don’t know why the other person is being mean. Do this because it inspires curiosity to find out what’s going on.
c. Assume the other person has the best intentions, even if they aren’t implementing them well. Do this because it helps you give them the benefit of the doubt, rather than getting defensive immediately.
d. Assume the other person has the best intentions, even if they aren’t implementing them well. Do this because it inspires curiosity to find out what’s going on.
b. Assume you don’t know why the other person is being mean. Do this because it inspires curiosity to find out what’s going on.
Which of the following is the most effective way to design a reward system that reduces a**hole behaviour?
a. Create larger-than-average incentives that differentiate superstar employees from the rest.
b. Incentivize individual achievement primarily, meaning that each employee will be fully responsible for their own individual outcomes.
c. Give subordinates power over their bosses, such as choosing who to work for, or rating their bosses’ behaviour.
c. Give subordinates power over their bosses, such as choosing who to work for, or rating their bosses’ behaviour.
Why was the lettuce prank so effective (The Office Without Assholes)?
a. Because it was nonthreatening.
b. Because it made a point about how his comments made his employees feel.
c. Because it was funny.
d. All of the above.
d. All of the above.
In the podcast, they mention this study of how much toxic behavior impacts profits. Using data from over 50,000 employees across 11 companies, which one of these did they conclude is better?
a. Replacing an average performer with a star had about the same impact on profitability as replacing a toxic worker with an average one.
b. Replacing a toxic worker with an average one was doubly profitable as replacing an average performer with a star.
c. Replacing an average performer with a star was doubly profitable as replacing a toxic worker with an average one.
b. Replacing a toxic worker with an average one was doubly profitable as replacing an average performer with a star.
Which lens are you employing?
Ask yourself, “What are the facts in this situation?” and, “What’s the story I’m telling myself about those facts?”
Lens of realistic optimism
Which lens are you employing?
Look at the situation through the other person’s perspective by asking questions like, “What is this person feeling, and in what ways does that make sense?” or “Where do they see my responsibility in all this?”
Reverse lens
Which lens are you employing?
Look beyond the present to imagine a better future by asking questions such as “How can I grow and learn from this experience?”
Long lens
During the podcast Adam Grant makes several arguments about why he thinks every leader has a responsibility to strive for a no-ahole culture. He uses all of these reasons EXCEPT ONE. Which one does he NOT use? Avoiding aholes …
a. … helps the firm be more profitable.
b. … helps firms attract and retain the most talented people.
c. … helps employees perform better at their work.
d. … ensures employees will not feel upset at work.
e. … is possible without reducing performance, because a**hole star performers are rarely so valuable as to be irreplaceable.
f. … is the right thing to do, ethically.
d. … ensures employees will not feel upset at work.
According to Sheila Heen in the podcast, which of these is the best way to deal with an a**hole?
a. Use humour such as, “It was my impression that you were smarter and more creative than that, so I bet you could come up with ways to be just as clear, without having to actually rip somebody else apart. But maybe I’m overestimating you, maybe that’s not true.”
b. Say something like, “I don’t know why you feel the need to undermine me or demean me. I don’t know why you feel the need to humiliate everybody and control everything.”
c. Do nothing so the behavior fades over time when they don’t get the reaction they expect.
d. Confront them in the moment.
a. Use humour such as, “It was my impression that you were smarter and more creative than that, so I bet you could come up with ways to be just as clear, without having to actually rip somebody else apart. But maybe I’m overestimating you, maybe that’s not true.”
What saying did Luis von Ahn have to sum up his conclusions about hiring? What did he mean by it?
a. “It’s better to have a hole than an ahole”. Meaning that he most wants to create an environment where he looks forward to going to work.
b. “I mainly just want to have a place where I go to work every day”. Meaning that he most wants to create an environment where he looks forward to going to work.
c. “It’s better to have a hole than an ahole”. Meaning it’s better to have nobody filling a position than a jerk.
d. “I mainly just want to have a place where I go to work every day”. Meaning it’s better to have nobody filling a position than a jerk.
“It’s better to have a hole than an a**hole”. Meaning it’s better to have nobody filling a position than a jerk.
Why would a company implement an algorithm in their decision-making process?
a. To reduce the amount of available information.
b. To replace human judgement.
c. To reduce human biases in decisions.
d. None of the above.
c. To reduce human biases in decisions.
In a decision-making situation, giving disproportionate importance to the first information received is known as…
a. … the Confirming-Evidence Trap
b. … the Overconfidence Trap
c. … the Sunk-Cost Trap
d. … the Anchoring Trap
d. … the Anchoring Trap
Which one of the following is the best strategy to reduce the potential influence of Confirming-Evidence Trap?
a. Never think of the status-quo as the only alternative.
b. Deciding alone.
c. Actively look for evidence that would disconfirm what you already believe.
d. Trying to frame the problem in a different way.
c. Actively look for evidence that would disconfirm what you already believe.
To reduce the complexity of many decisions we take, we often rely on routines known as …
a. Calculations
b. Calling a friend
c. Statistics
d. Heuristics
d. Heuristics
A heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently. These rule-of-thumb strategies shorten decision-making time and allow people to function without constantly stopping to think about their next course of action.
Five years ago, you bought shares of the company “Enron Tax Services Ltd.”. Unfortunately, the company has been posting losses in the last years and this has reduced the value of the shares you own. The future of the company looks rather bleak. Nevertheless, you keep on believing that you should not sell the shares. In fact, you would like to buy even more shares of the company, to avoid losing the time and money you’ve already invested. This is an example of which trap?
a. Mouse Trap
b. Framing Trap
c. Anchoring Trap
d. Sunk-Cost Trap
d. Sunk-Cost Trap
What is the best defence against psychological traps?
Awareness
True of False: The way a problem is posed can influence the way someone thinks about it. This is called the Framing Trap.
True
Considering the decision-support tools reviewed in the Bonabeau article, which is the best tool to balance capacity with demand in a theme park? Consider that in a theme park there are thousands of visitors with different preferences, who are interrelated, but unpredictable.
a. Scenario planning
b. Interactive evolution by experts
c. Optimization
d. Agent-based modeling
d. Agent-based modeling
An agent-based model is a class of computational models for simulating the actions and interactions of autonomous agents with a view to assessing their effects on the system as a whole.
According to the Bonabeau article, gut decisions are best for which type of situations?
a. Simple situations where there are only few alternatives to choose from, and it is relatively easy to see the effects of choosing one over the other.
b. Chaotic environment where there are too many options to choose from. The subconscious mind will do the job of finding the right alternative.
c. Situations that require subjectivity.
d. Ambiguous situations when one cannot fully understand the consequences of the decisions. The subconscious mind processes information better than our conscious thought, therefore, one should leave it for the instinct.
a. Simple situations where there are only few alternatives to choose from, and it is relatively easy to see the effects of choosing one over the other.
Which of the following are required for intuitive decision making?
a. Balanced emotions, pattern recognition and ability to see similar patterns in other fields.
b. Paucity of emotions, pattern recognition and ability to see similar patterns in other fields.
c. Paucity of emotions and pattern recognition.
d. None of the above.
a. Balanced emotions, pattern recognition and ability to see similar patterns in other fields.
