1. In the natural sciences, understanding and predicting cause-effect relationships can be precise because there are natural laws that are well understood (e.g. gravity, chemistry, biology, properties of materials, etc.). Business, however, is a social science.

Business is just people making choices and then doing things and we don't have natural laws to explain how those always work. For business, therefore, what replaces natural laws as the way conclusions and understanding are developed?

A. The wisdom of those executives with the most experience

B. Established paradigms ('rules-of-thumb') that can be applied to new situations

c. Probabilistic decision-making in which a choice is argued/believed to offer the best chance of delivering the best outcomes

D. Debate and democratic selection among relevant employees

2. Quality thinking...critical thinking...is deliberate. Which of the following is noted in the reading as being required for deliberate thinking?

A. Experience

B. A good, systematic process

C. Data

D. Intelligence

3.What is the objective of the '5 Why's' method?

• A. To speed up decision-making
• B. To identify the root cause of a problem

C. To identify alternative ways to remedy a problem

D. To develop an argument

4. What is the first step of quality strategic thinking (as a problem-solving process)?

• A. Gathering data
• B. Researching how others have solved similar problems

C. Developing hypotheses

D. Identifying and understanding the specific problem needing attention

5. Why should critical thinking and problem solving avoid SATISFICING?

A. Because if you stop with the first plausible and acceptable solution you may never identify even better solutions.

B. Because one should never be satisfied with their knowledge about a problem.

• C. Because satisfaction is not a valid objective of critical thinking.
• D. Because satisficing is never based on relevant data

6. Why is it valuable to learn how to structure a logical argument?

A. Because it assures that you can arrive at the correct answer

• B. Because it will help when I need to get others to agree with or accept my conclusions, proposals, and recommendations.
• C. Because the structure of a logical argument highlights what kind of data you need to gather and analyze to solve a problem

7. True or false? In the model of strategic alignment, a firm's strategic choices should both align with the demands of the competitive context and be supported by their internal resources and capabilities.

A. True

B. False

8. True or False? When making a quality logical argument, you need to present data or other supporting evidence to back up your claims/premises. One very good piece of evidence is your own personal experience and opinion related to an issue.

A. True

B. False

9.Which of the following is a characteristic of successful business professionals that underscores much of the advice about succeeding in a business career?

A. Staying in the same career for many years to gain wisdom

B. Making good and appropriate decisions

C. Being able to do important efficiently and quickly

D. Being goal-driven

10. Which of the following is the suggested first part of a quality logical argument?

• A. Describe the outcome expected is your conclusion is accepted.
• B. State your conclusion (or recommendation or choice)
• C Provide data or other evidence that supports your conclusion
• D. Describe background on the issue you are addressing.