Ch.6 – Problem Solving And Need Recognition | Full Test Bank

Chapter 6: Problem Solving and Need Recognition Techniques

= Correct answer

Multiple Choice/Fill in the Blank

1. Which of the following happens when the entrepreneur notes a gap between societal or customer needs and the actual circumstances?

A. brainstorming

B. creativity

C. human-centered design

D. need awareness

Difficulty: Easy

1. Which of the following is a systematic process for maximizing continuous improvement through minimizing surplus?

A. creativity

B. human-centered design

C. lean processes

D. storyboarding

Difficulty: Easy

1. How is creative problem solving a logical process?

A. It can be applied to internal and external processes as well as external product development.

B. It involves more than just making decisions and acting upon those decisions.

C. After collecting all the relevant information, the entrepreneur lists as many causes of the problem as possible.

D. The steps are repeated cyclically until the entrepreneur develops an innovative solution.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. Which of the following characterizes a great team?

A. from the same department and cohesive

B. have chemistry, and are cohesive and diverse

C. include a limited number of members that are diverse

D. solve the problem in the least amount of time

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Which of the following is the process of presenting an idea in a step-by-step graphic format?

A. brainstorming

B. human-centered design

C. lean process

D. storyboarding

Difficulty: Easy

1. How is design thinking an “empathy-driven process”?

A. It focuses on the needs of the customer and creating the customer experience.

B. It focuses on the bottom line and making the most cost-effective product.

C. It focuses on only the physical attributes of the product and packaging.

D. The process utilizes design engineers and is not applied to digital interactions.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. Which three spaces compose the design thinking process?

A. creativity, inspiration, and storyboarding

B. inspiration, ideation, and implementation

C. implementation, brainstorming, and lean processes

D. creativity, brainstorming, and ideation

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Why does the design thinking process use the term “spaces” instead of phases?

A. because the term space is generally used in the design field

B. because the focus is on the customer rather than the product

C. because the spaces can happen simultaneously

D. because the process is conducted in a typical meeting-type space

Difficulty: Easy

1. Which of the following involves combining existing concepts to create something new?

A. brainstorming

B. ideation

C. inspiration

D. mash-up

Difficulty: Easy

1. In lean processes, the external environment ________.

A. includes employees and internal practices and procedures

B. encompasses customers, industry trends, and the competition

C. is not necessary to consider because it does not directly impact the organization

D. should lead to advantages in the internal environment

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Which of the following is the phase in lean process problem solving in which behaviors are analyzed to assess success?

A. assessment

B. evaluation

C. ideation

D. observation

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Which of the following permits the entrepreneur to plot each step in a process to build comprehension and detailing of the process?

A. brainstorming

B. implementation

C. storyboarding

D. whiteboarding

Difficulty: Easy

1. Which of the following is the complex analysis of a problem or issue?

A. assessment

B. critical thinking

C. data analysis

D. decisiveness

Difficulty: Easy

1. Why is Step 1 of the creative problem-solving process to clarify?

A. Failure to identify the specifics of a problem makes it nearly impossible to solve.

B. The entrepreneur must first focus on and solve the symptoms of the problem.

C. The intent of solving a problem is to break away from practical norms.

D. Creativity’s role in innovation is to clarify the problem.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. During the ________ step, the entrepreneur walks through the planned execution with the client and tests each part of the solution or thoroughly tests a developed good.

A. develop

B. evaluate

C. ideate

D. implement

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Which of the following is the generation of ideas in a judgment-free environment?

A. brainstorming

B. ideation

C. storyboarding

D. whiteboarding

Difficulty: Easy

1. Which of the following describes the type of problem solvers who are autonomous and work on their own?

A. petitioner

B. self-motivating

C. self-regulating

D. theorist

Difficulty: Easy

1. Which of the following is an event that brings together programmers and workers with other degrees of specialization to collaborate on a project over a short period of time?

A. brainstorming session

B. hackathon

C. mash-up

D. storyboarding event

Difficulty: Easy

1. Which of the following is a tool that can be used to alleviate the creativity block that entrepreneurs experience?

A. crowdsourcing

B. ideation

C. team creativity

D. whiteboarding

Difficulty: Moderate

1. How does crowdsourcing enable managers to expand their talent pool?

A. They hire experts in several fields to help run the company.

B. Amateurs work together in an online environment to solve a problem.

C. It is routinely used during the hiring process.

D. Experts in the field provide their insight into the problem at hand.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. Which of the following is a collaborative approach to problem solving usually implemented online?

A. brainstorming

B. crowdsourcing

C. ideation

D. outsourcing

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Why should the setting for a brainstorming session be comfortable and informal?

A. Ideas are rarely generated in a traditional meeting type format.

B. The entrepreneur is more comfortable leading a session in an informal setting than in a formal setting.

C. The group needs to avoid standard solutions and get the creative juices flowing with little restrictions.

D. The sessions normally last many hours, and you want participants to be comfortable.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Which of the following is an example of adaptive problem solving?

A. determining a way to prevent the flu from entering the district

B. finding a vaccine that will completely eliminate the flu

C. minimizing the impact of the flu virus impacting a local school district

D. educating students and families about the flu

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Which type of problem solver does things differently to solve problems?

A. adapter

B. creator

C. innovator

D. petitioner

Difficulty: Easy

True/False

1. True or false? Lean processes maximize surplus and unused material.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. True or false? Design thinking in business can be applied beyond product and graphic design.

Difficulty: Easy

1. True or false? Petitioner problem solvers work on their own.

Difficulty: Easy

1. True or false? In brainstorming, the best ideas are chosen.

Difficulty: Easy

1. True or false? Storyboarding helps entrepreneurs visually represent steps in product creation.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. True or false? Reinforcement and expansion of ideas in the team environment stifles the creativity of the team to work towards solving the problem.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. True or false? Business schools have typically taught a rational, analytic approach to problem solving.

Difficulty: Easy

1. True or false? In design thinking, inspiration for ideas comes from assessing the actual product or service.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. True or false? Inspiration usually comes first in the design thinking process.

Difficulty: Easy

1. True or false? Empathy means immersing yourself in order to understand people’s experiences and motivations.

Difficulty: Easy

1. True or false? Need awareness occurs when the entrepreneur notes similarities between customer needs and actual circumstances.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. True or false? Implement means to enact the plan and test for success.

Difficulty: Easy

1. True or false? During the testing phase, entrepreneurs apply rigorous tests of the complete product.

Difficulty: Easy

1. True or false? While methodologies incorporate processes, tools are resources that enable such approaches.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. True or false? Lean process thinking has origins in the service industry.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. True or false? Six Sigma helps lead to defect increases.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. True or false? Feedback is not necessary during the observation phase of lean problem solving.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. True or false? Entrepreneurial problem solving is centered on resolving the gap between what is and what could be.

Difficulty: Moderate

Short Answer

1. Describe the three types of problem solvers discussed in the chapter. Which type fits most with your personality?

Students’ answers should include a brief description of the three types. Students should be able to articulate how each is different from the other. Finally, using their own personality traits, students should describe which type fits most with their style of problem solving.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Briefly describe each of the eight steps in the lean problem-solving process

Difficulty: Easy

1. Discuss the ways in which the Toyota lean problem-solving process and the creative problem-solving process are similar.

The student should recognize the similarities between the processes such as the alignment of several of the steps. A thorough answer would not just list the steps of each process, but instead would synthesize the commonalities of the steps as well as the overall intent of the processes.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Describe the five spaces in human-centered design.

Difficulty: Easy

1. Describe how problem solving and decision making are different. Give an example from outside the reading for each.

An example of decision making would be choosing a vendor to provide office supplies for the company. You might collect some information about pricing and shipping speed to make the appropriate decision for your company. This would take time and consideration. An example of problem solving would be trying to find out why customer complaints have increased for your product during the last quarter. This process would be much more investigative and in-depth. It would require interaction with customers to determine the problem, research about why the problem has occurred, and finding a solution to rectify the situation. The problem could be from the supplier of the raw materials, shipping issues, or several other options. Decision making is different from problem solving because of the time involved in the process, the data/research needed to move forward, and the ultimate outcome of the process.

A thorough answer will define each term and make the distinction between the two. The examples provided will vary but should offer a clean distinction between the two terms.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. Compare and contrast adaptive and innovative problem solving. Which approach is more in line with your personality?

The answer should include not only the differences, but also the similarities between the two approaches to problem solving. Students should then focus on their own personality traits and discuss which one most fits their approach to problem solving.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Using a restaurant as an example, discuss the external and internal environmental factors to consider when using the lean process approach to improve efficiencies.

Internal factor examples include: staffing for slow days for the restaurant, hours of operation, what food to by pre-made to reduce time to cook, the seating process (seat yourself, or wait to be seated), how many tables can a server handle at a time, etc.

Students’ answers should first identify the difference between external and internal factors and their impact on efficiencies. Students should then use some specific examples to the restaurant industry to illustrate the difference and the recognition of the impact of these factors on minimizing surplus and maximizing efficiency.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. Discuss at least four of the problem-solving skills needed by entrepreneurs. How have you used each of these skills to solve problems? Provide an example of your two strongest skills.

After defining the skills, students will then discuss how they may have used these skills in the past. A thorough answer will demonstrate a clear understanding of the concepts and will include specific examples.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Describe each of the following types of analytics: descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive. Why are data analytics important and how are they used?

Data analytics can be applied in a wide variety of ways in the organization. Analytics can be used to manage customer relations, inform financial decisions, provide information to make marketing decisions, and help set the price for your product. The data generated provide the information needed to make decisions. The data can also be used in computer models to make decision making faster and more accurate.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Using the creative problem-solving process, identify a problem at your place of work or college and envision a way to solve that problem. Outline the steps of the process.

Difficulty: Difficult

1. Discuss some of the requirements for an effective brainstorming session.

Difficulty: Easy

1. Compare and contrast the following: crowdsourcing, brainstorming, and storyboarding.

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Describe the human-centered design (HCD) approach.

A well-thought-out answer describes each of the three spaces, being sure to focus on the person, not the product.

Difficulty: Easy

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