A project manager at a semi-conductor manufacturer held a retrospective meeting for a product development project to capture lessons learned. Although the product was scheduled for market release, preliminary tests indicated it had not met all of its technical expectations. Although the meeting examined what went well, during one part of the meeting, the PM directed the discussion toward what went wrong from a technical standpoint. However, one member of the group, Jack, persistently focused on individual team members and blamed them personally for the product's less-than-ideal technical performance. Which of these best describes the factor most likely influencing Jack's behavior in the meeting?
A) Fundamental attribution error
B) Parkinson's Law
C) Extrinsic motivation
D) Escalation of commitment
E) Negativity bias
F) Pareto's Law

Question

A project manager at a semi-conductor manufacturer held a retrospective meeting for a product development project to capture lessons learned. Although the product was scheduled for market release, preliminary tests indicated it had not met all of its technical expectations. Although the meeting examined what went well, during one part of the meeting, the PM directed the discussion toward what went wrong from a technical standpoint. However, one member of the group, Jack, persistently focused on individual team members and blamed them personally for the product's less-than-ideal technical performance. Which of these best describes the factor most likely influencing Jack's behavior in the meeting? 
A) Fundamental attribution error
B) Parkinson's Law
C) Extrinsic motivation
D) Escalation of commitment
E) Negativity bias
F) Pareto's Law

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Fundamental attribution error is the tendency to attribute others' behaviors to their character or personality, while underestimating the influence of external factors. Jack's behavior of blaming individual team members for the product's technical shortcomings, rather than considering situational factors or systemic issues, aligns with this cognitive bias.

A Project Manager at a Semi-Conductor Manufacturer Held a Retrospective