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6 Examples of Good Judgement

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Good judgement is the ability to make a reasonable decision at a point in time. This could be measured by having your peers review the decision to confirm it is reasonable. In many cases, a decision must be made quickly with limited information. It often becomes clear with time whether the decision was good as its outcomes are realized. It is common to be asked for an example of a time you applied good judgement in an interview. The following are illustrative examples of good judgement that may be helpful in preparing an answer.

Analytical Thinking

Analytical thinking is the process of making a decision in a systematic and objective way based on information and logic.
Revenue, ratings and bookings at one of our hotel locations near an airport were down so I investigated the root cause by looking at more than 24,000 customer reviews. First I excluded reviews that appeared to be fake. Then I looked for patterns in the reviews in order to classify and measure points of dissatisfaction. I found that 59% of negative comments referred to poor service related to our free airport shuttle including instances where the shuttle was late or overcrowded. I investigated further and found that many of our competitors were offering buses every 10 minutes with a small bus while we were offering every 45 minutes with a larger vehicle. I proposed, implemented and measured improvements to this service including more frequent service with a smaller vehicle and use of the larger vehicle during peak checkout time. This resulted in improved ratings and revenue.

Ethics

The ability to apply moral principles of right and wrong in some reasonable way.
My airline adopted a policy of only providing food and beverages on domestic flights for a fee. They didn't accept cash and only accepted credit cards. Back then, children didn't have access to any form of electronic payment. When a child was traveling alone and inquired about food, I would get my manager's approval to provide it for free as they typically had no way to pay.

Pragmatism

Pragmatism is acceptance of difficult real world conditions such as uncertainty, grey areas and imperfections. This can be helpful to judgement where there is no ideal solution that is likely to work or where an ideal solution is political infeasible.
I was managing a fast food restaurant and our delivery was delayed due to a snowstorm. It was clear we would run out of fries before the delivery would arrive so I called several local franchise owners to see if we could borrow a few boxes. They were in a similar situation so I called our sister restaurants in another town. They had stock so I borrowed my father's truck and drove about 120 miles round trip to pick up the fries. When the delivery came, I made the trip again to return the stock.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to read emotion and respond intelligently to address things at the emotional level.
I was working at a telecom call center and received a call from an customer who said that they had been overcharged and that a customer service representative had just hung up on them. I could sense that they were angry because they felt they had been cheated and disrespected. So I began by apologizing and explaining that their customer experience was unacceptable, that they shouldn't have been treated like that and that I would work to remove any incorrect charges on their bill.

Consistency

The ability to be reasonably consistent such that factors such as mood, emotions or dramatic situations don't affect your judgement.
I purchased ____ stock back in 1997 and have held it ever since. The stock has had periods where people said it was over valued and sure to go down. It has had periods where it did go down and lots of investors panicked and sold. I held it though all of this because I believed in the company and their quarterly reports continued to show the firm was moving in the right direction. The stock is now up several thousand percent from where I bought it.

Situational Awareness

Situational awareness is the ability to be highly observant and diligent to respond to fast moving situations.
I was working at a bank and setting up a new account for a customer. As part of know your customer, I asked a few standard questions and sensed that something was wrong. So I probed a little further and started asking about the neighborhood where they live as per their identification. I said "Isn't there a big park there?" and they seemed uncertain how to answer. As I got up to bring this to the attention of my manager the person suddenly dashed out of the branch. The police were called and we turned over their identification. It turns out it had been stolen and altered.

Summary

The ability to make reasonable and timely decisions in an environment of pressure, uncertainty and constraints.
Overview: Good Judgement
Type
Definition
The ability to make a reasonable decision at a point in time.
Related Concepts
Next: Pragmatism
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Rational Thought

The difference between rational thought and logic.

Reason

The definition of reason with examples.

Educated Guess

The definition of educated guess with examples.

Critical Thinking Skills

A list of common critical thinking skills.

Ways Of Thinking

A list of thinking approaches and mindsets.

Practical Thinking

The definition of practical thinking with examples.

Cognition

The common types of cognition with examples.

Cognitive Skills

A list of the basic types of cognitive skill.

Independent Thinking

The definition of independent thinking with examples.

Thinking

An overview of thinking with examples.

Opinion

The definition of opinion with examples.

Mindset

A list of common types of mindset.

Analytical Thinking

The definition of analytical thinking with examples.

Salience

The definition of salience with examples.

Perception

A list of the common types of perception.

Cognitive Abilities

A list of common cognitive abilities with examples.
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