Middle managers of a marketing firm were addressing the problem of creating eye-catching ads that were able to be easily reproduced in both color and black and white. one manager said, "the main problem here is we design using color to lure the consumer instead of relying on the benefits of the product itself." which of the following best describes the decision-making problem that this manager is exhibiting?
a. the manager is engaging in escalation of commitment
b. the manager is being too creative.
c. the manager is involved in participative decision making.
d. the manager is suffering from the representativeness heuristic.
e. the manager is defining the problem in terms of a solution.

The answer is e. The manager is defining the problem in terms of a solution.

Explanation:

In this scenario, what the managers are asked to do is to find a way to create eye catching ads that are able to be easily reproduced in both color and black and white.

So the main focus must be to find a solution to this problem by defining and understanding the problem or problems related to this particular objective.

When you try to clarify a problem by giving it more "solutions", what happens is that you miss the opportunity and resources to understand the problem more effectively. In the process, your objective deviates from understanding the problem to "finding solutions". This is what we describe  as trying to define a problem in terms of a solution" and it decreases the value of the work.

In this case rather than addressing how to create a better add that fits both black and white and color, the manager is distracted to an unrelated problem that takes his attention and company resources away and waste them.