Matt, a co-worker in your staff with whom you share an office, needs your advice regarding a report he is about to present at this week's team meeting. These meetings are led by your team manager but the department manager is almost always present, too.
Although the part of the report that Matt shows you seems fine, you notice that the numerical analysis in another section of the report is missing important conclusions. You can tell that this section of the report does not adhere to the standards of your department's supervisors.
Matt seems to be confident about that part of the report and you get the impression that he is not interested in your opinion about it.
What would you do? Choose the BEST option.
If he is not interested in your opinion there is not much you can do about it, so you let it go and leave him to deal with the consequences of a poor presentation.
If he does not want to listen to you, notify management about it. Talk to your manager and ask him to explain to Matt the importance of the necessary changes.
You do your best to get him to listen. It may involve some discomfort but you try to explain the logic behind your criticism in the hope that he will understand.
It's best to stay out of it. If Matt does not want to hear your thoughts, that is his right and there is always the possibility that you are mistaken.
Correct answer is C
No explanation has been provided for this answer.
What would you do? Choose the BEST option.
You meet with the employee and explain that her negative behaviour is affecting not only her performance but that of the entire office. You express a sincere desire to help her during her rough patch on condition that she cooperate with you and improve her attitude.
You feel that since she is a very popular employee it is crucial that she be replaced temporarily or else office performance will suffer. You assign her to back office tasks for the time being and promise her that once her performance improves, you will re-instate her in her former position.
You call a staff meeting to talk about the negative atmosphere in the office. You single out the problematic employee and discuss her contribution to this atmosphere in the hope that her behaviour will improve.
You decide to let it blow over. She has been a consistently good employee until recently and you feel you need to "cut her some slack". Part of your job is to be sensitive to your employees' needs when necessary.
Correct answer is A
No explanation has been provided for this answer.
What would you do? Choose the BEST option.
You do not accept the decision and send the training manager a furious e- mail demanding that she re-open the course for your employees as their performance is hindered by the delay in their training. You make sure to cc the executive director.
Since relations between you and the training manager are already strained, you decide to let the subject go this time and wait a few months until the next course opens.
You contact the manager of the other department, whose workers were selected for training instead of your employees. You try to convince him to let one of your employees take the course instead of one of his.
You talk to the training manager and try to understand the reasons for her decision. You explain the necessity of training for your department's performance and try to persuade her to let at least one of your employees attend the course.
Correct answer is D
No explanation has been provided for this answer.
What would you do? Choose the BEST option.
You wait to see how things develop; at the moment this information is merely hearsay.
You call your co-worker in for a talk. You explain that cooperation is an essential feature of any workplace and tell him you believe both of you can learn from one another. If he refuses to understand you take more serious steps.
You do not want to take any chances with such issues. You report the matter to your supervisor and advise him to consider replacing your co-worker.
Since you do not want to make a "big deal" out of the issue, you ask a third party to intimate to your co-worker that his behaviour is unacceptable.
Correct answer is B
No explanation has been provided for this answer.
What would you do? Choose the BEST option.
You trust your manager's judgement and withdraw your proposition. There's no point in going against her better judgement.
You present a document to your manager systematically detailing the advantages of your proposition and its contribution to the company. If she keeps insisting, you'll support her decision.
You implement your proposition despite the manager's resistance. Since you have a lot of faith in this proposition, you decide to trust your judgement and go behind her back this once for the benefit of the company.
You confront your manager on the issue and insist that she accept your proposal. You are positive that you are right. You have the marketing people to back you and will not give up until you convince your manager otherwise.
Correct answer is B
No explanation has been provided for this answer.
What would you do? Choose the BEST option.
Since the rumour is already out, you update all your acquaintances in the organisation that you are in the midst of negotiations for a new position. This may even encourage your directors to promote you within the company.
Since it is only a rumour, you don't update anyone until you actually hand in your notice. Nothing has been decided yet.
Since the rumour is already out and you will probably leave, you invest a little less in your work and a bit more in attaining the new position.
Because the rumour is out, you update your manager and only him about your intention of leaving. Since you are still an employee there, you keep working normally.
Correct answer is D
No explanation has been provided for this answer.
What would be the most effective reaction to this situation?
Refer the matter to your line manager, since they have overall responsibility.
Make even more noise than this colleague - to show them how annoying it is.
Email your noisy colleague to complain, cc'ing in your manager
Talk to your noisy colleague and request more reasonable behaviour
Correct answer is D
(D) is MOST since this solution: raises the underlying issue; whilst looking for a mutually agreed resolution. It's an excellent first step.
(B) is LEAST because this is simply repeating the same problem as your disruptive colleague.
(A) is incorrect since it abdicates responsibility to your manager. This is an interpersonal issue requiring some personal initiative. First try to address the problem yourself.
Answer option (C) contains two elements that mean it is not the best option. Firstly, there's a passive-aggressive intent in mailing a complaint that copies in their manager. There is also some threatening intent. Escalating the issue may prove unnecessary - try speaking to them first.
What would be the most effective reaction to this situation?
Call a one-off emergency meeting to highlight objectives and the lack of collaboration.
Start by introducing half-hour, weekly catch-up meetings for the whole team.
Implement compulsory training courses on interpersonal skills as soon as possible.
Familiarise yourself with the team objectives, then email regular updates on each one's progress.
Correct answer is B
(B) is the MOST effective response to the presented scenario. The key issue here is for you, as manager, to improve collaboration. Introducing short weekly meetings will do this in what should be perceived as an acceptable manner by your team. It's always good advice to select the solution likely to prove most effective in the long-term.
The LEAST effective response is (option (A). Rather than reminding colleagues of their team objectives, you need to be encouraging more regular team communication. A one-off meeting - even if it's given high priority - will not improve collaboration over the longer-term.
Regarding answer option (C); interpersonal skills training does offer some value. Still it's only one, albeit an important, component of effective collaboration.
Answer option (D) may work in the long-term. However it is not as proactive as option (B).
What would you say to the customer?
“I apologise; it seems that there has been a delay in your order. Would you like me to give you a call when it has been dispatched?”
“I’m sorry, it seems that we are currently out of stock, but I’m sure your package will be delivered soon.”
“You are right; the package was not delivered yet. Unfortunately, we are out of stock at the moment so there isn't much I can do to help.”
“I’m sorry; it seems that we’re out of stock of this product at the moment. You will have to be patient for a little longer.”
Correct answer is A
In this question, the answer choices are in the form of direct speech. This means we need to pay special attention to the way we communicate with the customer and demonstrate effective communication, in addition to the response itself.
Answer choice A begins with an apology. The scenario presents a customer with a problem caused by the company. In this situation, more than any other, an apology is in order. The response presented in this answer choice adds an offer to call the customer, thus giving extra service and showing proactivity and service orientation.
Answer choice B includes an apology and an optimistic tone but lacks an active effort to help.
Answer choice C acknowledges the customer’s complaint but lacks any active effort (“There isn’t much I can do”), which gives the impression that you are not taking responsibility for the problem.
Answer choice D includes an apology but again sounds passive and even condescending (telling the customer they will have to be patient).
What should you do?
Tell Roger that everyone had an easy time learning how to operate the system and that he should not have any problems learning it.
Let Anna, who is more experienced than you, teach Roger for the remainder of the day and get back to your other assignments.
Ask Roger to do this later. You are becoming impatient and have other tasks to complete.
Ask Roger what part of the explanation is unclear. Try to provide detailed explanations to questions he may have.
Correct answer is D
Option D is the best response as here you are looking for the source of Roger’s problem in order to achieve results. You are demonstrating effective communication skills by asking Roger exactly what it is he finds difficult. You are also demonstrating adaptability by trying to change your approach to address the problem. You are being a team player by being supportive and offering to answer any queries to advance your colleague's understanding.
A. This response shows a lack of sensitivity towards your colleague and a poor understanding of social situations—an indication of poor social intelligence. This response is offensive. Not only are you pointing out his lack of success, but you are also belittling him by comparing his failure to other's success. This negative response could prevent him from effectively learning how to operate the system. Furthermore, you are demonstrating poor teamwork and communication skills, as you are not trying to establish a positive relationship with Roger. Finally, it is your responsibility to teach Roger, and blaming him for not understanding means you are not taking any responsibility for this learning process. This is a very poor response.
B. Letting a different employee with more experience than you teach Roger could be more effective. However, your supervisor gave you this task and it is not for you to delegate it to someone else. Furthermore, the problem here may not be dependent on level of experience, but rather the teaching approach used. By letting Anna teach Roger, you are not demonstrating adaptability in your teaching method. You are also admitting that you either lack the communication skills required to teach Roger, or that you lack the persistence of continuing to try despite experiencing conflict.
C. This is a poor response. You are giving up on the task you have been given. You demonstrate a lack of responsibility for completing the task, which, in turn, indicates a lack of conscientiousness. You are not looking for an alternative way of teaching Roger (as in choice B), suggesting your own lack of adaptability.
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