Situational Judgement Questions and Answers

This is a question about knowing and working with your employees’ individual needs. Different people have different preferences and needs in their work conditions. To make the best use of your employees’ skills (resource management), and to allow them to develop, you should learn your employees’ strengths, weaknesses, and needs, and provide them the conditions they need to fulfil their potential (encouraging employees’ development).

Response A lacks social intelligence. You know that she will most likely be unhappy with your request, yet you don’t show any concern for her feelings or appreciation for her effort. This is not a good response.

Response B approaches the problem directly and demonstrates social intelligence as you have an open conversation with your employee, showing appreciation for her feelings and efforts. This response shows persuasion, motivation, and negotiation skills as it is likely to influence her to cooperate. This is an effective response.

Response C demonstrates persuasion, motivation, and negotiation skills as you offer to give Victoria something in return for her efforts. Offering to bring in assistance to help Victoria suggests that you understand the pressure she is under and respect the conditions she needs to be effective in her work.

Response D lacks respect for employees as you show no consideration of your employee’s feelings and individual needs. This response is cold and hurtful, and it is more likely to create antagonism than cooperation.

Comparing responses A and D, the latter seems more aggressive in its nature. While response A seems cold and might offend your employee, response D is harsh and very likely to be offensive. Therefore, this is the worst response to the situation.

In this scenario, your team is having trouble with the current changes taking place. As a supervisor, you have your team’s interests in mind, as well as a wider perspective of the company’s goals.

Response A is quite an emotional response. Here you seem offended and fail to listen to your employees’ complaints seriously enough. Whether or not the new regulations were designed to assist them, your employees are trying to tell you something about the effectiveness of their result.

In response B, you encourage your team to tell you about the problems and show a willingness to address them. Notice that you didn't say that any changes would necessarily take place, but you do exhibit an openness to criticism and a sense of responsibility towards your subordinates. You let them voice their concerns, take their concerns seriously, and function as a mediator between your team and higher management. Notice that this is not a perfect response. A better response would be to listen to the employees’ briefing before deciding whether or not you should bring it up with your manager.

In response C, you show respect and care for the team’s feelings, but you take a very passive approach. Your team is asking for your help, not just sympathy. You may decide not to take any further action regarding their complaints, but this decision should be based on professional considerations, after hearing the details of the problem. In general, you should refrain from statements like 'nothing can be done' as they may discourage your employees from approaching you in the future.

Suggesting that the employees write to your manager (response D) shows a lack of responsibility for subordinates as you fail to function as a mediator between your team and higher management. Instead, you choose to remain passive.

This question assesses your understanding of your position as a manager in terms of the chain of command. Be aware that different workplaces prefer different levels of managerial involvement versus keeping of the chain of command; we recommend that you read about your potential workplace and position before taking the test.

Response A is a “do nothing” response. This kind of response is passive and is rarely the best course of action. Although it may be likely that the supervisor is aware of the situation, you can’t assume it. This response fails to supervise employees’ performance.
Talking to the employee yourself (response B) ignores the supervisor’s authority and responsibility (chain of command). You want to take action, but not to undermine the supervisor.

In response C you take action which is appropriate for someone in your position – you bring the situation to the supervisor’s awareness and allow her to handle it as she sees fit. This is the best response in this situation.

In response D you reprimand your supervisor for the employee’s actions. You don’t trust the supervisor’s skills and judgment, and don’t provide her the authority to handle the situation her way, and don’t provide her a chance to explain her point of view – you don’t know if she is aware of the situation or if there are any special reasons for it (effective communication).

Familiarising yourself with the product by trying it out yourself (answer choice D) is the most important response. As a sales representative you should be able to demonstrate to the customer how to use the product, and to be as well acquainted with it as possible.

Making sure the presentation is organized appropriately (answer choice A) is important but not the most critical.

Reading about the popularity of the product (answer choice B) is relevant and could help you in your sales, but it’s not critical.

Checking what a competitor is doing (answer choice C) could be helpful, but again, not necessary.

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).