In the following section you will be presented with a sample scenario and set of responses that are similar to those in the actual test. It is not part of the test.
We have provided ratings for each response and a rationale for the ratings. For illustrative purposes we used all five points on the scale, but please remember that you DO NOT have to do the same in the actual test.
The five points on the scale are below:
Five-point rating scale "a" (very poor) to "e" (very good) descriptions
a
Very Poor
Solution is very unacceptable
Disadvantages greatly exceed advantages
b
Poor
Solution is unacceptable
Disadvantages exceed advantages
c
Limited
Solution is incomplete
Some advantages and some disadvantages
d
Good
Solution is acceptable
Advantages exceed disadvantages
e
Very Good
Solution is superior
Advantages greatly exceed disadvantages
Background information
You work in the Headquarters office of Organization XYZ. During a team meeting, two of your colleagues announce that they will retire next June, one on the 27th and the other on the 30th. Your supervisor asks you to organize a farewell lunch for these two individuals and to give her your recommendation as to when it should take place. She asks you to keep the following in mind:
Criteria
- There must be only one lunch for both colleagues and it must be held before they leave;
- A conference will be held from June 9-13. Your supervisor strongly encourages all employees to participate in the activities that will take place during that week;
- All team members should attend the lunch if possible;
- The lunch must take place during the regular workweek lunch time.
Other facts you know
- All your team members, including those who work remotely in different cities, will be at the Headquarters office for an afternoon meeting on June 17th and another one-hour early morning meeting on June 18th;
- Two team members work four days per week, from Monday to Thursday.
For your convenience, a calendar for the month of June is provided below.
June calendar
| Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
| 15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
| 22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
| 29 |
30 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Task
Given the information provided above regarding the date of the lunch, rate the effectiveness of each of the following response options using the scale below:
Five-point rating scale "a" (very poor) to "e" (very good) descriptions
a
Very Poor
Solution is very unacceptable
Disadvantages greatly exceed advantages
b
Poor
Solution is unacceptable
Disadvantages exceed advantages
c
Limited
Solution is incomplete
Some advantages and some disadvantages
d
Good
Solution is acceptable
Advantages exceed disadvantages
e
Very Good
Solution is superior
Advantages greatly exceed disadvantages
Responses
- June 17th
- June 18th
- June 26th
- June 27th
- June 30th
Response 1: If you believe that June 17th is a good response, you would select “d”, which corresponds with “Good” on the scale.
1. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Response 2: If you believe that June 18th is a very good response, you would select “e”, which corresponds with “Very Good” on the scale.
2. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Response 3: If you believe that June 26th is a limited response, you would select “c”, which corresponds with “Limited” on the scale.
3. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Response 4: If you believe that June 27th is a poor response, you would select “b”, which corresponds with “Poor” on the scale.
4. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Response 5: If you believe that June 30th is a very poor response, you would select “a”, which corresponds with “Very Poor” on the scale.
5. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Possible rationales
Response 1 is good because all employees, including those who work remotely, would be available to attend. This response fulfills all the criteria your supervisor provided and is consistent with the other facts you were given. However, since the employees who work remotely have to attend a meeting in the afternoon, they may have to leave the lunch earlier than the others if the meeting is early in the afternoon.
Response 2 is very good because all employees, including those who work remotely, would be available to attend. This response fulfills all the criteria your supervisor provided and is consistent with the other facts you were given.
Response 3 is a limited response because all the employees who work at headquarters would be able to attend. However, the employees who work remotely may not be able to attend.
Response 4 is poor because the employees who work Monday to Thursday would not be able to attend and the employees who work remotely may also not be able to attend.
Response 5 is very poor because one of the criteria states the lunch must be held before your retiring colleagues leave. One employee is retiring on June 27th. As June 30th is after June 27th, it would not fulfill the criteria.
Important notes to remember
- You will receive 0 (zero) points for any response that is not rated.
- You may assign the same rating to more than one of the responses for a particular scenario. For example, you may select “Good” for both responses 1 and 2 if you believe that both are good responses.
- You do not have to use every rating on the scale (that is, Very Poor, Poor, Limited, Good, Very Good) when rating the responses for each scenario.
