Aptitude- Situational Judgement for Supervisor

A few weeks ago you asked Larry, one of your employees, to join a project which two of your other employees are working on. Larry is responsible for reviewing the other team members' work and correcting errors if he finds them. When you introduced the new responsibility to Larry, you asked him to keep records of every change he makes, and to write a report of how many changes were made to every task. However, you find out that Larry only kept logs of the changes and has not prepared the reports you asked. When you ask him about it, he says that he thought you meant it as a suggestion to keep him organized, not as an instruction, and he felt it took too much time.

What would be the worst response in this situation?

A few weeks ago you asked Larry, one of your employees, to join a project which two of your other employees are working on. Larry is responsible for reviewing the other team members' work and correcting errors if he finds them. When you introduced the new responsibility to Larry, you asked him to keep records of every change he makes, and to write a report of how many changes were made to every task. However, you find out that Larry only kept logs of the changes and has not prepared the reports you asked. When you ask him about it, he says that he thought you meant it as a suggestion to keep him organized, not as an instruction, and he felt it took too much time.

What would be the best response in this situation?

You run a staff of 20 people. You have made a conscious effort to establish good relationships between team members and have managed to build a cooperative team. The atmosphere is positive, and your team members seem to enjoy each other's company, forming friendly connections. However, in the last couple of weeks, you have begun to feel that the atmosphere is 'too fun', as people take long breaks and procrastinate. You are happy that your employees enjoy coming to work, but you also want to make sure that work is actually being done. You want to establish some regulations regarding breaks in the workplace, including the number of authorised breaks per workday, the number of employees who can take a coffee break at the same time, and the need to request a break before taking it.

How should you implement these changes?

You run a team of eight people who work in an open space office. It is customary in the office to turn on the radio and listen to quiet and calm music. Yesterday afternoon there was an argument between five of the employees and Duane, who has been changing the radio station to one that plays more upbeat music that the other team members don't like. This morning the employees have asked for your help in solving the matter. You decided to speak to Duane and ask for his cooperation. However, Duane said that he doesn't like the music that is usually playing and this kind of music helps him concentrate. He feels that he is being discriminated against.

Which of the following is the best response?

Tina is an intelligent employee who usually comprehends quickly and thinks of creative solutions. Her shortcoming, however, is her lack of attention to details. She misses small details in her work, which causes bigger errors, and she sometimes fails to consider these small details in advance when she plans ahead. Her work has had to be repeated several times because of such small errors, causing a snowball effect. Her supervisor, Terrance, felt he had to do something. He had a meeting with her in which he showed appreciation for her competence at work, and then said that although noting details may seem insignificant, it's important to prevent such errors. He asked her to pay more attention to details.

How effective was Terrance's response?

You supervise a department of 20 employees in a factory. Lately Bill, one of your employees, has been leaving work early a couple of days each week. Today Leo, the supervisor of another department, meets you in the elevator and says that one of his employees saw Bill leave early twice this week. He thought that this should be brought to your attention as it doesn't look good to other employees in the factory. He wants you to handle the situation. What would be the best thing to say?

You are doing a performance evaluation for Janet, one of your employees.
Which of the following should you avoid doing during the review?

It's the end of a very busy day, in which you and your whole team have put in extra effort and even stayed for an extra two hours. You feel tired, but pleased with your results and the teamwork. However, when you go over your emails, you are surprised to find the following email from Chloe, one of your employees: "I'm so tired of working for you. A REAL supervisor wouldn't let horrible days like this happen at all. If you would have planned ahead, we never would have had to stay extra hours and cancel after-work plans. I barely see my family because of these long days! And you don't even show appreciation or give us feedback. You don't care about people; you take our efforts for granted.

What would be the worst response?

It's the end of a very busy day, in which you and your whole team have put in extra effort and even stayed for an extra two hours. You feel tired, but pleased with your results and the teamwork. However, when you go over your emails, you are surprised to find the following email from Chloe, one of your employees: "I'm so tired of working for you. A REAL supervisor wouldn't let horrible days like this happen at all. If you would have planned ahead, we never would have had to stay extra hours and cancel after-work plans. I barely see my family because of these long days! And you don't even show appreciation or give us feedback. You don't care about people; you take our efforts for granted.

What would be the best response?

After reviewing a report that one of your employees has prepared, you think that some changes are required. When discussing this issue with the employee she disagrees with most of your comments, saying that she believes the report is better the way it is at the moment.

What should you do first?