CSJT Situational Judgment & Decision Making 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You discover that a colleague has been falsifying time sheets. The colleague is a close friend who recently went through a difficult divorce. What is the most appropriate action?
- Report the falsification to your supervisor as required by policy (Correct answer)
- Speak privately with your colleague and give them time to self-report
- Ignore it since the amounts are small and your colleague is struggling
- Confront your colleague publicly to discourage others from doing the same
Correct answer: Report the falsification to your supervisor as required by policy
Civil service ethics require reporting policy violations regardless of personal relationships.
Question 2: A citizen calls in an angry complaint about a decision made by your department. They demand to speak with the director immediately. What should you do first?
- Transfer them directly to the director without screening the call
- Listen calmly, acknowledge their frustration, and explain the proper complaint process (Correct answer)
- Tell them the director is unavailable and end the call
- Argue the merits of the department's decision to defend it
Correct answer: Listen calmly, acknowledge their frustration, and explain the proper complaint process
De-escalating first and directing citizens through proper channels is the standard best practice.
Question 3: You are given two urgent assignments by two different supervisors with equal authority. Both deadlines are the same. What is the best course of action?
- Complete whichever task you find more interesting first
- Inform both supervisors of the conflict and ask them to set a joint priority (Correct answer)
- Flip a coin to decide which task to do first
- Do both simultaneously even if quality suffers
Correct answer: Inform both supervisors of the conflict and ask them to set a joint priority
Conflicting priorities from multiple supervisors should be resolved through transparent communication with all parties.
Question 4: During a routine records audit, you find that a filing error made three years ago has caused a citizen to be incorrectly denied a benefit. The error was made by a retired employee. What do you do?
- Do nothing because the responsible employee is no longer with the agency
- Document the error and initiate the correction process to restore the citizen's benefit (Correct answer)
- Quietly correct the record without documenting the original error
- Notify the citizen that errors cannot be corrected retroactively
Correct answer: Document the error and initiate the correction process to restore the citizen's benefit
Past errors must be corrected through proper documented channels regardless of who caused them.
Question 5: A fellow employee tells you in confidence that they are planning to quit soon. Your manager asks if you know of anyone planning to leave. What should you do?
- Lie to your manager to protect your colleague's confidence
- Tell your manager the information since workplace loyalty is owed to the organization
- Say you are not aware of any specific plans, without revealing the confidential disclosure (Correct answer)
- Tell your colleague they must inform the manager themselves immediately
Correct answer: Say you are not aware of any specific plans, without revealing the confidential disclosure
You can decline to share confidential information without actively lying to your supervisor.
Question 6: You notice that a new policy just implemented appears to have an unintended consequence that will create hardship for a specific group of citizens. What is the best response?
- Apply the policy as written and say nothing
- Refuse to enforce the policy until it is changed
- Document your concerns and raise them through appropriate channels such as your supervisor or policy review process (Correct answer)
- Informally warn affected citizens so they can find workarounds
Correct answer: Document your concerns and raise them through appropriate channels such as your supervisor or policy review process
Raising policy concerns formally through proper channels is the appropriate civil service response.
Question 7: You are finishing a report that your supervisor needs in one hour. A colleague urgently asks for your help with a technical problem only you can solve. What is the best approach?
- Help your colleague fully and submit the report late without informing your supervisor
- Ignore your colleague's request entirely and focus only on your report
- Quickly assess whether you can briefly assist your colleague, then inform your supervisor if a delay is likely (Correct answer)
- Ask your supervisor to extend the deadline before agreeing to help your colleague
Correct answer: Quickly assess whether you can briefly assist your colleague, then inform your supervisor if a delay is likely
Brief triage and transparent communication with your supervisor balances competing obligations.
CSJT Situational Judgment & Decision Making 2
You discover that a colleague has been falsifying time sheets.
The colleague is a close friend who recently went through a difficult divorce.
What is the most appropriate action?