Fast Stream Situational Judgement (Public Sector Scenarios) 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Your manager praises your work in a team meeting and attributes a project outcome entirely to you. In fact, it was a team effort. What should you do?
- Acknowledge the team's contribution clearly at the time or shortly after (Correct answer)
- Accept the praise and thank your manager — it reflects well on you
- Speak to each team member privately to apologise for taking credit
- Do nothing as disagreeing with your manager publicly is inappropriate
Correct answer: Acknowledge the team's contribution clearly at the time or shortly after
Honesty and fairness require acknowledging collaborative effort. Doing so promptly demonstrates integrity and builds team trust.
Question 2: You are asked to produce a report quickly. You realise you will need data from another team that has a reputation for slow responses. What should you do?
- Contact the other team early, explain the urgency, and agree a realistic timeline (Correct answer)
- Wait until you need the data and then blame the delay on the other team
- Estimate the data yourself to save time
- Ask your manager to contact the other team's manager to demand faster service
Correct answer: Contact the other team early, explain the urgency, and agree a realistic timeline
Proactive communication and early engagement with dependencies is essential to delivering work on time. Blaming others or cutting corners is not acceptable.
Question 3: A minister asks for your personal opinion on a sensitive political matter in an informal setting. What is the most appropriate response?
- Politely explain that as a civil servant it is not appropriate for you to share personal political views (Correct answer)
- Share your opinion briefly as it is an informal conversation
- Deflect by changing the subject without explaining why
- Say you have no opinion on the matter
Correct answer: Politely explain that as a civil servant it is not appropriate for you to share personal political views
Civil servants must maintain political impartiality at all times. Clearly and respectfully explaining this is the correct professional response.
Question 4: You are given a piece of work with unclear instructions and your manager is away. What should you do?
- Seek clarification from another appropriate colleague or document your assumptions and proceed (Correct answer)
- Do nothing until your manager returns
- Guess what is needed and submit the work without flagging the ambiguity
- Submit the work as best you can without documenting your assumptions
Correct answer: Seek clarification from another appropriate colleague or document your assumptions and proceed
Taking the initiative to clarify or documenting assumptions ensures transparency and allows mistakes to be caught early. Doing nothing wastes time.
Question 5: You overhear two colleagues discussing information that appears to be a data breach. What should you do?
- Report it to your manager and/or the data protection officer immediately (Correct answer)
- Tell the colleagues you heard them and warn them not to discuss it
- Wait to see if it becomes a formal issue before acting
- Do nothing as you are not certain what you heard was a breach
Correct answer: Report it to your manager and/or the data protection officer immediately
Data breaches must be reported promptly under GDPR and government policy. Immediate escalation is required regardless of uncertainty.
Question 6: You are new to a team and notice that an established process appears to contravene current policy. What should you do?
- Raise it diplomatically with your manager, explaining your concern and the relevant policy (Correct answer)
- Stay quiet as you are too new to challenge established ways of working
- Change the process yourself without telling anyone
- Assume the team has a good reason for the deviation and continue as instructed
Correct answer: Raise it diplomatically with your manager, explaining your concern and the relevant policy
New staff bring fresh perspectives and a duty to flag policy compliance issues. Raising it diplomatically respects both the team and the requirement to follow policy.
Fast Stream Situational Judgement (Public Sector Scenarios) 3
Your manager praises your work in a team meeting and attributes a project outcome entirely to you.
In fact, it was a team effort.
What should you do?