New Jersey Civil Service Exam Problem Sensitivity and Judgment 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An employee observes that a coworker frequently arrives late and leaves early without recording the absences. What is the MOST appropriate action?
- Cover for the coworker so they do not get in trouble
- Confront the coworker loudly in front of other staff
- Report the time abuse to a supervisor (Correct answer)
- Adjust your own schedule to match the coworker's
Correct answer: Report the time abuse to a supervisor
Time abuse affects public service delivery and fairness; reporting it to a supervisor is the appropriate professional response.
Question 2: While processing applications, an employee notices an unusual pattern suggesting possible fraud in several submissions. The employee should:
- Deny all suspicious applications without further review
- Approve the applications to avoid accusations of bias
- Flag the applications and report the pattern to a supervisor or fraud unit (Correct answer)
- Discuss the suspected fraud with other applicants
Correct answer: Flag the applications and report the pattern to a supervisor or fraud unit
Flagging suspicious patterns and reporting them through proper channels allows for a formal investigation without bias.
Question 3: A citizen calls to complain that they received incorrect information from your agency that caused them financial harm. The BEST first response is to:
- Apologize, document the complaint, and escalate to a supervisor (Correct answer)
- Deny that the agency could have provided incorrect information
- Tell the citizen to hire an attorney if they want compensation
- Transfer the call immediately without explanation
Correct answer: Apologize, document the complaint, and escalate to a supervisor
Acknowledging the concern, documenting it, and escalating it ensures the issue is properly addressed and the citizen is treated with respect.
Question 4: You are a team leader and notice that one team member is consistently taking credit for work done by other team members in reports. You should:
- Let it continue since it does not affect the final product
- Address the behavior privately with the team member first (Correct answer)
- Publicly announce that the team member is taking credit dishonestly
- Have other team members stop contributing to avoid the issue
Correct answer: Address the behavior privately with the team member first
Addressing performance or conduct issues privately first gives the employee a chance to correct the behavior without unnecessary escalation.
Question 5: An employee is given a deadline they believe is unrealistic for a critical project. The BEST course of action is to:
- Agree to the deadline and submit incomplete work
- Refuse the assignment entirely
- Communicate concerns about the timeline to the supervisor before the deadline (Correct answer)
- Work on other tasks and hope the deadline is extended
Correct answer: Communicate concerns about the timeline to the supervisor before the deadline
Proactively communicating timeline concerns allows supervisors to adjust expectations, add resources, or re-prioritize before a problem occurs.
Question 6: During a staff meeting, an employee realizes that a decision being made is based on inaccurate data they know to be wrong. The employee should:
- Stay quiet to avoid conflict
- Interrupt and correct the data immediately and respectfully (Correct answer)
- Wait until the meeting is over and then do nothing
- Implement the decision based on the wrong data
Correct answer: Interrupt and correct the data immediately and respectfully
Correcting inaccurate data in a timely and respectful manner prevents decisions with negative consequences from being implemented.
Question 7: A supervisor notices that one employee is consistently slower than peers at completing work, even after training. The MOST appropriate next step is to:
- Terminate the employee immediately
- Assign the employee's work to other team members permanently
- Have a performance counseling session and document a performance improvement plan (Correct answer)
- Promote the employee to a different role to resolve the problem
Correct answer: Have a performance counseling session and document a performance improvement plan
A documented performance improvement plan is the standard civil service approach to addressing persistent performance issues fairly.
New Jersey Civil Service Exam Problem Sensitivity and Judgment 3
An employee observes that a coworker frequently arrives late and leaves early without recording the absences.
What is the MOST appropriate action?