PSEE Problem Solving and Judgment 3

Question 1

You receive a task from two different managers with conflicting priorities and the same deadline. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Inform both managers of the conflict and ask them to agree on a priority.

Answer

Prioritize the more senior manager's task automatically.

Answer

Do both tasks halfway to satisfy both managers.

Answer

Choose the task you find more interesting.

Question 2

You are preparing a briefing note and realize you are missing key data. The meeting is in two hours. What is the best approach?

Accepted Answer

Note the missing data clearly in the briefing and attempt to source it before the meeting.

Answer

Present the briefing note as complete and hope the gap is not noticed.

Answer

Make up plausible data to fill the gap.

Answer

Cancel the meeting.

Question 3

A citizen contacts your office upset and uses aggressive language on the phone. What is the most appropriate response?

Accepted Answer

Remain calm, acknowledge their frustration, and try to de-escalate the conversation.

Answer

Hang up immediately to protect yourself.

Answer

Match the citizen's tone to assert authority.

Answer

Transfer the call without explanation to avoid the situation.

Question 4

You discover that a decision your team made last month was based on a data error and may have incorrectly affected 50 applicants. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Report the error to your supervisor immediately and recommend a review process for affected applicants.

Answer

Leave it, since the decision has already been made.

Answer

Fix it quietly without informing your supervisor to avoid embarrassment.

Answer

Contact the 50 applicants individually before informing your supervisor.

Question 5

You are given broad instructions on a project and after two days realize you may be heading in the wrong direction. What is the appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Check in with your supervisor to confirm your approach before investing more time.

Answer

Continue in your current direction since you were told to use your judgment.

Answer

Wait until the project deadline to present your work.

Answer

Start over from scratch without informing anyone.

Question 6

Your team achieves a major project milestone. A colleague who contributed little takes equal credit in the summary report. What is the best approach?

Accepted Answer

Raise the concern privately and professionally with your supervisor.

Answer

Correct the report yourself to reflect actual contributions.

Answer

Raise the issue publicly in the next team meeting.

Answer

Do nothing, as credit attribution is unimportant.