Judgement Test Question 19 – Two directors compete for scarce analysts
Read the scenario and rate every action independently. Several actions can receive the same rating.
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Scenario
Two directorates have major deadlines in the same week and both depend on a central team of three analysts. Each director insists their work has ministerial priority and has started contacting the analysts directly. The analysts are switching tasks several times a day and say they can no longer tell which deadlines are achievable. You oversee the portfolio and can set priorities, although both directors are influential and strongly disagree about the consequences of delay. You need to protect the most important outcomes and restore a workable delivery plan quickly.
Rate the actions
For each action, choose Counterproductive, Ineffective, Fairly Effective or Effective.
Action A
Create a shared view of deadlines, minimum viable outputs and consequences, then agree an allocation with both directors and set a near-term review point.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Action B
Divide analyst time equally between the two directorates so neither side can argue that the allocation is unfair.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Action C
Ask the analysts to negotiate their daily priorities with both directors because they understand the work in greatest detail.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Action D
Ask both directors to submit stronger cases while the analysts continue their current mix of work.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Click to reveal the answer
- Action A: Effective
- Action B: Fairly Effective
- Action C: Counterproductive
- Action D: Ineffective
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