Bridgestone Assessment Tests

Bridgestone Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a travel consultant at a high street travel agency. A couple booked a package holiday with you last week. This morning the tour operator emails to say their hotel has been changed to a different one two miles from the beach, not the beachfront hotel they chose. They fly in three weeks. The couple specifically asked for a beachfront hotel when they booked. Your branch manager is in this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email the couple explaining that the operator has made a change to their accommodation and that you will send the new hotel details once you have checked what alternatives might be available.
   2. Ring the tour operator and push for the couple to be reinstated at the beachfront hotel before you contact them, so that you can present the problem and its solution together.
   3. Ring the couple today, explain that the operator has moved them to a hotel two miles from the beach, and set out what their options are before deciding what to ask the operator for.
   4. Say nothing for now, since the operator may yet move them back, and tell them at the airport briefing if the hotel has not changed back by the time they travel.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ring the couple today, explain that the operator has moved them to a hotel two miles from the beach, and set out what their options are before deciding what to ask the operator for.

   Least effective: D. Say nothing for now, since the operator may yet move them back, and tell them at the airport briefing if the hotel has not changed back by the time they travel.

   A: Delays the message: it tells them a change has happened while withholding the part that matters to them, that the new hotel is not on the beach they specifically asked for.

   B: Delays the decision: the instinct is decent and the clock is theirs, not yours. They have three weeks to decide whether to accept, change or cancel, and every day you spend negotiating is a day taken off that.

   D: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: they discover at the airport that the one thing they specified is gone, with no time to decide anything. Waiting on a change that may not come is concealment, not patience.

   The most effective response is to ring the couple today, explain that the operator has moved them to a hotel two miles from the beach, and set out their options: they chose a beachfront hotel deliberately, the change removes exactly that, and with three weeks to travel they still have real choices. Telling them today, in full, is what makes those choices available. It beats emailing that the operator has made a change to their accommodation, because a vague notice withholds the single fact they care about and forces them to ask. It beats pushing the operator to reinstate the beachfront hotel before you contact them, because negotiating first, however well meant, spends their decision-making time on a position they have not been consulted about. The least effective response is saying nothing and telling them at the airport briefing: it is the only response where they learn when nothing can be changed, and it gambles their holiday on the operator reversing a decision it has already made. That is worse than the other two, which communicate late or partially but do not let them travel in ignorance. The principle: when a booking changes in the specific way a customer cared about, tell them at once and let them choose what to do about it.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a technician in a dental laboratory. You and a colleague, Rhian, share a batch of crowns due to the practice tomorrow morning. She has been working slowly since returning from leave and tells you she is struggling to get back up to speed. Six crowns remain and you can complete about four by the end of the day. Your laboratory manager is on site. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the crowns that are ready in the morning and say nothing about the missing ones, since the practice will probably not use them all on the same day.
   2. Take all six crowns yourself and work late to finish them, so the practice gets the full batch and Rhian is not put under more pressure.
   3. Complete the four you can manage and leave the remaining two for Rhian, since they are her share of the batch and she needs to get back up to speed.
   4. Work out with Rhian how many the two of you can realistically finish, and tell the laboratory manager today so the shortfall can be covered or the practice warned.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Work out with Rhian how many the two of you can realistically finish, and tell the laboratory manager today so the shortfall can be covered or the practice warned.

   Least effective: A. Send the crowns that are ready in the morning and say nothing about the missing ones, since the practice will probably not use them all on the same day.

   A: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: an incomplete batch arrives with nobody told, so the practice discovers the shortfall with patients booked. Assuming they will not need them is a guess made on their behalf.

   B: Hides the strain until failure: it delivers tomorrow and conceals from the manager that the batch needed one person working late, so the same workload is planned again next week.

   C: Passes responsibility to others: it hands the shortfall to the person who has already said she cannot keep pace, which makes the batch late and teaches her nothing.

   The most effective response is to work out with Rhian how many the two of you can realistically finish, and tell the laboratory manager today: the shortfall is real and knowable now, and he is the only person who can add capacity or warn the practice in time for tomorrow morning. Working the number out with her first makes it accurate rather than pessimistic. It beats taking all six yourself and working late, because absorbing it delivers tomorrow and hides that the batch was never deliverable in normal hours, so it recurs. It beats completing four and leaving the remaining two for Rhian, because leaving them with a colleague who has said she cannot keep pace guarantees the batch is late and helps nobody. The least effective response is sending the crowns that are ready and saying nothing about the missing ones: it sends an incomplete batch to a practice with patients booked, on an assumption about what they will need. That is worse than the other two, which mishandle the workload but do not conceal the outcome. The principle: size the gap with your colleague, then tell whoever can fix or communicate it while tomorrow can still be changed.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You work in the control room of a taxi firm. Drivers are paid a bonus for completing more than forty jobs a week. You notice a driver has logged three jobs this week that were cancelled by the customer before pickup, which would take him over forty. He says the customers cancelled at the door, so he drove the distance and should be credited. The firm’s rules on cancelled jobs are written and you have not read them. The operations manager is on shift. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Check the written rules on cancelled jobs, and if they do not cover doorstep cancellations put it to the operations manager before the bonus is calculated.
   2. Remove the three cancelled jobs from his total, since the jobs were not completed and the bonus is for completed work.
   3. Leave the three jobs on his total and let the bonus be paid, since he did drive to each address and nobody audits the weekly figures in any detail.
   4. Report the driver to the operations manager for logging cancelled jobs as completed work in order to reach the bonus threshold.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Check the written rules on cancelled jobs, and if they do not cover doorstep cancellations put it to the operations manager before the bonus is calculated.

   Least effective: C. Leave the three jobs on his total and let the bonus be paid, since he did drive to each address and nobody audits the weekly figures in any detail.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: the rules may well credit a driver who travelled to a doorstep cancellation, and striking the jobs out decides that without reading them.

   C: Falsifies a payment record: it lets a bonus be paid on jobs recorded as completed that were not, without checking whether the rules allow it, and relies on the absence of an audit. That is dishonesty, not a judgement call.

   D: Escalates prematurely: the written rules may entitle him to the credit, so a report of deliberate manipulation is made before the document that settles it has been read.

   The most effective response is to check the written rules on cancelled jobs, and if they do not cover doorstep cancellations put it to the operations manager before the bonus is calculated: there is a rule that decides whether such a cancellation counts, reading it costs a minute, and he is on shift and can settle it in time. It answers the question without accusing anyone. It beats removing the three cancelled jobs from his total, because that decides the same question in the driver’s disfavour without reading the rule. It beats reporting him for logging cancelled jobs as completed work, because a serious accusation before checking risks condemning him over something the rules may allow. The least effective response is leaving the three on his total because nobody audits the weekly figures: it lets a bonus be paid on incomplete jobs without any check. That is worse than the other two, which act hastily but keep the payment honest. The principle: read the rule that governs it, and take the decision to whoever owns it rather than resolving it quietly either way.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an account assistant at a catering supplier. A regular client has booked food for a conference on Thursday. On Tuesday you discover the order was entered for eighty covers rather than the hundred and eighty confirmed in the client’s email. Production can make up the difference only if the kitchen is told today, and the client’s contact is travelling with intermittent phone signal. Your account manager is on leave until Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave the order at eighty covers, since that is what the system says and the client's own contact cannot be reached to authorise a change before the kitchen's deadline.
   2. Email the client's contact setting out the discrepancy and asking her to confirm the correct number before you ask the kitchen to increase the production run.
   3. Tell the kitchen today to produce the hundred and eighty confirmed in writing, and immediately email and text the client explaining the correction and asking her to flag any change.
   4. Ask the kitchen to produce the full hundred and eighty covers now, and tell the client on Thursday morning that there was an ordering error which has already been resolved.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the kitchen today to produce the hundred and eighty confirmed in writing, and immediately email and text the client explaining the correction and asking her to flag any change.

   Least effective: A. Leave the order at eighty covers, since that is what the system says and the client's own contact cannot be reached to authorise a change before the kitchen's deadline.

   A: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: you know the written confirmation says a hundred and eighty and let a conference go a hundred covers short without telling anyone. Hiding behind the system record is concealment, not caution.

   B: Delays the decision: she is travelling with poor signal and the kitchen needs today's instruction. Waiting for a confirmation that may not arrive spends the only window in which the shortfall can be fixed.

   D: Hides the problem: the covers get made and the client is told after the event she could no longer influence. She loses any say in a change to her own order, and learns of the error only once it cannot matter.

   The most effective response is to tell the kitchen today to produce the hundred and eighty confirmed in writing, and immediately email and text the client explaining the correction: her written confirmation is the best evidence of what she ordered, the kitchen’s window closes today, and reaching her on two channels at once means she is informed and can still correct you. Acting and informing together is what the situation allows; only one of them is not enough. It beats emailing her contact and asking her to confirm the number before you tell the kitchen, because waiting for a reply from someone with intermittent signal spends the kitchen’s window on a confirmation you already hold in writing. It beats producing the full number now and telling her on Thursday morning, because that takes a decision about her order out of her hands when she could still have had a say. The least effective response is leaving the order at eighty covers because that is what the system says: it lets a conference go a hundred covers short, against a written confirmation you have read, and tells nobody, using the system record as cover for doing nothing. That is worse than emailing for confirmation, which at least asks, and worse than telling her afterwards, which at least gets the food right. The principle: when the evidence is clear and the window is closing, act on the evidence and tell the client at the same time, not instead.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a delivery driver for a white goods retailer. You arrive to install a washing machine and find the customer’s existing waste pipe is corroded and will leak if reconnected. Replacing it is a plumber’s job, not yours, and takes about an hour. The customer has taken the day off and has a week’s washing waiting. Your depot controller is contactable. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Install the machine and connect it to the existing pipe, telling the customer to have the pipe replaced soon and to keep an eye on it meanwhile.
   2. Connect the machine and say nothing about the pipe, since the corrosion was there before you arrived and any leak would not be down to the installation.
   3. Explain the corroded pipe, leave the machine safely in place unconnected, and ring your depot controller to arrange a plumber while the customer is still with you.
   4. Take the machine away again and tell the customer to rebook the delivery once she has arranged for a plumber to replace the waste pipe.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Explain the corroded pipe, leave the machine safely in place unconnected, and ring your depot controller to arrange a plumber while the customer is still with you.

   Least effective: B. Connect the machine and say nothing about the pipe, since the corrosion was there before you arrived and any leak would not be down to the installation.

   A: Acts recklessly with a known fault: connecting to a pipe you have judged will leak puts the customer's floor at risk and makes her responsible for watching for a failure you created.

   B: Hides the problem: it connects to a pipe known to be failing and conceals the fact to avoid responsibility. Leaving a customer with an undisclosed leak risk is concealment, not a boundary of the job.

   D: Ignores the customer's actual need: it undoes the delivery she took a day off for and puts the whole arrangement back on her, when the machine could safely stay and the depot can arrange a plumber.

   The most effective response is to explain the corroded pipe, leave the machine safely in place unconnected, and ring your depot controller to arrange a plumber while she is still with you: the pipe will leak if used, that is a plumber’s job rather than yours, and she has taken a day off, so the machine stays and the depot arranges the rest. It preserves as much of her day as the situation allows. It beats connecting it to the existing pipe and telling her to have it replaced soon, because that transfers a risk you have identified onto her floor. It beats taking the machine away and telling her to rebook once a plumber has been, because that undoes the delivery entirely and puts the whole problem back on her, when it can safely stay. The least effective response is connecting the machine and saying nothing about the pipe: it completes work on a failing pipe and chooses silence specifically to avoid being blamed for the leak. That is worse than connecting it with a warning, which at least warns her, and worse than taking it away, which at least leaves nothing unsafe. The principle: do not complete work you know will fail, tell the customer plainly, and use your own organisation to arrange the part you cannot do.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You work in a commercial laundry. Your colleague Aled is loading a large hotel order alone against a 2pm van departure, and it is 1pm. The load needs two people to make the deadline. You have finished your own machines and have nothing else assigned. The shift supervisor is dealing with a breakdown at the other end of the building. Aled has not asked for help. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Go over to Aled, tell him your machines are finished and you will take half the load, and work with him until the order is ready for the van.
   2. Carry on tidying your own area, since the hotel order is Aled's job today and he has not asked anybody for help with it.
   3. Ask Aled whether he wants help and get on with something else if he says he is fine, since he knows how the hotel order is sorted and may prefer to keep his own system.
   4. Find the shift supervisor and tell her the hotel order will miss the 2pm van unless someone else is put on it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Go over to Aled, tell him your machines are finished and you will take half the load, and work with him until the order is ready for the van.

   Least effective: B. Carry on tidying your own area, since the hotel order is Aled's job today and he has not asked anybody for help with it.

   B: Waits to be asked: a two-person load is being done by one person against a van departure, and the reason for not helping is that he has not asked. Waiting to be asked is what causes the order to miss the van.

   C: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: a colleague an hour from a van departure will usually say he is managing, so the question is polite and predictably leaves him loading alone.

   D: Escalates prematurely: you are the person she would send, she is dealing with a breakdown, and the walk there and back costs minutes the load does not have.

   The most effective response is to go over to Aled, tell him your machines are finished and you will take half the load, and work with him until the order is ready: the load needs two people, there is an hour, and your own machines are done, so joining him is the only response that actually makes the van. Telling him your work is finished removes any need for him to ask. It beats asking whether he wants help and getting on with something else if he says he is fine, because a colleague under time pressure will usually decline a general offer, and the load is no further forward. It beats finding the shift supervisor to say the order will miss the 2pm van, because you are the resource she would send, and fetching her costs minutes while she is handling a breakdown. The least effective response is carrying on tidying your own area because he has not asked anybody: it leaves a two-person load with one person and a van departure that will be missed. That is worse than offering, which at least asks, and worse than telling the supervisor, which at least raises it. The principle: when a colleague plainly cannot finish alone and you are free, take half the work rather than waiting to be asked.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are an apprentice with an electrical contractor, working alone today finishing sockets in an office refurbishment. Opening a wall box you find an older cable that appears to be connected to a live circuit but is not on the drawings and is not what you were sent to work on. You are not qualified to test it. Your supervisor is on another site. The client’s fit-out team are due to board over this wall tomorrow morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop work at that box, ring your supervisor now to describe what you have found, and tell the client's fit-out team the wall must not be boarded until it has been checked.
   2. Photograph the cable, finish the sockets you were sent to do, and raise the unidentified cable with your supervisor at the end of the day when you report back on the job.
   3. Isolate the circuit at the board yourself so the cable is dead, then carry on with the sockets and mention it to your supervisor later.
   4. Say nothing and board the wall as planned, since the cable is not on the drawings, is not part of your work, and whoever installed it presumably knew what they were doing.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Stop work at that box, ring your supervisor now to describe what you have found, and tell the client's fit-out team the wall must not be boarded until it has been checked.

   Least effective: D. Say nothing and board the wall as planned, since the cable is not on the drawings, is not part of your work, and whoever installed it presumably knew what they were doing.

   B: Delays the decision: the record is useful and the wall is boarded over tomorrow morning. An end-of-day report may still be in time, but it leaves no margin and nobody has been asked to act.

   C: Acts on assumptions without checking: isolating a circuit you cannot identify may kill something the building needs, and you are not qualified to test what the cable feeds. It makes one thing safe by guessing at another.

   D: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: it seals an unidentified, apparently live cable inside a wall where nobody will find it. The reason given, that someone else must have known, is the assumption the missing drawing already disproves.

   The most effective response is to stop work at that box, ring your supervisor now, and tell the client’s fit-out team the wall must not be boarded until it has been checked: an unidentified live cable is outside your competence, and the wall is boarded tomorrow morning, so it has to be stopped and reported while both are still possible. Warning the fit-out team is the part that prevents the real damage, because a supervisor informed after boarding cannot undo it. It beats photographing the cable, finishing the sockets, and raising it when you report back at the end of the day, because that leaves no margin against a morning boarding and warns nobody actually holding a sheet of plasterboard. It beats isolating the circuit at the board yourself, because cutting a circuit you cannot identify may kill something the building depends on, and still does not tell you what the cable is. The least effective response is saying nothing and boarding the wall as planned: it seals an apparently live, undocumented cable inside a wall on the assumption that whoever installed it knew what they were doing, which the missing drawing already contradicts. That is worse than the other two, which act imperfectly but do not hide it. The principle: when you find something outside your competence that is about to become inaccessible, stop the work, tell the person who can assess it, and warn whoever would seal it.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You volunteer as an assistant manager in a charity shop. Sorting donations you notice that a batch of electrical items has been put straight onto the shop floor without the safety testing the charity requires. Nobody has asked you to check this. The shop manager is on holiday for a week and the area manager covers by phone. The shop is open and the items are priced and on display now. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ring the area manager to report that untested electrical items are on sale and ask whether she wants them removed before you touch anything.
   2. Take the untested electrical items off the shop floor now and ring the area manager to tell her what you have found and ask how testing should be arranged.
   3. Leave the items on display but attach a note to each saying it has not been safety tested, so that customers can decide for themselves whether to buy them.
   4. Leave them as they are, since a volunteer putting stock out is not your responsibility and the manager will sort out the testing when she is back next week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Take the untested electrical items off the shop floor now and ring the area manager to tell her what you have found and ask how testing should be arranged.

   Least effective: D. Leave them as they are, since a volunteer putting stock out is not your responsibility and the manager will sort out the testing when she is back next week.

   A: Delays the decision: the phone call is right and the items stay on sale while it happens. Removing them first costs nothing and is reversible if she disagrees.

   C: Passes responsibility to the customer: the charity's testing rule exists because a buyer cannot assess an appliance's safety from a label. Disclosing the gap does not close it.

   D: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: untested electrical goods stay on sale to the public for a week because the person who noticed decided it was not her job. The reason for silence is precisely why nobody else will catch it.

   The most effective response is to take the untested electrical items off the shop floor now and ring the area manager to tell her what you found: untested electrical goods on sale are a risk to whoever buys them, removing them is immediate, reversible and within your reach, and she needs to know so testing can be arranged properly. It beats ringing her first to ask whether she wants them removed, because that leaves the items on sale during the call and afterwards, when removing them costs nothing and can be undone if she disagrees. It beats attaching a note to each saying it has not been safety tested, because a label does not make an appliance safe, and it moves the judgement onto customers who cannot make it. The least effective response is leaving them as they are until the manager is back next week: it leaves untested electrical items on public sale for a week on the basis that someone else put them there. That is worse than ringing first, which reports it, and worse than labelling them, which at least warns buyers. The principle: when you find a live risk, remove it first if removing it is cheap and reversible, then tell whoever owns the process.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a physiotherapy assistant at a community clinic. A patient attending for knee rehabilitation mentions in passing that he has had chest tightness when walking uphill for the past fortnight and has not told anyone. He seems well now and is keen to get on with his exercises. You are not clinically qualified to assess this. A physiotherapist is with another patient next door and free in fifteen minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Carry on with the session as planned, since he seems well, the chest tightness is not what he has been referred for, and it is not your place to ask about symptoms outside your remit.
   2. Advise him to see his GP about the chest tightness, then carry on with his knee exercises as planned for today's session.
   3. Hold off starting the exercises, tell the physiotherapist about the chest symptoms as soon as she is free, and let her decide whether today's session should go ahead.
   4. Ask him more about the chest tightness, how long it lasts and what brings it on, so you can judge whether it needs raising with the physiotherapist today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Hold off starting the exercises, tell the physiotherapist about the chest symptoms as soon as she is free, and let her decide whether today's session should go ahead.

   Least effective: A. Carry on with the session as planned, since he seems well, the chest tightness is not what he has been referred for, and it is not your place to ask about symptoms outside your remit.

   A: Stays silent about a known clinical risk: exertional chest tightness is exactly the symptom that matters before exercise, and the reason for saying nothing is that it falls outside your remit, which is why it needs passing to someone whose remit it is.

   B: Passes responsibility to others: the advice is sound and it leaves a patient about to exercise now, with a symptom nobody qualified has assessed, on his own to arrange a GP appointment.

   D: Acts outside own training: gathering symptoms is reasonable and deciding what they mean is not. Filtering the information through your own untrained judgement risks it never reaching anyone qualified.

   The most effective response is to hold off starting the exercises and tell the physiotherapist about the chest symptoms as soon as she is free: exertional chest tightness matters most immediately before exercise, you are not qualified to assess it, and someone who is will be free in fifteen minutes. Holding the session costs a quarter of an hour and removes the risk. It beats asking him more about how long it lasts and what brings it on, because collecting detail is fine but deciding on its significance is not yours to do, and the filtering is where it could be lost. It beats advising him to see his GP and carrying on with the knee exercises, because that leaves him exercising today with the symptom unassessed. The least effective response is carrying on with the session because he seems well and it is outside your remit: it proceeds with exertion despite a symptom that specifically concerns exertion, and tells nobody. That is worse than sending him to his GP, which at least directs him somewhere, and worse than questioning him, which at least explores it. The principle: when something outside your competence could matter now, pause and put it to the qualified person who is minutes away.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a planning assistant in a council planning office. You and a colleague, Steph, disagree about whether an application needs a further consultation round. She says it does not and has told the applicant so; you believe the amended plans are material and it does. The statutory decision deadline is in twelve days. Your team manager is on annual leave until next week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Set out to Steph why you think the amendments are material, and if you still disagree take it to another senior planner today rather than waiting for your manager.
    2. Start the further consultation yourself, since a missed statutory step is far more serious than an unnecessary one and the deadline leaves no time to argue.
    3. Accept Steph's position since she has already told the applicant, and note your disagreement on the file in case the decision is later challenged.
    4. Wait for your team manager to return next week and put the question to her then, so that the decision is taken by the person who actually manages the team.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Set out to Steph why you think the amendments are material, and if you still disagree take it to another senior planner today rather than waiting for your manager.

    Least effective: C. Accept Steph's position since she has already told the applicant, and note your disagreement on the file in case the decision is later challenged.

    B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: it overrides a colleague who has already told the applicant otherwise, which leaves the council saying two different things to the same applicant.

    C: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: it allows a decision you believe misses a statutory step, and records your objection so that the file protects you rather than the applicant. A note is not an escalation.

    D: Delays the decision: it spends five of the twelve remaining days waiting for one particular person, when consultation periods take time and other senior planners are available now.

    The most effective response is to set out to Steph why you think the amendments are material, and if you still disagree take it to another senior planner today: whether amendments are material is a professional question with an answer, twelve days is enough to consult only if it is settled now, and the office has other senior planners. Going to Steph first is proportionate; escalating the same day if you still disagree respects the deadline. It beats waiting for your team manager to return next week, because that burns five days a consultation period needs. It beats starting the further consultation yourself, because doing it unilaterally leaves the applicant hearing two contradictory positions from the same council. The least effective response is accepting her position and noting your disagreement on the file: it lets a decision proceed that you believe misses a statutory step, and files a note whose only function is to protect you if it is challenged. That is worse than the other two, which act on the concern rather than documenting it. The principle: raise it with the colleague, and if you still disagree escalate to whoever is available in time, rather than waiting for one person or writing a note.