Cargill Assessment Tests

Cargill Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at Cargill. An agency has said it will “try” to have the campaign artwork ready for the launch date, which is in three weeks, and has twice declined to confirm it. Your manager asks you in a corridor whether the date is safe, because she is about to commit the launch to a wider group. Everything else about the launch depends on that date. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say the date looks likely but that you would rather she waited a day, and go back to the agency for a firm answer before she commits to anybody.
   2. Tell her the agency has twice declined to confirm and has only said it will try, and offer to get a definite answer today before she commits the date.
   3. Tell her you will check and come back to her, then chase the agency and reply once you have something firm, rather than answering in a corridor.
   4. Tell her the date has been booked with the agency, since they have said they will try and there is no sign yet that it will actually slip.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell her the agency has twice declined to confirm and has only said it will try, and offer to get a definite answer today before she commits the date.

   Least effective: D. Tell her the date has been booked with the agency, since they have said they will try and there is no sign yet that it will actually slip.

   A: Softens the position without resolving it: she is left holding a probability, and the wider group is waiting on a commitment she cannot yet make.

   C: Withholds what you already know: she may commit the date in the meantime, and the fact that the agency has twice refused to confirm is exactly what she needs now.

   D: Reports an intention as a commitment: she commits a wider group to a date the agency has twice refused to confirm, on the strength of a word you chose for them.

   The most effective response is to tell her the agency has twice declined to confirm and has only said it will try, and offer to get a definite answer today: she has the true position at the moment she needs it, and the gap is being closed rather than described. It beats saying the date looks likely and asking her to wait, because she is left with a probability and no commitment. It beats saying you will check and come back, because she may commit while you are chasing and you already know the important part. The least effective response is telling her the date is booked: an intention is reported as a commitment, and a wider group is committed to a date the agency has twice refused to confirm, which is a different kind of wrong from hedging or from deferring. The principle: when somebody is about to commit, give them what you know at once, especially when what you know is that nothing is confirmed.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are an availability analyst at Cargill. Two teams have each asked for a report by noon, and each says their meeting depends on it. You can produce one properly by noon, not both. It is ten o’clock. Both teams have asked you directly and are waiting to hear. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Produce a rough version of each by noon, with a note on both saying the numbers have not been checked and should be treated with care in the meetings.
   2. Tell both teams now that only one report can be ready by noon and ask which meeting cannot proceed without it, so that the people who know their meetings choose.
   3. Tell both teams their reports will be ready by noon, and decide later in the morning which one you actually finish.
   4. Start on the report for the team that asked first and let the other team hear at noon, since first come first served is the only fair rule you have to go on.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell both teams now that only one report can be ready by noon and ask which meeting cannot proceed without it, so that the people who know their meetings choose.

   Least effective: C. Tell both teams their reports will be ready by noon, and decide later in the morning which one you actually finish.

   A: Splits the work so neither is usable: two unchecked reports go into two meetings, and the caveat does not stop anybody quoting the figures in them.

   C: Promises what cannot be delivered to buy quiet: both meetings are planned on a report arriving, and one of them finds out at noon that it was never coming.

   D: Applies a rule instead of asking: order of arrival has nothing to do with which meeting actually cannot proceed, and the second team learns too late to adapt.

   The most effective response is to tell both teams now that only one report can be ready, ask which meeting cannot proceed without it, and start on that one: the people who know what their meetings need make the choice, they make it at ten rather than at noon, and the report that matters most gets the full two hours. It beats producing rough versions of both, because unchecked numbers get quoted whatever the note on them says. It beats working to order of arrival, because who asked first has nothing to do with which meeting is stuck. The least effective response is telling both their reports will be ready and deciding later: two meetings are planned on a promise you know cannot hold, and one of them learns at noon, which is a different kind of wrong from doing both badly or from choosing by the wrong rule. The principle: when you can only do one, say so early and let the people affected choose which.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a shift supervisor at Cargill. Two of your team have fallen out over a rota change that moved one of them off Fridays. Each has told you the change was the other’s doing. In fact it was made by the scheduling team for reasons neither knows. Both are refusing to swap cover for each other, which is making the week harder for everybody. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Get the two of them together, explain that the change came from scheduling and why, and ask them to agree how cover works between them for the rest of the month.
   2. Tell each of them separately that the other had nothing to do with it, since a conversation between the three of you would be more heat than it is worth.
   3. Rearrange the cover yourself so that the two of them do not have to rely on each other, which takes the immediate pressure off the rest of the week.
   4. Promise both of them that the rota change will be reversed next month, which stops the argument and gets everybody covering for each other again.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Get the two of them together, explain that the change came from scheduling and why, and ask them to agree how cover works between them for the rest of the month.

   Least effective: D. Promise both of them that the rota change will be reversed next month, which stops the argument and gets everybody covering for each other again.

   B: Corrects the facts and leaves the relationship: both know they were wrong about the cause, and neither has said anything to the other.

   C: Designs around the fallout: the week runs, and two people who work the same shifts are formally kept apart by their supervisor.

   D: Buys peace with something nobody has agreed: the change belongs to scheduling, and next month both of them learn that your word was worth nothing.

   The most effective response is to get the two of them together, explain that the change came from scheduling and why, and ask them to agree how cover works for the rest of the month: the false belief that started it is removed in front of both, and the thing that actually has to work again, which is the cover between them, is what they are asked to settle. It beats telling them separately, because neither has to say anything to the other and the working relationship stays broken. It beats rearranging the cover around them, because their supervisor has formally kept them apart. The least effective response is promising the change will be reversed next month: it is not yours to reverse, and when it is not, both of them learn what your word is worth, which is a different kind of wrong from correcting them privately or from working around them. The principle: end a dispute with the truth in front of both parties, never with a promise you cannot keep.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a purchasing assistant at Cargill. A customer has written in about a product that arrived damaged, and the complaint has been routed to you because the fault looks like a packaging problem at the supplier. The customer has now written twice and has had no reply to either message. You can arrange a replacement yourself, and the supplier meeting where packaging faults are raised is on Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the complaint on to the supplier and reply to the customer to say that the people who packed the product will be dealing with it from here.
   2. Reply to the customer to apologise for the delay and explain that packaging faults are reviewed with the supplier on Thursday, so a decision will follow after that meeting.
   3. Arrange the replacement today and tell the customer when it will arrive, and take the packaging fault to Thursday's supplier meeting so that the cause is looked at as well.
   4. Ask the customer to return the damaged item first so the fault can be confirmed, and explain that a replacement can be arranged once it has been received and checked.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Arrange the replacement today and tell the customer when it will arrive, and take the packaging fault to Thursday's supplier meeting so that the cause is looked at as well.

   Least effective: A. Send the complaint on to the supplier and reply to the customer to say that the people who packed the product will be dealing with it from here.

   A: Passes the problem on without owning it: the customer has now written three times to reach somebody who will act, and the one person who could arrange a replacement today has sent them somewhere else.

   B: Ignores the customer's actual need: the reply is honest and prompt, but the customer wants a working product rather than a place in an internal review.

   D: Substitutes process for the customer's outcome: the photographs already show the damage, and a return trip adds a week for evidence nobody actually needs.

   The most effective response is to arrange the replacement today, tell the customer what you have done and when it will arrive, and take the packaging fault to Thursday’s meeting: it settles the customer’s problem inside your own authority and still gets the underlying fault in front of the supplier. It beats replying that packaging faults are reviewed on Thursday, because a customer who has written twice needs a working product rather than a note about an internal timetable. It beats asking for the damaged item back before anything is arranged, because the photographs already show the fault and the return adds a week for evidence that changes nothing. The least effective response is sending the complaint on to the supplier and telling the customer they will hear from the people who packed it: the customer is handed to a third party who has no relationship with them, having already written twice, and the replacement you could have arranged today does not happen. The principle: own the customer’s outcome yourself, and raise the cause separately with whoever created it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a commercial finance assistant at Cargill. A business customer has been charged twice for the same delivery and has rung to ask when the money will be back. The credit has to be raised by the billing team, who usually clear requests within two days but have a backlog this week. You can raise the request now. The customer is on the line and has already waited a week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Explain that credits are raised by the billing team and give the customer their contact details, so that he can ask them directly how long the backlog is likely to take this week.
   2. Raise the credit request now with the duplicate reference attached, tell the customer it is with the billing team and that you will confirm the date once it is scheduled.
   3. Promise the customer the credit will be on tomorrow's statement, since requests like this usually clear overnight and it saves him ringing back a third time about the same delivery.
   4. Raise the credit request now and say nothing about timing, since any date you gave would be a guess while the billing backlog is as long as it is.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Raise the credit request now with the duplicate reference attached, tell the customer it is with the billing team and that you will confirm the date once it is scheduled.

   Least effective: C. Promise the customer the credit will be on tomorrow's statement, since requests like this usually clear overnight and it saves him ringing back a third time about the same delivery.

   A: Sends the customer to do your chasing: he rang the business once and is asked to ring it again, and the request still has not been raised by anybody.

   C: Gives a date nobody has agreed: the billing backlog makes tomorrow unlikely, and the customer plans his own week on a certainty that was offered to end the call.

   D: Withholds what little you do know: he has waited a week and puts the phone down knowing only that somebody, at some point, will do something.

   The most effective response is to raise the credit request now with the duplicate reference attached and tell the customer it is with the billing team and that you will confirm the date: the request finally exists, he knows where it is, and the one thing you cannot promise is the one thing you have not promised. It beats giving him the billing team’s details, because he rang once and is being asked to ring again. It beats raising it and saying nothing about timing, because he has waited a week and deserves to know what happens next. The least effective response is promising the credit will be on tomorrow’s statement: the backlog makes that unlikely, he plans on it, and manufacturing a date to end a call is a different kind of wrong from deflecting him or from telling him too little. The principle: give the customer the true state of their case and a commitment you control, never a date somebody else would have to deliver.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are an availability analyst at Cargill. By four o’clock you owe the trading team a report on what will be short this weekend, and you have also promised a colleague you would rebuild her forecast template today. At two o’clock a site tells you a delivery has been turned away and two hundred cases are sitting on a vehicle with nowhere to go. Only the report has a stated deadline. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Sort the turned-away delivery first, tell the trading team the report will be twenty minutes late and why, and let your colleague know the template moves to tomorrow.
   2. Finish the report for four o'clock as promised and then deal with the vehicle, since the report is the only piece of work today that has a stated deadline attached to it.
   3. Start all three, moving between the report, the vehicle and the template so that everybody sees progress before the end of the afternoon.
   4. Hand the vehicle problem to a colleague on the supply desk without saying what has already been tried, and carry on with the report and the template.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Sort the turned-away delivery first, tell the trading team the report will be twenty minutes late and why, and let your colleague know the template moves to tomorrow.

   Least effective: D. Hand the vehicle problem to a colleague on the supply desk without saying what has already been tried, and carry on with the report and the template.

   B: Treats a stated deadline as the only claim on your time: the report is delivered on the hour and two hundred cases spend the afternoon on a vehicle that could have been redirected.

   C: Splits effort so nothing finishes: the delivery needs a decision in one go, and three part-finished jobs at five o'clock help nobody.

   D: Passes the problem on without owning it: the colleague restarts from nothing while the vehicle waits, and the person who took the call keeps the easier two jobs.

   The most effective response is to sort the turned-away delivery first and tell the trading team the report will be twenty minutes late and why: the vehicle is the only item that gets worse by the hour, twenty minutes is a cost the reader can plan around once they are told, and nothing is dropped silently. It beats finishing the four o’clock report before touching the vehicle, because a stated deadline is not the same as the most urgent thing and two hundred cases are stranded meanwhile. It beats starting all three at once, because the delivery needs one uninterrupted decision and three half-finished jobs serve nobody. The least effective response is handing the vehicle problem to the supply desk without saying what has been tried: the colleague starts from nothing, the vehicle waits longer than under any other response, and the person who owns the problem keeps the two jobs that suit them. The principle: order the work by what degrades, and where something slips, say so to the person waiting for it.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a scheduling coordinator at Cargill. Next week’s rota has to reach the team by five today so people can arrange their lives, and it needs a manager’s approval before it is published. The manager is travelling and has not replied since this morning. You also owe an absence report at five, which takes an hour. It is three o’clock. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Message the manager now with a deadline, ask the manager covering for him to approve it if he cannot, and write the absence report while you wait.
   2. Publish the rota at five without the approval, given that people need to arrange their week and approval normally arrives the next morning.
   3. Send the team a draft marked unapproved at five so they can plan, and publish the approved version when the manager replies tomorrow.
   4. Write the absence report first and deal with the rota once it is submitted, since the report has a hard deadline and the rota needs an approval you cannot control.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Message the manager now with a deadline, ask the manager covering for him to approve it if he cannot, and write the absence report while you wait.

   Least effective: B. Publish the rota at five without the approval, given that people need to arrange their week and approval normally arrives the next morning.

   B: Breaches the approval a published rota needs: once it is out people book their lives around it, which is exactly why somebody is supposed to look at it first.

   C: Publishes in all but name: a draft that people plan around is a rota, and calling it unapproved does not make it easy to change afterwards.

   D: Works on what is inside your control: the report is delivered on time, and the rota that a whole team is waiting on is left until after five.

   The most effective response is to message the manager with a deadline, ask whoever is covering to approve it if he cannot, and write the absence report while you wait: both deadlines are worked at once, and the approval is pursued through a route that actually exists rather than waited for. It beats sending an unapproved draft, because a draft people plan around is a rota in everything but name. It beats writing the report first, because the whole team is waiting on the rota. The least effective response is publishing without approval: people book their lives around a rota nobody has checked, which is exactly what the approval is for, and that is a different kind of wrong from publishing in disguise or from mis-ordering the afternoon. The principle: when an approval is the blocker, chase the approval through every route it has, and do the other work while you wait.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at Cargill. The same line has shown a discrepancy at count on four occasions in six weeks, always in the same direction and always in the same area. Each time it has been written off as a counting error. You have now checked and the counts were done correctly. Discrepancies of this size and pattern are supposed to be reported to the loss prevention team. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Hand the four counts to the colleague who covers that area on Thursdays, since he knows the line better than you do, and consider your part in it finished.
   2. Keep watching the line for another two counts to be sure the pattern is real, since four occasions could still turn out to be an unfortunate run of coincidences.
   3. Raise it with your supervisor and let her decide whether it goes any further, without mentioning that the counts themselves have now been checked and are sound.
   4. Report the four counts to the loss prevention team today with the checking you have done, since a pattern like that is what the reporting route exists for, and tell your supervisor.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Report the four counts to the loss prevention team today with the checking you have done, since a pattern like that is what the reporting route exists for, and tell your supervisor.

   Least effective: A. Hand the four counts to the colleague who covers that area on Thursdays, since he knows the line better than you do, and consider your part in it finished.

   A: Passes a reportable pattern on without owning it: the colleague has no idea it is four occurrences or that it should be reported, so the one person who knew both facts has stepped out of it.

   B: Waits for certainty that a report does not require: two more counts is three more weeks, and the threshold for reporting was passed some time ago.

   C: Escalates without the fact that changes the decision: she is asked to judge a pattern while the one thing that rules out a counting error is left out.

   The most effective response is to report the four counts to the loss prevention team today with your checking attached, and tell your supervisor you have done it: the pattern is exactly what the reporting route exists for, your checking is what makes it more than a suspicion, and nobody is surprised later. It beats waiting for two more counts, because the threshold was passed weeks ago and waiting adds three weeks. It beats raising it with your supervisor while leaving out that the counts were checked, because that is the fact the decision turns on. The least effective response is handing the four counts to the Thursday colleague and treating your part as finished: he does not know it is four occurrences or that it is reportable, so the only person holding both facts has stepped out, which is a different kind of wrong from waiting too long or from telling somebody too little. The principle: when something crosses a reporting line, take it there yourself, with what you know attached.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an availability analyst at Cargill. You and a colleague are presenting a joint piece of analysis on Thursday. You have done the numbers and he has done the site interviews. Two of your sections are unfinished and you have a separate deadline on Wednesday. He has said he is happy to present alone if that helps. Thursday’s audience will ask about the numbers. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him today which two sections are unfinished, agree what you can realistically have ready by Thursday, and split the presenting so that you take the numbers.
   2. Present together as planned and finish the two sections on Wednesday night after the other deadline, since they are nearly done and nobody else needs to know they were late.
   3. Ask to move Thursday's presentation to next week, since two unfinished sections and a Wednesday deadline is not a position to present a joint piece of work from.
   4. Give the presentation to your colleague to deliver on his own, without telling him which two sections you have not finished.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell him today which two sections are unfinished, agree what you can realistically have ready by Thursday, and split the presenting so that you take the numbers.

   Least effective: D. Give the presentation to your colleague to deliver on his own, without telling him which two sections you have not finished.

   B: Keeps a risk to yourself: if Wednesday night goes wrong, the first anybody hears about two missing sections is in the room on Thursday.

   C: Moves the date before trying the day: two sections and a colleague who has offered help make Thursday reachable, and the audience is assembled for it.

   D: Hands over a job with a hole in it: he stands in front of an audience that will ask about numbers he did not build, unaware that two sections are missing.

   The most effective response is to tell him today which sections are unfinished, agree what is realistic by Thursday, and split the presenting so you take the numbers: he can plan around the true position, the Wednesday deadline is accounted for, and the part of the audience’s questions only you can answer is answered by you. It beats presenting as planned and finishing on Wednesday night, because a private risk becomes everybody’s problem if the night goes badly. It beats moving the presentation, because Thursday is reachable and the audience is already assembled. The least effective response is handing him the presentation without saying two sections are missing: he faces questions about numbers he did not build, not knowing what is absent, which is a different kind of wrong from carrying the risk quietly or from postponing. The principle: a colleague can only cover for you against the truth, so tell them what is actually missing.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a trading assistant at Cargill. In Monday’s meeting a colleague said, in front of the team, that your weekly figures were guesswork and had cost her a decision. You were annoyed and said nothing. You send her those figures every Wednesday and she uses them to set her orders. It is Wednesday morning and the figures are ready. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Send the figures as usual and add a line to the whole team explaining how they are built, so that everybody can see the remark on Monday was unfair.
    2. Send the figures as usual, then ask her for ten minutes to go through how they are built and what the decision needed that they did not give her.
    3. Send the figures as usual and say nothing about Monday, on the basis that raising it now would only make the next meeting more uncomfortable for both of you.
    4. Stop sending her the weekly figures after that meeting and let her ask for them if she still wants them, since she made her view of their value clear enough.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Send the figures as usual, then ask her for ten minutes to go through how they are built and what the decision needed that they did not give her.

    Least effective: D. Stop sending her the weekly figures after that meeting and let her ask for them if she still wants them, since she made her view of their value clear enough.

    A: Answers a private grievance in public: the correction is aimed at an audience rather than at her, and the person it is really about reads it alongside everyone else.

    C: Prioritises harmony over honesty: the working relationship stays polite, the complaint about your work stands unexamined, and it will be repeated.

    D: Withdraws your work from a colleague after a disagreement: her orders go out on nothing, and a complaint about quality is answered by removing the thing entirely.

    The most effective response is to send the figures as usual and then ask her for ten minutes on how they are built and what her decision needed: it keeps the work flowing, it treats the remark as information about a gap rather than as an insult, and it puts the conversation where it belongs, which is between the two of you. It beats adding a public line to the team about how the figures are built, because that answers her in front of an audience and makes the disagreement everybody’s. It beats saying nothing at all, because the complaint stands and the next set of orders is set on the same misunderstanding. The least effective response is stopping the weekly figures after the meeting and making her ask: the work she depends on is withdrawn because of how she spoke to you, which is a different kind of wrong from being defensive in public or being silent. The principle: criticism of your work is answered by improving what the other person needed, never by taking the work away.