Mars Incorporated Assessment Tests

Mars Online Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a trading assistant at Mars Online. 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.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a procurement graduate at Mars Online. Two suppliers have quoted for the same work and you are handling both conversations. The second supplier has asked you outright whether he is far off the other quote. You know he is about eight per cent higher. A cheaper price would save real money, and nobody else was in either conversation. The decision is made next week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Let the second supplier know roughly where the first one's price sits, since it would bring the cost down and nobody outside those two conversations would ever know.
   2. Tell him you cannot discuss other quotes, and leave it there so that nothing you say can be taken as a signal about where his price sits.
   3. Tell him you cannot discuss another supplier's price and explain what the decision weighs besides cost, and invite a best and final offer from both so that each gets the same chance.
   4. Say nothing directly but tell him there is room to move on price, so that he sharpens his quote without anybody's actual number being passed on.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell him you cannot discuss another supplier's price and explain what the decision weighs besides cost, and invite a best and final offer from both so that each gets the same chance.

   Least effective: A. Let the second supplier know roughly where the first one's price sits, since it would bring the cost down and nobody outside those two conversations would ever know.

   A: Breaches a confidence you were trusted with: the first supplier quoted privately, and his number is being used to bargain against him by the person he gave it to.

   B: Holds the line and stops: the boundary is right and he is given nothing he could act on, when what he can be told legitimately would genuinely help.

   D: Signals the substance while avoiding the words: he learns what he asked for, and the first supplier's confidence is spent just as surely as if you had read out the figure.

   The most effective response is to tell him you cannot discuss another supplier’s price, explain what else the decision weighs, and invite a best and final offer from both: the confidence holds, both suppliers get the same opportunity, and the business still gets the sharper price it is after. It beats refusing and leaving it there, because there is a great deal you can tell him legitimately that would help him quote well. It beats hinting that there is room to move, because the hint conveys exactly what the rule forbids. The least effective response is telling him roughly where the first quote sits: a price given to you in confidence is used to bargain against the person who gave it, which is a different kind of wrong from being unhelpful or from hinting. The principle: what one supplier tells you privately is not currency, however much cheaper the other one might become.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at Mars Online. A site has told you that a delivery due tomorrow will arrive after they close, which means it will sit unattended overnight. You have seen this happen twice this month at the same site. Your supervisor is on leave and has asked to be contacted only for genuine emergencies. The transport team can still change tomorrow’s booking if they hear before five. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the site to stay open late tomorrow and take the delivery after closing, since that avoids changing a booking that transport has already confirmed.
   2. Ask transport to move tomorrow's booking before five, then send the three occurrences to your supervisor's cover, since the pattern needs a decision from somebody who is available.
   3. Refer the whole thing to the site team, since the closing times are theirs and they are better placed to sort out both tomorrow and the pattern behind it.
   4. Ask transport to move tomorrow's booking before five, and raise the three occurrences with your supervisor when she is back next week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask transport to move tomorrow's booking before five, then send the three occurrences to your supervisor's cover, since the pattern needs a decision from somebody who is available.

   Least effective: C. Refer the whole thing to the site team, since the closing times are theirs and they are better placed to sort out both tomorrow and the pattern behind it.

   A: Moves the cost onto somebody else: the site works late for a booking that could simply have been changed before five, and the pattern is untouched.

   C: Passes the problem to people who cannot solve it: transport holds the booking and closes at five, and the site team has no way to change tomorrow from their end.

   D: Fixes the instance and lets the pattern wait: the immediate risk is handled, and a fault that has now happened three times sits unexamined for another week.

   The most effective response is to ask transport to move tomorrow’s booking before five and send the three occurrences to your supervisor’s cover: tomorrow is dealt with inside the window that exists for it, and the pattern goes to somebody who is actually available to decide about it. It beats asking the site to stay open late, because the booking can still be changed before five and the site should not pay for that. It beats fixing tomorrow and waiting a week on the pattern, because three occurrences in a month is the thing that needs a decision. The least effective response is referring the whole thing to the site team: they cannot change a transport booking, so the one action that has a deadline today is given to people who have no way of taking it, which is a different kind of wrong from escalating to the wrong person or from being slow on the pattern. The principle: send each part of a problem to whoever can act on it, and check that they actually can.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a people team graduate at Mars Online. A team member has told you privately that her line manager has been changing her shifts at short notice for a month, and that she has stopped saying anything because it is not worth the friction. She has asked you not to make a fuss. Repeated short-notice changes are something the people team is meant to look at. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take it straight to the manager's own manager today with the dates in front of you, since a month of short-notice changes is exactly what the people team exists to pick up.
   2. Suggest she raises it with her manager herself, and offer to help her prepare what she wants to say if she decides to do that.
   3. Explain to her that a month of short-notice changes is something you have to pass on, agree with her how and when it is raised, and raise it so that she is not surprised.
   4. Tell her there is nothing the people team can do without a formal complaint from her, which is not something you have actually checked.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Explain to her that a month of short-notice changes is something you have to pass on, agree with her how and when it is raised, and raise it so that she is not surprised.

   Least effective: D. Tell her there is nothing the people team can do without a formal complaint from her, which is not something you have actually checked.

   A: Escalates over the person who raised it: the conversation happens about her rather than with her, and the next person with a problem watches how this one went.

   B: Leaves the pattern with the one person least able to change it: the offer of help is genuine, and the shifts carry on exactly as they were.

   D: States a limit that does not exist: she stops looking for help on the strength of a rule you invented, and the pattern goes unexamined because of it.

   The most effective response is to explain that a month of short-notice changes has to be passed on, agree with her how and when, and then raise it: it is honest about what you can and cannot promise her, it keeps her in the conversation about her own situation, and the pattern reaches the people who are meant to see it. It beats going straight to the manager’s manager today, because she is the person it happens to and she finds out afterwards. It beats suggesting she raise it herself with your help, because she has already judged that route not worth the friction and nothing changes. The least effective response is telling her the people team can do nothing without a formal complaint: that is a limit you have not checked and it is not true, so she stops looking for help on the strength of it, which is a different kind of wrong from escalating over her head or from under-reaching. The principle: be honest about what you must pass on, and take somebody with you rather than either around them or nowhere at all.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a purchasing assistant at Mars Online. A business customer needs a special order and has asked when it will reach him. The supplier who makes it has quoted seven to ten working days but will not commit to a date until the order is placed. The customer is arranging his own work around the answer and has asked you for a straight one. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Guarantee the customer that the order will be with him a week on Friday, which gives him the single date he has asked you for.
   2. Tell the customer you cannot give a date until the supplier commits, and suggest he plans on the longer end of the range to be safe in the meantime.
   3. Place the order today and tell the customer you will send the date through as soon as it is confirmed, without saying anything now about the range you have been quoted.
   4. Tell him the quoted range, place the order today, and commit to sending him the supplier's confirmed date the moment it comes through.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell him the quoted range, place the order today, and commit to sending him the supplier's confirmed date the moment it comes through.

   Least effective: A. Guarantee the customer that the order will be with him a week on Friday, which gives him the single date he has asked you for.

   A: Gives a guarantee nobody has made: the supplier has explicitly refused to commit, and the customer builds his own arrangements on a date that came from you rather than from them.

   B: Passes the uncertainty on undigested: it is honest, and he is left to plan around ten days when a firmer answer is available for the asking.

   C: Withholds the range while the order is placed: he can do nothing with silence, and the seven to ten days would at least let him start planning.

   The most effective response is to tell him the quoted range, place the order today and commit to sending the confirmed date as soon as it arrives: he gets the true picture and something he can plan around, the order starts moving, and the promise you make is one you can keep. It beats telling him to assume the longer end, because the order has not been placed and a firmer answer is close. It beats placing the order silently, because the range itself is useful to him now. The least effective response is guaranteeing a week on Friday: the supplier has refused to commit, so the customer arranges his own work around a date invented at this end, which is a different kind of wrong from being unhelpfully cautious or from being quiet. The principle: give a customer the range and a commitment about when they will know, never a certainty you have been refused.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at Mars Online. 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.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a shift supervisor at Mars Online. 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.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are an availability analyst at Mars Online. 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.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at Mars Online. A weekly count shows three hundred units fewer than the system expects on one line. The trading team needs a figure this afternoon to decide what to order for next week, and they have asked you whether the count can be relied on. Investigating the gap properly means pulling the movement history, which takes about two hours. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Give the trading team the counted figure with the gap stated alongside it, say the cause is not yet known, and start on the movement history straight away.
   2. Assure the trading team that the counted figure is sound and the gap is a scanning error, and look at the movement history later in the week if anybody comes back to you.
   3. Hold the figure back until the movement history is finished, and tell the trading team they will have something reliable by the end of the day.
   4. Give the trading team the figure the system holds rather than the counted one, since the system is what their ordering tool reads from in any case.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Give the trading team the counted figure with the gap stated alongside it, say the cause is not yet known, and start on the movement history straight away.

   Least effective: B. Assure the trading team that the counted figure is sound and the gap is a scanning error, and look at the movement history later in the week if anybody comes back to you.

   B: Gives an assurance you have not earned: nothing yet distinguishes a scanning error from three hundred missing units, and next week's order is placed on a cause that was invented to close the question.

   C: Delays the decision: the order has to be placed this afternoon, so a reliable number tomorrow is worth less to them than an honest one now.

   D: Substitutes the convenient source for the checked one: the count is the only evidence anybody has looked at, and it is the number being set aside.

   The most effective response is to give the trading team the counted figure with the gap stated alongside it and start on the movement history at once: they get a number in time to order, they know exactly how much weight it carries, and the work that settles the cause begins immediately. It beats holding the figure until the history is finished, because the decision is this afternoon and an honest number now beats a certain one tomorrow. It beats handing over the system figure instead, because the count is the only thing anybody has actually observed. The least effective response is assuring them the count is sound and the gap is a scanning error: no work has been done that could support either claim, and stating a cause you have not established is a different kind of wrong from being slow or from choosing the wrong source. The principle: report what you know and what you do not, rather than supplying the certainty the person asking would prefer.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a procurement graduate at Mars Online. A supplier has agreed a change to what he provides, and everybody expects the written variation to be signed next week. He has offered to start on the new basis on Monday so that nothing is lost. Work started before a variation is signed is not covered by the agreement, and your manager is at a conference until Wednesday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Ask the supplier to hold until the variation is signed, and put the signature in front of whoever can approve it in your manager's absence so it happens this week.
    2. Tell the supplier to start on Monday on the new basis, with the written variation to follow next week as everybody expects.
    3. Ask the supplier to start on Monday but to invoice only once the variation is signed, so that nothing is paid for outside the agreement.
    4. Tell the supplier nothing can happen until your manager is back on Wednesday, and let him decide for himself what to do with Monday and Tuesday.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Ask the supplier to hold until the variation is signed, and put the signature in front of whoever can approve it in your manager's absence so it happens this week.

    Least effective: B. Tell the supplier to start on Monday on the new basis, with the written variation to follow next week as everybody expects.

    B: Breaches the rule about when work may start: a week of work would sit outside the agreement entirely, and the supplier is the one carrying that if anything goes wrong.

    C: Solves the payment and not the exposure: the work is still done outside the agreement, which is what the rule about starting is actually about.

    D: Treats one person's diary as the only route: somebody is covering this week, and two days are given away without anybody being asked.

    The most effective response is to ask the supplier to hold and to put the signature in front of whoever is covering: the rule is kept, the week is not simply written off, and the person who can actually sign is asked. It beats asking him to start and invoice later, because the exposure is in the work rather than in the payment. It beats telling him to wait for Wednesday, because somebody is covering and nobody has asked them. The least effective response is telling him to start on Monday on the new basis: a week of work sits outside the agreement, and it is the supplier who carries that if it goes wrong, which is a different kind of wrong from a half fix or from a needless delay. The principle: the point of a rule about when work may begin is the work, and an expected signature is not a signature.