Mondelez Assessment Tests

Mondelez Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at Mondelez. The same line has run out three Fridays in a row because the level at which it reorders is set too low. You can see what it ought to be, and you have the access to change it. The setting belongs to the planning team, who review these monthly and whose next review is in three weeks. Friday is in two days. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise a manual order this week to cover Friday, and wait for the planning team's monthly review to deal with the setting itself in three weeks' time.
   2. Put the three Fridays into the planning team's monthly review paper, so that the setting is considered properly alongside everything else they are looking at.
   3. Send the planning team the three Fridays and the level you think it should be today, ask them to change it before Friday, and raise a manual order as cover meanwhile.
   4. Change the reorder level yourself to the number you can see it should be, since you have the access and the line has now run out three weeks running.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Send the planning team the three Fridays and the level you think it should be today, ask them to change it before Friday, and raise a manual order as cover meanwhile.

   Least effective: D. Change the reorder level yourself to the number you can see it should be, since you have the access and the line has now run out three weeks running.

   A: Treats the symptom and leaves the cause: this Friday is covered and two more will run out before anybody looks at the number behind it.

   B: Files an urgent item at the routine speed: the paper is read in three weeks and the line runs out twice more in the meantime.

   D: Breaches another team's control of their own settings: the number may well be right, and it is changed underneath the people who are accountable for it.

   The most effective response is to send the planning team the three Fridays and your proposed level, ask for the change before Friday, and raise a manual order as cover: the immediate gap is covered, the cause goes to the people who own it with the evidence attached, and the timescale asked for matches the problem rather than the calendar. It beats raising a manual order and waiting for the monthly review, because two more Fridays fail first. It beats writing it into the review paper, because that treats a repeating failure at the speed of a routine agenda. The least effective response is changing the reorder level yourself: the number may be exactly right and it is altered underneath the team accountable for it, which is a different kind of wrong from being too slow or from filing it in the wrong place. The principle: bring the evidence and the urgency to whoever owns the setting, rather than exercising an access you happen to hold.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at Mondelez. In a review of a campaign you had worked on for two months, a senior colleague went through your work in front of eight people and said most of it would have to be redone. Some of what she said was fair. You are in the group that has to deliver the reworked campaign in three weeks, and the next working session is tomorrow morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Withdraw from the campaign group after that review and ask your manager to put you on something else, since your work on it is evidently not what they want.
   2. Go to tomorrow's session and say nothing about the review, since raising it would look like you cannot take criticism and the work is what matters now.
   3. Ask your manager to raise with her how the review was conducted, since going through somebody's work like that in front of eight people is not how feedback should be given.
   4. Go to tomorrow's session with a plan for the parts you accept and ask her to go through the parts you do not, so that the rework starts from an agreed brief.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Go to tomorrow's session with a plan for the parts you accept and ask her to go through the parts you do not, so that the rework starts from an agreed brief.

   Least effective: A. Withdraw from the campaign group after that review and ask your manager to put you on something else, since your work on it is evidently not what they want.

   A: Withdraws from a commitment after a hard hour: the group loses the person who knows the work best, three weeks before it is due, because of how the review felt.

   B: Buries the part you disagree with: the fair criticism and the unfair criticism are accepted together, and you rebuild to a brief you do not believe in.

   C: Turns the work into a complaint about conduct: it may well be justified, and three weeks before delivery it is the campaign that needs the attention.

   The most effective response is to go to tomorrow’s session with a plan for the parts you accept and ask her to go through the parts you do not: the three weeks start immediately, the criticism is separated into the half that improves the work and the half that needs testing, and the conversation happens with the person who made it. It beats saying nothing about the review, because you would rebuild against a brief you do not believe. It beats asking your manager to raise how the review was conducted, because that is a separate conversation and the campaign is due in three weeks. The least effective response is withdrawing from the group: a hard hour costs the campaign the person who knows it best, three weeks from delivery, which is a different kind of wrong from over-agreeing or from making it about conduct. The principle: take the part of hard feedback that is right, test the part that is not, and stay in the work.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at Mondelez. A planner and a site contact have been arguing for two days about a change to delivery times. The site has said clearly that it will not work for them. The planner has now asked you, in front of both of them on a call, whether the site has agreed. Everybody wants the argument over, and the schedule has to be published tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Assure the planner that the site is happy with the change so the argument can stop, and work quietly on the site afterwards to bring them round before the schedule is published.
   2. Say plainly that the site has not agreed and set out what each side needs from the times, so that the call turns into a search for a change that would work.
   3. Say that the position is not clear to you and offer to speak to both of them separately after the call, so that nobody has to give ground in front of the other.
   4. Answer that the site has not agreed and leave it there, since the two of them have been going round this for two days and it is their argument rather than yours.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Say plainly that the site has not agreed and set out what each side needs from the times, so that the call turns into a search for a change that would work.

   Least effective: A. Assure the planner that the site is happy with the change so the argument can stop, and work quietly on the site afterwards to bring them round before the schedule is published.

   A: States an agreement that does not exist: the schedule is published on it, and the site discovers tomorrow that its refusal was reported as consent.

   C: Softens a fact to keep the peace: the site's position was perfectly clear, and describing it as unclear leaves the planner believing there is still room where there is none.

   D: Delivers the fact and abandons the problem: the schedule is published tomorrow, and nothing on the call has moved the two sides any closer.

   The most effective response is to say plainly that the site has not agreed, set out what each side needs, and ask for the one change that would make it work: the fact is on the table, and the call turns from an argument about consent into a search for a workable time. It beats describing the position as unclear, because the site was clear and the planner is left believing there is room to move. It beats stating the fact and leaving them to it, because the schedule is published tomorrow and nothing has moved. The least effective response is assuring the planner the site is happy: an agreement that does not exist becomes the basis of a published schedule, and the site learns that its refusal was reported as consent, which is a different kind of wrong from being vague or from being unhelpful. The principle: end an argument by putting the true position in the middle of it, never by reporting the answer everybody wants.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at Mondelez. In yesterday’s planning call a colleague from the site team said, sharply, that your volume numbers were “made up in a spreadsheet by somebody who has never seen a delivery”. You run that call every week and he is the person who knows what the sites can actually take. Next week’s call is on Monday and the volumes have to be agreed on it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop inviting him to the planning call after that exchange, and send him the agreed numbers afterwards so that he still has what he needs for the week.
   2. Raise it with his team leader before Monday, since a remark like that in front of the whole call is not something you should have to work around every week.
   3. Say nothing and carry on running the call exactly as before, on the basis that the numbers speak for themselves and the remark will be forgotten by Monday.
   4. Ask him for twenty minutes before Monday to walk through how the volumes are built and what he would change, so that Monday's numbers carry what he knows about the sites.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Ask him for twenty minutes before Monday to walk through how the volumes are built and what he would change, so that Monday's numbers carry what he knows about the sites.

   Least effective: A. Stop inviting him to the planning call after that exchange, and send him the agreed numbers afterwards so that he still has what he needs for the week.

   A: Removes a colleague from a meeting after a disagreement: the person with the best information about what sites can take is now outside the conversation that decides it.

   B: Escalates a two-person problem: the remark is dealt with by somebody else, and the working relationship the Monday call depends on gets worse rather than better.

   C: Avoids the conversation the call needs: the numbers are not the point, his confidence in them is, and nothing has changed that by Monday.

   The most effective response is to ask him for twenty minutes before Monday to walk through how the volumes are built and what he would change: the complaint contains real information about what the sites can take, the conversation is with the person who made it, and Monday’s call gets better numbers rather than a colder room. It beats raising it with his team leader, because a remark between two people becomes a matter between three and the working relationship gets worse. It beats carrying on as if nothing happened, because his lack of confidence in the numbers is the problem, not the numbers. The least effective response is dropping him from the call and sending the numbers afterwards: the person who knows most about the constraint is removed from the meeting that decides it, which is a different kind of wrong from escalating or from staying quiet. The principle: answer a challenge to your work by involving the challenger in it, never by removing them from the room.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at Mondelez. Three things are due before Friday: a customer announcement, a set of images for the team who publish them, and a summary for your manager. The announcement has to go on a shared channel whose owner runs a queue and has given you a slot on Thursday. Your announcement matters most this week, and you can post to the channel yourself. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the images and the summary first because they are quick, and take the announcement to the channel owner on Thursday exactly as the queue arranges it.
   2. Ask your manager to tell the channel owner to move your announcement up the queue, since it matters more this week than the items sitting in front of it.
   3. Ask the channel owner today whether the announcement can move up, explain what is riding on it, and do the images and the summary while you wait for his answer.
   4. Post the announcement on the shared channel yourself ahead of the queue, since your item is the most time-critical this week and the slot system is only there to keep things orderly.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask the channel owner today whether the announcement can move up, explain what is riding on it, and do the images and the summary while you wait for his answer.

   Least effective: D. Post the announcement on the shared channel yourself ahead of the queue, since your item is the most time-critical this week and the slot system is only there to keep things orderly.

   A: Sequences by what is easy: the two small jobs are cleared, and the item with the most riding on it gets whatever attention Thursday leaves.

   B: Escalates before asking: the person who runs the queue has not been spoken to, and the first thing he hears is a manager rearranging his week.

   D: Breaches somebody else's control of a shared channel: the queue exists because everybody's item feels urgent, and jumping it decides that question on your own behalf.

   The most effective response is to ask the channel owner whether the announcement can move up, explain what is riding on it, and do the images and the summary while you wait: the request goes to the person who owns the queue, the case for it is made rather than assumed, and the other two jobs progress meanwhile. It beats doing the quick jobs first and taking Thursday as it comes, because the most important item is then given the least thought. It beats asking your manager to have it moved, because nobody has yet asked the person who runs the queue. The least effective response is posting ahead of the queue yourself: a shared arrangement is set aside by somebody who decided their own item outranked the others, which is a different kind of wrong from sequencing badly or from going over somebody’s head. The principle: where a shared queue decides the order, the way to move up it is to ask its owner, not to step round it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a commercial graduate at Mondelez. Two managers have each asked you for a piece of analysis by Friday. One is for a decision that is being made on Monday; the other is for a paper that will be read at the end of the month, though that manager has said hers is urgent. Both take two days and you have three. You have not told either about the other. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Refer both requests to your manager and let her decide which one you do, without setting out what each piece needs or when it is really wanted.
   2. Do the analysis for the Monday decision first and start the other on Friday, telling the second manager only if she asks where hers has got to.
   3. Give each manager a shorter version by Friday, so that both have something to work with even though neither piece is the full analysis that was asked for.
   4. Tell both managers today that you can do one properly by Friday, explain what each would get and when, and propose doing the Monday decision first.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell both managers today that you can do one properly by Friday, explain what each would get and when, and propose doing the Monday decision first.

   Least effective: A. Refer both requests to your manager and let her decide which one you do, without setting out what each piece needs or when it is really wanted.

   A: Hands the decision on stripped of what it needs: she has to go back to both managers to learn what you already know, and Friday is three days away.

   B: Makes the right call and hides it: the manager waiting on the paper plans for Friday and finds out by chasing.

   C: Splits the work so neither is what was wanted: a Monday decision is made on half an analysis, which is the one place a shortcut is least affordable.

   The most effective response is to tell both managers today that only one can be done properly by Friday, explain what each would get and when, and propose doing the Monday decision first: both know where they stand while they can still act, the recommendation is made rather than concealed, and the piece with a real date attached is protected. It beats doing the Monday piece and telling the other manager only if she asks, because she plans for Friday and learns by chasing. It beats giving both a shorter version, because a Monday decision is exactly where half an analysis costs most. The least effective response is referring both requests upwards without setting out what each needs: your manager has to rediscover what you already know, three days before the deadline, which is a different kind of wrong from deciding quietly or from thinning the work. The principle: when two claims collide, put the choice and your recommendation in front of the people affected, rather than passing the problem up bare.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at Mondelez. You produce a weekly report that a planner uses to set orders. For three weeks running one line has come out short of what the sites asked for, and you have corrected it by hand each time without saying so. The planner reads the corrected number and is happy with it. Sending this week’s report is a five-minute job. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Correct the line by hand again this week and start keeping a note of each correction, so that there is a record to show somebody if it happens for a fourth or fifth week.
   2. Send the report with the pattern set out in the covering note, and take the three weeks of corrections to the planner today, since he is the one setting orders from that line.
   3. Send the report with the line corrected as usual, without mentioning that the same line has now been short three weeks running.
   4. Stop correcting the line and send the raw figure this week, so that the shortfall shows up in the planner's own numbers and he raises it himself.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Send the report with the pattern set out in the covering note, and take the three weeks of corrections to the planner today, since he is the one setting orders from that line.

   Least effective: C. Send the report with the line corrected as usual, without mentioning that the same line has now been short three weeks running.

   A: Gathers evidence instead of raising it: the pattern is already three weeks old, and the planner keeps setting orders from a number somebody is quietly repairing.

   C: Withholds a pattern the reader is entitled to: the number looks trustworthy precisely because the repair is invisible, and the person who could fix the cause does not know there is one.

   D: Makes a point by letting something fail: the planner sets an order from a figure you know to be wrong, and learns about a three-week problem the hard way.

   The most effective response is to send the report with the pattern set out in the covering note and take the three weeks of corrections to the planner today: he is setting orders from that line, the repeated shortfall is the actual finding, and a five-minute job does not become a reason to keep it to yourself. It beats correcting it again and starting a note, because the evidence needed to raise it has existed for three weeks already. It beats sending the raw figure so the problem shows itself, because that teaches the planner by damaging his order. The least effective response is sending the corrected report and saying nothing about three weeks of shortfalls: the correction makes the number look sound, so nobody investigates a cause that is still there, which is a different kind of wrong from gathering evidence too long or from proving a point. The principle: a problem you have quietly worked around is still a problem, and the person relying on the output owns it with you.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a resourcing assistant at Mondelez. A colleague told you at lunch that she is close to walking out because she is doing most of the team’s work and nobody has noticed. She asked you not to repeat it. The same afternoon your team leader asks the three of you to take on another piece of work, and your colleague says yes without comment. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing to anybody and quietly take some of the new work off her yourself, since she asked you not to repeat it and that at least lightens the load.
   2. Repeat what she said to your team leader so that the allocation can be looked at properly, since somebody close to walking out is not something to keep to yourself.
   3. Tell her you think she should raise it, offer to go with her, and say that if she will not you would want to raise the allocation question yourself without quoting her.
   4. Tell the other two on the team what she said about the workload, before the new work is divided up between you.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell her you think she should raise it, offer to go with her, and say that if she will not you would want to raise the allocation question yourself without quoting her.

   Least effective: D. Tell the other two on the team what she said about the workload, before the new work is divided up between you.

   A: Treats a workload problem as a private favour: her hours improve slightly, and the team leader who allocates the work still has no idea there is a problem.

   B: Breaks a confidence to get a good outcome: she may well be helped, and she learns that what she says to you reaches her manager.

   D: Carries private remarks to the team: something said to one person at lunch becomes the team's business, and she finds out when somebody mentions it.

   The most effective response is to tell her you think she should raise it, offer to go with her, and be straight that you would want to raise the allocation question anyway without quoting her: it respects what she asked while being honest that the workload itself is a team matter, and it gives her the first move. It beats quietly taking work off her, because the person who allocates it still knows nothing. It beats repeating what she said to your team leader, because the confidence goes without her ever being asked. The least effective response is telling the other two what she said: a private remark becomes the team’s property and she discovers it second hand, which is a different kind of wrong from helping quietly or from escalating without permission. The principle: be honest with somebody about what you intend to do with what they told you, and never spread it sideways.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a commercial finance assistant at Mondelez. Two colleagues you work with, one in trading and one in supply, have fallen out over a promotion whose cost came in well above plan. Each has told you separately that the other changed a number without saying so. Both have asked you what the other said. The figure has to be explained in Monday’s review, and you are the person who holds both versions of the file. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask each of them separately to walk you through their version of the change, then decide yourself which account the file supports and take that to Monday's review.
   2. Write up what the file shows and send it straight to the reviewer before Monday, leaving the two of them to sort out between themselves how the change happened and who made it.
   3. Tell each of them what the other has been saying about the change, so that both know where they stand before the review on Monday.
   4. Put both versions of the file in front of the two of them together and say what changed and when, so that they agree between them what Monday's review is told about the cost.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Put both versions of the file in front of the two of them together and say what changed and when, so that they agree between them what Monday's review is told about the cost.

   Least effective: C. Tell each of them what the other has been saying about the change, so that both know where they stand before the review on Monday.

   A: Substitutes your own judgement for theirs: you arbitrate between two colleagues in private, and whichever way it lands, the loser hears the verdict at the review.

   B: Avoids the difficult conversation: the number is explained and the working relationship the next promotion depends on is left exactly as it is.

   C: Personalises the disagreement: it turns a question about a figure into a question about two people's accounts of each other, and does it in the way least likely to survive either of them repeating it.

   The most effective response is to put both versions of the file in front of the two of them together and ask them to agree what the review is told: the disagreement is about what the file shows, the file is in front of everybody, and the people who have to work together next month settle it themselves. It beats writing it up and sending it to the reviewer, because Monday is covered and nothing between the two colleagues is. It beats hearing each version separately and deciding which the file supports, because a private arbitration by the most junior person present leaves one of them told they were wrong by you. The least effective response is telling each of them what the other has been saying: the argument stops being about the promotion cost and becomes about what each said behind the other’s back, which is a different kind of wrong from ducking the conversation or over-reaching in it. The principle: put the evidence in front of both parties at once, and let the disagreement be about the thing rather than about each other.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a commercial graduate at Mondelez. You are one of three people scoring proposals from four suppliers, and the scores go in on Friday. A contact at one of them, whom you have dealt with for months, drops by with a hamper and a voucher for a restaurant, saying they are just a thank you for the work so far and nothing to do with the tender. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Take the hamper for the team to share and leave the voucher, since something shared around the office cannot reasonably be said to have influenced anybody's scoring on Friday.
    2. Decline both, tell him plainly that you cannot accept anything while the tender is live, and tell the person running the tender that the offer was made.
    3. Accept the hamper and the voucher as offered, and thank him for thinking of the team after a long few months of work together.
    4. Decline both politely on the doorstep and say nothing to anybody afterwards, since he took the refusal well and no harm has actually come of it.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Decline both, tell him plainly that you cannot accept anything while the tender is live, and tell the person running the tender that the offer was made.

    Least effective: C. Accept the hamper and the voucher as offered, and thank him for thinking of the team after a long few months of work together.

    A: Splits a gift into an acceptable half: the supplier still leaves having given something to a scorer during a live tender, and the line has moved rather than held.

    C: Takes a benefit the role forbids while holding the pen: whatever was meant by it, one of the four suppliers has given a scorer a present during the scoring.

    D: Keeps a fact the tender's owner needs: the refusal is right and the person responsible for a fair process never learns that an approach was made at all.

    The most effective response is to decline both, say plainly that you cannot accept anything while the tender is live, and tell the person running it that the offer was made: it protects the scoring, it is straightforward with a contact you will keep dealing with, and it puts the approach on the record where the process can account for it. It beats keeping the hamper for the team, because a shared gift is still a gift to a scorer. It beats declining quietly and telling nobody, because the person responsible for a fair tender is the one who has to know. The least effective response is accepting the hamper and the voucher as offered: a supplier being scored this week has given a present to one of the people scoring them, which is a different kind of wrong from mishandling the refusal or from failing to report it. The principle: while you hold the pen, take nothing, and tell the person who owns the process what was offered.