Whilst the ‘None of the above’ option is sometimes used
to distract you from properly evaluating the issue posed in the
question, in some instances they do actually provide a valid
option which you could, if you wished, select as your answer.
The key aspect to remember is to fully assess what the question is
asking you and to then determine what would be the most
appropriate course of action when you take all the other issues
and items included in your
in-tray exercise. By practising in-tray exercises you will
become more familiar with the style and format of the questions
and by reviewing your answers you will be able to understand how
to increase your score. It is important to remember although each
question poses just one issue you must consider your answer within
the context of the whole picture portrayed in your in-tray items.
For example, in your
in-tray exercise
you could be assigned the role of Business Development Manager.
One of your items could be telling you a whole weeks production of
your new prototype was lost due to poor quality control and you
have to replace this be the end of the week in order to ensure
testing of the prototype can still go ahead. Another item tells
you that you must also meet current orders otherwise the company
will lose money. From reading all the other items and the overview
you ascertain that this production issues is vital and the
pre-testing meetings you must attend are of strategic importance
to the long-term success of the company.
One of your questions asks you how you would deal with the Human
Resources Directors memo requesting to see you to urgently discuss
the negative feedback from your team. Your multiple choice answers
could look like this:
Arrange a meeting for this
morning.
Contact the Human Resources
Director immediately and discuss the feedback
Call his secretary and fix up a
meeting for tomorrow.
Reply to his memo saying you’ll
see him this afternoon.
None of the above
In this instance selecting ‘None of the above’ is the correct
answer. This is because in your role as Business Development
manager you are responsible for the strategic development of the
company. Just from the brief information above you can see that
you urgently need to focus on the production issues regarding the
prototype and the customer orders. You already are heavily
committed to meeting for the testing next week so you have little
time spare. Whilst it is important that you address the negative
feedback of your team with the Human Resources Director it is not
a top priority for someone who has such strategic responsibility
within the company.
This decision could change if from reading the other items in a
scenario, the negative feedback of your team directly effected
your key purpose within the company. During any
in-tray exercise
you must make your decisions according to your brief. This type of
questions is assessing your ability to prioritise, manage your
time and assign a level of importance to each item.
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