non-technical

[meridannight]

Tommy told you to do a short cut to get your work done quicker but it ignores safety procedures. do you

a) tell him no and keep working the way you normally do
b) tell the supervisor
c) do it Tommy's way

maybe they didn't fail you because you got it that wrong, maybe their threshold was extraordinarily high? if you scored 75%, it still may not have been enough to pass you. or what if it was multiple choice variant, and you had to choose both a and b, in order to get a maximum score? (it's unlikely on this particular question, but may have mattered on others).

the question is very abstract though. these things should be more specific. because every situation involving safety is different. even very unethical (sane) pilots (for example) would not jeopardize airplane safety while in flight. whereas if it's about some inconsequential abstract safety margin in the book, hardly anyone would bother to follow it, even if they were ethical.

what position were you applying for? if i may ask.

the only place where i was ever given such a test (although a lot more serious version of it, it appears) was in flight academy. it was labeled 'personality test' over there, and it was part of a number of admission tests we were given when we applied. it was either 'pass' or 'fail'. it had questions not unlike the one you brought as example.

[Genersis]

Seems like some form of psychological domination to me.

They want to know if you're eligible to join their collective of drones by both seeing if you can be made to do something so mind numbing, and to see if you answer the questions like a good little drone.
Ugh, practices like that drive me nuts...

Maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic...

[LJay]

Being retired and not having to deal with corporate crap is such a lovely thing.

For those of you still forced to deal with the working environment, study and use your Machiavelli, Mau Mau the flack catchers (see Hunter Thompson,) and remember that being true to yourself need not mean being selfish.

[ceez]

maybe they didn't fail you because you got it that wrong, maybe their threshold was extraordinarily high? if you scored 75%, it still may not have been enough to pass you. or what if it was multiple choice variant, and you had to choose both a and b, in order to get a maximum score? (it's unlikely on this particular question, but may have mattered on others).

the question is very abstract though. these things should be more specific. because every situation involving safety is different. even very unethical (sane) pilots (for example) would not jeopardize airplane safety while in flight. whereas if it's about some inconsequential abstract safety margin in the book, hardly anyone would bother to follow it, even if they were ethical.

what position were you applying for? if i may ask.

the only place where i was ever given such a test (although a lot more serious version of it, it appears) was in flight academy. it was labeled 'personality test' over there, and it was part of a number of admission tests we were given when we applied. it was either 'pass' or 'fail'. it had questions not unlike the one you brought as example.

both jobs were for electrical maintenance positions, another thing I forgot to add that kind of creeped me out is at the beginning of the test it said to answer the questions the way I would respond to the situation and that they would be able to tell if I am lying :eek: I think next time I'll just be as unethical as possible.

[kindy64]

Well, you can't judge what you may or may not have done correctly by just the one question. They look for consistency in the answers to similar questions. The most ethical response to that question is B) tell the supervisor, otherwise Tommy could create a safety hazard that could cause a fire or injury.

The correct way to deal with those questions is to ask what the company wants. The company wants electricians who follows code. Anything that deviates from that would be unethical.

I had an ethics test when I sought employment for a brokerage. Being a computer programmer there's all sorts of mischief one could create if one were deceitful. I passed because I just answered honestly. Also helps that we had a business ethics course in college as part of my computer science curriculum.

Some examples of Code of Ethics:
http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/kar/815/035/080.htm
http://nexstarnetwork.com/about/code-of-ethics/
http://www.mistersparky.com/our-differen...-of-ethics
http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/uploadedfil...deregs.pdf See Section V

So, next time you apply for an electricians job, do a little research about the company to see if they have a code of ethics. That could help guide you with the answers.

Here is an online test you can use to test yourself: http://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3090