1. Ignore the test. Sheryl has proven herself via work experience and deserves the job.
2. Give the job to the candidate with the highest score. You don't need to make enemies on the Civil Service Board, and, although it is a bureaucratic procedure, the test is an objective way to select a permanent placement.
3. Press the board to devise a more comprehensive set of selection criteria-including test results, but also taking into account supervisory experience, ability to motivate employees, and knowledge of agency procedures-that can be explained and justified to the board and to employees.
The Civil Service Board in a midsize city in Indiana decided that a written exam should be given to all candidates for promotion to supervisor. A written test would assess mental skills and would open access to all personnel who wanted to apply for the position. The board believed a written exam for promotion would be completely fair and objective because it eliminated subjective judgments and personal favoritism regarding a candidate's qualifications. Maxine Othman, manager of a social service agency, loved to see her employees learn and grow to their full potential. When a rare opening for a supervising clerk occurred,
Maxine quickly decided to give Sheryl Hines a shot at the job. Sheryl had been with the agency for 17 years and had shown herself to be a true leader. In her new position, Sheryl worked hard at becoming a good supervisor, just as she had always worked hard at being a top-notch clerk. She paid attention to the human aspects of employee problems and introduced modern management techniques that strengthened the entire agency. Because of the board's new ruling, however, Sheryl would have to complete the exam in an open competition-anyone could sign up and take it, even a new employee. The board wanted the candidate with the highest score to get the job but allowed Maxine, as manager of the agency, to have the final say.
Because Sheryl had accepted the provisional opening and proved herself on the job, Maxine was upset that the entire clerical force was deemed qualified to take the test. When the results came back, she was devastated. Sheryl placed twelfth in the field of candidates, while one of her newly hired clerks placed first. The Civil Service Board, impressed by this person's high score, urged Maxine to give the new clerk the permanent supervisory job over Sheryl; however, it was still Maxine's choice. Maxine wondered whether it was fair to base her decision only on the results of a written test. The board was pushing her to honor the objective written test, but could the test really assess fairly who was the right person for the job?