Reasoning for BusinessTM

Managerial and Graduate Information and Practice Leaflet

Psychometric tests are used by organisations to assess people for selection and development purposes. This leaflet provides you with information on the type of tests that you will be completing and some practice questions to allow you to prepare and familiarise yourself with the format of these tests. Using psychometric tests for assessment purposes offers a number of benefits:
They provide employers with a fair and objective way of assessing people.

Everyone who completes the tests does so under the same conditions and within the same time limit.

They are designed to be broadly reflective of the reasoning skills required for jobs and can therefore indicate

which person has the specific abilities needed to succeed in given roles.

They allow people to demonstrate their abilities and help employers to identify individual strengths and

development needs. This, in turn, can help people identify those jobs which are most suitable for them.

REASONING FOR BUSINESS

The Reasoning for Business series of assessments consists of two separate tests which assess different types of reasoning ability. You may be asked to complete one or both of these tests. Alternatively, you may be required to complete a separate version which combines elements of both tests. This will depend on the skills that are considered relevant to the job in question.

Managerial and Graduate - Verbal Managerial and Graduate - Numerical

Measures the ability to comprehend, evaluate and draw inferences from business-related passages of text. Measures the ability to evaluate business-oriented data presented in numerical format and solve problems related to this information.

In order to help prepare you for the tests, we have provided you with some practice questions over the page. These will enable you to familiarise yourself with the type of questions that you will be required to complete. Although these practice questions are not timed, the actual tests will have a set time limit, so you should work through the questions as quickly and accurately as possible. As an approximate guide, you can try completing both the numerical and verbal questions shown on the following pages within four minutes. You can mark what you consider to be the correct answer by filling in the appropriate circle in the section at the bottom of the page. Note that when you complete the actual tests on paper, you will be provided with a separate answer sheet for this purpose. Alternatively, you may be asked to complete the tests on computer - if so, you will be given full details of how you to do this immediately prior to taking the test. When you have completed the relevant practice questions, you can check the answers which are given on the final page of this leaflet.

Managerial and Graduate - Verbal

Practice questions
Read the following passage and then respond to the statements below. You should chose the correct response to the statements on the basis of the following rules: TRUE The statement is definitely true, or follows logically from the information given in the passage The statement clearly contradicts the information that is given, or follows logically from the passage. The truth or falsehood of the statement cannot be determined from the information provided.

FALSE

CANNOT TELL

Byrne International has strengthened its position in the struggle with Modintech to buy Cranes Systems for $1.3 billion. This take-over of one of the major computer companies in the region will allow Byrne International to grow significantly and keep it competitive with other market leaders. Once the two major companies have successfully amalgamated, new business structures will be put in place. The proposed deal has sparked feelings of unease amongst close rivals, such as SABK and Foreman Technology, who are seeking similar alliances around the globe to prevent being swallowed by major competitors.

A True

B False

C Cannot tell

1. Byrne International is competing with another company over the acquisition of Cranes Systems. 2. Foreman Technology is considering a merger with SABK. 3. Byrne International has purchased Cranes Systems for $1.3 billion.

ENTER THE CORRECT ANSWERS BELOW:

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3
A A A B B B C C C

Managerial and Graduate - Numerical

Practice questions
Look at the table of data and then respond to the questions below by selecting the correct answer from the list of options. You may use a calculator for these questions if you wish. The table below shows a sales summary for five software products produced by a computer company.

Software product
2 years ago Spreadsheet Word processor Virus detector Business statistics Database 13.8 17.5 10.1 4.6 10.5

Number of sales (in thousands)

1 year ago 18.6 15.2 7.3 6.6 12.6 Target for current year 23.2 19.0 9.5 11.5 15.6

1. Which products sales showed the greatest percentage change from two years ago to last year? A Spreadsheet D Business statistics B Word processor E Database C Virus detector

2. The sales target for this year for the Business statistics software represents an increase of what percentage over last years sales? A 30.30% E 60.00% B 42.60% F 74.24% C 51.34% G 134.69% D 57.39% H Cannot tell

3. If the current years sales of the Database software were 15% higher than last year, then sales would be ahead of target. A True B False C Cannot tell

ENTER THE CORRECT ANSWERS BELOW:

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3
A A A B B B C C C D D E E F G H

Managerial and Graduate - Diagrammatic Reasoning

Introduction
WHAT IS THE REASONING FOR BUSINESS DIAGRAMMATIC REASONING TEST? This test measures your ability to extract general concepts or rules from apparently unrelated visual information. While this test may appear to be less business related than other types of tests, it assesses important conceptual thinking and reasoning skills, relating to the ability to identify patterns and relationships between information and apply this understanding to new instances or situations. The Diagrammatic Reasoning test is designed to measure skills and abilities that are important in the formation of concepts, high-level problem solving and aspects of strategic business thinking. It is also designed to be reasonably challenging for any one wanting to work in a higher-level business function, but you do not need to have any particular knowledge or experience of working at this level. All of the information you need will be provided for you in the test. In order to help prepare you for the test, we have provided you with some practice questions on the following pages. These will enable you to familiarise yourself with the type of questions that you will be required to complete. Although these practice questions are not timed, the actual test will have a set time limit, so you should work through the questions as quickly and accurately as possible. You can mark what you consider to be the correct answer by filling in the appropriate circle in the section at the bottom of the page. Note that when you complete the actual tests on paper, you will be provided with a separate answer sheet for this purpose. Correct answers and explanations are given, to help you assess your understanding of the kind of questions used.

Managerial and Graduate - Diagrammatic Reasoning

Instructions
This test looks at your ability to identify similarities and differences between groups of patterns and then to apply this understanding to help categorise additional patterns. You will be presented with blocks of patterns arranged into two groups, Group A and Group B. All of the patterns within Group A are related to each other in some way, while all of the patterns in Group B are also related to each other in a different way. Your task is to identify the rule that explains why the patterns are grouped as they are. Note that there is no relevance to the sequence or order of the patterns within each group. Below the two groups of patterns, there will be four additional, individually numbered patterns. For each of these additional patterns, you should decide which of the two groups it belongs to and indicate your choice by filling the appropriate circle as follows:
If you think that the individual pattern belongs to Group A, then fill in circle A. If you think that the individual pattern belongs to Group B, then fill in circle B. If you think that the individual pattern belongs to neither Group A nor Group B, then fill in circle C.

Look at the practice questions on page 6 and complete the appropriate circles in the grid below.

Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4

A A A A

B B B B

C C C C

Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7 Ex. 8

A A A A

B B B B

C C C C

PRACTICE QUESTIONS 1 TO 4 Group A Group B

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Ex.3

Ex. 4

PRACTICE QUESTIONS 5 TO 8 Group A Group B

Ex. 1
6

Ex. 2

Ex.3

Ex. 4

Answers to practice questions

The correct answers to the practice questions presented on the previous two pages are given below:

Managerial and Graduate - Verbal

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3
A A A B B B C C C

Managerial and Graduate - Numerical

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3
A A A B B B C C C D D E E F G H

Managerial and Graduate - Diagrammatic

Example number Examples 1 to 4 Correct answer Explanation The patterns within Group A all consist of a shape enclosed within two larger shapes. The patterns within Group B all contain a shape that is enclosed in one larger shape. C A B B No shape enclosed. Shape enclosed within two larger shapes. Shape enclosed within one larger shape. Shape enclosed within one larger shape. For Group A, the patterns consist of regular shapes enclosed within irregular shapes. For Group B the reverse applies, eg irregular shapes enclosed within regular shapes. C B B A Shapes from both Group A and Group B are shown. Irregular shapes enclosed within regular shapes. Irregular shapes enclosed within regular shapes. Regular shapes enclosed within irregular shapes.
7

Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Examples 5 to 8

Example 5 Example 6 Example 7 Example 8

Preparation for the testing session

Things to remember before the test session:

You should allow yourself plenty of time to get to the location where the testing will be taking place If you normally wear glasses or use a hearing aid, you should bring them with you Listen carefully to the instructions that you are given before taking the test If you are unsure about anything, ask the test administrator before the test starts.

Things to remember when taking the test:

Make sure you read the question carefully If you find a question too difficult, move on to the next one, and then come back to it later if you have time left over Make sure you work as quickly and accurately as possible. There is a set time limit for each test.

Remember that psychometric tests are normally only one of many forms of assessment used when selecting staff - even if you feel you have not performed as well as you could, you will be able to demonstrate your strengths in the other forms of assessment.

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