ボスは迷文家シリーズ |
サイドトラックの入社テスト
サイドトラックの入社テストで正解五つの応募者です。今年の６月にマーケティング・メージャーでＭＡを取得五つの正解率は日本人として最高点なのですが、如何せん当社の競争相手はアメリカ人の同業相手なので、これでは
まだまだハンディーは高いのです。いろいろと悩みます。この手紙は、五つの正解率でどうして十の正解率のアメリカ人と競争ができるのか、という僕の質問に対して、漠然と日本人の頑張りを言ってきたので、何故このテストをやってもらったかの説明をしたものです。 因みに、この応募者はマーケティング専攻で大学院を卒業しておりながら、電話でのインタビューでマーケティングの定義を質問した時にしどろもどろでした。
サイドトラックの入社テスト
Thanks for spending your time on our test. Even though our
operation is very small, our expectation is very high.
This work place could take you to a lot of new knowledge
and helps you build experience mostly in American business
environment. So, our firm could be a very exciting place for
those who are motivated, since there are a lot to learn in here.
However, this could be a high pressure business environment
for those who have no directions.
I need you to note that I did not say your English skill is weak.
The first test you did happened to be in English; it could have been
in Japanese. This test helps me find out one's ability to read
BETWEEN THE LINES (insight) whether it is in English or Japanese.
There could be many substances to one simple sentence or even
a phrase of any language. If you could not read what was NOT said
behind the literal statement, this might lead into a huge loss to our
operation.
The opposite is true as well. If you said one thing, the listener
could interpret it in his way assuming what you said to him or her
as an acceptance signal for a merchandise order that may be
rejected by your client or boss for wrong sizing. Here is a good
example.
Your client had ordered 500 pieces of 5 mil diameter pearl for his
Christmas business. Accordingly, you contracted out the order to your
vendor. You must have the order shipped by the end of September.
When the day got near, your vendor phoned you and said they were not
able to deliver 5 mil pearls, but 7 mil for the same price. What a generous
offer he was making, you thought.
The 7 mil pearl is usually a lot more expensive and your vendor is kindly
giving you something unreal. You thought this was great and your client
would be more than happy. So, you said OK and shipped out the order,
expecting your client to be happy because 7 mil pearl is usually twice
the money.
But instead of appreciation, you've received a letter from him asking for
a damage compensation for a loss of business. He could not make pearl
rings to his customers. Why? he had made 500 mounts for 5 mil. diameter
pearls, not 7 mil. diameter pearls. So, the pearls you shipped were too large
for the mounts that were waiting for the arrival of the pearls.
What wrong you did here is as follows:
1. You simply reacted to the surface (an attractive offer).
7 mil pearl for the same price was an attractive deal.
2. You did not get your client's confirmation, not speak of an OK from your
superior. This is a very bad business practice.
Inability to develop diversified thoughts after facing one simple statement
could be very dangerous. That is why I had you taking the first tricky test.
Again, one's innocent conduct could lead us into a big loss scenario.
He or she did know it any better, he says. Of course, he didn't. But, that
does not help the situation. The damage has already been caused to our
business. So, I need to find some one who is capable of dealing with the
language as a tool for the thought rather than conversation.
I believe it is a matter of comprehension in general. It happens to be in
English, and it happens to be in Japanese. It shouldn't matter. If you are
not a good speaker in Japanese, your skill in English would be just about
the same because what brings out your logics is in your ability in organizing
your thought, once your level of English reaches certain point.
If one can not organize the thought in Japanese, the chances of doing it well
in English would be slim. I must say this theory is limited to those who use
English and Japanese at work; teachers, business men, engineers, or those who
claim they are bilingual.
Check out our home page
Thank you
Ｓｉｄｅｔｒａｋ Ｅｘｔｒａｎｃｅ Ｅｘａｍ
1) Some months have 30 days, some months have 31 days.
How many months have 28 days?
2) If a doctor gives you 3 pills and tells you to take one
pill every half hour, how long would it be before all the pills
had been taken?
3) I went to bed at eight o'clock in the evening and wound up
my clock and set the alarm to sound at nine o'clock in the
morning. How many hours of sleep would I get before being
awoken by the alarm?
4) Divide 30 by half and add ten.What do you get?
5) A farmer had 17 sheep. All but 9 died.
How many live sheep were left?
6) If you had only one match and entered a COLD and DARK
room, where there was an oil heater, an oil lamp and a candle,
which would you light first?
7) A man builds a house with four sides of rectangular
construction, each side having a southern exposure. A big
bear comes along. What color is the bear?
8) Take 2 apples from 3 apples. What do you have?
9) How many animals of each species did Moses take with him
in the Ark?
10) If you drove a bus with 43 people on board from Chicago
and stopped at Pittsburgh to pick up 7 more people and drop off 5
passengers and at Cleveland to drop off 8 passengers and pick
up 4 more and eventually arrive at Philadelphia 20 hours
later, what's the name of the driver?
ご意見･ご感想