Saint Leo University
Dr. Ed
Nature of the managerial position
The management job in offer is a Bank Management Trainee position. Management trainee positions are some of the best entry level job positions because they expose an employee to operations in nearly if not all the departments of a company. In banking, a management trainee undergoes training in departments such as client services, operations, sales, finance, Information Technology (IT) and data solutions (Brannick, Levine & Morgeson, 2007). They are also trained on the line and staff functions, company structure, policies and practices. Overall, by the time bank management trainees completes their contract they are expected to acquire working knowledge of procedures, methods, systems and standards that are vital in all the departments of the bank.
Selection of the Bank Management Trainee
In this case the management trainee to be selected will be required to serve and become adept with three crucial systems. These are the bank Finnacle system, the PAR (Portfolio at Risk) system and the DIR (Debt-Income Ratio). All three systems are sensitive to the operation and survival of the bank and the management trainee must show qualities of competence in understanding the usage and sensitivity of the systems (Gupta, 2012). A job analysis form for a serving management trainee shows that they had ample time to study and comprehend usage of the three systems. Though the systems are relatively hard to learn, the allocation of ample time allowed the trainee to learn and become adept with the systems.
The most appropriate selection procedure to obtain a person for a Bank Management Trainee position is cognitive ability Tests. These tests are comprehensive because they test on problem solving abilities, logic, reasoning, ability to learn quickly, and reading comprehension amongst other mental abilities all in one package (Schrank, 2010). In particular, cognitive ability tests assess a person’s potential or aptitude to solve job-related problems by evaluating their mental abilities such as mathematical reasoning, verbal skills and perpetual abilities such as speed in recognizing letters of the alphabet (Franklin & American Society for Training and Development, 2005).
As stated earlier, the management trainee required will have to learn and become adept with vital banking systems. It is therefore it is important that the selection process obtains a person who is intelligent, sharp in comprehension and reasoning and one who has outstanding mental abilities. The time allocated for the management trainee to learn each of the three banking systems (finacle system, PAR and DIR) is enough for the learner to acquire competency. This will be so if the candidate selected passes the cognitive ability tests since the three systems have been described as hard to learn.
Candidates shall begin with the Numerical Aptitude. They shall respond to questions on mixed numerical aptitude, numerical logic, arithmetic test, data interpretation, numerical reasoning and numerical estimation. Candidates shall respond to varying number of questions (10 to 20 questions) in each category within a restrictive time period. For instance the Numerical Logic test comprises of 10 questions that should be answered within 12 minutes (aptitude-test.com). Each test in this category is crucial in establishing a candidate’s ability to deal with numbers. The Numerical Logic Test for instance entails candidates finding a missing number in a sequence that has a certain pattern. Data interpretation is a crucial aspect of this test as it involves candidates reading and interpreting graphs. These tests are a core component of what will constitute a bank management trainee’s work. This particular procedure is reliable because the candidates respond to questions that have been standardized by experts. It is valid because the questions in the site get reviewed frequently in order to represent evolving scenarios and emerging challenges (Schrank, 2010). The utility of this numerical aptitude is also assured by the fact that it is procured from a premium site that has also fulfilled legal requirements. After all candidates have completed the Numerical Aptitude, they shall have their scores recorded before proceeding to the next set of questions. Supervisors shall take note of the time taken by each candidate to complete all the questions and relate it to their individual scores.
The next type of aptitude test is the Verbal Aptitude. In this case, candidates shall respond to a Mixed Verbal Aptitude, Verbal Comprehension, Verbal Reasoning, Vocabulary, Word Relations, Verbal logic, Synonyms & Antonyms and Homonyms. As in the Numerical Aptitude outlined above, each set of questions in the verbal Aptitude comprises of 10-20 questions to be responded to in 10-20 minutes. The unique features of these tests include finding missing letters (Verbal Logic Test), replacing a word with another that means the same or opposite (Synonyms & Antonyms), word sequence among other interesting features. The primary goal of verbal Aptitude is to establish each candidate’s ability to make sense out of complex written information. It also tests in the ability of a candidate to construct grammatical sentences devoid of any errors. As such, Verbal Aptitude remotely tests whether the selected management trainee will be able to write grammatically correct reports. The verbal Aptitude presents varied questions on English grammar and sentence structure and is thus a very reliable test. The test is also valid because questions are standardized and varied to test several aspects of Verbal competency. It is also suitable for testing wholesome understanding and applicability of written and by extension spoken English (Schrank, 2010). As with the Numerical Reasoning above, once candidates complete it, their scores shall be recorded before they proceed to the next set of questions. Supervisors shall take note of the time taken by each candidate to complete all the questions and relate it to their individual scores.
The third procedure of testing the cognitive abilities of the candidates will be the Non-Verbal Aptitude. This category includes Mixed Nin-verbal Aptitude, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Visualization. An interesting bit if this procedure involves testing a person’s ability to spot pattern and identify errors and inconsistencies. In a typical question, a candidate may be presented with an “evolving” pattern and asked to choose from some give patterns the one that is supposed to be next in sequence. As with the Verbal and Numerical Aptitudes above, this category also comprises of short questions (usually 10-20) that must be answered in a time limit of 10-15 minutes. The Non-Verbal Aptitude is crucial in showing which candidates are able to make sense out of confusing scenarios. It helps employers to identify each candidate’s finesse in noting small changes and discrepancies. Would a person be able to notice some missing file, a misplaced document, among other work-related issues that may have a deep-running effect? In case the management trainee’s office was broken into would s/he note missing vital documents, system files that have been altered among other things? Can s/he decipher subtle non-verbal messages? (Schrank, 2010) Bearing in mind the sensitivity of the systems that our selected management trainee is supposed to handle, it is imperative that candidates exhibit high scores in the Non-Verbal Aptitude. For closely the same reasons given in the cases about Numerical and Verbal Aptitudes, the Non-Verbal Aptitude is standardized and therefore reliable and befits all criteria to make it worth usage in testing candidates for the position of a management trainee (Gupta, 2012).
The fourth procedure for testing the cognitive abilities of our potential management trainee is the Miscellaneous Aptitudes. The tests involved in this case are a Mechanical Aptitude, Abstract Reasoning and the Einstein’s Riddle. Since we are selecting a Bank Management Trainee, candidates shall not be required to undertake a Mechanical Aptitude (this test is recommended for technical positions such as engineers). Candidates shall undertake an Abstract Reasoning Test and the Einstein’s Riddle. In Abstract Reasoning, candidates shall be tested on their ability to identify patterns hidden in abstract shapes where distracting and irrelevant materials may lead to incorrect conclusions. It basically tests each candidate’s ability to critically evaluate, change track and generate hypotheses. In banking management trainees are required to undergo training in different departments and make sense out of their experiences in each department. Candidates who exhibit high scores in Abstract Reasoning have shown tremendous ability to avoid confusion and incorrect conclusions when they serve as management trainees. Einstein’s Riddle is an interesting riddle that was set by Albert Einstein- the genius mathematician in the 19th century. The riddle goes:
- In a street, there are five houses, each painted a different color
- In each house lives a person of different nationality
- The five homeowners each smoke a different brand of cigar, drink different kind of beverage and keep a different kind of pet
Who own the fish?
This riddle is solved through pure logic and there are no tricks involved. This riddle is very tough to solve and only 2% of people who have ever tried it have come up with the right answer. It is supposed to be is an informal test, required to raise debate among the candidates and reduce tensions as they reach the conclusion of the cognitive ability test.
References
Brannick, M. T., Levine, E. L., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Job and work analysis: Methods, research, and applications for human resource management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Franklin, M., & American Society for Training and Development. (2005). A guide to job analysis: Measurement & evaluation. Alexandria, Va: ASTD.
Gupta, R. (2012). Bank PO & management trainee common written examination. New Delhi: Ramesh Publishing House.
http://www.aptitude-test.com/
Schrank, F. A. (2010). Essentials of WJ III cognitive abilities assessment. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
