Sample analytical reasoning problem
An office manager must assign offices to six staff members. The
available offices, numbered 1-6 consecutively, are arranged in a row,
and are separated only by six-foot high dividers. Therefore, voices,
sounds and cigarette smoke readily pass from each office to those on
either side.
- Ms Braun's work requires her to speak on the telephone frequently
throughout the day.
- Mr White and Mr Black often talk to one another in their work, and
prefer to have adjacent offices.
- Ms Green, the senior employee, is entitled to Office 5, which has the
largest window.
- Mr. Parker needs silence in the office(s) adjacent to his own.
- Mr. Allen, Mr. White and Mr. Parker all smoke.
- Ms Green is allergic to tobacco smoke and must have non-smokers in the
office(s) adjacent to her own.
- Unless otherwise specified, all employees maintain silence in their
offices.
Questions:
- 1. The best location for Mr White is in Office 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 ?
- 2. The best employee to occupy the office furthest from Mr Black would
be Mr Allen, Ms Braun, Ms Green, Mr Parker, Mr White ?
- 3. The 3 employees who smoke should be placed in Offices
- 1,2 & 3
- 1,2 & 4
- 1,2 & 6
- 2,3 & 4
- 2,3 & 6
- 4. Which of the following events, occurring one month after the
assignment of offices, would be most likely to lead to a request for a
change in office assignment by one or more employees?
- Ms Braun's deciding that she needs silence in the office(s)
adjacent to her own
- Mr Black's contracting laryngitis
- Mr Parker's giving up smoking
- Mr Allen's taking over the duties formerly assigned to Ms Braun
- Ms Green's installing a noisy teletype machine in her office.
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