Situation-Based Questions

Prerequisites

• Communication Skills — feedback, listening and channel choice.
• Interpersonal Relations at Work — empathy, assertiveness and conflict styles are the “why” behind every answer here.

The Hook: Four Options, All Sound Reasonable

Why it matters for CGPSC: interpersonal situations are the applied face of “Interpersonal skills including communication skills” in Prelims Paper II. They reward a steady method more than any memorised fact, so they are some of the most “bankable” questions in the paper — provided you avoid the predictable traps. The same reasoning is what an Interview board looks for when it asks “What would you do if…”.

The Anatomy of a Situation Question

A typical item has:

1. Your role — “You are a block officer / section officer / tehsildar / team leader”.
2. The situation — an angry citizen, an absent employee, a pressure call, a conflict, a field lapse.
3. Four options — usually one ideal, and three flawed in typical ways.
4. The stem’s keyword — “most appropriate”, “first step”, “best”, “least appropriate”. Read it carefully: “first step” and “best overall” can have different answers.

The four classic wrong-option types

The ideal option usually: owns the problem, understands before acting, acts within law, solves the immediate need and the root cause, communicates clearly, and keeps the dignity of everyone involved.

The 5-Step Elimination Method

graph TD
    A[Read role and stem keyword] --> B[1. Strike unlawful / unethical options]
    B --> C[2. Strike extremes: do-nothing and harsh-first]
    C --> D[3. Strike buck-passing if the issue is within your role]
    D --> E[4. Of the rest, prefer: immediate relief + root cause]
    E --> F[5. Tie-break: more communicative, empathetic, documented]

Solved Scenarios

All scenarios are hypothetical practice items written for this site, not real CGPSC questions.

Scenario 1 — Angry crowd at the tehsil office (district)

Situation. You are the tehsildar. About fifty farmers gather outside your office, shouting that compensation for crop damage from unseasonal rain has not reached them, although the survey was done two months ago.

(a) Call the police to disperse the crowd, since a gathering disrupts office work (b) Refuse to meet them until they choose two representatives and submit a written application (c) Meet them, listen to their grievance, check the status of the files on the spot, explain the reason for delay and give a date by which payments will be credited (d) Tell them that compensation is decided at the district level and they should go to the Collectorate

Scenario 2 — The late employee (office)

Situation. A dependable clerk in your section has been arriving an hour late for two weeks, and work is piling up. Others have started complaining.

(a) Issue a written warning immediately, as rules on punctuality apply to all (b) Talk to him privately to understand the reason, then work out a solution and make clear that work must not suffer (c) Ignore it, since he has a good record (d) Mention his lateness in the staff meeting so that everyone takes punctuality seriously

Scenario 3 — The empty anganwadi kitchen (field visit)

Situation. On a surprise visit to an anganwadi (आंगनबाड़ी) centre in your project area, you find that the hot cooked meal has not been served for a week. The worker says supplies have not arrived from the self-help group responsible.

(a) Suspend the anganwadi worker for failing to serve meals (b) Record the lapse, call the supervisor and the self-help group, arrange supplies for the next day, and set up a check so that supply gaps are reported immediately (c) Accept the explanation, since the fault is not the worker’s (d) Report the matter to the district office and wait for instructions

Scenario 4 — The influential visitor (camp)

Situation. At a ration card camp, a local leader arrives with twenty supporters and insists they be served before the people already waiting in the queue since morning.

(a) Serve his supporters first to avoid a scene (b) Politely explain that service is by queue, request his cooperation, and if needed open an extra counter so that everyone is served faster (c) Ask him to leave the camp immediately (d) Close the camp for the day to avoid any controversy

Scenario 5 — Credit taken by a colleague (office)

Situation. In a review meeting, a colleague presents a report that you prepared as his own work. The Collector praises him.

(a) Interrupt the meeting and tell the Collector the report is yours (b) Say nothing now; later speak to the colleague privately and calmly, and in future share drafts through official channels with your name on the file (c) Stop cooperating with the colleague in future (d) Complain about him to other colleagues

Scenario 6 — The news report (media)

Situation. A local newspaper reports that a fair price shop (उचित मूल्य दुकान) in your block is giving short weight. A reporter calls for your response.

(a) Refuse to comment, since the matter is under examination (b) Deny the allegation, since no complaint has been received in your office (c) Thank the reporter, say an inspection will be made today, conduct it, and share the findings and action taken (d) Ask the reporter to reveal his source before you respond

Scenario 7 — Silent women in the Gram Sabha (field)

Situation. As a block officer attending a Gram Sabha on a water-supply plan, you notice that the women present do not speak, though they collect most of the household water.

(a) Proceed with the plan approved by those who spoke (b) Ask the women directly, before everyone, why they are silent (c) Hold a separate short discussion with the women through women facilitators or SHG members, and bring their suggestions into the plan (d) Tell the sarpanch to ensure women speak at the next meeting

Scenario 8 — A doubtful verbal instruction (hierarchy)

Situation. Your superior tells you on the phone to release payment to a contractor today, though the work-completion certificate has not been received.

(a) Release the payment, since it is your superior’s instruction (b) Refuse and stop taking his calls (c) Respectfully point out that the certificate is pending, ask whether he would like you to expedite it, and request written instructions if he still wants the payment released (d) Delay the matter quietly without informing him

Memory Tricks

Don’t Confuse

Common Mistakes

Practice

Level 1: Foundation

1. Name the four common types of flawed options in situation questions.
2. In the priority order, which comes first: efficiency or fairness to all?
3. Complete: “Relief now, ______ next.”

Level 2: Prelims MCQs

All items are hypothetical practice, not real CGPSC questions.

Q1. You are a Block Medical Officer. During a field visit, villagers complain that the Primary Health Centre doctor is rude to patients. The doctor is otherwise competent and regular. The most appropriate step is:

(a) Issue a show-cause notice to the doctor (b) Ignore the complaint, since competent doctors are hard to retain in rural postings (c) Speak to the doctor privately, share the feedback, understand any pressures he faces, and agree on specific changes; follow up with patients later (d) Transfer the doctor to another PHC

Q2. You are a section officer. A citizen visits for the fifth time about a pension file and loses his temper at your counter. Consider the following actions:

1. Calmly hearing him out and apologising for the inconvenience caused
2. Telling him that shouting will further delay his work
3. Tracing the file immediately and giving him a written status with the next date

Which of the actions given above is/are appropriate?

(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 3 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Q3. Match the response (List I) with its flaw or quality (List II):

(a) A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3 (b) A-1, B-4, C-2, D-3 (c) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3 (d) A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3

Q4. You lead a team conducting a household survey in Narayanpur district. On the second day, villagers refuse to answer, fearing the survey is meant to take their land. The best first step is:

(a) Report to the district that the village is non-cooperative and move on (b) Meet village elders and the sarpanch, explain the purpose of the survey in Halbi or Gondi through a local interpreter, and answer their questions (c) Return with police protection to complete the survey (d) Fill in the forms using estimates from neighbouring villages

Q5. Which of the following is the least appropriate response when a subordinate points out a mistake in an order you issued?

(a) Thank the subordinate and check the order (b) Correct the order and inform all concerned (c) Tell the subordinate that pointing out a senior’s mistakes is not his job (d) Encourage staff to report such errors early in future

Level 3: Speed Drill — Decide in 60 Seconds

For each, state the best response in one line. Aim for under 60 seconds each.

1. A colleague’s personal phone calls disturb the whole section daily.
2. During a flood-relief distribution, a rumour says relief will run out in an hour and people start pushing.
3. Your new team is quarrelling over who does what.
4. A senior asks you to “manage” a negative inspection report.
5. An elderly applicant cannot read the form at a help desk.
6. A subordinate breaks down in tears after a public scolding by another officer.

Quick Revision Table

Key Takeaways

What’s Next

• Decision Making and Problem Solving — administrative and ethical dilemmas in the same paper.
• Interpersonal Relations at Work — revisit conflict styles and assertiveness.
• Local Government in Chhattisgarh — the Gram Sabha and panchayat setting of many scenarios.
• Welfare Programmes — the schemes that field-visit scenarios revolve around.
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills — Quick Revision