AC IN Basket Exercise - Mayor Paul Jenson

In Basket Exercise - Contains mutiple exercises requiring decisions, report writing, case analysis and decision making. Measures the following competencies;
 
1. Communication
2. Problem Solving
3. Planning & Decision Making
4. Analysis
5. Fact Finding & Information Gathering
 
Suggested Time - 120 Minutes
 
Degree of Complexity - Medium
 
Applicability - Middle Management
 
In-Basket / In Tray - In-Tray or In-Basket exercise is one of the most common exercises used in assessment centers. In normal workplace for an executive, there are two trays on his table, the in-tray and the out-tray. In the digital world today, however executives have the Inbox & Outbox in a Microsoft Outlook or a mailbox. 
 
As assessee is supposed to deal with each item in their in-tray including passing necessary instructions, and then place in the out-tray [sent folder]. In the In-tray exercise, the assessee is provided a scenario where he/she is a new role holder of a fictitious company. 
 
An assessee has to go through 20-30 items in the in-tray and deal with them within the given timeframe, normally 60 - 90 - 180 minutes in an Assessment Centers, as the assessee may be required to go for urgent outstation meeting or scheduled to take some trip. An assessee would therefore not be available to respond or provide further instruction or guidance to others in the workplace. 
 
An assessee is also provided with the organization chart of his department, a calendar and brief outline of the organization. The Assessors judge the assessee on the basis of his ability to prioritize the items, make correct decisions, give clear and concise instructions, ensure follow-up, planning & scheduling as per calendar, and identify critical issues, involvement of other stakeholders, delegation of responsibilities, and so on. 
 
In- Tray exercise is generally used for evaluating competencies like (examples) planning & organizing, written communication, problem - solving, execution skill, result orientation, decision making, risk taking, delegation of responsibilities, etc.