PPC - General Competency Test Level 1 (GCT1) Practice Test

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Important Notice

This practice test includes examples of all question types found in the actual test. If you are a candidate with special needs or with a disability, you may require test accommodation for part or all of the test. Test accommodation is assessed on a case-by-case basis. More information is available in the Assessment Accommodation Services section of the Web site.

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  1. Print a copy of the practice test and answer the questions manually. When you have completed the test, to determine your score, please refer to the answer key provided on our Web site.
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Instructions

The GCT1 measures general cognitive ability, which is the ability to use reasoning and knowledge to solve new problems. General cognitive ability relates to success in administrative support jobs. Read the Instructions and Sample Questions before you take the practice test. Keep the instructions and sample questions page open in a separate tab and consult it as needed while you take the practice test.

The GCT1 has 50 multiple-choice questions. Each question is worth 1 point, and no points are deducted for wrong answers. The test itself takes 85 minutes. Including administration time, the entire testing session requires about 100 minutes.

Question 1

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE ___________________________________________________ TO: All Computer Operators FROM: Director, Communication Centre A number of employees have recently complained of eye problems which they believe are due to the quality of lighting in the work area. I have submitted a request to maintenance for individual work lamps to be installed near each computer terminal. The installation of the new lamps may take several weeks to complete. In the meantime, we will allow operators to take one extra break per day to rest their eyes. The extra break will be taken at 3 p.m. and will last for 10 minutes. This additional rest period will not interfere with the volume of work produced. Please contact me if you have any further questions or suggestions.

Based on the above memo, which of the following statements is true?

  1. The Director strongly disagrees with the operators that lighting in the working areas is poor
  2. The extra break is implemented to allow operators an opportunity to discuss the problem of bad lighting
  3. The Director responded to employees' criticisms that the lighting was inadequate
  4. The Director expects that the volume of work produced by the operators will drop slightly as a result of having an extra break

Question 2

As a supervisor, one of your tasks includes checking the accuracy of calculations on employee pay sheets. A temporary clerk submits a request for $1,200 for two weeks of work (5-day work week) at an hourly rate of $15. Over the two week period, the clerk has mistakenly included each 30 minute lunch period as working time. Which of the following is the corrected sum total?

  1. 1125
  2. 1162.5
  3. 1237.5
  4. 1275

Question 3

You work for the Department of External Affairs and are stationed overseas. You are responsible for receiving and decoding classified messages. The steps required to carry out this task are listed below (in the wrong order):

  • A. Decode the message into text.
  • B. Edit the text.
  • C. Receive a coded message.
  • D. Duplicate and distribute the text.

Which of the following is the best order for these steps?

  1. C, B, A, D
  2. C, A, B, D
  3. B, A, C, D
  4. A, C, B, D

Question 4

As a clerk in the registry office, you receive various types of documents each day, including microfilm, reports, and files. Among your other duties, you are responsible for sorting, labelling, filing and eventually rerouting these various documents. Given the wide range of documents received and their varied origins, it is essential to pay special attention to labelling. It is very hard to retrieve a document that has not been placed in the right file or that was sent to the wrong destination due to faulty labelling. In addition to wasting valuable time, these errors have other serious consequences.

According to the text, the person occupying this position must give special consideration to:

  1. labelling documents
  2. filing documents
  3. routing documents
  4. sorting documents

Question 5

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE __________________________________________________ TO: All employees FROM: Director Please note that employees who relocate will be reimbursed only for allowable expenses as outlined in the departmental relocation provisions. The department will not pay for expenses that fall outside of the provisions. Misinterpretation of regulations shall not be a basis for reimbursement of unallowable expenses. Please read the departmental relocation provisions carefully in order to avoid future problems.

The main purpose of this memo is to inform employees:

  1. of the consequences of intentionally misrepresenting their relocation expenses
  2. of the details of the departmental relocation provisions
  3. to read departmental relocation provisions in order to avoid incurring unallowable expenses
  4. that the Director is not pleased with employees who attempt to exploit the department when relocating

Question 6

You are in charge of financial services and must calculate overtime pay for employees in your division. Due to an excess workload, an employee had to do 35 hours of overtime in two weeks. Seven of these hours are at "double time" (i.e., double the usual wage), the rest are at "time- and-a-half". The employee's usual pay is $375 a week at $10 an hour. How much overtime money should the employee be paid for the two-week period?

  1. $340
  2. $420
  3. $560
  4. $760

Question 7

Your main duty at the Communications Centre is to assist in the transmission of messages between the Centre and various outside agencies. The steps required to process an incoming message are listed below (in the wrong order).

  • A. Put the message in the appropriate envelope.
  • B. Make a copy of the message for the Communications Centre.
  • C. Record the time the message is received.
  • D. Send the message to the intended receiver.

Which of the following is the best order for these steps?

  1. B, A, D, C
  2. B, C, A, D
  3. C, A, B, D
  4. C, B, A, D

Question 8

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE ____________________________________________________ TO: All Clerks FROM: Executive Clerk When dealing with classified forms CD1 through CD10, it is of extreme importance that standard guidelines for protected information be strictly followed. If regulations regarding the handling of these documents are not complied with, new forms will have to be created at great expense to the department.

The main point of this memo is:

  1. Employees may be reprimanded if they do not follow the standard guidelines for restricted material
  2. The creation of new forms is an unnecessary financial burden on the department responsible for standard guidelines
  3. It is critical that classified documents CD1 through CD10 are dealt with according to existing guidelines for protected information
  4. Forms CD1 through CD10 are highly confidential and should be given priority over all other restricted material

Question 9

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE ____________________________________________________ TO: All employees FROM: Director, Staffing Services To ensure that female public servants and the general public are provided with information on career devel- opment and opportunities for women at all levels in the Public Service, our organization disseminates in- formation and conducts education programs on subjects of interest. We also offer expert legal advice to pu- blic servants on equal opportunity in the workplace, and monitor staffing procedures to ensure that fair hiring policies are being carried out.

From the information given above, which of the following would NOT be one of the organization's functions?

  1. Showing a filmstrip on opportunities for women in the Public Service
  2. Verifying that a certain department is adopting fair hiring procedures
  3. Advising a female public servant on the action she may take in the event of unfair hiring practices
  4. Organizing large-scale demonstrations in order to protest unfair hiring practices

Question 10

Performance records indicate that working together six employees spend a total of 13.5 hours collecting financial data, 12 hours organizing it and 24 hours entering it into the computer. Assuming all workers have equal ability, how long would it take 18 workers to complete the same project?

  1. 4 hours
  2. 4.5 hours
  3. 8 hours
  4. 16.5 hours

Question 11

One of your duties is the selection and disposal of boxes of obsolete files. According to regulations, ordinary files become obsolete after 24 months, confidential files after 36 months, and classified files after 48 months. Which of the following boxes of files can be disposed of?

  • A. A box containing ordinary files dated 26 months ago and classified files dated 34 months ago.
  • B. A box containing ordinary files dated 38 months ago and confidential files dated 28 months ago.
  1. A only
  2. B only
  3. Both A and B
  4. Neither A nor B

Question 12

According to regulations in your department, no "guideline" document may be distributed unless it is accompanied by the Director's approval form. Moreover, the original document must have been approved by your department's quality control unit, and it must be accompanied by an approval form from the Quality Control Unit.

According to these regulations, in which of the following cases may a "guideline" be distributed?

  1. The Director gives you the text of a guideline with the Director's approval form
  2. You receive the text of a guideline approved by your department's quality control unit
  3. The text of a guideline is accompanied by the approval forms of the Director and the quality control unit
  4. The Director gives you the text of a guideline with the Director's approval and asks you to reread it before sending it for distribution

Question 13

Every day, the Manager of Office Services must assess the volume of work, determine priorities, and set standards for the quality and quantity of work to be done. The manager must also ensure the attendance and punctuality of employees, as well as organize and hold meetings with support staff. Finally, the manager must train and inform support staff on procedures and guidelines related to the unit's activities.

What is the main idea of the above paragraph?

  1. To ensure that the office runs smoothly, it is essential to create a good working atmosphere
  2. The manager must hold meetings with support staff
  3. Support staff must be thoroughly familiar with procedures and guidelines related to the unit's activities
  4. The manager occupying this position must organize, control and monitor the functions of the unit

Question 14

As Chief of Data Processing you are required to ensure that requests for data processing are completed on schedule. Each operator processes data for 7½ hours per day, and one operator can complete one request in 3¾ hours. How many operators would be needed to complete 50 requests in one day?

  1. 6
  2. 13
  3. 25
  4. 32

Question 15

You are given the following regulation:

An amount owed by the Crown under a contract may be transferred by the lender to a third party if this debt is indeed transferable; that is, if it does not exceed $1,000 and is not owed for repair services.

According to this regulation, a $1,200 debt owed by the Crown under a contract:

  1. is transferable to a third party if it is not owed for repair services
  2. is not transferable to a third party, whether it is owed for repairs or not
  3. is transferable to a third party, whether it is owed for repairs or not
  4. may be transferred to the lender by the repair agency

Question 16

As the finance clerk for your division, you must obtain the signature of your supervisor on all sick leave forms so that employees are paid for their sick days. Departmental policy states that employees who are absent from work for more than two days must complete Form A-2, and they need to obtain a medical certificate justifying their absence. You must receive these documents by the fifteenth of the month in order to reimburse employees for sick days by the end of the same month. On the fifteenth of the month, your supervisor informs you that many of the forms submitted by employees are incomplete, and that this situation must be rectified. At the same time, your supervisor returns an A - 2 form to you and refuses to sign it because the date on the medical certificate and the date on the A - 2 form are not the same. Your supervisor will not sign the form until the error is corrected, and you are asked to notify the employee.

Your supervisor wishes to emphasize that:

  1. Sick leave is a privilege, not a right
  2. Forms must be carefully completed
  3. The employee must be notified of the error
  4. Forms must be submitted before the 15th of the month

Question 17

You are responsible for the supervision of two clerks who identify inactive documents. Your first clerk takes 45 minutes to identify 20 inactive documents. Your second clerk identifies five fewer documents in the same time. Altogether, how many inactive documents will they identify in three working hours?

  1. 105
  2. 120
  3. 125
  4. 140

Question 18

You have been asked to determine trends in spending and to forecast future expenditures in light of past expenditures and price increases.

The steps required to carry out this task are listed below (in the wrong order):

  • A. Determine trends in spending.
  • B. Study past expenditures and price increases.
  • C. Predict future requirements.
  • D. Obtain records of past expenditures.

Which of the following is the best order for these steps?

  1. D, B, A, C
  2. D, B, C, A
  3. B, D, A, C
  4. B, D, C, A

Question 19

You are an employee in the inquiries unit and you receive the following memorandum.

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE __________________________________________________ TO: Information Clerk FROM: Director Numerous complaints have been received from the public concerning the current reorganization of the inquiries unit within the Department. These complaints have been primarily concerned with the slowness of service. Complaints have also been received about the inaccuracy of the information provided. All complaints pertain to information on trade policy. Please take the necessary steps to become more familiar with trade policy, and please ensure that the reorganization of the unit is completed in your sector as soon as possible.

According to this text, problems involving slowness of service and the inaccuracy of information are due to:

  1. the reorganization of the unit
  2. the reorganization of trade policy
  3. lack of knowledge about the reorganization and numerous complaints
  4. the reorganization of the unit and lack of knowledge about trade policy

Question 20

You are a data entry and control supervisor. To reach your production objectives, you hire two clerks on a temporary basis and assign them to data entry at $10 an hour, eight hours a day.

If each employee can produce 50 entries a day, what would be the total cost to produce 500 entries?

  1. $500
  2. $800
  3. $900
  4. $1,600

Question 21

You have been asked to arrange for the delivery of various government documents following the Guidelines and Exceptions listed below:

General Guidelines

  • All documents sent outside the National Capital Region must be delivered by a courier.
  • All documents sent within the National Capital Region can be either delivered by a courier, hand-delivered or sent by regular mail.

Exceptions

  • All documents marked "urgent" and sent to the National Capital Region must be hand-delivered.
  • All documents sent to Cabinet must be hand-delivered.

Which of the documents below must be hand-delivered?

  • A. a non-classified document sent to Cabinet
  • B. a document marked "urgent" sent to the Manitoba Legislature
  1. A only
  2. B only
  3. Both A and B
  4. Neither A nor B

Question 22

As a mail clerk, you must sort all incoming mail. Registered mail, mail addressed incorrectly (received by mistake), and bills must be given to the senior clerk. Documents marked PROTECTED or RESTRICTED must be brought to the registry office immediately. Also, all outgoing mail must be placed in the appropriate baskets for pick-up or delivery.

In view of the above statements, a mail clerk must:

  1. code registered mail before giving it to the senior clerk
  2. bring restricted documents to the registry office
  3. reroute incorrectly addressed mail (received by mistake)
  4. bring bills to the registry office

Question 23

As a financial clerk, you know that 40 % of the budget is for salaries, 30 % is for business transactions and one-third of the rest is for internal expenditures. The remaining amount is considered financial surplus.

What will be your financial surplus if you have a budget of $100,000?

  1. $10,000
  2. $20,000
  3. $30,000
  4. $40,000

Question 24

An employee is required to resolve operating problems and is responsible for monitoring the operational efficiency of equipment. The employee is also responsible for developing or recommending methods to optimize the use of equipment.

Which of the following duties would NOT be part of this job?

  1. Maintaining records of machine utilization and records of maintenance to ensure effective use of equipment
  2. Establishing and monitoring standards for equipment maintenance
  3. Recommending methods that would improve the operational environment
  4. Assisting in preparing security assessments and evaluation reports

Question 25

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE ____________________________________________________ TO: All employees FROM: The Manager A new telephone answering system will be implemented next month. Each person will have a voice message system which will automatically record messages when he or she is unable to answer the phone. To accommodate all incoming calls, the standard answering message must be bilingual. A short instruction booklet on how to use the voice message system will be circulated next week.

The main purpose of this memo is to:

  1. inform employees how to use the new telephone answering system
  2. announce that a new message system will take effect next month
  3. explain when to use the voice message system
  4. emphasize that all answering messages be bilingual

Question 26

Using shorthand, a stenographer can take down a 150-word letter in one minute, making only one error. Typing takes the person twice as long as writing shorthand and results in twice as many errors. How long would it take the person to type a letter consisting of 300 words, and how many errors would be made?

  1. 2 minutes, 2 errors
  2. 4 minutes, 2 errors
  3. 4 minutes, 4 errors
  4. 6 minutes, 4 errors

Question 27

You are responsible for applying parole regulations. According to the regulations, only an inmate who is sentenced to 15 years or less in prison and has not had more than three warnings of misconduct during detention may be paroled. You have two files to review. Inmate A was sentenced to 16 years in prison and had one warning of misconduct, while inmate B was sentenced to 15 years in prison and had three warnings of misconduct.

Who may be paroled?

  1. inmate A
  2. inmate B
  3. inmate A and inmate B
  4. neither inmate A nor inmate B

Question 28

You find the following article in an administrative manual on applying employment legislation:

The Personnel Services Directorate is responsible for informing and assisting the manager in interpreting and applying legislation to see that all benefits, terms and conditions of employment are administered by the prescribed deadlines, according to the legislative processes established in code 131-HB.

This text says that:

  1. Deadlines and legislative processes must be established according to code 131-HB
  2. All benefits, terms and conditions of employment are applied by the Personnel Services Directorate
  3. The Personnel Services Directorate is responsible for helping to apply employment legislation
  4. The manager will establish code 131-HB, with terms and conditions of employment being met

Question 29

A director is hiring a new assistant, and your job is to schedule interviews for the job candidates. Each interview takes 30 minutes to conduct, and a 15-minute period for the completion of all necessary evaluation forms is needed after each interview to evaluate the candidate. There are ten candidates applying for the position, and there are two interviewers who will each interview half of the candidates.

At what time will the interviewers finish if they begin at 9:00 a.m., assuming no lunch break or coffee break is taken?

  1. 12:30 p.m.
  2. 12:45 p.m.
  3. 1:30 p.m.
  4. 2:15 p.m.

Question 30

As an accounting clerk, you are required to correct errors made in payroll documents. The steps required to carry out this task are listed below (in the wrong order):

  • A. Report alterations to senior clerk.
  • B. Locate incorrect figures in documents.
  • C. Correct the detected errors.
  • D. Obtain documents in question.

Which of the following is the best order for these steps?

  1. B, C, D, A
  2. D, A, B, C
  3. D, B, A, C
  4. D, B, C, A

Question 31

Your unit's classification clerk must be consulted in order to send a file containing classified and indexed information to another division. The clerk will check the information or correspondence. If there are any errors, the clerk will point them out to the supervisor, which will delay sending the file. After checking again, it is up to the clerk and not the supervisor to code and number files.

This description provides information on the processes involved in:

  1. organizing files
  2. coding files
  3. sending files
  4. indexing files

Question 32

Your department makes several long-distance phone calls each month. Assume that you have the following arrangement with the phone company:

Individual phone calls costing less than $12 are to be paid in full.

For more expensive phone calls, you are billed only for the amount that exceeds $25, or you are billed at a flat rate of $12, whichever is the larger of the two amounts.

The following phone calls were made this month:

  1. phone call number one $10
  2. phone call number two $55
  3. phone call number three $75
  4. phone call number four $40

Based on the above information, how much will you be charged for the month?

  1. $97
  2. $105
  3. $107
  4. $180

Question 33

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE ____________________________________________________ The annual report will be divided into three chapters entitled Finance, Responsibilities, and Evaluation, numbered from 1 to 3 in that order. These three chapters will each be divided into six subchapters, each covering two months of the year and numbered from 1 to 6. These subchapters will each be divided into three sections entitled Management, Officers, and Administrative Support and numbered from 1 to 3 in that order.

According to this memorandum, chapter 3, subchapter 4, section 1 would pertain to:

  1. Evaluation, July-August, Management
  2. Finance, July-August, Administrative Support
  3. Evaluation, July-August, Officers
  4. Finance, June-July, Officers

Question 34

Your job involves checking reports to determine if written errors have been made. The reports that you check are equal in length and difficulty, and come from three different writers. After checking all reports, you note that all reports written by Writer A contain errors, some reports written by Writer B contain errors and the reports written by Writer C do not contain any errors

What conclusion can be justified based on these findings?

  1. Writer "A" lacks experience
  2. Writer "C" has the lowest error rate
  3. The writers do not have the same number of years of experience
  4. Writer "C" takes the most time to write reports

Question 35

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE ____________________________________________________ TO: Telegram Clerk FROM: Director, Communications Centre I remind you that all "not protected" telegrams received from overseas must first be classified by country of origin and then by date of receipt, with the most recent telegrams appearing first in the general index. However, overseas telegrams classified "protected" must be kept in a separate file and classified first according to sender's department and then by date of receipt. Of course, all "protected" telegrams must be handled with the greatest discretion.

According to this memorandum, which of the following is true?

  1. Telegrams must first be classified by country of origin and then separated depending onwhether or not they are "protected"
  2. "Protected" telegrams are seldom received from different countries
  3. "Protected" telegrams are filed according to a different system than "not protected" telegrams
  4. "Protected" and "not protected" telegrams must be classified by date of receipt and by the department of the sender

Question 36

You are a personnel assistant responsible for assigning employees to small-group language training sessions. Several employees took part in a small-group language training course to increase their proficiency in using the correct work-related terms in the work environment.

A survey taken after training revealed that employees who underwent small-group language training sessions were more effective in their interactions with the public. It can be concluded from this survey that:

  1. you are doing your job well
  2. employees who deal with the public must undergo language training sessions
  3. small-group language training sessions are the most effective means of increasing language proficiency
  4. employees who have undergone small-group language training sessions are better able to deal with the public

Question 37

You found the following paragraph on account auditing in an administrative manual:

Interest will automatically be paid to the contractor on accounts not paid within 30 calendar days after the due date. As established in the "Terms of payment", the due date is 60 days after the contract completion date.

According to this paragraph, interest will be due:

  1. 30 days after the contract completion date
  2. 60 days after the contract completion date
  3. 90 days after the contract completion date
  4. 120 days after the contract completion date

Question 38

A court reporter operates an electronic typewriter at 60 words per minute and a word processor at 70 words per minute. When using a typewriter, the reporter makes errors in 2 % of the words, and when using a word processor, the reporter makes errors in 1 %. What is the difference in number of errors made per hour on the two machines?

  1. 12
  2. 30
  3. 42
  4. 72

Question 39

Twenty percent of your work now involves clerical duties, whereas these duties took 30 % of your time two years ago. However, the 20 % of your time spent on writing the quarterly report two years ago has now increased to 25 %. You also note that 25 % of your time is spent classifying files, as it was two years ago.

What conclusion(s) can be justified based on these findings?

  1. The time you spend classifying files has remained the same
  2. The time you spend on clerical duties has decreased
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Question 40

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE ____________________________________________________ TO: All employees FROM: Computer Services As you know, we are in the process of buying 15 personal computers and will be installing them as soon as a distribution plan has been established. Each computer will be accompanied by new software (computer programs) which everyone will be required to use. Training programs for the new software will be offered during the next two weeks by the human resources unit.

The main purpose of this memo is to:

  1. announce that 15 new computers may be purchased
  2. inform employees of the distribution plan
  3. schedule employees for training sessions
  4. inform employees that they will need to learn the new software

Question 41

You are in charge of 12 computer operators. If each of your operators can make 100 file entries an hour, how many hours will it take the 12 operators to make 36 000 file entries?

  1. 3 hours
  2. 30 hours
  3. 36 hours
  4. 360 hours

Question 42

Pay increases for full-time and part-time employees are subject to different regulations. Full-time employees receive maximum pay increases of 3 % every twelve months after two years of employment and 2.5 % every six months after five years. Part-time employees receive a pay increase of 2.5 % every twelve months after three years of employment and 2 % every six months after five and one half years.

Which of the following cases are allowable under these regulations?

  • A. In 5 3/4 years of full-time employment, employee "A" has received four increases of 3 % and two increases of 2.5 %.
  • B. In 4 1/4 years of part-time employment, employee "B" has received two increases of 2.5 %, and one increase of 2.0 %.
  1. A only
  2. B only
  3. Both A and B
  4. Neither A nor B

Question 43

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE ____________________________________________________ TO: All Personnel FROM: The Director Last year, a notice was sent to all personnel detailing a modification to the "Contracting Guidelines". In the notice, it was recommended that contracts be awarded to the lowest bidder. Although this policy worked well at the time, it is now recommended that contracts be awarded to the bidder that guarantees project completion by the proposed deadline. The new pages of the "Contracting Guidelines" are attached to the memo. Be sure to replace the old pages with the new ones.

The main purpose of this memo is to:

  1. inform employees of the error in last year's notice on "Contracting Guidelines"
  2. announce that the old recommendation was inappropriate
  3. provide replacement sheets for the "Contracting Guidelines"
  4. inform employees about the new recommendation concerning the awarding of contracts

Question 44

As a typist for the Chief of Administration, you are required to type 15 documents. Each document is 12 pages long with 25 lines per page and 10 words per line. Assuming that you type 40 words per minute, how many minutes will it take you to type all 15 documents?

  1. 75
  2. 450
  3. 1,000
  4. 1,125

Question 45

Replenishing the supply of the forms required in your department is one of the duties of your position. You have only a few copies of Form C-3 left and must order some. Your supervisor reminds you that Part B of this form is to be eliminated. According to the established procedure for ordering a new or revised form, a new, revised or reprinted form request must be completed if the form is available from Forms Management. Also, when a revised form is available from the Forms Management Section, the estimated cost block must be completed. If the form is not available from the Forms Management Section, it may be ordered by following the instructions in the forms catalogue. Knowing that the form must be ordered from somewhere other than from the Forms Management Section, you must:

  1. order by using a new, revised or reprinted form request
  2. complete a revised form request, giving the estimated cost
  3. order by following the instructions in the forms catalogue
  4. complete a new, revised or reprinted form request, giving the estimated cost

Question 46

You have a staff of two clerks. Each clerk is able to file 10 messages in 15 minutes. Two hundred messages must be filed on a given day. If both clerks work at filing the messages, how many minutes will each take to do the task?

  1. 150 minutes
  2. 200 minutes
  3. 250 minutes
  4. 300 minutes

Question 47

When you began working as a librarian five years ago, 30 % of your time was spent organizing and monitoring a book loan and return system. Today, you find that due to better support, this task requires only 25 % of your time. Planning acquisitions still takes 20 % of your time. Attending meetings of the Training and Employment Division about changes in the departmental routine took 5 % of your time five years ago and takes 10 % today. This increase in the time spent at meetings is possible due to a decrease in the time you now spend updating the reader file, from 20 % five years ago to 15 % today.

Which statement(s) below best summarize(s) the key points presented above?

  1. A smaller number of readers is responsible for the decrease in the time spent monitoring the book loan and return system
  2. Better support has allowed you to continue spending the same amount of time planning acquisitions over the past five years
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Question 48

Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada MEMORANDUM NOTE DE SERVICE ____________________________________________________ TO: Office Clerk FROM: Executive Administrative Assistant In one month, the Commissioner will be attending a conference on financing in Washington. Flight and hotel reservations are to be arranged as soon as possible. Relevant materials and files, a list of which will be sent to you shortly, must be gathered and brought forward so that the Commissioner can review them prior to the conference.

The purpose of this memo is to convey the message that:

  1. in one month the Commissioner will be away at a conference
  2. in one month there will be a conference on financing in Washington, DC
  3. various preparations must be made before the Commissioner can attend the conference
  4. a conference is being held; therefore relevant materials and files should be reviewed

Question 49

According to library regulations on tapes, a tape must be disposed of if it has been signed out more than 15 times and re-recorded more than 25 times. If it has been signed out more than 50 times, it must be disposed of regardless of the number of times it has been re-recorded.

Which of the following tapes will remain part of the library's collection?

  • A. A tape which has been signed out 25 times and re-recorded 16 times.
  • B. A tape which has been signed out 10 times and re-recorded 30 times.
  1. A only
  2. B only
  3. Both A and B
  4. Neither A nor B

Question 50

To ensure the effective use of computer equipment, an up-to-date log must be kept to record information on use and maintenance of this type of equipment. According to a current directive, all computer equipment must prove cost-effective over a two (2) year period of operation or else a report must be written with supporting use and maintenance statistics and sent to the unit responsible for the equipment. The two year period of operation began last year. As supervisor of your unit, you realize that the operation of one of your computers was not cost-effective in the past year.

According to the above directive, what should be done?

  1. In two years, a report should be sent to the unit responsible for the equipment
  2. The operating cost of the computer equipment should be calculated
  3. A report with supporting statistics should be written and sent immediately to the unit responsible for the equipment
  4. Continue to record information on use and maintenance of the computer equipment

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