You are an administrator in an EU agency's procurement unit. You are finalising a 90-page tender evaluation report for a €4 million IT services contract. The report must be signed off by the Authorising Officer by end of business Friday. On Thursday afternoon you discover that a junior colleague who completed one section has used an outdated evaluation grid — one revised following a legal audit six months ago — meaning scores in that section may not comply with the Financial Regulation. There are four pages affected. Your colleague is currently on approved leave and unreachable.
Which response is the MOST effective?
Why this is the most effective response
Response A exemplifies delivering quality and results: the candidate takes personal responsibility for the error, applies the correct standard directly, documents the correction transparently for the decision-maker, and keeps the manager informed. This ensures both the quality of the output and the integrity of the procurement process without sacrificing the deadline.
Why this is the least effective response
Response B consciously submits a non-compliant report to meet a deadline, gambling that the error will not be noticed. This directly violates the Financial Regulation and the delivering-quality competency's core indicator of taking personal responsibility for meeting required standards — it prioritises form over substance.
The other responses
Response C shows appropriate respect for ownership but is impractical: waiting for an on-leave colleague when a compliance deadline is imminent is a passive approach that risks missing the deadline and does not demonstrate personal responsibility for results. Response D appropriately escalates but suspends personal action entirely, whereas a competent administrator should be able to correct a clear technical error within their own purview while simultaneously informing their manager.
