Balloon Debates

Below are several examples of balloon debates, so called

because the typical example is that of a hot air balloon which is
losing height rapidly and will soon crash because it is overweight,
therefore you have to get rid of some of the passengers!
These are simple business games of the type that you might
get at an assessment centre. This type of exercise tests your
decision making, analytical reasoning skills and your ability to put forward a persuasive case -
all important management skills. In a real life selection centre you would be given about ! minutes to
study the problem which follows and to produce recommendations for action and the reasons behind
your decision. This would probably be a group exercise with other candidates with each candidate given
the role information for one manager, but could also be given as an individual exercise in which you had
to produce a report.
Other balloon debates:
"riginal balloon debate
#areer rankings
Lost!
$ou are the captain of a ship. % fire on board has destroyed the radio. &rom the rate the water is rising
inside the ship you estimate that it will sink in between two hours and two and a half hours. $ou did not
tell the authorities of your destination.
It will take about '( minutes to launch the only boat and it will take )( minutes for each person to be
lowered into the boat and they can only go one at a time. They can*t +ump as the water is shark infested.
The nearest land is an uninhabited tropical island ! km distant.
$our task is to decide which people will enter the boat. ,veryone has agreed to abide by your decision.
Items held by individuals must stay with the owner- they cannot be transferred to other people.
P!!"#$"%&'%"( L)!*
'aptain: age (.. /arried three times- five children aged
between ( and 0.. 1is youngest child has 2own*s
syndrome. 2rinks and smokes heavily. 3lays the accordion.
#arries a bottle of rum.
!hip+s engineer4 married- accompanied by his pregnant
wife. 1is heroism in fighting the fire has given his fellow-
passengers time to launch the lifeboat but he has sustained
severe burns. #arries a shaving mirror.
%adio operator4 ex-Israeli 5avy. Brought up on an
agricultural kibbut6. % fitness fanatic and champion
kickboxer. 1e escaped the fire which destroyed his radio as
he was on deck trying to impress the food scientist with a
display of his kickboxing skills at the time. #arries a length
of rope.
'ook4 a former 7pecial &orces officer reduced to working as
a cook after being court-martialled following an unfortunate
incident involving a torpedo and a presidential yacht.
#arries a knife.
nglican priest: a 3hilosophy graduate who taught ,nglish
as a foreign language in 7outh %merica for several years
before returning to her home town to look after her disabled
mother 8now aged 9(: with whom she still lives. Trained as
a counsellor and was ordained in );;!. #arries a first aid
kit.
Diving instructor: %fter 0! years as a stockbroker in
<ondon , he has +ust moved to Tahiti to set up his own
diving school. 2ivorced, with a son at boarding school in
=ales . >oes grouse-shooting in $orkshire every %ugust.
#arries a signed copy of the final 1arry 3otter novel.
)ndian ship+s carpenter: /arried with four children aged
between six months and seven years old. =as convicted of
violent affray following a demonstration in /umbai ten
years ago. =rites poetry and has had two poems published
in Indian literary maga6ines. 1as a magnifying glass.
,rench Botany student: <ived in the Bra6ilian rainforest
for eighteen months while carrying out 3h.2. research into
plants that can be used in anti-cancer drugs4 these are now
undergoing testing by a ma+or multinational pharmaceutical
company. ?oted for <e 3en in the last election. 1as a rifle.
%etired soldier- @ecently registered a civil partnership with
his long-term partner, a '(-year old political +ournalist.
Together, they have campaigned for improved healthcare
for soldiers wounded in IraA. #arries a compass.
,ood scientist- % vegetarian whose research centres on
developing plant-based, low-cholesterol alternatives to
meat. 7he has been involved in a number of demonstrations
against the use of animals in medical research. #arries a
box of /ars bars.
#urse- #ame to 7cotland eight years ago as a teenage
refugee from 7udan who spoke no ,nglish on arrival.
>ained B >#7,s and has recently Aualified as a nurse. %
devout /uslim who plans to complete the 1a+ next year.
#arries a box of matches.
!hip+s engineer+s wife4 %ged ( and about to begin
maternity leave from her work as a medical sales
representative. 2ue to give birth to their first child in '
months time. &or some reason known only to herself she
happens to be carrying a fishing line and hook.
Bank manager: <ives in a village in 7ussex 4 >uide leader,
parish councillor and president of the local allotment society
in spare time. 1as C(!,!!! in used C)! notes carried in a
small suitcase.
P%"!"#*)#$ .O/% 'O#'L/!)O#!
.ou might be asked to give a short presentation of your case in front of the selectors. This would
test your public speaking skills and ability to present an argument.
This type of exercise would usually be given in the form of a group e0ercise. 1ere, as part of a group
of about 9 candidates you would be given about ! minutes to come to a consensus on which option to
choose. 1ere your skills of verbal communication, team working, persuasiveness and time
management would be looked for. Deep an eye on the time as you would be marked down if you didn*t
finish.
%eaching a consensus in this type of e0ercise
'onsensus is hard to achieve but much better to argue
with logic than to use a ma+ority vote.
void win1lose stalemates: everyone needs to buy in to
the eventual solution if possible.
2iew differences of opinion as creative: the more ideas
the more potential for conflict, but also the richer the pool
of resources to choose from.
Be careful of reaching agreement too soon, before all
options have been carefully considered.
*ry to argue your case calmly and with logic4 appreciate
the views of others even if different from your own.
!OL/*)O#
*here is a simple calculation you can make to decide how many people could enter the
lifeboat- It will take '( minutes to launch the boat leaving a further .( to )!( minutes before the ship
sinks. ,ach person takes )( minutes to lower into the boat therefore between five and seven people
could be saved, so you will need to choose ( people who will certainly be saved and a further two who
might be saved.
%s in real life there is no single correct answer to this exercise and most others like it. %ny solution
could be persuasively argued for, and the final solution you choose is not important. $ou would be
assessed on how logically and eloAuently you made your case for whichever individuals you decided to
save. Lateral thinking could get you extra marks here4 creative uses for ob+ects such as these would
probably be marked up. &or example the banknotes carried by the bank manager might not have any
monetary value on the island, but could be useful for lighting fires or as toilet paper, and the suitcase
could be useful for storing and protecting food. $ou could make a fire using the matches or a magnifying
glass so you don*t need both. The magnifying glass would probably take precedence as it won*t get damp
and can be reused many times. The novel is not +ust for reading, it could be used to make fires. 7imilarly
the rum could be used for disinfecting wounds or to prime a fire and the empty bottle might be useful for
storing water.
% good starting point might be to decide on the criteria you will use to select and rank people. 7ome
of the possible criteria you could use follow. =hich one you chose would not be important, as long as
you used it consistently, but it might give some insight into your personality and values!
/ost useful individuals.
#ompassionate grounds4 women, children, sick and elderly
first.
/ost valuable contribution to society.
/ost useful items carried.
7urvival of the fittest!
The most harmonious team