Somewhat to his surprise he found that one girl, whom he would never have considered for the job since she had appeared somewhat mousy and also had been in the office a relatively short time, did the most outstanding job of playing the role of receptionist, showing wit, sparkle, and aplomb. She was hired and was found to be entirely satisfactory when she played the role eight hours a day.

In considering roleplaying for analysis we enter a more complex area, since we are now no longer dealing with a simple over-all decision but rather with the examination and evaluation of many elements seen in dynamic functioning. Some cases in evidence of the use of roleplaying for analysis may help explain the procedure.

An engineer had been made the works manager of a firm, supplanting a retired employee who had been considered outstandingly successful. The engineer had more than seven years of experience in the firm, was well trained, was considered a hard worker, was respected by his fellow engineers for his technical competence and was regarded as a ``comer.'' However, he turned out to be a complete failure in his new position. He seemed to antagonize everyone. Turnover rates of personnel went up, production dropped, and morale was visibly reduced. Despite the fact that he was regarded as an outstanding engineer, he seemed to be a very poor administrator, although no one quite knew what was wrong with him. At the insistence of his own supervisor -- the president of the firm, he enrolled in a course designed to develop leaders.