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Appendix A-99
| Appendix A – Critical Thinking Applications
G. Employee, Client and Vendor Information
I. Conflicts of Interest
1. Gifts and Gratuities
2. Political Activity
3. Outside Employment
4. Family Members
5. Disclosure of Financial Interests
L. Ethical Management Practices
1. Accuracy of books and records and expense reports
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CHAPTER 13 CRITICAL THINKING APPLLICATIONS
Critical Thinking Application 13-A
Unionizing Fed Ex
See Greenhouse, S. (2006, May 30) Teamsters hope to lure FedEx drivers. New York Times on-
line.
The Teamsters maintain the FedEx argument that the drivers are independent contractors is “
nonsense.” Treating drivers as contractors saves FedEx hundreds of millions of dollars. FedEx does
not have to pay Social Security or workers' compensation taxes, and that the drivers pay for the
trucks and all maintenance.
Based on what you know now about FedEx and its competitors, would you sign a card to
certify a union at FedEx? If yes, explain what information weighed the heaviest in your
decision. If no, is there additional information you need to help you make your decision?
Compile a list of questions you believe to be vital for your decision. If no and you request no
further information, explain what information weighed the heaviest in that decision.
No, with request of additional information .
How many grievances does FedEx file each year?
Why don’t the FedEx employees who are unhappy with the system go to work for UPS or
Airborne?
When individuals sign on with FedEx, they are orientated to the People-Service-Profits
philosophy as a new employee. The company does not want anyone that does not embrace
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the concepts. The idea of putting people first works well for the employees. The “guaranteed
fair treatment” program is an example of the philosophy in action.
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Critical Thinking Application 13-B
Do You Support the Employee Free Choice Act
Assignment
Conduct research on the EFCA and determine its present legislative status and content. Review
the advocates’ arguments above and also conduct online research to identify and consider
arguments opposed to the law. Write a two-page typed position paper stating your support of
or opposition to the law. This paper should state precisely what the NLRA procedures are for
recognizing a union prior to passage of the EFCA and what the penalties are for employer
violations of the NLRA. If by the time you are reading this the EFCA is now the law, conduct
research on its effects to date.
As of May, 2009, the EFCA had not become law.
There are essentially two ways a union may become the collective bargaining representative of
employees:
• An employer may, but is not required to voluntarily recognize a union and commence
negotiations for a contract when a union demonstrates that a majority of the employees
support the union.
The normal NLRA procedures for recognizing a union prior to passage of the EFCA are as
follows:
Any union, employer or individual may file a petition to obtain an election conducted by the
NLRB. The NLRB has jurisdiction over most private employers. Generally, a petition wherein a
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Eligibility to vote is determined by an employee's job duties and placement of the job in defined
collective-bargaining units. In general a bargaining unit is a group of 2 or more employees of
the same employer who share a "community of interest" in working conditions. A bargaining
unit is most often defined through the use of job descriptions. For example, if an employer is a
manufacturing facility, a group of employees sharing common interests might be defined as a
unit of all production and maintenance employees. Depending on the circumstances, the same
employer may or may not employ other, separate units of employees, such as drivers or clerical
employees.
The NLRB normally excludes from voting eligibility all managers, supervisors and guards
(although guards may be included in their own bargaining unit). Professional employees are
excluded from units of non-professional employees unless professionals vote in a NLRB election
Election details, for example the description of the bargaining unit, the voting eligibility of
classes of employees, and the date and place of the election, usually are agreed to by the
petitioning union and the employer involved with the assistance of the Board agent. When the
individual seeking to vote in the election.
The final step in the processing of a petition through an election is for the NLRB to issue a
formal certification of the union as the duly designated collective bargaining representative or a
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certification of the results of the election in the event the union does not receive the support of
a majority of the unit employees. A Certification of Representative provides the union with the
authority to represent the employee group and to negotiate a contract on the employees'
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CHAPTER 14 – CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATIONS
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION 14-A
Can Health and Safety Behavior Be Predicted?
Selective hiring focuses on the fit between employees and their work environment. This is
achieved through the "selective exclusion" of high-risk employees. High-risk applicants are
defined as those who have histories of drug addiction, alcoholism, and those with low levels of
emotional stability and trustworthiness. Organizations committed to occupational safety will
incorporate the value of occupational safety into their employee-selection processes. The
purpose of such selection is to reduce costly counter-productive behaviors. Although research
examining the relationship between selection practices and occupational safety is sparse,
research shows that companies with more safety-focused selection procedures had lower rates
of counter-productive behaviors and more favorable health-related outcomes.
As with other areas related to stress, an individual’s reactions to work stressors tends to vary
depending on that individual's personal characteristics. For example, certain types of
personalities tend to do better or worse in stressful situations.
The purpose of this exercise is to introduce students to examples of questionnaire items that
are designed to predict important health and safety-related work outcomes. They will be asked
to complete a questionnaire and then indicate what they think the questions are designed to
measure or predict. They are then given feedback on their responses.
1. What does research conclude regarding Type A personality, proactive personality and
work outcomes?
1. People tell me I eat too fast.
2. I like to do something else while I'm watching TV.
3. I usually eat breakfast on the run or not at all.
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
The instrument was derived to measure psychological constructs shown to be related to health
and safety issues. The first 10 items represent the Type A personality dimension. People with
Type A personalities tend to suffer more stress in the workplace than others, especially Type B
individuals. For example, people with Type A personalities suffer more stress and experience a
greater number of health problems than do Type B people. Type A people tend to do just about
everything quickly (walk, talk, eat) and have little tolerance for people who go at a more
moderate pace.
The mean student score on these ten items is 26 (SD=5). Your score is 50. A student scoring at
40 or higher shows signs of Type A personality. Scores below 20 indicate Type B personality.
Keep in mind that this is a short sample of an instrument designed to measure Type A - Type B
personality and scores should thus be interpreted with caution.
26. I am constantly on the lookout for new ways to improve my life.
27. I feel driven to make a difference in my community, and maybe the world.
28. I tend to let others take the initiative to start new projects.
29. Wherever I have been, I have been a powerful force for constructive change.
What do items 26–36 measure?
Items 26-35 indicate a "Proactive" personality. Your score is 55. Scores of about 45 or higher
indicate higher levels of proactive personality. A "Proactive" personality exhibits a tendency to
initiate and maintain actions that can alter the surrounding environment. People with proactive
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
enhancement are using them for a nonmedical reason without a prescription. Many University
professors and students have admitted that they use Adderall, a stimulant, and approved to
treat attention deficit disorder, and Provigil, approved to treat narcolepsy, to improve their
mental performance. There is also some evidence that these drugs can make a person more
aggressive. Some evidence also supports the belief that these drugs are somewhat effective in
enhancing performance but may foster agitation and anxiety in users.
Surveys of college students show that somewhere between 4 and 16 percent indicate that they
have used performance enhancement drugs that they have gotten from other students.
2. Can you predict an individual’s tendency to be violent? What does research conclude?
11. I got into fights a lot as a kid.
12. People sometimes refer to me as a "roughneck."
What do items 11–18 measure?
Items 11-18 measure a proclivity toward violence. Your score is 40. A score of 33 or higher
indicates more of a tendency to behave in a violent manner in the workplace. Keep in mind that
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3. Why is it so important to screen certain employers for their potential driving behavior?
What is the best approach to this assessment?
21. I really like to speed when I'm driving.
22. I've gotten my share of speeding tickets.
What do items 21–25 measure?
Feedback:
Items 21-25 indicate possible driving problems. Your score is 25. A score of 20 or higher
indicates a high-risk driver, or one more likely to be involved in traffic accidents. A record of
accidents or driving citations does predict similar activity in the future. Companies that employ
4. Do you think these types of questions are useless for actual decision making because
answers can be faked?
What do items 19 and 20 measure?
Responses to item 19 indicates fabricated responses. If someone answers agree or strongly
agree to either or both items, this is an indication the person may be making responses to
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Rather, a "fabricated" response on one or both of these items should probably lead to the
recommendation that the test be taken again or that another comparable test should be
administered. Item #20 is another indication of “proactive” personality.
5. What would be your reaction if you were told you were not hired based on your responses
to this questionnaire?
Most students do not regard these types of questionnaires as valid because job applicants tend
Do you think your responses to this questionnaire predict anything about you?
Assessments of job candidates on safety-related tendencies and reactions to a stressful work
What evidence should an organization have before this instrument is used for personnel
selection?
An organization should have validity evidence supporting use of the instrument for particular
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CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION 14-B
The Measurement of Stress at Work
There are many causes of stress at work; some issues or situations are more stressful than
others. The purpose of this CTA is to give you some insights into the relative potency of work
situations for causing stress at work.
SECTION I - ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS
Score interpretation- This is an instrument designed to assess the extent to which stress may be
a problem in the workplace. Each of the items answered in the first sections were given a
In terms of classifying Section I stress scores in a general sense, scores of 37 (or higher) are
considered HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS situations. Based on a database of 567 organizations
(N=11,556), the average level of ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS on this instrument is 11.
It is possible to have a negative number on Environmental stress (where stress reducers exceed
producers). A negative score indicates a positive work environment. This is obviously a good
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SECTION II - PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESSORS AT WORK
Prolonged exposure to certain job demands has been linked to several measures of mental and
physical stress as well as productivity problems and absenteeism. Job demands have been
defined as psychological stressors, such as working too hard or too fast, having too much to do
(role overload), having conflicting demands from several sources (role conflict). An individual
may perceive role conflict when pressures from two or more sources are exerted such that
Another source of stress is role ambiguity, in which workers simply do not understand what is
expected on the job or where what is expected is contrary to what they think should be done.
An example of role ambiguity occurs when a boss is vague about an employee's responsibilities
or the time frame in which the employee has to complete specific tasks.
Students also completed a popular questionnaire designed to assess levels of role ambiguity
5. I feel certain about how much authority I have on the job.
6. Explanation is clear of what has to be done.
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9. I often have to buck a rule or policy in order to carry out an assignment.
10. I work with two or more groups who operate quite differently.
Based on the norms from this questionnaire, the highest stress situations are as follows: Scores
of 26 (or higher) on ROLE AMBIGUITY combined with scores below 23 on ROLE CONFLICT.
However, scores of 26 (or higher) on Ambiguity or scores of 23 or lower on Conflict also
constitute high stress work situations.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Some work situations are considered more stressful than others. How does research make
that determination?
Research concludes that workplace stress, for example, has reached alarming proportions due
to company restructuring, increased work demands, layoffs, downsizing, and the strain of the
continuing wars and the state of the economy. Jobs high in role conflict and ambiguity are
relatively more stressful. See also the discussion of “burnout” on page 500.
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
2. Are some individuals more prone to react well (or poorly) to stressful situations? What
types of personalities are more likely to handle stress well?
People with Type A personalities suffer more stress and experience a greater number of health
problems than do Type B people. Type A people tend to do just about everything quickly (walk,
3. What are the overall effects of a stressful work situation? What actions can a company
take to reduce the stress?
Refer to the list of stress “reducers.” The role of the manager in alleviating stress appears to be
critical. Recent research documents that stress levels are on the rise and that the primary
sources of stress are work family conflicts. Organizations that help employees cope with these
4. What actions could an organization take to reduce role conflict and role ambiguity? Why
would that be an important thing to do?
Prolonged exposure to certain job demands has been linked to several measures of mental
and physical stress as well as productivity problems and absenteeism. Job demands have been
5. What does research say about the effects of a highly demanding work situation in which
the worker has little or no control of the situation?
See Figure 14-11(p. 498). Little or no control is a predictor of stress reactions. Researchers
hypothesize that stress is a function of high job demands in combination with low control at
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
the most negative aspects of stress should be expected. There is also evidence that coping
responses to stressors and control differ as a function of culture. (p. 500)
