College Success = Career Success: Applying Critical Thinking on the Job

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College Success = Career Success:

Applying Critical Thinking on the Job

In the workplace, you’ll need to think critically and innovatively about procedures, customers, solutions, and new products. Consider the following four scenarios, which require critical thinking. Explain in writing how you’d respond to each scenario.

1. You’re hiring a new employee. You’ve reviewed résumés for two applicants and conducted interviews with them. Both seem friendly and competent. Applicant A has a college degree but very little work experience related to the open position. Applicant B has no degree but a lot of relevant work experience. A college degree is not required for the job. Whom would you select? Why?

2. You’re marketing a new breakfast cereal. Do you package and market your product to appeal to children or to parents? Explain your answer and how you would put your marketing strategy into action.

3. You’re a customer service agent for a major utility. A customer calls and asks if you can extend the due date of his bill, for which his payment is overdue. (You have the authority to do this.) How would you respond to him, and why? Would any additional information or something about this customer’s attitude cause you to be more or less likely to extend the due date? If so, explain your answer. Is it okay to treat one customer differently from another? Why or why not?

4. You own a manufacturing company, and you’re considering moving your operations to a country where wages are lower so that you can cut your costs. Describe the factors you’d need to consider before deciding whether to outsource operations to that country. Who would be affected if you did outsource, and how? Who would be affected if you kept the operations in your home country, and how?