Valencia Community College - BUSINESS 1321 2-6c Critical thinking Author and teamwork critic Susan Cain claims that research “strongly suggests that people are more creative when they enjoy privacy and freedom from interruption

Valencia Community College - BUSINESS 1321

2-6c Critical thinking

1. Author and teamwork critic Susan Cain claims that research “strongly suggests that people are more creative when they enjoy privacy and freedom from interruption.” In her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, in articles, and public appearances, Cain cautions against the current emphasis on teamwork in the workplace. Cain cites studies by the psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Gregory Feist, according to whom “the most spectacularly creative people in many fields are often introverted. … They are not joiners by nature.”  How would you, as a critical thinker, respond to these statements?
2. Evaluate the following humorous analogy between the murder of a famous Roman emperor and the deadening effect of meetings: “This month is the 2,053rd anniversary of the death of Julius Caesar, who pronounced himself dictator for life before running the idea past the Roman Senate. On his way to a meeting, he was met by a group of senators who, wishing to express their unhappiness with his vocational aspirations, stabbed him to death. Moral of the story: Beware of meetings.”  Is the comparison fitting? What might the author of the article have wanted to convey? 

3 . Why do executives and managers spend more time listening than do workers?

4 . What arguments could you give for or against the idea that body language is a science with principles that can be interpreted accurately by specialists? 

5 . Ethical Issue: After much discussion and even conflict, your workplace team has finally agreed on Plan B, but you are firmly convinced that Plan A is a much better option. Your team is presenting Plan B to the whole department and company executives are present. A vice president asks you for your opinion. Should you

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