DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS: PROBLEM-SOLVING ON THE

JOB
Directions
Enter your response after each situation.
1. Reorganizing the files. You are convinced that the office assistant who previously
worked in your office made up his own filing rules. You have been working for three
weeks and have extreme difficulty finding anything the previous office assistant filed.
Your manager has told you to reorganize the files and to set up your own system. You
are eager to set up a better filing system, but this is the peak season for your
department. It will be at least two more months before you have time to reorganize
the files. Either individually or with a team member, follow the problem solving steps
to determine most appropriate solutions in the meantime.
A: I will first need to know what kind of documents I am dealing with in order for me
to organize them. I find that the alphabetic filing system works the best. My
second option would be the numeric filing system. Throughout my day, I will try
to organize a certain amount of files, so by the end of the week, I will have an
improvement.
2. Misplaced files. You have set up an electronic filing system for your office, complete
with directories and folders. At numerous staff meetings you have asked the managers
to file their completed proposals into the correct folders you have set up. However,
whenever you have to search for a proposal, you rarely find it in the correct folder or
even in the correct directory. How do you feel about this situation? What do you think
Maribel Gonzalez
03/03/2016

C8-OJS

is the real problem? What solutions do you have for solving this problem? Identify
the advantages and disadvantages of each solution? At your next staff meeting, what,
if anything, will you suggest to the managers?
A: I believe the real problem is either lack of communication or a misunderstanding. I
am probably assuming that the managers know how I set up my electronic filing
system and that they should know where to save it. I will speak to my managers
and show them how the filing system works.
3. Additional filing responsibilities. The four managers for whom you work have been
doing their own paper filing. However, today you were told you are to maintain the
files for all four managers. Their paper files will be moved to your area. You are to
maintain separate files for each manager. What can you do to make it easier to get the
materials to the appropriate manager and to re-file the materials?
A: I will have to separate the files into four different places. I will use my filing
cabinet and use one drawer per manager. This way I will have each of the
mangers files in one drawer for itself.
4. Centralized filing dilemma. Your company centralizes the paper files for economy
and efficiency. Your manager, however, tends to resist releasing materials to the
central location, preferring to build up his and your in-office files. The records
supervisor has called you several times to remind you to return materials to the
central filing area. With your team member, apply the steps in problem solving to help
resolve this conflict.
A: My team member and I have decided to speak with our manger regarding the

Maribel Gonzalez
03/03/2016

C8-OJS

central location. We hope that our meeting with our manager will persuade him or
her to go and release the material to the central location.
5. Question of ethics. You have been asked by your supervisor to destroy files related to
an employee in your work group. You are aware the employee has taken legal action
against your company for sexual harassment. Describe how you will respond to this
situation.
A: This is a tough call. I feel like I will be brave and take those documents to HR and
inform them what my manger has asked me to do, but I will be scared that HR
will destroy the files themselves to avoid any bad press. Which I believe will
result in my termination.

Maribel Gonzalez
03/03/2016

C8-OJS