The following appeared in the editorial section of a corporate newsletter:
“The common notion that workers are generally apathetic about management issues is false, or at least outdated: a recently published survey indicates that 79 percent of the nearly 1,200 workers who responded to survey questionnaires expressed a high level of interest in the topics of corporate restructuring and redesign of benefits programs.”
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.
The argument that the common notion that workers are generally apathetic about management issues is false is flawed for several reasons. First, although the author correctly mentions that a 2011 survey indicated that 79% of workers responded positively to the survey questions regarding corporate restructuring, she fails to mention that 20% of workers responded negatively. It is not clear whether the author intends to imply that 20% of workers, and not 79%, are apathetic about management issues, but such a conclusion would be ludicrous. The workers who responded negatively to the survey questions likely feel strongly that corporate restructuring and redesign of benefits programs are not important issues. Even if these workers are simply apathetic about some aspects of management, they are certainly not apathetic about all aspects
Secondly, the assertion that 79% of workers are interested and positively responding to management issues is suspect. The survey on which the author bases her argument asked respondents only about specific management issues that were specifically mentioned during the survey process. The survey did not ask whether respondents generally felt management issues are important. Therefore, even if all workers generally felt management issues were important, it is possible that only 79% responded positively to the survey questions. For instance, workers might have responded positively to the statement that management should improve communication. However, they may have felt that management should improve communication, but felt that issue X was more important. If management redesigned or restructured benefits, those workers might not have responded positively to the survey questions. Therefore, although the 79% figure is interesting, it does not necessarily indicate that the workers are generally apathetic about management issues, let alone that they respond positively to management issues
Thirdly, the author’s assertion that 79% of workers responded positively to questions regarding corporate restructuring and redesign of benefits programs is inaccurate. Although 79% of respondents indicated an interest in restructuring and redesigning employee benefits, only 39% indicated that they would strongly support such efforts. This means that only 23% of respondents indicated an interest in restructuring and redesigning employee benefits, and 10% indicated that they would strongly support such efforts. Thus, only 35% of workers responded positively to questions regarding restructuring and redesigning employee benefits. Although the survey data is compelling, it does not indicate the extent to which workers generally support management initiatives. It is entirely possible that 79% of workers indicate interest in restructuring and redesigning employee benefits, but that only 35% of workers support such initiatives
The author’s assertion that 79% of workers responded positively to questions regarding corporate restructuring and redesign of benefits programs is also suspect. The survey on which the author bases her argument asked respondents only about specific management issues that were specifically mentioned during the survey process. The survey did not ask whether respondents generally felt management issues are important. Therefore, even if all workers generally felt management issues were important, it is possible that only 79% responded positively to the survey questions. For instance, workers might have responded positively to the statement that management should improve communication. However, they may have felt that management should improve communication, but felt that issue X was more important. If management redesigned or restructured benefits, those workers might not have responded positively to the survey questions. Therefore, although the 79% figure is interesting, it does not necessarily indicate that the workers are generally apathetic about management issues, let alone that they respond positively to management issues
The author’s argument also fails to take into account the fact that respondents to the survey were self-selected. Therefore, it is possible that the survey participants were already predisposed to support management initiatives. The respondents may have been management personnel who were interested in promoting management initiatives. Moreover, the fact that 79% of respondents indicated an interest in restructuring and redesigning employee benefits does not account for the fact that only 23% of respondents indicated an interest in restructuring and redesigning employee benefits, and 10% indicated that they would strongly support such efforts. Therefore, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions from the survey results regarding whether workers generally support management initiatives.