Jack Silver,head of Software Development and Maintenance for a Large

question 19

Multiple Choice

Jack Silver,head of software development and maintenance for a large financial institution,has had a very bad week.He sighs as he looks at his calendar.Tomorrow is Wednesday.He had a great weekend,golfing with his buddies.That ended at 11 a.m.on Monday morning when he found his star employee,Tracy,waiting outside his office when he arrived at work.Jack smiled and ushered her into his office."How's everything? Great weather this weekend,wasn't it?" Tracy sputtered incoherently as he gestured for her to sit in a side chair.Jack looked concerned,"Is anything wrong? Are your children OK? You don't look so good.Have you been sleeping OK?" Tracy handed him a sealed envelope,took a deep breath and said,"I have been here for 67 hours straight,trying to work out the network meltdown that happened Friday afternoon.I have asked you for months for an assistant,for enough additional gear to make the system redundant,for training for the rookies you gave me last year.I give up." Jack handed her a cup of coffee and fiddled with the sealed envelope.He looked alarmed as he said,"You have always been my go-to girl.I can count on you to fix anything around here.Other people,like Jeff,need more money,more time,and more people to get the job done.You do a fantastic job with almost nothing! What do you need this time? To get the system back up?" Tracy said,"The system is up.For now." Jack smiled,"See.You are the best! That's what that banner at the recognition banquet said,'TRACY IS THE BEST!!!' So,we are good to go?" The smile faded as he opened the envelope.Jack looked confused."You quit? Today? After all I have done for you?" Tracy placed her keys gently on Jack's desk,"I am out of here.I already talked to human resources and got clearance to remove all my stuff.I officially gave you four week's notice.I am taking four of the weeks of carryover vacation I have not been able to take while working for you." After Tracy left,Jack sat quietly,polishing his favorite golf club for a long time.Then he walked over to Millie's office in human resources.Please refer to this scenario for the following question.
Did Jack coach Tracy?

• A)No.The relationship was more mentor-protégé than coach.
• B)Yes.He mentioned the rest of the team in the discussion.
• C)No.Tracy was a high performer.Coaches only work with low performers.
• D)No.He did not ensure the availability or ready attainability of proper resources.
• E)Yes.He overmanaged and micromanaged Tracy's work.

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Definitions:

Sign Test

A nonparametric test used to determine if there is a significant difference between paired observations, by analyzing the signs of differences without assuming any particular distribution.

Median Score

The midpoint value in a set of scores, where half of the scores are above it and half are below, often used as a measure of central tendency.

Level of Significance

A threshold in hypothesis testing that determines whether the null hypothesis can be rejected, often denoted by alpha (α).

Significance Level

A threshold within hypothesis testing that determines whether to reject the null hypothesis, often denoted by alpha (α) and representing the probability of a Type I error.