A Strategy for Teaching Critical

Thinking: The Sellmore Case

By Joseph Castellano, Ph.D.; Susan Lightle, Ph.D.; and Bud Baker, Ph.D.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

T
he importance of teaching and applying critical
Critical thinking is one of the most thinking skills is apparently matched by its diffi-
important skills business students culty in doing so. Sara Rimer, writing for the
January 18, 2011, edition of The Hechinger Report,
need to acquire so they can provide
discussed a study by Richard Arum that followed
value to their employers. The authors
several thousand undergraduates from when they entered col-
have developed a valuable way to
lege in fall 2005 to when they graduated in spring 2009.
teach them. Arum’s research, published in his book Academically Adrift:
Limited Learning on College Campuses, found that large numbers
of students did not learn critical thinking, complex reasoning,
and written communication skills. Arum used testing data and
student surveys from 24 colleges and universities ranging
from the highly selective to the least selective.1 The study
found that after the first two years of college, 45% of students
made no significant improvement in their critical thinking,
reasoning, or writing skills. After four years, 36% showed no
significant gains in what Arum called the “higher order”
thinking skills.2 The good news is that students majoring in
the liberal arts showed significantly greater gains over time
than other students in critical thinking, reasoning, and writing
skills. The bad news is that students majoring in business,
education, social work, and communication showed the least
number of gains in learning.3
Paul Hurd, in the article “The State of Critical Thinking
Today,” written for The Critical Thinking Community web-

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site (www.criticalthinking.org), examined the current its exemplary form, it is based on universal intel-
state of critical thinking in higher education. Citing lectual values that transcend subject matter divi-
numerous studies, Hurd pointed out that while the sions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency,
overwhelming majority of faculty understand the impor- relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth,
tance of developing critical thinking skills in their stu- breadth, and fairness.5
dents and believe it is the primary objective of their
instructional methodology, a majority of faculty lacks a The Critical Thinking Community website defines
substantive concept of critical thinking. He says that, critical thinking as:
given this lack of understanding, it is difficult to make
the case that critical thinking is the norm in the design “that mode of thinking about any subject, con-
of most instructional methodologies. For Hurd, an tent, or problem in which the thinker improves
understanding of critical thinking at the level he is the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully
proposing requires that we “teach content through analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it. Critical
thinking, not content, and then thinking.”4 thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-
While the development of critical thinking skills is monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presup-
important for any discipline, it must be a vital component poses assent to rigorous standards of excellence
in how we prepare students for entry into the accounting and mindful command of their use. It entails
profession. For example, management accountants are effective communication and problem-solving abil-
often called on to identify problems, gather relevant ities, as well as a commitment to overcome our
information in assessing those problems, and explore and native egocentrism and sociocentrism.”6
interpret information in developing alternative strategies
for solving these problems. In this capacity, the manage- Hurd offers a more succinct definition of critical
ment accountant is expected to formulate questions, thinking: “the art of thinking about thinking with a
highlight and identify relevant assumptions, and chal- view to improving it.”7
lenge those assumptions, all with a view toward develop- These definitions describe critical thinking as a disci-
ing and articulating alternative strategies aimed at plined process that can be improved. The challenge to
resolving these problems. Management accountants are teachers is how to help students improve their ability to
also called on to construct and defend arguments by think critically. Lisa Snyder and Mark Snyder suggest
using and evaluating evidence either in favor of or in that critical thinking skills can be taught in the business
opposition to proposals that require managerial decisions. curriculum by using instructional strategies that actively
All of the above tasks are important components that engage students in the learning process, rather than
must be developed through an understanding and appli- relying on lecture and rote memorization, and by focus-
cation of critical thinking skills. ing instruction on the process of learning rather than
solely on the content.8 The hoped-for outcome of using
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING? these instructional strategies will be students who
Numerous and varied definitions of critical thinking demonstrate the characteristics of a well-cultivated criti-
have been proposed. Michael Scriven and Richard Paul cal thinker by doing the following:
suggest the following definition.
■ Formulate important questions and issues.
Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined ■ Gather and assess relevant information.
process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, ■ Develop reasoned conclusions and solutions, and
applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluat- test them against relevant criteria and standards.
ing information gathered from, or generated by, ■ Think open-mindedly by assessing their assump-
observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or tions and the implications and consequences of
communication, as a guide to belief and action. In their decisions.

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 ■ Communicate effectively with others in develop- class. In addition to the case (see Appendix A), we also
ing solutions to complex problems.9 provide extensive teaching notes (see Appendix B). We
hope that by sharing our approach and experiences,
WHY DID WE WRITE THIS ARTICLE? others will be encouraged to take up the challenge, not
Regardless of one’s definition of critical thinking, the only of learning more about what critical thinking is but
connections to learning are obvious. For all business also how to effectively introduce this important learning
students, the ability to think critically is an essential experience into their classrooms.
component in their ability to reason effectively, assess Our instructional methodology is based on
information, question assumptions, identify key con- Brookfield’s model of critical thinking, which defines
cepts, ask the right questions, and make informed deci- the following four components of the critical thinking
sions. Certainly, all these components are essential in process:
preparing business students, regardless of major, to (1) Hunting Assumptions. Critical thinking requires
become 21st Century business professionals. examining the assumptions that influence the way we
The combined teaching experience of the three think and act. Some assumptions—Brookfield calls
authors numbers more than 80 years, representing both them causal assumptions—are obvious and readily
the accounting and management disciplines. We imag- apparent. Others, what he calls paradigmatic assump-
ined our experience was like most of the faculty tions, are not so obvious and are the most difficult to
described in the Hurd article. We focused our efforts on uncover and change. These assumptions can only be
problem-solving methodologies and case studies, and, if surfaced through some structured reasoning process and
asked, would have responded that we not only knew through discovering contrary evidence.11
what critical thinking was but also that we were teach- (2) Checking Assumptions. Once assumptions have
ing it to our students as a core instructional competency. been brought to the surface, Brookfield highlights the
Not until we began to develop some of our own instruc- importance of their examination. This “checking”
tional cases did we begin to understand how very lim- process asks that we begin to consider whether our
ited and superficial student analyses really were. Up assumptions are as accurate as we think they are. The
until this time, we had been using case material and process of appraisal calls for a healthy dose of skepticism
problems that contained a number of prompts or about our assumptions to see if they make sense and to
focused problems so narrowly that it was difficult to identify when they do not. In this important step, criti-
really test the critical thinking skills of our students. cal thinkers search for the accuracy and validity of their
Our experience led us to research and study the critical assumptions by questioning the source of “facts.”12
thinking literature more thoroughly, especially The (3) Seeing Things from Different Viewpoints. Brookfield
Critical Thinking Community website and the work of believes that one of the best ways to decide whether an
Stephen Brookfield. While the experience has been assumption is accurate or makes sense is to try and see
challenging, it also has been rewarding. We are now the assumptions we are making from different points of
introducing and blending critical thinking into our view. In a business setting, problems and issues usually
courses, and, as a result, believe that we are making are presented from management’s viewpoint. Yet apply-
some progress in improving our students’ ability to ing this step in Brookfield’s critical thinking model sees
think critically and become better problem solvers. management as just one of many stakeholders in any
In an article in Inquiry: Critical Thinking across the complex decision. What does the situation look like
Disciplines, we outlined what we believe to be the from the customer’s viewpoint? How will workers react
biggest impediments to teaching critical thinking skills to a proposed change or problem resolution? How are
and introduced a methodology for overcoming those other stakeholders likely to respond?13
impediments.10 The purpose of this article is to demon- (4) Taking Informed Action. The end result of the criti-
strate the application of that methodology to an instruc- cal thinking process is to take some informed action. In
tional case we have used in a management accounting Brookfield’s view, informed action is based on thought

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and analysis that has incorporated his first three points. ring. Students are asked to identify what has gone
The action taken must be supported by convincing evi- wrong.
dence. Brookfield, though, cautions that to act based on What is readily apparent from the Sellmore case is
evidence is no guarantee that critical thinking has that it has both multidimensional and interdisciplinary
occurred. We also need to know that our actions are applications and implications. For example, it can be
resulting in what we intended. In other words, what we used as a performance measurement case in an account-
thought would occur has in fact happened.14 ing class, a sales staff evaluation case in a human
Scenario analysis is one protocol used in critical resources class, and a strategy case in a marketing or a
thinking. Yet our approach differs in several important management class. We believe that good critical think-
ways from the method/protocol demonstrated by ing scenarios should embody these multifunctional fea-
Brookfield.15 First, students are not initially given any tures in order to replicate real-world conditions and to
prompts in the form of specific questions, suggestions, test students’ abilities to apply their critical thinking
or hints to get them started on their analysis. As indi- skills. Finally, the teaching notes we developed for the
cated earlier, we began to develop our own materials case provide instructions about how we use the case
because too many of the cases and problems that we and a detailed analysis showing how to apply
were using contained either too many prompts/hints or Brookfield’s model.
did not lend themselves to complete application of
Brookfield’s model. Second, in order to apply the criti- CREATING A WIN-WIN
cal thinking process, cases must be designed to chal- Developing critical thinking skills is a learned behavior
lenge students to not only apply a selected critical and one that must be practiced. While there is general
thinking model but also to see why a more robust solu- agreement about the importance of critical thinking as
tion to a complex problem is the outcome of such a an attribute of any course, defining critical thinking,
process. In this way, the case can be used to demon- selecting an appropriate critical thinking model, and
strate what can happen when an organization tries to designing strategies to incorporate critical thinking into
deal with a complex problem without applying a critical the design of course content present a host of chal-
thinking process. lenges. This has clearly been our experience when it
comes to teaching critical thinking. Once we developed
THE SELLMORE CASE an understanding of the basic attributes of critical
We developed the Sellmore case and teaching notes to thinking and agreed upon a model that could be taught
demonstrate the application of the Brookfield Critical to our students, we had to overcome the challenge of
Thinking Model. The case is brief but deceptively finding suitable cases and problems that would allow us
deep and complex. A company is faced with the inabil- to model and demonstrate this behavior for our stu-
ity of its sales force to develop new business. The level dents. What we have demonstrated in this article is one
of “cold calling” and new business prospecting has such example. By developing our own scenarios, we
declined significantly in the past 24 months. At present, have been able to illustrate how the application of a
the average salesperson earns about 70% of his or her critical thinking model, i.e., the Brookfield model in our
compensation through base pay and 30% through com- case, can facilitate for students a self-assessment of their
missions. A commission of 2.5% is currently earned on critical thinking skills and for faculty a viable means of
all sales. Tom Driver, Sellmore’s sales manager, is con- designing instructional pedagogies that incorporate the
vinced that major changes need to be made in the com- important attributes of critical thinking. We hope that
pensation and evaluation system in order to motivate the approach and methodology we have demonstrated
the sales force to generate new business. Leo Sellmore, in this article will encourage you to begin a similar
Sellmore’s president, receives Driver’s proposal and process. We believe this is the win-win we all seek as
approves the changes. Nine months after the new plan educators.
is implemented, however, serious problems are occur-

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 APPENDIX A: THE SELLMORE COMPANY

The Sellmore Company had become increasingly con- new business from each new customer.
cerned about the inability of its sales force to generate ● The 2.5% commission for existing business will
sales from new business. The sales force of 30 is cur- be reduced to 2%.
rently assigned to three regions in the Midwest, ● Base salaries no longer will be increased for
Northeast, and South. Each region has 10 sales repre- merit raises based upon the annual performance
sentatives assigned. Each representative works off of a review. Instead, a “bonus system” will be used
compensation system that is a combination of salary to compensate those who meet their sales quo-
plus commission. At present, the sales commission is tas. These bonuses will be given annually but
2.5% of all sales. The average salesperson’s compensa- not built into the base pay.
tion package is currently made up of roughly 70% in 2. Each salesperson will be assigned a targeted sales
base pay and 30% in commissions. quota for both new and existing business.
The company began to notice a significant drop in 3. At the end of each year, each salesperson will be
the level of cold calling and new business prospecting evaluated and ranked based upon his or her level
in the past 24 months. An analysis of commissions of sales to both new and existing customers.
earned during this period of time revealed that 80% 4. Each salesperson will be required to make a mini-
were from existing business. Tom Driver, Sellmore’s mum of 15 cold calls per month.
sales manager, also noted that, in any given day, more
sales representatives were in the office than out in the Nine months after the new plan was implemented, a
field. Driver was convinced that major changes to the 10% increase in new sales had occurred, but sales to
compensation and evaluation system were needed in existing customers were down more than 20%. Worse
order to motivate the sales force and to generate new yet, customer satisfaction scores had declined from 95%
business. to 80%, and complaints about poor customer service
Driver developed the following proposal, which was were increasing at an alarming rate. Morale among the
approved by Leo Sellmore, the company’s president: sales force seemed to be at an all-time low, especially
among the more senior sales representatives. In fact,
1. The commission system would be changed as three of Sellmore’s most experienced sales reps
follows: resigned.
● A commission of 4% will be paid on all new Needless to say, Leo Sellmore is both extremely con-
sales. This rate would be in effect for a two-year cerned about the deteriorating situation and equally
period from the date of the first sale in order to perplexed about what went wrong with the new com-
encourage the sales force to “mine” additional pensation and evaluation system for the sales force.

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 APPENDIX B: TEACHING NOTES

We developed teaching notes for the Sellmore case to view. In the Sellmore case, an important viewpoint
illustrate the critical thinking process as outlined by would be that of the sales representatives who are going
Stephen Brookfield in his book Teaching for Critical to be affected directly by whatever changes are made to
Thinking. Brookfield’s methodology, as described earlier the compensation and evaluation system. Another view-
in this article, permits the instructor to highlight for stu- point might be from the customer perspective.
dents the failure on the part of Sellmore’s management The final step in Brookfield’s critical thinking
to apply the basic elements of critical thinking prior to process involves taking informed action.19 Clearly, the
making the decision to implement a new compensation entire focus of the critical thinking process is to take
and evaluation system for the sales force. Brookfield’s some action. We want this action to be informed action
process is also “student-friendly” in that it is easy to that is supported by the evidence at hand and a process
replicate in a variety of other unstructured problem- of well-reasoned thought and analysis. In short, we
solving situations. As such, it presents the instructor want to be able to take action based on evidence we
with a template to use in other situations involving the find well-thought-out and convincing. In some cases,
need for critical thinking. Two such examples are the instructor may want to select or develop a case in
assessing decisions already made to see where the criti- which the problem is not as obviously stated or appar-
cal thinking process may have led to a better decision or ent as we have presented in our example. The only
giving students a set of facts involving the need for a modification that would need to be made to
decision and then asking them to apply Brookfield’s Brookfield’s approach would be to add the definition of
methodology for arriving at a decision. the problem or problem statement as a first step in the
Brookfield’s critical thinking process begins with critical thinking process. For our purposes, the problem
what he calls “hunting for assumptions.”16 This step being experienced at Sellmore is stated very clearly in
involves surfacing and examining the assumptions that the opening paragraph of the case, so we have chosen
are influencing the way we think and are proposing to not to include this modification in our notes.
act. Uncovering these assumptions—whether explicit or We recommend using the Sellmore case in the fol-
implicit—is extremely important in the decision- lowing manner:
making process, especially in an organizational context.
Assumptions often drive the organizational structures ■ Give the students the case in a classroom setting.
we put in place—policies, procedures, and practices— Ask them to read it individually, and then have
which in turn affect organizational behaviors. Behaviors them work in groups to discuss what they think
on the part of employees then drive the results that may have gone wrong with the new compensation
occur. system. As part of this exercise, ask each group to
Once we have surfaced our assumptions, the next also discuss what they believe was causing the
step in the critical thinking process is checking those inability of the sales force to generate sales from
assumptions to see whether they are as accurate as we new customers.
think they are.17 In effect, we are engaged in a process ■ After allowing sufficient time for the above discus-
of appraisal to determine when our assumptions make sion, distribute to each student an outline of
sense and when they do not. What we are attempting to Brookfield’s four steps in the critical thinking
do in this step of Brookfield’s process is find convincing process with a brief explanation of the steps pro-
evidence that validates our assumptions. vided above.
The third step in his critical thinking process ■ Now ask each team to apply the four-step process
involves what he calls “seeing things from different by discussing each of the steps in their groups. As
viewpoints.”18 Here we are trying to view our assump- part of this process, ask for input about how each
tions and proposed actions from different points of of the four steps altered their views about manage-

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 ment’s decision-making process. Do they believe stretch them or have them go the extra mile to generate
that the four-step process would have led to a bet- new sales? Is this base pay encouraging them to just
ter decision about how to design a new compensa- continue to “pick the low-hanging fruit” by calling on
tion and evaluation system for the sales force? the same customers they’ve always relied on for their
Application of each step of the Brookfield process compensation? It would not be surprising to have a
follows and can be used by the instructor to give number of the groups make the case for a compensation
the class a final debriefing of the case following system that is more focused on commissions as opposed
the steps recommended above. to base compensation. It is doubtful that students will
challenge the long-held belief in sales that if you want
HUNTING FOR ASSUMPTIONS to motivate a sales force it must be done with a carrot-
We have identified four key assumptions that were and-stick approach. One way to move the dial more in
either explicitly or implicitly the basis for Tom Driver the direction of motivating sales reps to find new busi-
and Leo Sellmore’s decision to both propose and ness is to make it more favorable for them to do so—in
approve the new sales compensation and evaluation essence, this means higher commissions.
system. We hope that the combined analysis and dis- The third major assumption that should be explored
cussion of each of the class teams will bring forth these is that numerical targets, quotas, and rankings will be
key assumptions along with other suggestions. effective in generating new sales. This is obvious from
The first and perhaps most obvious assumption is the new commission structure favoring an increased
that you need a commission system to motivate a sales commission rate for new business and the use of sales
force. The accepted norm in sales is that commission quotas for both new and existing business. It is not
systems are the primary ingredient to both motivate unusual for sales teams to be put into a competitive sit-
and hold accountable any sales team. We doubt that any uation as a means for motivating and aligning behavior.
student team would challenge this basic assumption by Clearly, the decision to rank members of the team is
proposing that the sales force be put on a 100% salaried being done in the hope that it will stimulate a renewed
form of compensation. The expected dynamic will be effort to generate the needed increase in new sales.
centered on making a forceful case that if you want to The fourth major assumption is that “cold calling”
change the behavior of a sales team, you will have to will increase new sales. In fact, as part of the new plan,
increase the compensation system in a way that will Sellmore has imposed a targeting minimum of 15 cold
encourage reps to call on new customers by increasing calls per month. It clearly expects this effort to lead to
the commissions paid for these new sales. We expect new sales for two reasons: (1) Sales quotas have been
that the arguments will center around a discussion of established not only for sales to existing customers but
the rate of commission, in our case 4% on new sales, as also for new sales, and (2) the higher commission rates
being too low relative to the 2.5% on existing sales. The for new sales extend for a two-year period from the date
instructor should not be surprised if some teams advo- of the first sale. It is clear that Sellmore is expecting the
cate raising the commission on new sales and lowering cold calling to be productive in generating new sales.
the commission on existing sales. Again, the clear Although not stated explicitly, there is certainly an
assumption behind such discussions will be the strongly implied assumption that the new compensation and
held belief that you have to motivate with commission evaluation system is fair. We can arrive at this conclu-
dollars the sought-after change in behavior. sion given that the entire sales team will be ranked
The second assumption that is evident is the belief annually. No facts are presented that would lead the
that base salaries are too high. The case indicates that reader to question whether any distinction will be made
average salaries have reached the point where 70% of for demographic or economic differences among the
compensation is in base salaries. Has this level of base three regions. Evaluation and ranking of each sales rep
pay created a “cushioning effect” for sales reps that will be on the basis of his or her level of sales for both
may be impeding their willingness and motivation to new and existing business. There does not appear to be

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any allowance for differentiating between sales reps and SEEING FROM DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS
their territories. The third step in Brookfield’s model recognizes the
importance of trying to see our assumptions and actions
CHECKING ASSUMPTIONS from differing viewpoints. In effect, the decision maker
The second step in Brookfield’s critical thinking is being asked to explore the underlying assumptions of
process involves checking assumptions to determine the decision he or she is about to make, as well as the
when they make sense and when they do not. In effect, decision itself, from the viewpoint of others, especially
we are attempting to validate the basis of our assump- those most directly affected by the proposed decision.
tions. A useful starting point is to ask the class how they Those most affected by the decision were the sales
would begin the process of checking or validating the reps. Not only did the decision affect their compensa-
assumptions pointed out in step 1. This question can tion structure but also how they were to be evaluated.
lead to a discussion of the difficulty of checking or vali- What may be missed by the class, but clearly important,
dating assumptions that do not involve verifying stated is that the decision will impact the working relationship
facts or empirical data. An examination of the assump- between sales reps and their existing customers. More
tions mentioned in step 1 obviously is based on anecdo- time out of the office and on the road plus the focus on
tal evidence, popular opinion, and common business generating new customer sales will clearly affect the
and sales practices. Clearly, the important feature of this current working relationships with existing customers.
step in Brookfield’s process, as it relates to Sellmore, is If Tom Driver and Leo Sellmore had examined their
to get the class to discuss why Tom Driver and Leo underlying assumptions and the decision they were
Sellmore were so sure the root of their firm’s problem contemplating through the lens of the sales reps and
was a sales commission and employee evaluation issue. from the perspective of their existing customer base,
By focusing on compensation and evaluation, is there a some of the issues that led to the subsequent problems
risk that both individuals may have overlooked other they are now facing with these customers may have
key issues such as sales training, marketing research, become apparent.
and database management issues? Another important relationship that may be affected
Another issue that should be explored is why Tom is the level of cooperation between the sales reps. They
Driver and Leo Sellmore were so sure that the pro- are clearly now in head-to-head competition with each
posed system is the right course of action for the sales other because of the decision to rank each of the reps
force. If the company is really adopting the conven- annually. While comparisons between reps were possi-
tional wisdom in sales in terms of compensation and ble in the past, the new system has formalized the
ranking, what evidence is there that such an approach is process and put them in direct competition with each
the correct one for the business model and sales system other. This will certainly have an impact on their will-
currently in effect at Sellmore? Were these questions ingness to cooperate and help each other. While we
and issues explored in sufficient detail prior to imple- have no way of knowing for sure if any of the reps
menting the current changes? Finally, did Tom Driver would have been this candid if asked by management
and Leo Sellmore consult with any of the sales reps in to comment on the proposed changes prior to the deci-
an attempt to determine why cold calling and prospect- sion being made, we know Tom Driver and Leo
ing for new business had declined in the past 24 Sellmore made no attempt to see either their assump-
months? Were any of the reps asked why more time tions or proposed decision through the lens of the group
was being spent in the office and not out on the road? most affected by the changes.
All of these questions clearly relate to an attempt to
“check assumptions” in order to determine how valid TAKING INFORMED ACTION
the underlying assumptions are to the proposed Brookfield points out that the goal of the critical think-
changes adopted by Sellmore. ing process is to take some informed action, which is
based on thought and analysis supported by evidence.

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A good way to begin the student discussion is to ask the ing the decision—some of the issues that resulted might
class if they think Tom Driver and Leo Sellmore made have been prevented. It certainly is possible that the
an informed decision prior to applying Brookfield’s criti- sales reps could have surfaced issues about the lack of
cal thinking process. (Recall that the class was asked to training to make cold calling effective, the inordinate
read the case individually and then work in groups to amount of time that might have to be taken away from
discuss what they think may have gone wrong with the existing customer sales and service, the dysfunctional
new compensation system prior to being given the effects that the new system would have on the level of
Brookfield critical thinking process handout.) The clear cooperation among the sales team, and the effect of fear
expectation here is that most groups will admit to some and pressure on the morale of the sales team. ■
support for the course of action taken by Sellmore
before considering the Brookfield process. They may Joseph Castellano, Ph.D., is a professor of accountancy at
even express surprise at the problems the firm is now the University of Dayton and is a member of IMA’s Dayton
facing. It should not be surprising if most groups put Chapter. He can be reached at jcastellano1@udayton.edu.
the blame about what has gone wrong on the sales reps
and not management. Susan Lightle, Ph.D., is a professor of accountancy at
The stage is now set for the instructor to ask if, based Wright State University. She can be reached at
on Brookfield’s model, Sellmore management made an susan.lightle@wright.edu.
informed decision. We should expect that each group
has concluded that management did not make an Bud Baker, Ph.D., is a professor of management at
informed decision. There is no evidence in the case Wright State University. He can be reached at
that management followed any of the steps outlined in bud.baker@wright.edu.
Brookfield’s process. Assumptions both explicit and
implicit were not surfaced and examined, no evidence ENDNOTES
was presented that management made any attempt to 1 Sara Rimer, “What are most students learning in college? Not
enough, study says,” The Hechinger Report, January 18, 2011,
check or validate its belief that the compensation and retrieved April 9, 2014, http://hechingerreport.org/content/
sales rep evaluation system were responsible for the what-are-most-students-learning-in-college-not-enough-study-
says_4979/.
lack of new sales, and management did not make any 2 Ibid.
attempt to view the decision it was about to make 3 Ibid.
through the lens of the groups most affected. 4 Paul Hurd, “The State of Critical Thinking Today,” The
Critical Thinking Community website, 2014, retrieved August
Consequently, the only viable conclusion that one can 9, 2017, www.criticalthinking.org/pages/the-state-of-critical-
reach, based on an application of Brookfield’s model, is thinking-today/523.
5 Michael Scriven and Richard Paul, “Defining Critical
that management did not make an informed decision. Thinking,” National Council for Excellence in Critical
Finally, we believe it is somewhat beneficial for the Thinking Instruction, 1987, retrieved April 9, 2014,
class to spend time discussing how the critical thinking www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766.
6 The Critical Thinking Community website, “Our Concept
process could have anticipated and, therefore, prevented and Definition of Critical Thinking,” retrieved April 9, 2014,
the problems that Sellmore encountered. Clearly, the www.criticalthinking.org/pages/our-concept-and-definition-of-
critical-thinking/411.
focus on generating new customer sales by offering 7 Hurd, www.criticalthinking.org/pages/the-state-of-critical-
higher commissions and establishing a sales quota and thinking-today/523.
ranking system for sales reps succeeded in generating 8 Lisa Snyder and Mark Snyder, “Teaching Critical Thinking
and Problem Solving Skills,” The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal,
increased new business. This increase in new business, Spring 2008, Vol. 50, Issue 2, pp. 90-99.
however, came at the expense of declining sales to exist- 9 The Critical Thinking Community website, www.critical
thinking.org/pages/our-concept-and-definition-of-critical-
ing customers. If management had spent the time exam- thinking/411.
ining its assumptions and the possible impacts on the 10 Joseph Castellano, Susan Lightle, and Bud Baker, “The
Challenge of Introducing Critical Thinking in the Business
entire sales process from the proposed course of
Curriculum,” Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, Fall
action—and had consulted with sales reps prior to mak- 2014, Vol. 29, Issue 3, pp. 13-26.

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11 Stephen D. Brookfield, Teaching for Critical Thinking, Jossey-
Bass, 2012, p. 18.
12 Ibid., p. 12.
13 Ibid., p. 12.
14 Ibid., pp. 12-14.
15 Ibid., p. 86.
16 Ibid., p. 11.
17 Ibid., pp. 11-12.
18 Ibid., p. 12.
19 Ibid., pp. 12-14.

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