Scenario
In response to a published article discussing the trend toward flexible work schedules, the CEO of a retail organization wanted to evaluate whether her company should adopt a flexible work schedule policy. The article cited higher employee satisfaction and no loss in productivity. The CEO randomly assigned employees to different work schedules. Some employees were assigned regular hours (i.e., 9am-5pm Mon-Fri), while other employees were assigned flexible hours (i.e., working whenever is best for them so long as they worked 40 hours a week). After six months, employees were asked to respond to a job satisfaction survey on a 1-7 scale. In addition, the managers were asked to rate the job performance of their direct reports, also on a 1-7 scale.
Please describe the following:
1. The CEO’s hypothesis
2. The predictor(s) [independent variable(s)]
3. Outcome(s) [dependent variable(s)]
4. Threats to internal and external validity (and a justification for each; this does not need to be exhaustive, just mention the threats most likely to impact the study)
5. Any ethical or fairness concerns about the study
