Thinking Skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

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156 Unit 4 Applied critical thinking


4.5 Two case studies


Case One: Who’s telling the truth?
The diagram is a plan of the Management
Suite on the first floor of a firm’s premises.
Some money, in a brown envelope, has gone
missing from the safe, and an investigation is
underway.

General facts
Three people are employed in the
Management Suite:
• the manager (Mrs Mann)
• the deputy manager (Mr Depp)
• the secretary (Rita).

Only the manager knows the safe
combination.

Secretary’s evidence
‘I took the manager her morning coffee at
9.30. I noticed the safe was open and the
brown package was visible inside it. I took her
the mail at 10.00 and it was still open.
Immediately after that the manager left her
office and went straight along the corridor.
She was away about 20 minutes. Mr Depp,
the deputy manager, came out of his own
office and visited the manager’s office twice
that morning: once at about 9.45 and again
while the manager was away – I couldn’t say
the exact time.’

Manager’s evidence
‘I was away from the office for about 20
minutes. I didn’t lock the safe. I quite often
don’t lock it in the daytime, and nothing has
ever gone missing before. I am fairly certain
the deputy manager’s door was open and his
office was empty when I left, and it was still
empty when I returned. It was when I got back
that I realised the money was missing.’

Deputy manager’s evidence
‘I went into the manager’s office only once,
and she was there at her desk. At around
10.00 I went to the canteen because there
was a driver who had a problem to discuss –
an argument he had had with another worker.
It took over half an hour to sort out.’

Driver’s evidence
‘I was with Mr Depp in the canteen from
around 10.00. We talked for quite a long
time. I didn’t notice how long. We were sorting
out a personal problem.’

Following on from the discussions in the
previous chapter, assess the evidence given
above. Use it to ask yourself who, if anyone,
is not telling the truth.

Activity


safe

manager

secretary

wall clock

to canteen

deputy manager
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