Answer to Question 1
The Court applied a balancing test. It stated that bargaining over management decisions which have a substantial impact on the continued availability of employment should be required only if the benefit for labor-management relations and the collective bargaining process outweighs the burden placed on the conduct of the business.
Answer to Question 2
The Supreme Court decided to hear the case because of the importance of the issues and because of the disagreement between and among the Board and the Courts of Appeals. It is very common for the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in order to resolve conflicts among the circuits where courts of appeals in different areas of the country reach different conclusions on the same issue of law.