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The role of critical thinking in life
The role of critical thinking in life
Nature of critical thinking
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Recommended: The role of critical thinking in life
Critical Thinking and Business Decisions
Our basic concept of critical thinking is, at root, simple. We could define it as the art of taking charge of your own mind. Its value is also at root simple: "if we can take charge of our own minds, we can take charge of our lives; we can improve them, bringing them under our "self-command" and direction (McCall and Kaplan, 1990)." Of course, this requires that we learn self-discipline and the art of self-examination. This involves becoming interested in how our minds work, how we can monitor, fine tune, and modify their operations for the better. It involves getting into the habit of reflectively examining our impulsive and accustomed ways of thinking and acting in every dimension of our lives and business.
Many various "Forms of Thinking" affect the way we rationalize problems and situations. We could approach a problem by utilizing the forms such as in "a logical, scientific, persuasive, or creative fashion (University of Phoenix, 2000)." The way we approach a problem or situation can be and is very important. In addition, all that we do, we do based on some motivations or reasons that are forces which influence our ways of thinking. However, we rarely examine our motivations to see if they make sense. We rarely scrutinize our reasons critically to see if they are rationally justified. "Some of the forces that influence are thinking can be gender, culture, ethnicity, religion, race, economic status, ethics, etc (University of Phoenix, 2000)."
As consumers, for example, we sometimes buy things impulsively and uncritically, without stopping to determine whether we really need what we are inclined to buy, whether we can afford it, whether its good for our health, or whether the price is competitive. As parents, we often respond to our children impulsively and uncritically, without stopping to determine whether our actions are consistent with how we want to act as parents, whether we are contributing to their self-esteem, whether we are discouraging them from thinking, or from taking responsibility for their own behavior. The two examples above, illustrate how we could have used a "scientific form of thinking" to come to a conclusion but the "force", whatever it may have been, that influenced that way of thinking, was very strong.
The same remains true in business as it pertains to our manageria...
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...en seriously, it can transform every dimension of work life: how we formulate rules, how we relate to our employees, how we encourage them to relate to each other, how we cultivate their speaking and listening skills, as well as their decision making skills.
Of course, we are likely to make "Critical Thinking" a basic value in work only insofar as we make it a basic value in our lives. "Therefore, to become adept at contemplating critical thinking, we must become committed to thinking critically and reflectively about our own lives and the lives of those around us (Shermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, 2000)." We must become active, daily, practitioners of critical thought. We must regularly model for our employees what it is to reflectively examine, critically assess, and effectively improve the way we live and think.
References
Morgan W. McCall Jr. and Robert E. Kaplan, (1990). "Whatever It Takes, Realities of
Managerial Decision Making," (New Jersey: Prentice Hall)
Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn. (2000). Organizational Behavior. 7th Ed. New York:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. University of Phoenix, (2000). Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making. (Module) MGT 350.
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Questions are something that must be asked and can be very important when reading a literary work, watching a movie, or just simply trying to understand the habits of people today. Asking questions opens up the human brain to dig farther and deeper into the meaning of why someone did something in a specific way and what purpose it has that something must be done in that way. Critical thinking is asking question and trying to hypothesize on what the answer to that question might be. Critically thinking is a healthy aspect of opening up the brain and will improve one’s thought process on how to apply critical thinking in situations where it is dependent, like a future
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In general, as shown by analysis of the literature, there are three stages of critical thinking research. The first stage was within 1970-1982. During this period, researchers paid their attention to the importance of logical thinking, believing that it formed the core of critical thinking (Reichenbach, 2000). E. Glaser developed training program of critical thinking, which addressed
Browne & Keeley “Asking the Right Questions”, describes critical thinking techniques that teaches you skills and attitudes for the ability to ask and answer rational and interrelated critical questions at appropriate times, and actively use the questions to make the best decision available (2015, pg. 4). Browne and Keeley state that critical thinking is important which enables the readers, to improve our cognitive thinking by asking the correct questions which would help us make a decision and side for or against it. The Eleven (11) step method as stated by Browne & Keeley will be used in this paper for critical thinking analysis. Mr. Salvador Monella, SVP, Human Resources Penn-Mart’s Healthcare Strategy sent a memorandum to the Board of Directors, on January 6, 2014 regarding revising Penn-Mart’s unfavorable cost trends for healthcare benefits and a strategy to initiate the “Get Well” campaign with the intent to
Chapter 1 defines critical thinking as an objective oriented process of thought which uses intellectual skills to enhance the chances of the desired outcome. In the text, the author argues that critical thinking includes “calculating likelihoods” because critical thinking not only requires the process of finding the way to a primary goal, but also calculating the possibilities a method would reach that certain target. Because critical thinkers not only look at the process, they also look at the chances their decisions can go wrong and find alternate methods that have the greatest chance.
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Critical thinking is an essential skill to employ because it allows ideas to be explored at a deeper level. This creates the brilliant masterminds of the future; however, the creation of ideas without character can be damaging. I believe it is important to be intelligent while compassionate to others’ needs. This can be shown by my time working for the passing of Measure E. When I arrived at Calabasas High School in August 2013, everything seemed marvelous. Class sizes were small, the student body was not too big, and all students were enjoying themselves in a wide variety of extracurricular activities.
Critical thinking is a very important skill to have. It gives a helping hand in prevent people from making bad decision. It also helps them solve their problems. It permits us to consider consequences in systematic and rational ways.
According to The Foundation for Critical Thinking (2007), "Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism (Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2007).
Critical thinking and decision-making are related in more ways than people think. This paper will define critical thinking and decision-making according to the book Whatever It Takes. It will also present a personal definition of critical thinking and decision-making from the author of this paper. The relationship between the two will be explained as well as the benefits of being a critical thinker. The author of this paper will also show how critical thinking is present in his organization and how he implements critical thinking techniques on a daily basis.
Life is full of decisions. Some decisions are trivial. Should I choose paper or plastic at the grocery store? Which of the 31 flavors of ice cream should I pick? Other decisions are vital. Should I get married to her or should I take this new job? Your decisions may affect many people or only yourself. In this paper I will present a decision-making model. I will describe a decision that I made at work using this model and how critical thinking impacted that decision.
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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