This article discusses the importance of critical thinking and decision making in personal and professional life. It explores various learning outcomes and their implications. Topics covered include critical thinking, self-awareness, decision making process, prospect theory, psychological contract theory, and problem-solving methodologies.
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Running head: CRITICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING Critical Thinking and Decision Making Name of the Student: Name of the University: Author Note:
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1CRITICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING Introduction The success of a business largely depends upon the decisions that are taken by its managers (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). The impacts and consequences of the decisions decidesthefutureprospectofallorganizations.Thus,itisextremelyimportantthat individuals are taught the importance of rational and methodical decision making before they embark to their particular career path (Lerner et al., 2015). In the process of decision making, critical thinking is extremely important. In critical thinking we assess a situation and produce various aspects for that (Pei, 2013). The decision making process too, comprises of several steps and considerations that finally leads to a successful outcome. In this paper, the various learning outcomes of decision making and critical thinking has been discussed. Along with it the implications of those learning in the personal as well as professional life has been evaluated and the future career prospect that these knowledge might have for an individual has also been explored. Topic 1 The first topic that was significant for me was the topic that was covered in week 1. In this unit, we were introduced to the concept of Critical thinking. This concept focuses on the enhancement of one’s thinking capability beyond our regular thinking methods (Kallet & Kallet, 2014). The method that needs to be followed are looking at the issues that are at hand from a different perspective and then organizing the thoughts that come into the mind. The basis of critical thinking is in Arguments and Argumentation. The issue that is at hand known as statements has to be supported by several reasons or justifications and then these arguments are related to each other to produce a concrete stance related to the issue to validate the conclusion (Halpern, 2013). It is necessary that use a logical structure of
2CRITICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING argument development to make it much stronger. The two methods of logical development of a critical thinking are Deductive and Inductive. Both are equally valid depending on the issue. The learning of this unit is beneficial for everyone. The idea of critical thinking gives us the concept that every issue has an alternative perspective. Thus, we learned to keep open mind in every situation. In a learning environment, we learn about many concepts and theories and generally accept them as given. Critical thinking will allow us to evaluate those concepts and theories with the help of arguments and past literature as well as real life examples before we accept them as true. In this way, we gain a better understanding of the concept as well as our capability of quality decision making enhances. Even in our personal and professional lives critical thinking is necessary. For example, in personal life when we face an argument between two persons, it is necessary that we listen to both their perspectives before we make any judgment and come to any conclusion. It may be so, that both the parties involved are correct in their own way. Through critical thinking we will be able to come to this conclusion faster. On the other hand, in a workplace, while facing a challenging situation, critical thinking method will enable me to assess all the possibilities, pros and cons before I come to a logical decision or strategy. Topic 2 The next topic that was extremely significant for me was the learning topic of week 4. This unit discussed the concept of Self-awareness and its importance for an individual. This concept is extremely for the development of leaders. It is extremely important for a successful leader to have a clear understanding of his or her own self (Butler, Kwantes & Boglarsky, 2014). They consider many things about themselves, such as, their personality traits, their values, habits, emotions and psychological needs. Introspective view of one’s self can be gained through talking with other people getting their perspective on the self.
3CRITICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING Admitting any mistakescommitted, awareness of emotionsand feelings also give an understanding of the inner self (Batool, 2013). The Johari window technique helps us understand our own self. The more somebody has openness in their personality more they are suitable for a leadership opportunities. This openness can be further improved by adopting new behavior and practicing self-disclosure. Self-esteem and self-efficacy are two important aspects when it comes to enhancing self-awareness. Successful leaders always possess high self-esteem and self-efficacy. Understanding these will enable the leaders to create a better work environment (Riaz, & Khalili, 2014). The ideas and concepts of self-awareness are important for everyone. This gives us a clear understanding of the personality traits needed for the making of a good leader. With the understanding of these qualities, we can exercise to enhance in ourselves these qualities so that we become a self-aware individual. This learning will also enable us to recognize leadership qualities among a group of people (Ruggieri & Abbate, 2013). In a workplace, in future, we might need this ability to identify future leaders so that the organization might benefit from recruiting the right candidate. In personal life this will also help us in handling any situation according to the requirement. In certain situation, we sometimes forget our self- worth and importance. Learning and exercising these qualities will prevent that. Topic 3 The lessons of week 6 has great significance to me. This unit taught us the aspects of decision making. To make an informed decision, we must analyze certain contexts and evaluate the outcome of each of them. The initial stage for a decision making process is to identify the type of problem. It could one of the five: Simple, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic and Unclear. Apart from these aspects, some other factors need to be considered. These are: the Who, the Need, the When, the Criteria and the Risks of the decision. Once that process is
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4CRITICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING done, we can engage in further procedures to analyze and evaluate the situation and decide which outcome will be most favorable (Schwartz, 2016). In most cases, there is a decision making panel or body in an organization that engage in this process while in our personal lives, it is our sole decision that everything happens. The needs for any decision gives the body an insight to the urgency of a problem, its benefits and limitations of the decision (Ferrell,& Fraedrich, 2015). The When gives the body an idea of the time constraints of the issue. In an organization, most of the times, decisions cannot be taken at length and in a leisurely manner. Risk assessment is also necessary before a decision is taken in any scenario. It gives the decision maker an idea about the upsides and downsides of any decision. Theoretically, this learning unit gives us insight to a successful decision making procedure and how executives analyze any possible decision. In any organizational decision making, many opinions are created regarding any decision (Lieder, Hsu & Griffiths, 2014). All of them are evaluated using the factors and finally when the decision is taken it is after judging the pros and cons of that decision. In our practical life it will be of immense help as this will enable us to think clearly before we take any decision in both our personal and professional life. Topic 4 The next impressionable topic was the topic of week 8. In this week we were given the concept of two theories that direct a decision making process for an individual as well as an organization. These two theories are Prospect theory and Psychological contract theory. The Prospect theory demonstrates how people in general choose from alternatives by favoring loss-aversion rather than a prospect of equal gain (Kahneman & Tversky, 2013). This theory suggests that, the decision making procedure of individuals are more dependent upon the probability of loss. It is a common bias that we give more importance to loss than
5CRITICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING the same amount of gain. The second theory is the Psychological Contract theory that focuses upon mutual verbal agreement (Sherman & Morley, 2015). The probability of the success of this contract largely depends upon whether the person has made the choice voluntarily. The threetypesofpsychologicalcontract,RelationalTransactionalandHybridhasbeen explained. In Relational Psychological contract, there is more employee loyalty and stability. Any failure to keep up the terms of the contract might lead to less contribution from the employees. In Transactional Psychological contract, the terms of work are short and thus it is likely that they might move on if any change in those terms were made without proper compensation. The Hybrid Psychological model is more modern approach as both positive aspects of Relational and Transactional contract are assimilated and is much more practical. In organizational situation, employees depend on these verbal contracts when they work. In many cases, they might enjoy perks and facilities depending on their performance, that are promised verbally rather than in written terms (Festing, & Schäfer, 2014). Upholding these verbal assurances creates job satisfaction within the employees and they are likely to work more and contribute more to the organization if they see that their job terms are being given to them. The understanding of these two concepts have given me insight to how people’s mind work when it comes to decision making. In real life scenarios I will be able to understand what will appeal to individuals and what aspects to focus on while dealing with them. Many jobs would require this understanding like, marketing, human resource management and sales. Topic 5 The final topic that appealed to me the most was week 9 lessons. In this week we learnt about Kepner-Tregoe Methodology of problem solving and the decision making
6CRITICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING process as proposed by Lau. Three useful tools, SWOT analysis, the Benjamin Franklin method and Risk analysis, that facilitates easy decision making were also introduced(). In the Kepner-Tregoe method we came to know about a four phase model that comprises of Situational appraisal, Problem Analysis, Solution Analysis and Potential problem Analysis (Birtch, Chiang & Van Esch, 2016). Throughout the process, the decision maker answers many questions like the urgency of the issue, impact, the magnitude, the consequences of the probable decisions, alternativesolutions, vulnerability,risk assessmentand theircases regarding the issue. Lau on the other hand has devised a much simpler way where before talking any decision, some research should done and some alternative solutions should be created. The evaluation of the pros and cons of each solution will enable the decision makers to choose the option that is most applicable and prepare a contingency plan. After application, they just have to monitor the progresses that are seen and learn from the outcomes and modify according to it. The frameworks of SWOT is extremely useful in this case as this gives a clear idea about the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that the decision will bring forth (Felsberger, Oberegger & Reiner, 2016). Another way for decision making is the Benjamin Franklin method. He suggests that the decision making process becomes half done if we collect all the necessary details and information regarding the issue and list out their pros and cons of each. Performing a risk analysis and creating a contingency plan is another alternative method that we can use for any decision making. This learning would help us further in taking decisions in our personal as well as professional. Earlier, we did not have such detailed learning and concept of the decision making process. With this learning, the approach that we will take will become much more scientific and process based rather than traditional methods where gut feeling were generally used (Newell & Shanks, 2014). With the enhancement of this capability, we will perform better in all aspects of our life.
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7CRITICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING Self-Development and Future Career Application This whole ten week learning session have had a significant impact on me. The topics that were discussed and the concepts that we were introduced to have changed my thought process. The concept of critical learning and the processes of how to do that, has helped me in looking at issue and problems critically. When faced with a problem, rather than reacting instinctually, I try to look at with different perspectives, come up with several possible solution and evaluate the impacts of those solutions before finalizing on any one. This has given me positive results till now. In future, this will further help me in choosing a correct career prospect. Moreover, in any business management, the managers have the responsibility to take many decisions. While performing a job like that I will need these skills of decision making to succeed in my job. Understanding the psychology of decision making in general will help me understand the decisions made by the other and I will be able to avoid misunderstanding and bitterness in the workplace. Conclusion From the above discussion it can be concluded that the learning of Critical thinking andDecisionmakingisextremelyimportantforeveryindividual.Itgivesusthe understanding on the various rational methods that are involved in the decision making process. It also gives us the capability to think and decide rationally, after much deliberation without any whimsical or emotional aspect.
8CRITICAL THINKING AND DECISION MAKING References Batool, B. F. (2013). Emotional intelligence and effective leadership.Journal of Business Studies Quarterly,4(3), 84. Birtch, T. A., Chiang, F. F., & Van Esch, E. (2016). A social exchange theory framework for understanding the job characteristics–job outcomes relationship: The mediating role of psychological contract fulfillment.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,27(11), 1217-1236. Butler, A. M., Kwantes, C. T., & Boglarsky, C. A. (2014). The effects of self-awareness on perceptions of leadership effectiveness in the hospitality industry: A cross cultural investigation.International Journal of Intercultural Relations,40, 87-98. Felsberger, A., Oberegger, B., & Reiner, G. (2016, October). A Review of Decision Support Systems for Manufacturing Systems. InSAMI@ iKNOW. Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015).Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education. Festing,M.,&Schäfer,L. (2014).Generationalchallengestotalentmanagement:A frameworkfortalentretentionbasedonthepsychological-contract perspective.Journal of World Business,49(2), 262-271. Halpern,D.F.(2013).Thoughtandknowledge:Anintroductiontocriticalthinking. Psychology Press. Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (2013). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. InHandbook of the fundamentals of financial decision making: Part I(pp. 99-127).
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