Critical Thinking and Decision Making in Economics

This assignment delves into the significance of critical thinking and decision-making skills in economics students, emphasizing the necessity of logical reasoning and self-organization. The article highlights the challenges faced by students in applying these skills, particularly when responding to lectures and taking decisions. It also touches on the relationship between teachers and students, with teachers playing a crucial role in supporting student development through training and guidance.

Running head: CRITICAL THINKING AND MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING
Article review on critical thinking and managerial decision-making
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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CRITICAL THINKING AND MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING
“Improving critical thinking: Effects of dispositions and instructions on economics students'
reasoning skills”
Topic based on the article
Instruction provides the students with the capability of applying their thinking skills. This
thought process is a further assistance in terms of incorporating logical reasoning in every
activity, which they perform. However, according to the propositions of the article, exposing
better performance in the post-test is considered as an advanced stage from the instructions. The
dispositions related to thinking possess relationship with the performance, which the students
exposed in taking the preparation of the test (Heijltjes et al., 2014). The focus is on the students,
pursuing economic in their coursework, which helps in the assessment of their approach towards
the decision making in terms of logical reasoning and thinking skills.
Gap in literature
The article fails to present the effects of the dispositions and instruction on the students
within the actual business context. This compels the students to apply their thinking and
reasoning skills entirely based on their imaginative power. Along with this, segmentation of the
participants into various categories destroyed the flow of critical thinking, which can be
considered as an interruption into the pre-requisites needed for taking beneficial and prospective
decisions. The article lacks the time, which needs to be provided to the participants after the post
test. This is a strain on their mind, hampering their usual developmental process (Heijltjes et al.,
2014). The sequence gets interrupted after the results through the proposition of the effects of the
results on the students. However, deducing conclusions and suggesting recommendations would
have enhanced the clarity of the readers in terms of the structure of research.

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How was the research conducted?
The experiment was carried out through five steps. The first step was the preparation of
the tests. After this, the instructions were levied to the participants depending on the condition.
This allowed them to apply their thinking and logical reasoning skills. As a sequential step, the
participants were given practical business scenario for which they had to apply their decision-
making skills. Next, post tests conditions were taken into consideration. This helped the
researchers to assess the capability of the participants in applying logical reasoning and thinking
skills for taking appropriate decisions. Immediacy in the post tests were helped in saving a lot of
time, which could be devoted to the other research related activities (Heijltjes et al., 2014). The
last stage was the delayed post test. In the stage of testing the reasoning skills on business case,
condition was the main factor for assessing the practice regarding the application of the thinking
and reasoning skills. In the prompting conditions, spontaneity of the participants was considered
as one of the most important criteria.
Anticipated findings
In order to analyze the collected data, a scale of 0.05 was used. In the post hoc
exceptions, the scale of 0.05-0.06 helped in the anticipated findings. Random probability of the
samples proved beneficial for assessing the success of the participants towards exposing proper
response to the condition. There was no difference between the conditions used for the
assessment of the students’ approach towards the application of the thinking skills in the
preparation stage. In terms of post-delayed tests, the response test was 45% (Heijltjes et al.,
2014). This included the control factors, critical instructions for thinking skills and self-
explanation attempts. Here, special attention was given on the spontaneity towards undertaking
the decisions.

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Logical regression process was used for investigating the number of participants, who
can complete the immediate post test. The results indicated that these participants differed from
the samples who emerged successful in completing both the immediate post test and the delayed
post test.
Implications of the findings on management practice
Keeping the lower range for assessing the capability of the participants proved effective
in terms of the grasping skills of the staffs. This is because the staffs in a workplace have
different grasping skills. Random selection of the participants is a wise step towards saving lot of
time, which can be devoted towards executing the other research related activities. Countering
this, the time and financial constraints cannot be averted. Lack of difference between the
conditions in critical thinking on pre-tests is appropriate (Heijltjes et al., 2014). This reflects the
different circumstances in which the staffs prepare for the tests related to logical reasoning and
thinking skills. Some of the staffs do not have the necessary requirements regarding the
workplace scenario.
Considering of the educational background is appropriate in terms of maintaining the
workplace culture. However, rationality needs to be maintained in this consideration in terms of
extending helping hand to the students, who failed to take adequate preparation for the test. This
rationality would be crucial in terms of averting the instances of conflicts, discrimination and
biasness between the students. Consideration of critical thinking dispositions could have been
from a liberal approach. This is because not all of the students would be able to apply their
logical reasoning and thinking skills immediately after the results (Cottrell, 2017). They would
some time for reaching into the depth of the lecture delivered.

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The results for delay post test are appropriate. This is because delay in the tests means the
students got extra time for preparing for the tests. However, in their unconscious mind, there is a
fear regarding the questions they would be asked. This is not the case for all the students, as
some of the students just revised the answers. Typical evidence of this is the 45% response in the
delayed post test (Heijltjes et al., 2014). This figure includes control over the test, critical
thinking, self-explanation prompts and activation prompts, which lead to critical thinking.
Logical regression reflected the difference between the students, who could complete the
immediate post test and delayed post test. However, all the times logic is not the right choice for
evaluating the performance of the students. Sometimes, liberal approach towards the ways and
means adopted by the students helps the teachers to enhance their academic establishment
(McPeck, 2016).
Overall evaluation
Structure wise, the article aligns with the structure of research. However, proposing the
impact of the results in one of the areas, where the article fails to follow the traditional research
format. Even though the information are enough to enrich the preconceived information of the
economic students, improper structure can make them confused in terms of taking appropriate
decisions.
According to the propositions and arguments, the article gets full marks. An insight into
the variables of the research and the anticipated findings validates the attempts of the authors to
illuminate the aspect of critical thinking and decision making. Within this, consideration of the
conditions for decision-making is enough for making the students aware of the application of
logical reasoning (Heijltjes et al., 2014). One of the important points here is the disposition of

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lectures, which the teachers deliver. Most of the students take little time for grasping these
lectures, which compels the students to face difficulties in answering the questions. This is more
difficult when the students are randomly picked for answering the question. The major drive
behind this is the incapability to apply the logical reasoning and thinking skills spontaneously.
The aspect of self explanation prompts can be related with the act of evaluating the
performance in class. Emerging successful in justifying the kind of behavior exposed in class
inculcates self-organizational skills within the students. This success includes planned behavior
and reasoned action for reciprocating the disposed lectures in an efficient and effective manner.
Delving deep into the aspect, applying logical reasoning is both planned action and reasoned
behavior in case of the students towards responding to the delivered lectures (Huber & Kuncel,
2016). Promptness can be both a reasoned action and planned behavior. For example, if nobody
is able to answer the question posed by the teacher and one of the students promptly answers the
questions, it is the logical and reasoned behavior. The student has taken the right decision
spontaneously in order to manage the situation.
Focusing on the economic students might not be a wise selection. This is because the
students from other fields also need to take important decision, which needs the application of
logical reasoning and thinking. Countering this, the field of economics can be considered as a
mere example to enliven the process, condition and pre-requisites for taking a decision. In terms
of the prevision sentence, economics is a part for the whole of the professions, where the
individuals really work hard to think logically and take the right decision (Bensley & Spero,
2014).

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One of the other dimensions of the article is the relationship between the teacher and the
student. The base of this relationship is the support, guidance towards the students by the
teachers in terms of shaping their future. Asking the students to apply logical reasoning and
thinking skills, for taking decisions, can be considered as their attempt to push the students
towards maturity, a step closer to their personal development. Training is the support, which
helps the students to improve their thinking skills and progress towards a better future (Dwyer,
Hogan & Stewart, 2014).

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References and bibliography
Bensley, D. A., & Spero, R. A. (2014). Improving critical thinking skills and metacognitive
monitoring through direct infusion. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 12, 55-68.
Cottrell, S. (2017). Critical thinking skills. Macmillan Education.
Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M. J., & Stewart, I. (2014). An integrated critical thinking framework for
the 21st century. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 12, 43-52.
Heijltjes, A., Van Gog, T., Leppink, J., & Paas, F. (2014). Improving critical thinking: Effects of
dispositions and instructions on economics students' reasoning skills. Learning and
Instruction, 29, 31-42.
Huber, C. R., & Kuncel, N. R. (2016). Does college teach critical thinking? A meta-
analysis. Review of Educational Research, 86(2), 431-468.
McPeck, J. E. (2016). Critical thinking and education. Routledge.