...Critical Thinking Application Paper Augie Ruyle MGT/350 Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making Matthew Swanson University of Phoenix June 6, 2011 This Critical Thinking Application Paper that you are about to read will include a few descriptions of critical thinking, along with a few of the importance and benefits of critical thinking in the decision-making processes, and examples of a personal experience in applying critical thinking to a work related decision. Thank you and enjoy the reading. From the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, is a well known psychological test of critical thinking ability. The authors of this test define critical thinking as: …a composite of attitudes, knowledge, and skills. This composite includes: (1). attitudes of inquiry that involves an ability to recognize the existence of problems and an acceptance of the general need for evidence in support of what is asserted to be true; (2). Knowledge of the nature of valid inferences, abstractions, and generalizations in which the weight or accuracy of different kinds of evidence are logically determined; and (3). Skills in employing and applying the above attitudes and knowledge. Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. Someone with critical thinking skills will be able to: understand the logical connection between ideas, identify, construct and evaluate arguments, detect...
Words: 1294 - Pages: 6
...Critical Thinking Application Paper Laura Jones Mgt 350 January 10, 2010 Bill Shell Critical Thinking Application Paper A person uses critical thinking daily without realizing what he or she is doing. Critical thinking helps people make decisions, small or large. A person will use critical thinking on a personal level, such as buying a house or a car or even down to whether he or she should buy a shirt. In the business world, people will use critical thinking skills to make decisions that impact the company. As this paper progresses, I will be discussing what critical thinking is, the steps that are taken when using the critical thinking process, an example of how I used critical thinking in the workplace, and the benefits and importance of using critical thinking when making a decision. What is Critical Thinking? According to Dictionary.com critical thinking is defined as “the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion” (2010). Critical thinking in the ideal form is based on broad intelligent values that surpass situational division. By this I am meaning to make use of good critical thinking, one must use accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance to the situation, good reasoning, facts, and clarifying the situation (National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, 2009). University of Phoenix has nine...
Words: 905 - Pages: 4
...CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION VIRGINIA RACKINS MGT/350 JUNE 13, 2011 This paper will explain critical thinking and it will also explain the importance of a person’s ability to think critically. Also in this paper I will describe a personal experience that uses the critical thinking skill and how I benefited from using those skills Critical thinking is being able to make clear and rational decisions. A critical thinker must clear his or her mind to make a good sound decision. Critical thinking is a tool that people use in everyday life. Critical thinking is a tool that a person uses no matter what profession him or her is in. In the business world today critical thinking is an important tool to use because when an organization uses critical thinking he or she uses it to hire employees or for making decisions that will benefit the organization. People use his or her thinking skills for various reasons. He or she may use it to job search or try to figure out what to wear. Critical thinking is beneficial to the decision making process and everyone uses it in his or her life daily. Critical thinking can help us process information better and it also analyzes the information quicker. Critical thinking is a skill that a supervisor or an employee may use on the job. At work a person maybe faced with situations that need the skill of critical thinking. Using this skillful tool all the time a person will improve the quality of ones own thinking...
Words: 721 - Pages: 3
...Critical Thinking Application Paper Linda Page MGT/350 August 6, 2011 Hawthorne Welcher Critical Thinking Application Paper According to Paul and Elder (2006) Critical thinking is the art of thinking about thinking while thinking in order to make thinking better. It involves three interwoven phases: it analyzes thinking, it evaluates thinking, and it improves thinking. When the author thinks of decision-making and critical thinking, she knows that they go hand in hand. The author is employed by the Fort Gordon Commissary, which is a military grocery store. Within her department there are three store associates/ tellers and one lead teller, they all handle customer services. Being the lead teller the author has a major reasonability to up hold, especially with customer services. Our customers expect us to be able to fix whatever is wrong with their order, from over rings to lost items. There are days where the author has to make decision as to whether if the customer is due a refund or a simple exchange of an item or if the situation that the customer is complaining about is a bagger problem. This is where the author believes their biggest problem is the baggers and the way they bag. A lot of the time the tellers has to evaluate if the situation, to see if the bagger did damage the customer groceries or if the customer is trying to get over. The way that the tellers have been able to analyze the problem, is to tell the customer if there is any damage to their grocer the...
Words: 719 - Pages: 3
...Abstract Critical thinking is the method of studying a dilemma in order to reach the most reasonable deduction. In a nutshell it is the method of examining, and making the situation better (Paul and Elder, 2007). A critical thinker is more industrious as a member of staff and as an individual. Critical thinking is crucial in a commerce atmosphere working to eradicate swift managerial decisions. Asserting critical thinking skills makes it possible for individuals to formulate knowledgeable decisions. Critically thinking helps individuals to be aware of the trouble and the origin of the trouble. When the dilemma is acknowledged, utilizing critical thinking allows us to arrive at possible solutions to the problem. The decision-making method permits individuals to consider every decision and decide which decision best works to settle the dilemma. Critical Thinking Application Paper MGT350 September 6, 2010 Queen Lane Abstract Critical thinking is the method of studying a dilemma in order to reach the most reasonable deduction. In a nutshell it is the method of examining, and making the situation better (Paul and Elder, 2007). A critical thinker is more industrious as a member of staff and as an individual. Critical thinking is crucial in a commerce atmosphere working to eradicate swift managerial decisions. Asserting critical thinking skills makes it possible for individuals to formulate knowledgeable decisions. Critically thinking helps individuals to be aware of the...
Words: 834 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking Application Paper 1 Critical Thinking Application 2 I am going to discuss what critical thinking means. Critical thinking is the disciplined intellectually process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action (Paul & Scriven, 1987). An important aspect of life is thinking. Thinking is something everyone does naturally as living and breathing, but largely one's thinking is imprecise, partially uninformed, biased, or narrow-minded. Some of the personal barriers to critical thinking includes; self-concept, ego defense, rationalization, self-serving biases, and emotional influences (Goodpaster & Kirby, 2007). Critical thinking is a vital instrument to high-quality decision-making. Everyone has some level of prejudices biases or, which can get in the way high-quality decision-making. Critical thinking should not depend on any underlying motivation. I was a customer service representative for Energizer Battery. I was with Energizer for five years. I first started in the customer service department as a Customer Service Account Representative. I then went to work in the planning and scheduling department as a Senior Logistics Associate. In both roles that I have worked in, critical thinking has always played a major asset. Critical thinking is an...
Words: 800 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking Application Paper Critical Thinking Application Paper University of Phoenix April Armstrong Instructor Karen Amabile Date August 3, 2009 Critical Thinking Application Paper Critical thinking can be described as identifying and challenging assumptions and exploring and imagining alternatives. The idea of not having critical thinking would be to believe everyone no matter what they are saying. Everyone would believe all the commercials on television, any politicians who are giving his or her election speeches, all reading material that is read, and it must be correct if certain organizations are doing it. Critical thinking has eight main components that are known as perception, assumptions, emotion, language, argument, fallacy, logic, and problem solving. Perception is the how an individual receives or explains our personal experiences and how it is received interprets what that person thinks about a certain situation. This can vary from individual to individual. Assumptions in critical thinking are ideas about human nature that are evidence without proof of argument. The assumptions are what people believe to be true and make a person feel comfortable in his or her beliefs. Presenting the choice between two possibilities is an important feature of thinking critically. Emotion is another component in critical thinking that should not be involved even though it is always there. Emotions help individuals to understand all the issues...
Words: 882 - Pages: 4
...Running head: CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION PAPER Critical Thinking Application Paper Beatriz Whitman University of Phoenix Critical thinking: Strategies in decision-making 350 Robert Wenger July 26, 2010 Critical Thinking Application Paper Making decisions is a skill that people use daily in their personal and professional lives. Although people make decisions often, knowing how to think critically is a learned skill that not everyone does effectively. Thinking critically allows a decision-maker to analyze a problem or situation in a structured fashion to come to a sound conclusion. In this paper I will explain critical thinking and provide an example from my own personal experience applying critical thinking in the workplace. I will also look at the importance and benefits of critical thinking in the decision-making process. “Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically” (The Critical Thinking Community [CTC], 2009, para 8). Effective critical thinkers are non-discriminatory, which enables them to consider all relevant viewpoints equally without letting assumptions or bias interfere. These strong-sense critical thinkers place value in the fair and just and make ethical decisions (Paul & Elder, 2006). To think critically, a person must have the ability to view...
Words: 929 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking Application Paper University of Phoenix MGT 350 Oretha Johnson The purpose of this paper is to provide an example from personal experience in applying critical thinking to a work-related decision, and the importance and benefits of critical thinking in the decision-making processes. Using a work related decision and personal experience, conveying the importance of critical thinking in this decision-making process will reveal itself in the form of a question, and an opinion (Wilder, 2001). Critical thinking is the mode of thinking about a problem, subject or content in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them (Paul & Elder, 2006). The court system is a demanding industry and requires a great deal of critical thinking. I retired in March 2012 as the Administrative Coordinator of Operations for the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office. This job had high-level responsibilities and authority as well as tough decision making. I used critical thinking as a measuring rod and a means of making effective decisions. There was an employee on my team that was not performing her job duties. She was a likable person and was favored by the boss. On another note, she was experiencing challenges at home and with her health. I had to find a logical reason for the cause of the problem, in terms of her work performance. My findings...
Words: 724 - Pages: 3
...Critical Thinking Application Critical Thinking Application Paper MGT/350 May 8, 2010 Roger Sevison Critical Thinking Application Abstract In this paper I will define what critical thinking is, the outcome of critical thinking and what critical thinking means to me. I will also discuss when to use critical thinking and why it is important to use critical thinking when decision making. Critical Thinking I believe that critical thinking occurs when someone is constantly taking in all kinds of information, weighing the pros and cons from that information, and deciding the best outcome for the situation. In decision-making, critical thinking occurs when a person takes their time to think carefully and plan every aspect of what will happen in their life. I believe that everyone should make goals or plans to what he want out of life and how they want their lives to turn out. Critical thinking can be used in any situation. Critical thinking will allow a person to reach his goals by keeping the person focused on doing the right things. Critical Thinking (cont’d) Critical thinking is the concept from which good decisions come from. Critical thinking occurs when a person thinks of the possible outcomes from different scenarios that could take place on a daily and chooses the best one. Decision making is an important aspect...
Words: 821 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking Application Paper MGT 350 April 10, 2011 Harry Derderian Critical Thinking Application Report Critical thinking is a term that we have all heard from our parents, teachers, managers or friends. However, I doubt that many of us have really taken the time to fully understand what it means and why it is so important. The purpose of this report is to gain an understanding of what critical thinking means and why it is so fundamentally important that we conscientiously practice and use critical thinking skills every day. This task will be accomplished by using a work place example and outlining the benefits of the critical thinking process. Critical Thinking Defined The quick and easy way to define critical thinking is to research it on-line. For instance, according to the website, Dictionary.com, critical thinking is defined as “the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion”. This definition is a good start, but we must explore it on a deeper level to fully understand critical thinking. According to Facione (2011), an international group of experts were asked to define critical thinking. The team came up with a few conclusions. One conclusion is that critical thinking requires a purpose to the thinking and it can be done either independently or collaboratively. They decided critical thinking requires the following...
Words: 833 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking Application Paper Critical Thinking Application Paper University of Phoenix – Online Daisy Keys August 2, 2010 Instructor: Courtney Wilson Critical thinking is an important form of thinking in problem-solving and decision-making. An individual’s thought process has to be broken down from the natural thinking to begin thinking critically to determine the best non-bias solution within a situation or conflict. However, when thinking critically, one thinks about thinking while controlling emotions. In critical thinking we are looking for a reasonable and logical truth base solution toward any decision affecting us and the people around us. Critical thinking and decision-making is a process to discover the truth, and an important aspect of thinking is the process that relies on the ability to structure and coordinate ideas to make sense. However, teaching the mind to use the critical thinking process helps to understand information better. In this paper I will explain the nature of critical thinking, the irrational disposition, the role of emotions in critical thinking, and the benefits of critical thinking. The Nature of Critical Thinking The intellectual root of critical thinking is as ancient as its etymology, ultimately, traceable, to the vision and teaching practice of Socrates some 2,500 years ago who discovered by a method of exploring questions that people could not rationally justify sure claims to knowledge...
Words: 1192 - Pages: 5
...Critical Thinking Application Paper MGT/350 Critical Thinking Application Paper In life, decisions must always be made. These decisions could be based on anything from a business decision, to whether or not you should buy one car over another. The decision could be something minor, such as if you want peanut butter and jelly or a ham sandwich. Conversely, the decision could be something major, such as whether you should pay the expensive bill to save a sick pet or simply put them down and end their suffering. Both ways one looks at it the decisions must be made, and critical thinking is simply a process one uses to make these decisions. Dictionary.com defines critical thinking as “the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion”. Simply put, critical thinking is considering your options and making the best decision based on the information you are given. I would venture to say that critical thinking would be the opposite of making a “blind-decision” or an uninformed decision. When I first started working for the previous company that employed me, our shop manager was faced with a decision to make. A prospective supplier came to our shop offering what seemed to be a great deal. The deal proposed was that this supplier had the ability to offer our bolts and other shop supplies at an almost 50% reduction in price. Because that seemed like such a “no-brainer” the...
Words: 857 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking Application Paper Thinking is a very common in every second in life that many people do realize how important thinking is to how people live. How a critical thinking has been done there is always thinking going on. "The best thinkers use their ability to think well in every dimension of their lives" (Paul & Elder, 2006). In this paper, discussing the definition of critical thinking, my personal experiences with critical thinking, and the importance and benefits of critical thinking in the logical decision-making process. "Critical thinking is that mode of thinking- about any subject, content, or problem- in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them" (Scriven & Paul, 2004). As humans are growing up in school or in family, they are taught to think logically about subjects and decisions that are being made. Critical thinking is more in depth thinking and speaking people to think outside of the box and take a hard look at what they are doing and analyze it to come up with a more effective decision. Everything they know and think is based on something that they have learned or observed in their lifetime and it will continue every day. “The best thinkers analyze their thinking, evaluate their thinking and improve their thinking” (Paul & Elder, 2006). When I think back to situations I have been put in I can see that I was not thinking...
Words: 919 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking Application Paper Stacy Parks MGT/350 31January2010 Raquishela Stewart Critical Thinking Application Critical thinking involves much more than merely thinking about an issue and coming up with a conclusion. Everybody has the ability to think, but individual thinking is not fully informed and is usually biased (Kirby & Goodpaster). Most individuals can make simple decisions based upon experience and training. Many organizations even have guides and resources to help aide managers with organizational decisions based upon the most frequent issues that may present within the organization. In this instance critical thinking is not required; however critical thinking is required when there is no instruction or guidelines to follow and a decision must be made that will affect others. The quality and success of an organization depends upon the quality of the thought and evaluation managers and leaders place in their decision making( Kirby & Goodpaster). Critical thinking involves the careful evaluation of evidence to help guide through the process of decision making. Critical thinkers must analysis, and evaluate information to reach a well-informed conclusion (Paul & Elder). Critical thinkers generally gather their information from personal experiences, communication with others, questioning and reasoning. Critical thinkers possess the ability to apply a level of reasoning to situations that may be unfamiliar with. Thinking critically means...
Words: 767 - Pages: 4
