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Critical Thinking Application

Matthew Johnson

MGT/350

June 27, 2011

Ly H. Pham

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Critical Thinking Application

Critical thinking is the process of evaluating information pertaining to a situation or a

problem and forming reasonable scenarios regarding a solution. Every decision made is derived

from the way one processes information and the quality of that decision is in direct relation to the

quality of the way one thinks. Decisions made from a sub-par thinking can lead to inadequate

decisions at work. In this paper the writer will discuss ways critical thinking is used in the

workplace. It will also be discussed the importance of critical thinking and how it can improve

one’s quality of thinking. The writer will discuss the benefits of critical thinking and how critical

thinking can lead a thinker to more creative ways to solve a problem.

Critical Thinking at Work

Working on the sales floor of a large retail chain, critical thinking is not a tool that is

required as frequently as it would be in a manager’s position. The culture within the store has

formulated every possible outcome for the more frequent problems that have occurred. On the

rare occasion that we have to resolve a situation without the crutch of management and

regulations critical thinking is a vital part of the job. Dealing with customers who have a unique

problem requires critical thinking as well as quick thinking, because I work in the Electronics

department customers have to be dealt with quickly so that we can help the next one. We deal

with issues with very little information given up front and we are expected to help them so they

walk out of the store happy. For example, we sometimes get calls from customers who purchased

a television but the television has failed in some manner. The customer has called us to help him

resolve the situation, we must use our knowledge of the product as well as the information the

customer has volunteered and information we have gathered from asking specific questions

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concerning how the television is hooked up and its behavior before it failed to provide a

reasonable course of action to get the television working again.

Importance of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking gives people the opportunity to understand the problems they might

encounter and to build on that understanding without guidance. Critical thinkers must be

analytical and use good judgment and must understand that thinking is linear and builds upon

itself. Critical thinking and the traits that are required for critical thinking are important to the

decision making process, it enables a person to assess the circumstances or a situation and to

make decisions based on a lucid train of thought. New situations occur all the time and it is

important to have the tools and creativity to deal with the situation logically and not go into it

blindly. Teaching someone to be a better critical thinker will help produce a better manager and

employee. We have to question, think, use logic and think more to become creative critical

thinkers and more importantly we learn from the problems we solve (Young, 1998).

Benefits of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking can beneficial in everyday life not just in the business world, though in

business is where is can potentially be the most lucrative toward a person’s career. Critical

thinking will influence you to use the creative side of thinking to seek new and unique ways to

solve a problem, which enhances the originality of the work of the individual or group. Critical

thinking involves tools such as, assessing through observation and communication both are tools

that can be useful in everyday life (Nicholls, De Charon, & Hutkin, 2010). As Socrates said “To

find yourself, think for yourself” (Cashman, 2008).

Conclusion

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Critical thinking is the method of choice when dealing with problems that require a fair

amount of thinking. Time is not always a factor that can be relied on, some quality decisions

need to be made quickly and they need to be the best possible decision. This is why critical

thinking is an important and beneficial tool to be learned. The ability to think clearly is not

always something that is naturally acquired, some thinker will have to learn how to think

critically and those thinkers will need to practice to become adept at critical thinking, once

critical thinking is mastered it will be second nature.

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References

Cashman, K. (2008). Leadership from the inside out: Becoming a leader for life. San Francisco:

Berrett-Koehler.

NICHOLLS, D., DE CHARON, L., & HUTKIN, R. (2010). Development of Critical Thinking and

Creativity: Practical Guidelines for the Postsecondary Classroom. ATEA Journal, 38(1),

12-15. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Young, D. (1998). The importance of critical thinking... in response to December 1997 guest

editorial, "Critical Thinking -- say what?" by Karen H. Morin, DSN, RN (Vol. 36, No.

10, pp. 450-451). Journal of Nursing Education, 37(4), 153-154. Retrieved from

EBSCOhost.

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References

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