Critical Thinking Application Paper

Posted: November 29th, 2013

Critical Thinking Application Paper

Name:

Course:

Institution:

Instructor:

Date:

Critical Thinking Application Paper

Introduction

Educational institutions endeavor to teach their students how to think and make decisions in different situations. Critical thinking as defined by Christine McMahon (2005) is, “good thinking needed by practitioners in the discipline: accurate, relevant, reasonable, rigorous—whether it be analyzing, synthesizing, generalizing, applying concepts, interpreting, analyzing, evaluating, supporting arguments and hypotheses, solving problems, or making decisions”. In terms of making decisions, critical thinking involves identification of a problem, analyzing it and making the best decision with the aim of solving the problem. Those who apply this process are referred to as critical thinkers. They can be students or professionals.

Discussion

Critical thinking is applied in different fields. For instance, in schools critical thinking students ask questions in class and do not wait for teachers to give them direction on how to do assignments. They are the most confident and always come up with the best solutions to classroom problems. Critical thinking is also applicable in the workplace especially when it comes to creative thinking and decision-making. Critical thinking helps the decision makers to weigh the possible solutions to an issue before making a decision. There are cases where presented problems require innovative solutions. Critical thinking provides a strong basis for investigations, new ideas and favorable solutions.

Example

Critical thinking in the workplace provides an opportunity to improve the relationship between colleagues and their bosses. When there was a case of misappropriation of funds at my place of work, as the financial manager I had to suspend the accounts officer. Before I made my decision on the suspension, I hired a private investigator to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter. The investigation took about three months, and I took time to listen to the accounts officer’s explanation about the disappeared funds. I analyzed the explanation and the evidence collected by the private investigator before making my final decision to sack the accounts officer. I felt that this displayed the use of critical thinking on my part as the financial manager by identifying, analyzing and making the decision.

Benefits and Importance

It is essential to apply critical thinking when making decisions because one of the benefits of doing so is that it helps in the generation of flourishing ideas in the workplace. During a job interview, candidates are often asked questions that test their abilities in critical thinking. This helps the interviewers to pick the right candidates. Employees who seek promotions also use critical thinking to strategize on how they will get the promotion. Human resources managers use critical thinking to base their decisions on whether to suspend and terminate employees. Critical thinking skills are also paramount when marketing and selling a company’s products and services. Those responsible for customer service and relations apply their critical thinking skills when engaging in conflict resolution in terms of understanding their products and the needs of their customers.

Conclusion

            The application of critical thinking is a process that results in rational conclusion making in different situations. These situations vary from the teaching and learning process, creativity and the working environment. Critical thinkers routinely question everything they do before coming to a conclusion. This perception is what helps in providing the best reasoning in the decision making process. Paul & Elder (2006) say, “As critical thinkers, we analyze thinking in order to evaluate it. We evaluate it in order to improve it”. This means that critical thinking is a continuous process that always guarantees the best results. The integration of analysis and evaluation contributes to the formulation of effective decisions in certain situations and issues.

Reference

McMahon, C. “The Year of Critical Thinking at Prince George’s Community College: An Integrated Professional Development Program”. New Directions for Community Colleges. vol.130. (2005): pp. 79-85.

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.