Critical Thinking And Decision example essay topic

"I think, therefore I am". - Rene Descartes. "Give no decision 'til both sides thou " st heard". - Phocyllides (The Quotation Page) Critical thinking and decision making: what are they?

Are they related? Do they have any relevance to our daily lives? Critical thinking and decision making are, in fact, closely intertwined, and can have profound effects upon both our professional and personal lives. Critical thinking is a process that involves examining an idea or premise to determine several different criteria: "What are the issues and the conclusions? What are the reasons? What words or phrases are ambiguous?

What are the value conflicts and assumptions? What are the descriptive assumptions? Are there any fallacies in the reasoning? How good is the evidence? Are there rival causes? Are the statistics deceptive?

What significant information is omitted? What reasonable conclusions are possible?" (Browne, 40) These questions all have the same end point as a focus. When we use critical thinking, we go past just accepting the idea as it is presented to us. Instead, we question it.

We look for the assumptions and inferences in it. We ask questions if there is ambiguous language. We point out logical fallacies. As we do these things, we are able to hone closer to the bone.

We may not get to the ultimate truth of the matter, but we may get closer to what the author or speaker really wants to get across. Browne et al., define critical thinking as a process by which one sifts through information to separate clear thinking from sloppy thinking. (Browne, 27) I think of critical thinking more as a way to get to the kernel of truth hidden within the husk of the author's biases. It is a way we can recognize, analyze and move past assumptions, ambiguities and biases to get to the truth of the matter, or at least as close to that truth as we can. Boychuk Duchscher defines four components of critical thinking: identifying and challenging assumptions; context; exploring and imagining alternatives; reflective skepticism.

(Boychuk Duchscher, 3) Critical thinking is not just an end unto itself. When we use critical thinking on an idea, so that we have examined it and have come closer to what we feel is the truth of the matter, we are better able to make a decision on the matter, if one is required. What is involved in decision making? Although each decision may seem to be an end to the question, "the point is that decisions... are not simple, discrete events". (Browne, 129) Decisions build upon one another. I decide to have breakfast; then I must decide what to have for breakfast.

Because I decided to have Shredded Wheat cereal for breakfast, I decide to thoroughly floss my teeth. You can see how each decision follows its predecessor. I define decision making as the process that results from using critical thinking towards a specific end. One engages in decision making when one uses critical thinking to find a solution to a problem or situation. According to Helliwell, there are four points that need to be reached in the decision cycle: o Examining the problem to determine the need for a decision. o Using critical thinking to sort through as much available information as possible. o Applying "gut instinct" (Helliwell, 2) to the decision as it forms. o Determining the advantages and disadvantages of the decision. (Helliwell, 2) Browne et al. define decision making in the following manner: "Decisions are streams of choices.

While each choice might be treated as a discrete event and each subproblem might be considered a discrete problem, the choices accumulate either by design or happen-stance. At some point, the accumulation builds a momentum of its own that can sweep up even well-intentioned decision makers". (Browne, 133) It is this accumulation that makes critical thinking so important to decision making. If one neglects to think carefully before making a decision, and as a result a poor decision is made, the results of that poor decision could snowball. Since each subsequent decision may depend on its predecessor, one poor decision can lead all future decisions down the wrong path.

Take, for example, the situation described by Browne et al. of the accident in 1974 when a cargo door blew off a DC-10. Many poor decisions, some innocuous at the time, led to this problem. No one intended for this to happen, but it did, and a poor decision trail contributed to the tragedy. (Browne, 114) There are many benefits to being a critical thinker. One of the most important is that, once you begin using critical thinking in your daily life, you are no longer allowing other people to think for you. You are not accepting others' thoughts and opinions as your own, but are instead actively searching for your own personal thoughts and opinions.

Critical thinking also has the benefit of helping you to reach better decisions. Better decisions can, among other things, save money, time and effort. McGinnity and Kelley give a case study where critical thinking allowed a case manager to determine the true reason a client wanted to change agencies, and allowed the manager to resolve the issue without going through the cost of firing and hiring agencies. (3) A third benefit of critical thinking is how it helps sharpen your perceptions. As you become accustomed to thinking critically, you begin to see assumptions and biases of ideas and statements that you come across, and can immediately begin to explore the information at hand. I see the effects that both the presence and the absence of critical thinking have on my workplace every day.

When a customer service representative is using critical thinking skills, he is able to gather information from a user about what kind of browser, operating system and specific error message the user is getting before passing it on to technical support; in most cases, the representative can solve the problem right there, just by asking the right questions and gathering the required information. When a customer service representative is not using critical thinking skills, all we may hear is, "The exam is not working". Which exam? Which course?

What user? What happened? The information we " ve received is useless without elaboration. The absence of critical thinking is also felt in the way the server architecture is set up, and in the way some of the course information is kept. Even though moving to a content management system, to become SCORM / AICC compliant and win more accounts, has been proposed several times, it has never made any headway, because senior technical management thinks things should stay the same as they always have been. The server architecture suffers the same fate, even though its structure has contributed to several outages of the entire site.

Critical thinking can be a beneficial process that can help you find the truth behind a statement, or a better way to do something, but it must be implemented to be of any use. By using critical thinking to find the assumptions, ambiguities, inferences, biases and logical fallacies in a statement or idea, you can find reasons to bolster support for your own opinions, find reasons to change opinions, and find paths to better decision making. Boychuk Duchscher, Judy E. "Catching the Wave: Understanding the Concept of Critical Thinking". Journal of Advanced Nursing; Mar 99, Vol. 29 Issue 3, p 577, 7 p web (20 Oct 2003) Browne, M. Neil et al.

"Readings in Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making". MA: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2001. Helliwell, Rick. "Keys to Critical Thinking". New Zealand Management; Jul 2000, Vol. 47 Issue 6, p 44, 2 p web (19 Oct 2003) McGinnity, Eileen and Kelley, Terry A. "Critical Thinking for Case Managers". Inside Case Management; Aug 1999, p 10, 3 p web (19 Oct 2003) "Quotation Search - Quote Search - The Quotation Page", web (19 Oct 2003).