Critical Thinking and Decision Making Critical thinking and decision-making are two valuable issues, which enable us to address our concerns in our daily lives in a more practical fashion. Critical thinking can be understood as a way of becoming aware of, and taking control of our own thinking processes in order to think more effectively. Critical Thinking is about becoming a better thinker in every aspect of your life as a student, friend, and professional. It is also a way to approach problems and make decisions.
Decision-making is being able to identify and chose alternatives based on the values and preferences of you as the decision maker. Many of our decisions are simple, like deciding on what clothes to wear, or what you would like for dinner. Other decisions are complicated or complex, like purchasing a new car or home. As we learn how to think more effectively, we allow ourselves to discover new opportunities, avoid making terrible mistakes, and gain a much clearer perspective on life. The authors in the materials used for this class (MGT 350) describe critical thinking as a foundation for effective problem solving and decision-making. The authors in our materials explain a few of the characteristics of a critical thinker.
Some of the characteristics of a critical thinker are: . Critical thinkers are honest with themselves. Overcome confusion. Base judgment on evidence. Open minded. Analytical In my opinion, critical thinking is about knowing your own strengths and weaknesses in order to make good decisions.
I also feel that the foundation of critical thinking involves asking the right questions, and taking responsibility for any judgments I make. This is how critical thinking ties into decision making, because from asking the right questions, you are able to filter the information before making decisions that may assist you personally, and professionally. Everything we do in life is determined by the quality of our thinking and the decisions that we make. A few of the benefits of critical thinkers are they are good questioners. They make sure they ask the right questions to get the right answers in order to make a reasonable decision. Critical thinkers also listen before making any judgments.
Then they sort out the information and ask questions regarding the problem, rather than jump to conclusions or make assumptions. Decision-making and problem solving are the very core of my position as a Physician Coordinator at Group Health. Some of my duties consist of making sure all enrollees have physicians, and updating our physician resources on the web. The web information I update needs to be done in a timely manner, in order for our company to operate and be updated on the status of our doctors.
All the questions and answers regarding physicians are in the palm of my hands. “Developing critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills allow us to see all sides of an issue, look for creative alternatives and make well-thought out decisions. We all make decisions every day. However, studies have shown that most people are much poorer at decision making than they think.
An understanding of what decision-making involves, together with a few effective techniques, will help produce better decisions.” (Unknown, 2003).