Critical Thinking and Decision Making - Research Paper Example

Critical Thinking and Decision Making Review the article in this week’s resources d “Whitewater Managing.” Of the four options described, which is generally your decision-making style? Why do you favor this approach or how have you used it successfully? Of the four decision-making styles, I would say that I am more aligned with option 2, which is to gather lots of information to reduce risk significantly (Clark, 2012). The reason why I say this is because I like to check through all the possible decisions before making one.

I realize that this may be time-consuming, but I like to know what I am getting myself into. I am not the kind of person who just goes with a decision because it feels right; I have to be able to justify it through facts and evidence. The downside to this approach is that some times I can take too long to make decisions and by that time it is too late to change anything. Other people can become frustrated by my decision-making efforts because I don’t appear to know what I am doing, but actually I am sometimes guilty of over thinking things.

If I am to speed up my thought processes, then I will need to set time boundaries that force me to make a decision by. I will also take to heart the words of Andrew Jackson: “…when the time for action has come, stop thinking and act” (Clark, 2012). If I can find a balance between strategizing and acting, then I should become a better decision maker. Why is it important that there be a variety of approaches to management and decision making? It is important to have a variety of approaches to management and decision making because there are some variables that can change at a moment’s notice.

In order to be prepared for sudden changes, it is best to have a couple of backup plans that can be implemented if things don’t exactly turn out as planned. Part of being a successful manager is considering all the options on the table and then sticking with one but keeping some options in reserve. That way, the research and planning stages would have already been carried out and the new strategy can be integrated seamlessly.In Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools, the authors state, "Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated" (Elder & Paul, 2009, p. 2). What will you do to improve your level of critical thinking?

How will this improve your abilities as a manager and as a graduate student? I will improve my level of critical thinking by sticking to the point. I have a bad habit of getting sidetracked from an issue, and this slows down my critical thinking. In order to change this, I will need to be “on the lookout for fragmented thinking, thinking that leaps with no logical connections” (Elder & Paul, 2011). This will be difficult for me to begin with, but as long as I only think about the relevant information on hand instead of all the meaningless information,then I am sure that I will become a better critical thinker.

Becoming a better critical thinker will greatly assist my abilities as a manager and as a graduate student because there is much pressure associated with these roles. A manager is required to sift through enormous amounts of information yet only focus on the really important stuff. Likewise, graduate students must work hard to only take in the information that is valuable to them. Graduate students are required to sit many high pressure exams, so it is up to them to only remember information that will help them to succeed.

ReferencesClark, G. (2012, February 10). Business decision: Whitewater managing. Retrieved from ProfitGuide: http://www.profitguide.com/manage-grow/leadership/business-decision-whitewater-managing-29687Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2011, September 10). Becoming a Critic Of Your Thinking. Retrieved from The Critical Thinking Community: http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/becoming-a-critic-of-your-thinking/478