Methods And Models Of Critical Thinking - Essay Example

Critical thinking is effectively used in the decision-making process and helps to remove doubt. It involves having an objective to achieve and the tests of whether that objective is being achieved or not form the control criteria. Another definition is proposed by Halpern (1996): "Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills and strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome purposeful, reasoned and goal-directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions" (McGuiness, 2004).

In general, decisions involve the future and involve choice, therefore, they can be wrong. The point to consider is, who makes decisions in an organization, and what are the criteria in delegating some decisions to subordinates These questions can be answered by finding out those decisions where the chances of being wrong are high and the cost of correction is large: these can then be reserved for top management. Lower ranks would be allowed to decide where there was more certainty of being correct and the cost of correction is low.

Many decisions are made by managers from a certain number of factors they have considered. The reality of the situation is that there may, in fact, be many more factors unknown to them that they should have considered. Analysis (based on critical thinking) of alternatives and their possible consequences can be assisted by techniques and the use of probability theory. It may be useful to look at decisions in terms of systems theory. Any choice that induces flow, or changes in the flow rate, is a decision (McGuiness, 2004).

The main benefit of critical thinking is that it allows managers to solve complex problems and to understand the consequences of the decision. Rates are where the action is, i.e. what takes place between levels in a system.