Application of critical thinking on everyday problems

Making decisions in today’s world can be challenging and confusing because there are many differing viewpoints and contradictory assertions. Who are you to believe? Developing the ability to critically think about the issues, to understand and question the underlying assumptions and the inferences drawn from those assumptions is a critical skill for effective managers. This assignment will introduce you to the concepts of critical thinking and help develop your ability to think critically about the problems you face every day. Upon completion of this assignment you should be able to: Apply the components of critical thinking process. Resources Textbook: Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools File: Sample discussion question and student response Website: Critical Thinking Background Information “Critical thinking is increasingly seen as a vital skill for managers in any discipline. It has also been recognized as an important learning outcome for graduate education programs” (Datar, Garvin, & Cullen, 2010). In this assignment, you will analyze the definition of critical thinking and discuss how you as a student can demonstrate critical thinking. Developing a critical thinking mind set does not just happen, but requires intentional, hard work over a period of time. This assignment will help you start that development. Critical thinking has been defined a number of ways. Your textbook defines it as “the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it” (Paul & Elder, 2014, p.2). A more comprehensive definition is that provided by the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking: Critical thinking entails the possession and active use of a set of traits of mind and affective dimensions: independence of thought, fair-mindedness, intellectual humility, intellectual courage, intellectual perseverance, intellectual integrity, curiosity, confidence in reason, and the willingness to see objections, to enter sympathetically into another’s point of view, and to recognize one’s own egocentricity or ethnocentricity. (Section Two, para. C., 2013) References: Datar, S.M., Garvin, D.A., & Cullen, P.G. (2010). Rethinking the MBA. Harvard Business Press. Cambridge: MA. National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking. (2013). Definition of critical thinking. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/a-model-for-the-national-assessment-of-higher-order-thinking/591 Instructions Read Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools and as you do you will discover how the critical thinking process works. This will inform you on how to think about problems and issues we will explore in this class and program. Review the definition of Critical Thinking as defined by the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking. Download and review the file, Sample discussion question and student response. Navigate to the threaded discussion and answer the following questions: Which of the essential intellectual traits as described on pages 14 and 15 of Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools does the sample discussion question and student response exhibit? In what areas is it weak? Defend your answer with a detailed evaluation that is clear and insightful. How can you as a student demonstrate critical thinking in your own writing? Defend your answer with a detailed evaluation that is clear and insightful. Your initial post should be 200 to 300 words in length, include two academic sources that are properly cited according to APA style, and is due by the end of the fourth day of the workshop. By the end of the workshop respond to two of your classmates’ postings and answer the following question: How could your classmate have better demonstrated critical thinking in their initial posting? Defend your answer with a detailed evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking. Each response should be at least 200 words in length and cite one academic source. Please strive to make your discussion responses ones that cause iron to sharpen iron.