Critical Thinking ApplicationWhat is critical thinking and how does it affect our lives, the term critical thinking will be defined.
The importance of critical thinking along with its benefits will be detailed. Finally, a personal work example will be given. In this paper, I will discuss what critical thinking is along with providing a personal experience in critical thinking and the importance and benefits of the process, then I will conclude. Critical ThinkingAccording to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary the definition of critical is “ of, relating to, or being a turning point or specially important juncture ,” while the thinking is “ the action of using ones mind to produce thoughts.” Therefore, critical thinking would be using ones mind to make decisions at important junctures. According to our text ??? Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking (Paul & Elder, 2006).??? Critical thinking involves phases that require a person to analyze, evaluate and improve on his or her thinking process.
To be a critical thinker one must be able to communicate and use problem-solving skills. This includes taking ones thinking apart, indentifying the weaknesses in his or her thinking and creatively reconstructing their thinking. Characteristics critical thinkers should demonstrate are intellectual humility, integrity, courage, autonomy, empathy, perseverance and confidence (Paul & Elder, 2006). Importance and BenefitsAccording to the article ??? Critical Thinking Skills??? written by Schlick (1992): Critical thinking skills are essential for several reasons: 1. Solving problems and making decisions require critical thinking skills.
2. Critical thinking skills are essential for problem prevention. 3. Effective teamwork requires critical thinking skills.
4. Problem-solving and decision-making skills, and the associated responsibilities, are critical for empowerment. The first and most important part of critical thinking skills are that it assures the problem is clearly identified, so the solution will be the correct one. This will lead to better problem solving skills, which will benefit our careers as well as our families. As learning teams are formed in the online learning environment, it becomes apparent how import critical thinking is.
It allows the teams to make decisions regarding assignments and who will complete what sections, then move forward with completing those assignments on time. Critical thinking also allows teams to communicate better and resolve conflicts. As I demonstrate my critical thinking skills at work, it allows my manager to gain confidence in me, which in turn will empower me to make more decisions (Schlick, 1992). Critical Thinking ExampleAt work, I ran across a situation where the customer did not know how to correct an issue they were having with their call center agents.
I first requested a meeting so I could understand exactly what the concern was, then I would research several solutions to their concern. There were two issues, one was some agents were giving out his or her agent id for customers to call back while other were giving out their extension number, the other was there constant moving of agents between the desks and move orders were taking too long. I could not change the process for approvals to get the orders completed sooner so I looked for other alternatives. I came up with several solutions and presented them to the customer. One would be to add voicemail to the agent id??™s along with the extensions then they would not lose customer calls.
The second was to attach the voicemail only to the agent id??™s, then when agents moved, their id??™s moved with them and the extension was not an issues. I met with the customer again and gave them several solutions; I discussed each solution at a high level and went more in depth into the two solutions in which they were most interested. I gave them time to think about their decision and asked questions as to why they chose the solution before the final solution was implemented. After the solution was implemented I checked with the customer to assure it was meeting their needs and they were satisfied their issue was resolved.
ConclusionCritical thinking is a valuable tool everyone can use in his or her everyday lives to analyze, evaluate and improve our thinking process. Critical thinking is essential in problem resolution and prevention, and following a process assures people are making decisions that will have the best outcome. When used properly critical thinking encourages a person to look at all sides of the situation and not just what they want, which in turn means they will look at many solutions to issues and choose the one that fits that situation the best.
