The use of iframe model to unravel the complexity of the critical thinking process

We have seen that critical thinking has represented a critical part for getting good results in the last few decades. The manufacturing-based economy has evolved into a knowledge-based economy. In ancient times, it was significant to collect and analyze all the information and data. But with the technological advancement, data can be directly accessible and can be processed faster and results can be recorded easily. This, in turn, has allowed various kinds of innovations in the field of education, research, problem-solving, etc.

These changes are crucial because professional fields such as science, medicine, human resources require some degree of skills that involve analysis of a situation, evaluation, etc. Due to the uniqueness of their field, they do require some kind of interpersonal skills in order to communicate with others. Therefore, analysis via critical thinking models becomes vital.

Critical Thinking

There is not a single definition of critical thinking. Critical thinking can be defined as the analyzing, question the claims and assessing all the facts. Critical thinking executes the ability to someone the question the claims, articulate arguments against claims that do not have any evidence backing. Moreover, a person can become creative and can construct its own ideas and methodologies. To put it concisely, people with critical thinking listen to their own thoughts.

But the question arises: As a manager, do we use critical thinking in while considering a key decision? We frequently see that managers evaluate decisions without thinking critically. This issue is not due to lack of passion or showing lack of enthusiasm on the manager side. Instead, due to the absence of a mechanism to confront these issues. To tackle this situation, researchers have come up with a distant model known as IFRAME process in order to enhance our critical thinking ability.

IFRAME

The IFRAME process consists of six process levels in order to unravel the complexity of the critical thinking process. IFRAME assists the managers to address many issues, bring out their own thoughts, analyze their own thought, comes up with strategies based on their own thoughts. There are six steps to IFRAME framework.

1. Incident

Incidents can be defined as a situation which leaves you surprised, contributes to a great deal of confusion and chaos and things do not go as you planned. Let us take a look at the incident that occurred in the article “ How Women Decide”.

A large hospital client was planning to go through with a major transformation. In order to be the part of that transformation, Deloitte prepared a comprehensive presentation for the client. They were confident about winning the contract from the hospital. In order to make sure everything is in right place, they over checked everything again and did mock presentations as well. After the meeting, the whole team was confident of getting the contract. Instead, the hospital did not give them the contract.

Again in 2007, Deloitte prepared a proposal for a company working in the technological field. Keeping all things in mind, they prepared for the presentation. Again, they did not get the contract.

Here, I would like to share the incident that happened to me during my previous job. As working as a team leader in my previous job, I was presenting the proposal for a new software to the company’s officials. Everybody was listening to my proposal expect the newly appointed CEO of the company.

2. Feeling

The feeling can be described as an outside response that is caused by your inner thoughts.

In the case of the article, there was a mixed kind of feeling. On one hand, the representative from Deloitte was confident as they felt that the meetings went well. On the other hand, something was not going correctly. There was a sense of feeling that both the client and the presenters were not on the same page. The whole team was puzzled about the outcome of the meetings.

In second case, after the meeting, I was a bit disturbed. I was bit shocked and was disappointed by the fact that I had worked very hard on the proposal and the CEO did not take any interest in it. As a result, I could not concentrate on work that day. I also become a bit irritated and was losing my temper on small matters.

3. Reflection

In reflection, we try to examine the reason for our response to that incident. We try to understand our views on that incident through analyzing the facts and by asking various types of questions.

In case of the article, one of the reasons for getting that kind feeling may be due to the fact that the representatives from Deloitte prepared the presentation to the best of their ability and yet they did not receive the contract from the hospital. Moreover, in the case of a technology company, despite doing everything according to the request for proposal and yet they lose the contract.

On the other hand, in the second case, I was constantly brainstorming about the fact that the thing that made me uncomfortable representing the fact the CEO was not listening to my proposal. I expect that he might listen to my proposal and will his feedback. I might be upset due to the fact that I worked so hard on that proposal and did not receive the kind of enthusiasm from the CEO that I was looking for.

4. Assumptions

In this stage, we try to bring out the assumptions that we made in order to support our analysis and questions.

In this article, partners of Deloitte assumed the key reason for not getting contracts would have remain the presence of female figures among the clients. They thought that the whole process of pitching and selling an idea is the same for both men and women. If they know about this, they could have amended their pitch according to female counterparts among client. Which brings out the following questions among them:

Why women behave erratically than men?

Do we have to follow diverse strategies of marketing for both the genders?

Is the deciding factor different between men and women?

Is the interpretation of request of proposal different between men and women?

In the second case, I assumed that the CEO had no interest in my idea or the way in which I was trying to convey my proposal. I was anxious that this might be due to lack of preparation or the CEO was not interested in my idea about the creative product.

5. Meaning

In this section, we try to explore the meaning in order to increase our self-awareness.

Talking about the article, after accepting all the assumption into consideration, they try to uncover the difference between genders.

They found out the difference in behaviors among men and women.

They should have amended their pitch after seeing a female listener among clients.

They should have diverse marketing strategies for men and women.

Moreover, women think otherwise than men.

The signals one got by judging body language is different for the different gender.

Women like to listen, get to the bottom of everything, discover every aspect before adopting any decision.

In the second case, the knowledge I got from my assumptions that I have to influence a more brilliant idea for the proposal. I have to rethink the strategy of delivering my proposal in front of the CEO and make it more interesting and indulging.

6. Execution

Execution means to come up with a plan to apply all the assumptions and meaning to any future issues.

In the case of the article, Now, Deloitte know the traits of both genders.

They are more aware and keep the gender factor in mind while making marketing strategies and decisions.

Partners at Deloitte undergo meticulous training in order to become more aware of behaviors while dealing with female clients.

Presently, they try to understand what the female executive wants or needs, where she feels more comfortable by listening carefully.

They also try to adopt during the meeting and try not to be on constant track as pre-planned.

They try to set the tone and wording of their presentations according to gender.

They also have improved their emotional intelligence in order to tackle any issue or questions that arise during the meetings.

In the second case, for the upcoming meeting, I came up with a proposal for a unique software. Instead of merely giving out the details, I also added audio and visual aids to my presentation. In order to make things interesting, I also came up with a quick demo and asked the CEO to conduct it. He instantly showed interest in my proposal and even ask a few queries. At the end of the meeting, I achieved the approval for my current project.

Conclusion

To summarize, critical thinking represents a process through which the managers or leaders evolve the assumptions, analyzes the facts and questions the claims. Researchers frequently see critical thinking as an integral part of emotional intelligence. Therefore, managers can imply their distinct parts of emotional intelligence such as self-awareness, motivation, social skills, etc. towards critical thinking in order to analyze things more clearly. IFRAME model serves as a bridge between our emotions and thoughts.