Manager_as_a_Critical_Thinker

Introduction With the rapid change of technological advances experienced in today’s society, we are constantly challenged to evaluate systems and their efficacy. In order to be successful, one is required to develop these decisions based on logic and their knowledge base. The process of scrutiny in determining the validity of someone’s work and whether the hypothesis is supported well and can be accepted or dropped is referred to as critical thinking. Critical thinkers are often identified by the way in which they approach situations in everyday life. Facione (2006) in his definition of critical thinking pointed out that a critical thinker needs to be inquisitive, open-minded, analytical, judicious, truth seeking, confident in reasoning and systematic. According to experts, the character of a person as a critical thinker can be judged by the way they approaches specific issues and problems. These individuals strategically takes their time to ponder the clarity and reasonableness presented in situations before making calculated and precise decisions as it relates to the subject matter and circumstance. (pg. 9) Critical thinking is not something that is inherent but rather a skill acquired over time. Sampson, Moore and Jackson (2007) identify a combination of eight elements in their definition of critical thinking. These elements includes, “understanding, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, reflective thinking, communication and evaluation.” The process of critical thinking is an ongoing one in which an individual benefits tremendously by taking their time to gather information before making an informed decision. Whether this decision will be life altering or just give a person a better understanding of something presented to them, certain questions needs to be asked. Facione (2006) outlines a six step process in his work which includes, identifying the problem, defining the context, enumerating choices, analyzing options, listing reasons explicitly, and self correction. He argues that these steps if followed carefully will lead to effective thinking and problem solving. In their book “Asking the Right Questions”, Browne & Keeley (2007) discusses eleven steps in critical thinking. The authors outlines that by using critical thinking, an individual is equipped with the tools necessary to be aware of interrelated critical questions, and the ability to challenge concepts while seeking answers with the use of the critical questions. (pg. 2) In order to accomplish this, the authors have outlined eleven steps which will assist to reasonably make a decision as to whether an argument was well presented and the findings can be accepted. In this paper I will be using those eleven steps to critically analyze a memo prepared by the Vice president of Human Resources of Triad Insurance Company in Indianapolis (TICI). The memo is prepared by Ms. Denise Khali, Vice president of Human Resources, to the CEO, Mr. Robert Shaw, addressing a proposal to establish a fund for leadership training for junior executives of TICI. In this memo Ms. Khali presents an argument against creating this fund. Using the eleven steps of critical thinking as discussed in “Asking the Right Questions”, the following analysis was derived. What are the issues and the conclusions' In this Triad Insurance Company in Indianapolis (TICI) memo the issue that the author outlines is whether the company should invest in sending people to leadership training. Ms. Denise Khali presents an issue that is prescriptive in nature where she explicitly suggests to the company on what they should not do as it pertains to the issue of sending their workers to leadership training. In her conclusion Ms. Khali emphasizes that the financial cost to TICI for the training far outweighs the benefits. She also states that the skills gained from the training will not be beneficial for the culture at TICI and that Mr. Clarke has a personal motive of discrediting her because of her position in the company. What are the reasons' To support her conclusion of why TICI should not support the suggestion by the director of operations, Ms. Denise Khali emphasizes her belief that” leaders are born, not made”, and that the theories learned from the training are not germane to TICI. The other reason with which the author supports her conclusion is by highlighting the rivalry between her and Mr. Clarke. Which words or phrases are ambiguous' The key phrase in Ms. Khali’s memo is. “Leaders are born, not made”. She fails however in providing adequate supporting documents to validate her claim. The author starts off by quoting economist Dr Carleton Parker, in which his claim of each individual being born with predisposed traits of motivation fails to support the idea that only some individuals are to be leaders. Her use of the Wikipedia online reference definition of leadership, “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and influence others”, does not fully support her claim since it fails to mention anything about leadership being innate or learned. In addition to this her examples of the common traits possessed by easily recognizable world leaders Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther King Jr. only highlighted some traits of a good leader which were ambition, self confidence, and intelligence. What are the value conflicts and assumptions' In this memo the value conflict is that of ambition and tradition. The author views Mr. Clarke’s proposal to prepare an ambitious young work force by equipping them with the right tools to aid in the company’s longevity as a threat to her own position. Her comfort lies in the traditional way of experience verses qualification. Ms. Khali assumes that if the junior insurance executives become more qualified for advancement into executive positions, her job will be at jeopardy. With this she assumes that Mr. Clarke is spitefully submitting the proposal with hopes of replacing her with the newly trained executives. What are the descriptive assumptions' The author attempts to support her conclusion by the use of several descriptive assumptions. She firstly assumes that since Mr. Clarke is the only senior executive member who is not six feet tall, he is advocating leadership development training in order to be competitive. To support this she uses the heights of a few US leaders who were all taller than six feet. Ms. Khali also very descriptive of her assumption of Mr. Clarke’s quest to oust her in which she states, “Mr. Clarke has a personal agenda to discredit me personally”. The author once again fails to provide supporting evidence of this claim. Are there any fallacies in the reasoning' In her argument Ms. Khali commits a few fallacies. In her first attempt to support her reasoning she attacks the proposal by stating that the company is prosperous even though none of the senior executives has ever attended a leadership seminar. Her straw person reasoning here suggests that since this has worked for the company’s success over its 50 year existence, having formal leadership training will not. The author then appeals to questionable authority, Dr. Carleton Parker by presenting a quote from him without providing the evidence which he used to derive this conclusion. In addition Ms. Khali refers to “two well-respected research studies” published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and Leadership Quarterly, as her referencing authorities to support her claim that leadership traits cannot be learned, failing once more to provide evidence which supports their research claim. Thirdly she uses the fallacy of explaining by naming, in which the leadership qualities of Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther King Jr. are used to support her claim of common innate traits of leaders. The author again fails to provide any background information on these people which may have contributed to their leadership qualities. Ms. Khali also tries to equivocate that height is a determining factor of leaders by using the heights of a few great leaders of the US which are all over six feet, and comparing it to her senior executives who are all taller than six feet with the exception of Mr. Clarke. She then uses this to try to make her case that due to his lack of this leadership feature Mr. Clarke is proposing formal leadership training. The author purposely omits the height of all great leaders who do not satisfy this feature. Lastly the author attacks Mr. Clarke’s position by referring to him as a liberal and associating the stigma that goes with that title instead of responding to his proposal directly, this is therefore ad hominem. How good is the evidence' The evidence provided by Ms. Khali is very weak, and is presented with a myriad of omitted information. To support her personal testimony of the leadership at TICI she states that in her survey of the senior leadership almost everyone agreed. What Ms. Khalid failed to present was supporting evidence of her research such as the questions asked and the exact basis of her survey. She also vaguely references two research studies published in journals without providing enough information for the reader to gain access to those studies and their findings. Also in her memo she frequently uses analogies as evidence, by using presidents and other leaders in an attempt to substantiate her claims. Consequently she fails to provide considerable evidence to discredit Mr. Clarke’s proposal and support her claim of him trying to acquire her position. Are there rival causes' With the lack of evidence to support the claim of rejecting Mr. Clarke’s proposal it can be said therefore that there is rival causes. The author in this case failed to interpret the data based on the proposal. Ms. Khali fails to explore the fact that times have changed and with new technological advances maybe Mr. Clarke is trying to preserve the longevity of the company by preparing his junior executives to be well rounded and poses the tools to remain competitive. Also maybe traditional decision making may not be contributing positively to the success of the company lately, and as the director of operations maybe Mr. Clarke has a better vantage point of that. Are the statistics deceptive' The statistics presented in this memo are very deceptive. The author uses the height of those she refers to as the greatest leaders in United States history as her supporting statistic to her personal observation of the physical stature of great leaders. This however is used to support her observation which in no way relates to her conclusion. Additionally she only includes some of the great leaders in the US which does not support her claims fully either since it is not a comprehensive average of all of the great leaders, causing her numbers to be very misleading. What significant information is omitted' In this memo Ms. Khali fails to address the proposal directly, and in doing so omits significant information that could have both negatively and positively affect her case. The reason for her claims of Mr. Clarke having a personal agenda is not addressed in her memo. Additionally there is no reason as to why she feels that her job is in jeopardy compared to the other senior executives. She does not mention or provide supporting data for the claim that money is not well spent on leadership development programs. The author also fails to expound on the theories thought by Aspen that she claims are inappropriate for the culture at TICI. Ms. Khali in her memo does not include the pros and cons of sending the junior executives to leadership training. What reasonable conclusions are possible' The reasonable conclusions that are possible from this memo are. i) If the theories taught at the aspen institute are beneficial to junior executives and the future of the company then TICI can invest in sending them to the training. ii) If by allowing 20 employees to attend the leadership training each year will significantly cause financial problems for TICI then maybe the company can reconsider sending fewer personnel yearly. iii) If the leadership training gained by the junior executives will result in them overthrowing senior executives, then maybe everyone should be given an equal opportunity to attend the training. Conclusion Using critical thinking tools to evaluate the Triad Insurance Company of Indianapolis (TICI) memo has definitely given an insight as to how useful and invaluable the skill is. By critically evaluating the memo it can be seen that the author has withheld a lot of pertinent information and uses some irrelevant facts to support her claim. The ability to be able to apply and evaluate the memo using reasoning to analyze systematically and critically proves to be invaluable. As a critical thinker being able to intellectually explore for a deeper understanding of a situation and provide a detailed interpretation and recommendation can be very useful for everyday life. It can be concluded therefore that the use of critical thinking as a leader is very vital since it enables an individual to take the time to intellectually evaluate a system and provide the best comprehensive input to their organization. Reference Browne, M. N., & Keeley, S. M. (2007). Asking The Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Facione, P. A. (2006 Update). Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts. Insight Assessment , 22. Sampson, D. C., Moore, R., & Jackson, M. J. (2007). Critical Thinking: Do They Really Have “IT” If They Don’t Know What “IT” is' Proceedings of the Academy of Educational Leadership , 12 (1), 5.