Mgt 350 Critical Thinking Essay

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Critical Thinking University of Phoenix MGT/350 December 7, 2009 Critical Thinking As a software engineer I must use critical thinking daily in my job. We are developing a new helicopter for the Canadian government and any mistakes, however small, could lead to the loss of life. Critical thinking comes into play in the development of safety requirements for the helicopter. These requirements could be in the area of stowing equipment after engine shutdown or generating alerts when certain areas of the software fail. Regardless of where these safety requirements come into play a team of subject matter experts are brought together to perform a complete analysis of the problem, recommend possible solutions and finally decide on…show more content…
If these assumptions are unchecked or inappropriate, we will make poor decisions and wrong judgments. In our personal relationships we use critical thinking to keep our lines of communications open thereby allowing us to use lessons learned to avoid repeating the same mistakes. In the workplace we avoid stagnation and are willing to challenge the current thinking, which may be out of date and is no longer relevant to our current work philosophy. Paul Richard (2008), an authority on critical thinking, characterizes a good critical thinker in terms of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and habitual ways of behaving, including the following characteristics. The critical thinker: • uses evidence skillfully and impartially • organizes thoughts and articulates them concisely and coherently • distinguishes between logically valid and invalid inferences • suspends judgment in the absence of sufficient evidence to support a decision • understands the difference between reasoning and rationalizing • attempts to anticipate the probable consequences of alternative actions • understands the idea of degrees of belief • sees similarities and analogies that are not superficially

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