Post by ladams on Feb 10, 2021 13:51:09 GMT
After you've watched the video and completed the readings, write a substantive entry on the discussion board sharing the factors that can get in the way of people thinking critically.
Several barriers can hinder critical thinking. Examples are when you fail to maintain objectivity; trust information or a situation without focusing on the facts; and, failing to keep emotions from affecting one's judgment. Failure to analyze data when looking at almost everything, such as contracts, reports, improving business models, or even relationships can become barriers to success. A person who has unnecessary assumptions, accepts unproven facts , or is leading with personal biases and seeking information that only supports their viewpoints does not display effective critical thinking skills, and may only carry out a personal agenda, allowing emotions to get in the way of objective evaluation. Another barrier is going along with the status quo. Not questioning long-established business practices by accepting this is how it's always been or done, which prevents innovation and creativity.
Share an example of where you did not use your critical thinking skills.
An example of when I didn't apply critical thinking skills to a situation is when I became Director of Support Services and my office was moved to our community center building. I began supervising a staff promoted to Manager based on his performance when we both worked for Production, and he later transferred to Support Services, after being interviewed and hired by another manager. I saw him as an honest and trustworthy employee, I never questioned how he handled the program participants, employees, or the program's overall operation. I took what he stated at face value. As months went on and I began to settle into my position, It became more evident that despite what the Manager reported to me daily, the program staff wasn't operating as a Team. The program was not functioning as expected, and some of the staff were not meeting the program's expectations. It became increasingly apparent when incident reports would come across my desk, and I began to understand that everything wasn't as it appeared to be.
What was the outcome and how could / would it have been different if you had applied critical thinking skills?
Once, I began to see and hear inconsistencies with information regarding the program and the employee's performance, I began to evaluate and question what was reported to me. The continued issues forced me to look at trends, see things from a different lens and seek the viewpoint of others on what the facts were regarding the program's issues, as well asking the team for areas to improve on. After reviewing all the facts and listening to the evidence, I made the necessary changes to improve the program's quality, which led to improved customer satisfaction.
If I had applied critical thinking skills early on in this process, by asking more questions of the manager when those tiny red flags rose up in my mind, it could have saved much time on issues that would've been resolved sooner. This situation taught me that you have to ask the hard questions and analyze everything you're told, even by those you think you trust, no matter the relationship.
Several barriers can hinder critical thinking. Examples are when you fail to maintain objectivity; trust information or a situation without focusing on the facts; and, failing to keep emotions from affecting one's judgment. Failure to analyze data when looking at almost everything, such as contracts, reports, improving business models, or even relationships can become barriers to success. A person who has unnecessary assumptions, accepts unproven facts , or is leading with personal biases and seeking information that only supports their viewpoints does not display effective critical thinking skills, and may only carry out a personal agenda, allowing emotions to get in the way of objective evaluation. Another barrier is going along with the status quo. Not questioning long-established business practices by accepting this is how it's always been or done, which prevents innovation and creativity.
Share an example of where you did not use your critical thinking skills.
An example of when I didn't apply critical thinking skills to a situation is when I became Director of Support Services and my office was moved to our community center building. I began supervising a staff promoted to Manager based on his performance when we both worked for Production, and he later transferred to Support Services, after being interviewed and hired by another manager. I saw him as an honest and trustworthy employee, I never questioned how he handled the program participants, employees, or the program's overall operation. I took what he stated at face value. As months went on and I began to settle into my position, It became more evident that despite what the Manager reported to me daily, the program staff wasn't operating as a Team. The program was not functioning as expected, and some of the staff were not meeting the program's expectations. It became increasingly apparent when incident reports would come across my desk, and I began to understand that everything wasn't as it appeared to be.
What was the outcome and how could / would it have been different if you had applied critical thinking skills?
Once, I began to see and hear inconsistencies with information regarding the program and the employee's performance, I began to evaluate and question what was reported to me. The continued issues forced me to look at trends, see things from a different lens and seek the viewpoint of others on what the facts were regarding the program's issues, as well asking the team for areas to improve on. After reviewing all the facts and listening to the evidence, I made the necessary changes to improve the program's quality, which led to improved customer satisfaction.
If I had applied critical thinking skills early on in this process, by asking more questions of the manager when those tiny red flags rose up in my mind, it could have saved much time on issues that would've been resolved sooner. This situation taught me that you have to ask the hard questions and analyze everything you're told, even by those you think you trust, no matter the relationship.
