Critical Thinking Application
Sarah Martin
MGT 350
June 2, 2010
Crystal Hardy
Critical Thinking Application
Everyone thinks. It is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, or downright prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated. (Snider & Schnurer, 2006), (Paul & Elder, 2006). There are many ways that critical thinking is important and beneficial in the decision-making process.
Problem-solving is a critical skill.; Critical criteria: Problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork are key assets to acquire. (Martin, 2002). In order to succeed at any job or task, one needs to be able to solve problems. To do this one needs to think critically. At Martin Services, there are three people in charge: the owner, Edward Martin; the office manager, Sarah Martin; and the field manager, Kristopher Martin. Each of these three people has the ability to schedule services. The schedule is kept in a weekly schedule book. By allowing all three people doing this, times slots are being double or even triple booked. Each time this occurs, the Office Manager is required to contact each client and come up with a solution that makes everyone happy.
Sarah Martin took one week and tallied how many times a service time slot was over booked. Then during the weekly management meeting, she presented the information to the rest of the management team. Through collaborative thinking, they were able to figure out the reasons for this problem. The most inconvenient was the weekly schedule book. The schedule book is always kept in the office. When someone is in the field, he or she does not have access to any future availability. When they finish one job, the client often wants to schedule his or...