Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking Application Paper

Thinking is so common in everyday life that many people do not realize how important thinking is to how people live. No matter what is being done there is always thinking going on. "The best thinkers use their ability to think well in every dimension of their lives" (Paul & Elder, 2006). In this paper I will discuss the definition of critical thinking, experiences I have had with critical thinking, and the importance and benefits of critical thinking in the decision-making processes.

"Critical thinking is that mode of thinking- about any subject, content, or problem- in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them" (Scriven & Paul, 2004). As people are growing up in school they are taught to think logically about subjects and decisions that are being made. Critical thinking is more in depth thinking and asks people to step out of the box and take a hard look at what they are doing and analyze it to come up with a more rounded decision. Everything they know and think is based on something that they have learned or observed in their lifetime and it will continue everyday. The best thinkers analyze their thinking, evaluate their thinking and improve their thinking (Paul & Elder, 2006). When I think back to situations I have been put in I can see that I was not thinking as critical as I understood I was.

For many years I would jump at any conclusion that came to me at the moment in which I had the thought. It took me on a very bad line of thinking and behaving. Most of the people around me did not like the way I was acting because I did not think critically about what I was saying or doing not matter if I was at home or at work. I am a manager of a division with an electric company. I have about 30 guys that report to me and depend on me to make the critical decision everyday. As a manager I am asked by upper management to always look at the profit of a job. Using critical thinking I have to step out side the box and analyze the job not only for the company, but also for the employees I have working on the job. The next step taken is evaluated what the best choice is for everyone. If I think that the job is going to be unsafe for my employees than I have to take the steps to make it safe and get the job done correctly, even with losing some of the profit for the company. The final step I look at and take into consideration is the choice I have made and how it has improved my thinking as well as the outcome of the job. In my position I am always thinking and making decisions not only for myself, but also decisions that affect others within the company. Using critical thinking has it benefits and is very important in my position.

Critical thinking is very important in the development of thinking. By stepping out of the box and thinking critically they are taking the most logical steps in their decision making. The decision making process has three steps: framing the problem, making the decision, and evaluating the