case study
What is critical thinking?
Critical thinking is a process of “conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information…” (criticalthinking.org). Critical thinking is different from other types of cognition in that critical thinkers specifically:
Acknowledge the complexity of decisions.
Understand that information is rarely complete.
Are motivated by facts, observations, and reasoning rather than emotion, habits or heuristics.
Takes ownership of the problems they face.
Recognize that all parties involved in a problem (including ourselves) play a role in creating and solving the problem.
To improve your critical thinking, both in the MBA program and in your future career, the faculty at Virginia Tech have designed a basic model for Critical Thinking. It’s a simple model for use in critical thinking situations, including decision making and problem solving. The questions contained within each step in the model are not fixed or exclusive (i.e., some situations will require additional questions, others may require fewer questions), but they should get you started in your critical thinking process.
The foundation of critical thinking is to perform divergent thinking first to generate multiple ideas then perform convergent thinking to narrow those ideas down.
The goal of divergent thinking is to generate many different ideas about a topic in a short period of time. It involves breaking a topic down into its various component parts in order to gain insight about the various aspects of the topic. Divergent thinking typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner, such that the ideas are generated in a random, unorganized fashion. Following divergent thinking, the ideas and information will be organized using convergent thinking; i.e., putting the various ideas back together in some organized, structured way. Strategies for divergent thinking include:
Brainstorming
Journaling
Mind Mapping
Convergent thinking is oriented toward deriving the single best, or most often correct answer to a problem. Convergent thinking emphasizes accuracy and logic, questioning assumptions, and accumulating and analyzing information through decision making strategies. The solution that is derived at the end of the convergent thinking process is the best possible answer the majority of the time. Convergent thinking requires an individual to solve a problem by consciously using standards or probabilities to make judgments.
The steps of our recommended critical thinking model are:
Step 1: Determine the core issue that is causing the problem and can be addressed.
Step 2: Determine the best strategy/approach to address the issue.
Step 3: Develop an action plan to implement the chosen approach.
Step 4: Reflect back on the choices made and continue to address the problem.
Step 1: Unpack the problem and discover the core issue to be addressed.
Most problems are quite complex and the problem itself is often a symptom of multiple core issues. In order to address the problem, we must begin by addressing a core issue that is most likely to improve the situation.
Start with divergent thinking to uncover potential issues involving the key stakeholders, then use convergent thinking to choose a core issue (or few core issues) that should be addressed first.
Questions that may be helpful during divergent thinking:
Who are the stakeholders (e.g., employees, clients, investors, suppliers, industry/competitors, community, environment, etc.) and what are their interests?
What is going on in the broader environment (business unit, organization or market)?
Could this issue be a symptom of something bigger? (see “Five Why’s” technique) Need to drill down into some issues to reveal deeper issues.
In what way is the current situation different from previous problems?
Questions that may be helpful during convergent thinking:
Why is this issue important?
What information and criteria support this as a key issue?
What information and criteria suggest this isn’t a key issue?
What are the key assumptions?
What are the key uncertainties? What information is missing?
What are the key ethical issues?
If multiple issues are identified, how are they prioritized? How are they interrelated?
Short-term impact and urgency
Long-term impact
What is the goal(s) for addressing this issue?
Can I develop a succinct statement of one issue that addresses the central aspects of other issues?
Step 2: Determine the best strategy/approach to address the issue.
Now that there is a core issue to focus on, what is the best way to begin addressing it in a way that will improve the situation. Start with divergent thinking to uncover potential approaches, then use convergent thinking to choose the most promising approach.
Questions that may be helpful during divergent thinking:
Who can I influence to address the issue?
What forces can I bring to bear on the issue?
What if I wait or do nothing?
If considering this evidence as a group, what efforts have been made to avoid groupthink and to include diverse perspectives?
Questions that may be helpful during convergent thinking:
How well does each alternative address the criteria above (purpose, values, goals) in relation to your issues?
How likely is each alternative to be successful?
What are the potential costs, limitations, implications, unintended consequences of each alternative?
Which of these alternatives are within my control?
What ethical issues may be relevant here?
What evidence supports each alternative?
What additional information would be most valuable to acquire?
What could cause each approach to fail (i.e., play devil’s advocate)?
How would a reasonable person disagree?
Did I consider the short-run versus long-run implications: optimizing versus satisficing?
