THINKING AND DECISION MAKING
BY
UNIVERSITY of PHOENIX
MGT-350
Through the course of a normal work week many are faced with having to make decisions. Decisions can range from how to handle a difficult customer to whether or not an extra employee needs to be hired to handle a growing work load. The decisions that have to be made are varied. The thinking styles that we use to tackle these decisions are just as diverse. This paper will analyze, compare and contrast three specific thinking styles: Logical Thinking, Persuasive Thinking and Creative Thinking. It will also discuss how these thinking styles affect critical thinking and decision making in the workplace.
Logical, Persuasive and Creative Thinking:
Logical Thinking is a structured way of thinking that uses reasoning to reach conclusions. It involves deductive and inductive reasoning and the ability to discern fallacies. Deductive reasoning draws a conclusion from two or more premises. The conclusion, in fact, must follow the premises (Goodpaster & Kirby, 2007). If the premise is true then the conclusion must be true. Inductive reasoning takes evidence and observations from an event and concludes that it will hold true for other events. It is a common argument that inductive reasoning is not logically sound since the outcome is not necessarily truth. Logical thinking is more commonly used when the outcome is normality in the work place and can be achieved with little or no supervision. A supervisor will delegate certain responsibilities to individuals who are capable of completing a task on their own.
Persuasive thinking is similar to logical thinking in that they both have to follow a specific structure in order to be valid. To be persuasive and avoid venturing into manipulation the thinker must establish credibility (why should their rationale be considered?), acknowledge the audience's position (see the issue from the other side), and construct their own rationale (offer a different view...