May 12th, 2016

Critical thinking for managers and supervisors Presented by: Adeosun Busayo E.

Table Of Content

• Background- Who is a manager ?• Background- 10 skills of a good manager• Introduction• What is Critical thinking?• Purpose of critical thinking• Features of critical thinking• Levels of thinking• Decisions based on critical thinking• Core areas of critical thinking• Conclusion• Comments and questions

• Background- Who is a manager ?

A manager or supervisor is someone who oversees a project and/or one or more members of staff. Managers are responsible for getting the job done and motivating people, whilst overcoming business problems or issues.

A manager is a person empowered with authority to direct, organise, coordinate and control other people in a bid to achieve given objective.

• Background- 10 skills of a good manager

OrganisationTime managementDelegationForward planning and strategyCommunication and relationship buildingProblem solvingCoordination and ControlResources managementLeadershipCritical thinking

• Introduction

As professionals we are faced with various business problems as we grow in our professional career. In addition to proffering solutions to our own challenges we have responsibility to solve problems for our subordinates.

These problems or challenges require ‘thinking within and outside the box’. At that point our skills will be activated decisions will be made.

The decisions include prioritising, allocation, go ahead or ignore, deal or not deal, etc

I SEE ANALAYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

• Critical thinking…?

Critical thinking is essential in the workplace, particularly for employees in the management or leadership role. This is because their decisions can affect an individual employee, a department or the entire workforce.

According to Linda Elder, Critical thinking is self guided, self disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way.

Critical thinking is a characteristic any employer would be lucky to have in all of its employee.

• Purpose of critical thinking

2. The Skill of Business Acumen-and Then Some 2

Translate abstract ideas into tangible result

Evaluate ideas objectively

Solve problems more effectively

Make dramatically better decisions

• Features of critical thinking

2. The Skill of Business Acumen-and Then Some 2. The Skill of Business Acumen-and Then Some

Critical thinking involves

Rationality: seeing other view points with clarity,

Objectivity: challenging assumptions,

Intelligence: ask the right questions,

Results: imagine the how of achieving result

As managers or leaders we face challenges in our bid to solve business related problems e.g maximising sales, allocation of pool cars, delegation of authority, allocation of duties, prioritising of responsibilities, etc.

• Levels of thinkingHigh level: Gathering of data (facts and figures) and use of computers or application software for analysis towards decision making; these involve critical thinking. Professionals in these category usually prefer research for answers to problems that are quite unusual. They conduct repeated findings until a solution is derived.

Medium level: Observation of current trends towards decision making; these involves smart thinking. People in these category look for alternative means to providing solutions. They would rather revisit the problem later.

Low level: Guessing or gut feeling to make decisions; these involve shallow thinking. People in this case usually have ready made answers like ‘I don’t know’ , ‘no idea’. They tend to hide the problems from solutions.

• Decisions based on critical thinking

Human resources: Decision whether to suspend or terminate an employee alleged to have engaged in sexual harassment must be based on critical thinking. Also there would be need to consider the effect of final decision on the employee as well as those he manages.

Customer service: The customer service officers frequently engage in conflict resolution. Example is a credit company with focus on good customer service which decides to waive penalty for a customer who missed repayment for the first time in 20 repayments. Such decision will have been based on the repayment history of the customer as this would mean being rational and having empathy for the customer.

Marketing & Sales: Sales and marketing employees utilises their critical thinking skills in making decisions related to public perception of the company and the company’s product and services. For example an advert of a product (eg Target savings) that appeals predominantly to a male gender whereas the product could be harnessed by both genders. The employees of this unit must use critical thinking skills to examine their branding concept from a perspective that eliminates gender in advertising product features. From the critical thinking perspective, (the higher than market) interest rates could be a better focus for advertisement.

• Core areas of critical thinking

Below are actionable critical thinking skills as given by Grant Tilus from the work of Dr Peter A Facione.

These skills as so important to business activities that they need to be mastered today.

I S E E Analysis and Interpretation20 10 15 15 20 20

Analysis 20%Interpretation 20%Inference 20%Evaluation 15%Explanation 15%Self regulation 10%

• Core areas of critical thinking

Skill #1: InterpretationWhat it Means: Having the ability to understand the information you are being presented with and being able to communicate the meaning of that information to others.Throughout your career you will be presented with a variety of information in many different types of situations. Imagine you are looking at demographic information, hoping to target a different group of customers for a new product. Interpretation skills will enable you to better decode the information and add clarity to what you have discovered - which in turn will help you better understand any potential new customer opportunities for your company. Skill #2: AnalysisWhat it Means: Having the ability to connect pieces of information together in order to determine what the intended meaning of the information was meant to represent.Imagine you are reading a companywide memo that is discussing making changes in order to address recent movement within the business landscape. Having this skill will better provide you with the ability to “read between the lines” and help you understand how this will impact the overall strategy you have in your position.

• Core areas of critical thinking

Skill #3: InferenceWhat it Means: Having the ability to understand and recognize what elements you will need in order to determine an accurate conclusion or hypothesis from the information you have at your disposal.Picture yourself as a business manager; you are looking at the latest sales forecast and you see sales have decreased. It’s important for you to be able to understand what additional information you may need in order to determine why that happened, including identifying internal issues, external competition or even economic conditions. The ability to understand the information you already have and determine what you may still need to find the best solution is an important skill for you to have no matter what career field you are in. Skill #4: EvaluationWhat it Means: Being able to evaluate the credibility of statements or descriptions of a person’s experience, judgment or opinion in order to measure the validity of the information being presented.Imagine you are leading a focus group at work to determine how your customers view the organization’s products. You ask the group a few questions that uncover several negative opinions about certain items you sell. You will need to use this skill to evaluate those responses, so you can determine if the information you received is valid and whether or not it needs to be further looked into.

• Core areas of critical thinkingSkill #5: ExplanationWhat it Means: Having the ability to not only restate information, but add clarity and perspective to the information, so it can be fully understood by anyone you are sharing it with.Imagine you are giving two presentations for new product ideas; one to the CEO of the company, and the other to product engineers. You know both groups are extremely interested in hearing what you have to say, but you will need to be able to explain these ideas in two very different ways. The CEO may only need to hear high level ideas about the products while the engineers will need more specific product details. Your ability to clearly explain your ideas while keeping in mind who you are presenting to is important for making sure the information is understood and well received. Skill #6: Self-RegulationWhat it Means: Having the awareness of your own thinking abilities and the elements that you are using to find results.Imagine you are on the phone with a customer attempting to work through a problem they are having with your company’s software, and it’s your first week on the job. The problem they are having is complex, and yet, you still want to assist them in order to make a good impression at work. Your ability to understand that perhaps transferring them to a coworker with more knowledge on the subject is the best way to provide the customer with a positive result.

CONCLUSION

You may be able to delegate but you won’t be able to delegate all at once unless you aim to absolve yourself of your role as a manager. Critical thinking facilitates managerial efficiency.

To have good critical thinking skills, it takes a long term journey. Skills are learned and practice over time brings out the best in you.

I encourage us all to improve on our critical thinking skills bearing in mind that it will have impact on both our personal life and professional career.

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I still remain Adeosun Busayo

Thank you for your attention.

Thank You

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