Critical Thinking

Explain the difference between beliefs, attitudes and values.

Beliefs, attitudes and values form the basis of who we are as individuals and what we feel is important in how we behave and interact with friends, families and colleagues during our day to day life. The differences between these are as follows:
Beliefs are what we as individuals hold within ourselves and what we believe to be true based on the experiences we have encountered throughout our life.

Attitudes are based on our experiences in life and how we are brought up. They are the emotions we feel and set our behaviours on how we interact with people and situations. Our attitudes can also change dependant on the circumstances we are faced with.
Values define our characters and are what we believe to be important in how we live our lives. Our core values help determine how we prioritise issues that arise in our life and how we measure our successes and failures.

In order to recognise why we behave in the way that we do we need to understand the world around us and develop an understanding of our own beliefs, attitude and values. As individuals we will have a number of different behaviours that will influence how we handle situations; these behaviours will be present at different levels of consciousness to us.

Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory (illustrated below) compares the levels of an iceberg with our behaviours showing the most conscious ones sitting above the water like the visible tip of an iceberg while our behaviours relating to our beliefs, attitudes and values that we are less conscious to us sit below the water level, like the submerged part of an iceberg.

1.2 Critically assess the impact of beliefs attitudes and values on own behaviour

The way in which I behave, and my attitude towards situations in life are affected by my beliefs and values.
Whilst at work I believe in working hard, keeping my head down and meeting deadlines. I am a very process orientated person and can become quite frustrated with those who do not follow procedures. Sometimes I feel this can be a barrier as I cannot see the bigger picture, and sometimes details and other factors can be missed because I am too focused on following the rules of structure and process.
I love creativity and admire people who can work outside of the constraints of rules but I feel I am unable be creative as I am too critical of my own work and I will often find fault in things I do. I am quite a focused individual at work and although I recognise that my beliefs and values are very different to others within my department I sometimes find this difficult to deal with as I believe everyone should work to the same values and standards that I do.

Because of the working standards I believe in I often find it difficult to delegate work to others, particularly work relating to areas of my work that are my strengths such as data collecting and reporting. I have the attitude that it would be quicker for me to carry out the piece of work rather than trying to show others how to complete it as their thinking and formatting may not be to my liking. This is a trait that I feel I need to work on as it will hold back other staff members developing skills within their role.

I do not like conflict and will shy away from heated discussions that involve big personalities. This is particularly frustrating for me and there are often times where I feel I have a valid point or idea but I cannot convey that to others. I feel the only way sometimes I can put forward my ideas and suggestions in situations such as this is on a one to one basis or via written communication. This is an area I feel I need to work on as I fear it may hold me back in terms of progressing within my department.

On a positive note I am an approachable person and love to help my colleagues wherever I can.
I believe in working hard so that I can enjoy my life outside of work with my loved ones.

2.1 Identify management theories relevant to your role

Management theories compare different methods used by leaders to manage staff to operate services and complete tasks. There are many different models of management theories available to read up on however I have chosen to look at Douglas McGregor’s XY Theory and Goleman’s Leadership Styles as I feel elements of these fit with my role.

Goleman’s Theory

Daniel Goleman’s theory has identified six different leadership styles which he believes leaders fall into. Goleman states good leaders must be emotionally intelligent to understand which styles they should adopt for different situations.

Goleman’s theory identifies 4 positive styles of leadership, which are focused around team harmony, these leadership styles are called Visionary, Coaching, Affiliative and Democratic. The remaining two styles are negative and can potentially create conflict as they are directional, and focus on setting down expectations, these styles are known as Pacesetting and Commanding. These styles are explained further in the following table:

• Leadership Style Leadership Impact Characteristics
• Visionary Positive Leader Motivates staff with a clear and exciting vision, useful for organisations that need to overcome a challenge.
• Coaching Positive Leader Coaches’ individual employees on how to develop and be more effective at work
• Affiliative Positive Leader Team spirit and motivation play a big part, building on people’s needs to belong and be accepted
• Democratic Positive Leader Listens to all opinions when needing to make a decision/right choice.
• Pacesetting Negative Leader Task-oriented demanding fast paced results.
• Commanding Negative Leader Good in a crisis situation or for sorting difficult staff/problems
• Goleman’s leadership style theory basically looks at task versus people. Managers who tend to purely focus on tasks will generate poor results; whereas managers who focus more on people will generate better performance and results, which allows people to grow and develop.
• The best leaders will usually use elements from each of these styles to adapt to the situation in hand.

McGregor’s XY Theory

Douglas McGregor’s XY Theory is another leadership style that looks at task versus people. The emphasis around this theory is the management’s attitude toward people. These two styles are explained further in the following table and diagram taken from https://www.businessballs.com/improving-workplace-performance/mcgregors-xy-theory-of-management/:

• Leadership Style
• Leadership Impact
• Leadership Beliefs

Theory X – ‘authoritarian management’ Negative Leader The average person dislikes work and will avoid it where he/she can.
People must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards organisational objectives.
The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambitious, and wants security above all else.
Theory Y – ‘participative management’ Positive Leader Effort in work is as natural as work and play.
People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organisational objectives, without external control or the threat of punishment.

Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their achievement.  People usually accept and often seek responsibility.
The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population. In industry the intellectual potential of the average person is only partly utilised.

A theory X manager believes their staff cannot be trusted and need to be micro managed and constantly pushed to complete their work. This belief creates a task-oriented leadership style where the manager will focus on the task in hand ensuring this is completed, against all costs, without taking into account or paying attention to people’s needs and feelings.

The theory Y manager believes their staff are trustworthy and take responsibility for their actions and are self-motivated to work hard. This belief creates a people focused leadership style where the manager focuses on developing their staff by giving attention to them and understanding their needs and feelings. This relationship will earn respect on both sides and staff who work under this management style are more likely to work hard and complete their tasks, to prove they are responsible.

McGregor’s theory is a good simple theory to understand. Basically there are two types of people in the world (motivated and unmotivated) and both types need managing differently.

2.2 Critically assess the impact of own beliefs attitudes and values on a management theory relevant to your role.

My behaviours are affected by my beliefs, attitude and values and these will be different to those I manage. I believe you should be responsible for yourself and the actions you take. I value honesty and commitment and believe these to be important traits for working life. Because I hold these beliefs I expect others to as well which I know is not always the case.

In my current role I listen to and read about difficult situations that people have received with their patient care or relatives care at the hospital. My teams work environment is not positive as each day is met with emotional and challenging individuals. A negative management style would not work with my team, positivity and good team working relationships is key to keep motivation going in our difficult work place.

I believe I can relate to Goleman’s Leadership theory more than McGregor’s XY theory as I can see elements from Goleman’s theory in how I manage my team and day to day work.

Goleman speaks of a Democratic Leader, someone who will listen to opinions before making a decision. Both members of my team will make suggestions for improvements to our service. I will listen to these ideas and if we all agree these will work and for the greater good of the department I will put the motions in place to make it happen. I love to hear new ideas and I’m a great believer in continuously striving to make improvements.

The Coaching leader is about guiding and developing staff. Developing staff is great for morale and business improvement. Both members of my team have attended several courses under my leadership which has led to process improvements and a change in how they behave when speaking to people on the phone. Both members of my team are looking to progress their career and helping them to develop gives me job satisfaction. If people are having difficulties in understanding a subject I know it gives me a great sense of achievement to be able to help them and pass on that knowledge. Knowledge is power!

On the flip side of the coaching leadership style I believe I possess, when it comes to meeting targets and reporting deadlines I have difficulty in letting this go and will start to fall into the Commanding and Pacesetting leadership style. Because I believe in working hard and meeting deadlines the elements from these styles help me to ensure this is actioned. I would not want to be purely categorised as one of these leaders, however when trying to undertake target driven tasks these styles best fit with me to achieve this.

Because I am process orientated I am quite stuck in my ways and do not think outside the box and therefore do not fit as a Visionary leader. I lack of confidence in trying to get my point across, I believe this is due to the numerous occasions where my suggestions have been ignored as others with a louder voice are heard above me. I admire visionary leaders and I’m quite envious of them, although visionary leaders do not tend to be completer finishers and would rely on process orientated individuals like me to carry their vision forward.

I do not like conflict and like a harmonious happy working environment which an Affiliative leader strives for. I believe I possess elements from this style and I am someone who will listen to both sides of the story and not jump to conclusions. Admittedly I will sit on the fence in most situations, however if I feel very passionately about something I will step forward and stand up for what I believe in. I am an empathetic person, I do not like to see people suffering and will try and help them resolve what is making them unhappy.

For a period of time my department has been quite happy in our working environment despite the nature of our work. However the last few months we have unfortunately inherited a Pacesetting, Commanding Leader. My team and I are now unhappy and lack motivation to get tasks completed. In my opinion this style of management is unproductive in gaining goods results. People are a huge asset in business and keeping them motivated and happy will in turn produce effective results.

In summary I believe my leadership style to be predominately affiliative and coaching with characteristics from the democratic and pacesetting styles which I would adopt depending on the situations I need to deal with.

2.3 Use the critical assessment to evaluate how someone with different beliefs, attitudes and values might interpret the theory differently.

After looking into Goleman and McGregor’s leadership theory’s I do not want be thought of or seen as a negative leader by anyone within my team or department. The positive aspects of the leadership styles discussed in these theories are ultimately the ones that produce the best results for staff and businesses. However it appears that a failing organisation would benefit temporarily with a negative type of leader to help put it back on track.

Both members of my team have only been working with me just over a year and will find my style of management different to those they have worked with before. They are both completely different in the way they approach and carry out their work. One is quite idealistic and suggests many ideas to improve working ways and processes but does not see all of these through to the end whilst my other team member is very target orientated and will always meet the deadlines set.

I believe that when someone is employed to do a job they should keep their head down, work hard and ensure their tasks are completed to a high standard; this is the pacesetting style I feel I have adopted within my leadership. My idealistic team member clearly does not hold this style when it comes to targets and they are easily distracted and quite chatty with other teams in the office. To them deadlines are not important and they are not so responsive to my pacesetting style when I’m trying to achieve targets and would favour me more in adopting my affiliative side.

I like to keep everyone happy at work and will look to find solutions that work best for all. Both members of my team will put forward suggestions and ideas to make improvements to our service and I will take these forward on their behalf. Unfortunately some of the time I am unable to get agreement from the other departments that this will affect and I will back down and not push the idea forward and would therefore rather take this back and try and appease my team. I believe both my team members would attribute this as an affiliative leadership style however they would find this a weak quality within me if I do not stand my ground with their ideas and suggestions.

If work load increases in my team I am quite happy to step in and help out. However I do get very frustrated with one of my team members when they are distracted by others and they do not seem to understand the importance of getting on top of the workload. This issue would be dealt with easily be a commanding leader, in my head I can do this but in practice is not possible due to my overriding need to keep everyone happy. I feel my team members take advantage of this side of my leadership style and will therefore carry on with their behaviour.
I believe people should be qualified to do the job they are employed to do and seek to gain additional skills if they feel there are elements within the role they are not confident in achieving. Both members of my team have undertaken several courses and I believe they would link this to the coaching leadership style which is a positive element I believe I have in supporting them to develop both in their role and within the organisation.

In summary I feel others perception of my leadership styles may lean more towards the pacesetting style due to my need to meet targets. I would disagree and I take on board that I do possess these characteristics but feel I work very much as an affiliative and coaching leader the majority of the time as it is important to me to keep everyone happy at work and ensure they work to their best potential and progress with their career.

The majority of scholars acknowledge the significance of critical thinking development because such skills are more vital for positive life choices than raw intelligence. It is often difficult for anyone to clearly distinguish the worth of critical thinking in everyday life However, everyday decisions made by individuals have the potential to affect them, their families and society. Thus, because sometimes the stakes and consequences of the decisions are high, critical thinking skills are essential. The demands of purposeful and reflective judgment at every stage of life necessitate strong critical thinking skills. This essay will explore the meaning of critical thinking, its importance and the application in everyday life.

The Meaning of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking entails the capability to objectively examine information to reach a rational decision. It is an extensively accepted educational objective. Although the conceptions of the term may differ, the basic idea is that involves careful thinking aimed at an objective. In essence, it is a higher level of reasoning and practice of utilizing various advanced skills of thinking in multifaceted ways. According to Hitchcock (2018), critical thinking is central to the thought and entails how facts are distinguished, arguments established and reasonable judgments made and not simply the facts, arguments and conclusions that can be made. For example, in the age of social media where fake news is rampant, critical thinking can help an individual to distinguish facts from misleading information. Moreover, critical thinking is a self- reflexive process allowing an individual to test, question and reflect on thoughts and also think independently (Verma, 2015). However, it differs from just thinking because it focuses on biases, flaws, and assumptions in reasoning, it entails deep and extensive questioning and involves a criterion of reaching a decision.

Some behaviors central to critical thinking enable individuals to be curious and reflective. These behaviors include seeking clarifications through questioning and answering, explaining terms, highlighting assumptions, interpretation of facts, predicting and objectively addressing both sides of a problem (Larson, 2019). In essence, critical thinking involves the ability to be curious and reflective in the exploration of new ideas, interpretations, and solutions. For example, a critical thinker would ask relevant questions, examine arguments and statements properly and be able to differentiate between beliefs and facts about climate change. Critical thinking also allows for an open mind, acknowledging new ideas and actively learning or understanding where appropriate.

Importance of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is significant across all ages because it encourages curiosity and creativity, problem- solving, ability to predict future needs or events and independence. First, critical thinking inspires the development of curiosity which enables an individual to grasp a deeper understanding of their environment essential for survival. For example, critical thinking is crucial for students to understand various topics and also the environment relevant to their schooling life. Similarly, critical thinking encourages a creative mind that is essential in professional, business and social life which demand creativity. For instance, an entrepreneur who develops creative products and marketing approaches is likely to succeed in the market place.

Besides, critical thinking enables individuals to use facts and the understanding of the environment to predict future needs or events. Being in the right place with the right skills, knowledge, and information is paramount for personal success. However, often there is a need to understand what the future might look like to allow for adequate preparedness. A critical thinker would be able to synthesize the current events and existing knowledge objectively to predict- real-world outcomes. Critical thinking is far more useful than intelligence in predictive real-world outcomes (Butler, Pentoney & Bong, 2017). Thus, it would be important to use critical thinking in fields such as education, business, economics, and climate in an attempt to paint the picture of what the future might look like.

Additionally, critical thinking enhances the ability to solve problems and think independently. Individuals who are critical thinkers often possess the ability to come up with imaginative solutions (Sellars et al., 2018). Such can be a vital skill for learners to acquire at an early age. Because today’s learners are tomorrow’s leaders, it is vital to have the ability to use critical thinking to come up with creative solutions. Likewise, as an individual learns how to think independently, they are likely to become an exceptional leader which is one objective of education. Thus, the ability to make sense of the environment is what offers learners the crucial tools to make rational judgments independently.

Everyday Uses of Critical Thinking

Various uses of critical thinking in everyday life include making decisions about personal wellness. Among the biggest challenges facing students is being responsible for their wellbeing (ACC, 2019). Wellbeing is defined by the ability to balance school-life to enhance emotional, physical and social wellbeing. For instance, critical thinking is essential for an individual who starts physical exercises and after a period of time, they evaluate the results. The ability to use the information they had before starting the program and the current results would enable one to make the decision whether or not to continue with the activity.

Besides, critical thinking is applicable when making everyday purchase decisions. Most people now utilize more time to research items before making the final decision to purchase and avoid mistakes. For example, comparing prices for an item offered by various online retailers reduces the risk of buying from a costly retailer. Such a practice also maintains and enhances wellbeing and lifestyle. As well, questioning how making a purchase would affect others including family, friends or the community is part of critical thinking.

Critical thinking is also applicable to individuals making career decisions. Some decisions take time while others can be resolved quickly (Sutler-Cohen, 2019). In any way, when considering whether to attend college or focus on sports it is crucial to highlight the financial, social and professional implications of the decision. For instance, an individual would need to ask if the step is the right one, and after making the decision project its likely impacts some years into the future. However, critical thinking is all it takes to make a rational decision.

Likewise, in the modern era of social media, critical thinking is an essential tool in distinguishing facts from fake news. Today, social media information travels faster not because it is accurate nut because it is popular (Burkhardt, 2017). Therefore, in the age of the internet, fake news becomes inevitable. However, critical thinkers can be able to analyze and interpret information to distinguish genuine reports from misleading fake news, altered images or twitter bots and avoid the damage such can cause.

The Question of Origin- How did life begin? How did mankind come into existence?

• How would your selected worldview answer these questions?

The belief that Buddhists carry is that God and the universe are one in the same and that there is no existence of a “creator” because according to the religion, everything that exists has always existed. They believe that a cycle exists where everything experiences birth, death, and rebirth. Buddhism, which is a part of pantheism, also indicates that there is not a personal God. Rather, the focus is on the universe and its sacred existence. It is believed in Buddhism that all that exists is a part of god. (Weider & Gutierrez, 2014, p.64).

• Compare and Contrast this with how the biblical worldview would answer this question

The Bible tells us that everything was created by God Himself. In the readings from Genesis, it tells us and goes into specifics of all that exists being created by God. According to the book, “What is a Biblical Worldview” and the Bible in Genesis, God existed before anything was to be seen or unseen (Weider & Gutierrez, 2014, p.84).

The Question of Identity – What does it mean to be human? Are humans more important than animals?

• How would your selected worldview answer these questions?

According to Buddhism, all life is sacred and spiritual in nature. Buddhists believe that it is important to consider a one’s soul, as it is decided what future life one will have dependent upon that individuals “karma”. Basically, if one were to live doing bad actions, that way of life would determine their next life. (Weider & Gutierrez, p.66). Buddhists also have the belief that they are to refrain from hurting or taking the life of an animal because they believe all life is sacred. (Halverson, 2004, p.3).

• Compare and Contrast this with how the biblical worldview would answer this question

Being human, we have a natural tendency towards a sinful nature, because we are imperfect. According to Psalm 8:3-9, animals are not capable of sin and are innocent beings, but we have domain over them. Having domain over the animals, we are commanded by God to treat them with deserving respect and kindness (Weider & Gutierrez, 2014, p.66). An animal’s inability to commit sin is one of the biggest differences between human and animal. All sin comes from a man’s heart (Mark 7:21-22).

The Question of Meaning/Purpose – Why does mankind exist? Why do I exist?

• How would your selected worldview answer these questions?

The purpose of a Buddhist life is for the individual to end the cycle of reincarnation by reaching nirvana. In order for a Buddhist to believe in reaching nirvana, they must follow and achieve the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Noble Path. The reason for Buddhists belief of being stuck in a cycle of reincarnation is due to temporary desires (Weider & Gutierrez, p. 69).

• Compare and Contrast this with how the biblical worldview would answer this question

  The biblical purpose for man’s existence is to have a relationship with God (Weider & Gutierrez, p. 69). We are not only called to have a relationship with God but to also spread His word to others who may not have a relationship with God. (Exodus 9:16).

The Question of Morality – What is meant by right and wrong? How should I live?

• How would your selected worldview answer these questions?

According to the Buddhism worldview, it is believed that karma is what decides what actions by one are right or wrong. The action that a person chooses it what will be returned to them. Choose to act in a bad way, karma believes that you will receive something bad. (Weider & Gutierrez, p. 66). Buddhists believe they should do and follow the ethical conducts or rules as listed in the Sila. Some examples of rules in the Sila are common sense in nature that one should refrain from murder, sexual deviancy, stealing, intoxicating substances, and lying (Halverson, p. 3).

• Compare and Contrast this with how the biblical worldview would answer this question

It is clear for us Christians that the Bible teaches us how to best live our life. We should not just trust in ourselves, instead, trust the Word of God and use the Word as a guide on how to live our life.

The Question of Destiny – Is there life after death? What will happen to me when I die?

• How would your selected worldview answer these questions?

As stated in number four, Buddhists believe that reaching nirvana will get them to stop the eternal cycle of reincarnation, which is affected by karma. They believe that reaching nirvana is the end of their suffering.

• Compare and Contrast this with how the biblical worldview would answer this question

Christians believe that if you have asked Jesus into your heart and ask for forgiveness of your sinful nature that you will spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven. Those who believe in the Bible should have no fear of life after death because they will be living in Heaven with Jesus eternally.

References

1. Halverson, Dean. (2004). Buddhism. Colorado Springs, CO: International Students, Inc.
2. Weider, L., & Gutierrez, B., (2014). Finding your worldview: Thinking christianly about the world. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group. ISBN: 9781932213898.

Critical thinking is defined as ‘analyzing [information], making judgment about what it means, relating it to other information, and considering how it might be valid or invalid’(Arnett, 2010). Schools are often criticized for not teaching critical thinking in their curriculum. Some people have urged for critical thinking to be taught more explicitly in the classroom while others have argued that cognitively, teenagers are not capable of critical thinking. This essay will discuss the research behind critical thinking in adolescents and compare it to a current situation in Hong Kong where liberal studies is a compulsory subject for Hong Kong public school curriculum for secondary school students (12 – 18 years old).

In Chapter 3 of the book Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood, Cognitive Foundations, Arnett (2010) discusses that as a child grows, the changes in the cognitive development means that adolescents will have a greater ability for critical thinking. According to cognitive psychologist Daniel Keating (2004, Keating & Sasse, 1996), three conditions in the development of the cognitive functions of adolescents make it possible for critical thinking. Firstly, adolescents now have a wider repertoire of information and knowledge in their long-term memory, which they can now tap on for comparison and analysis.

Secondly, the ability to analyze knowledge across spectrum at the same time has improved by adolescent years. Thirdly, more metacognitive strategies are now available and adolescents are more capable to tap into these strategies to make judgements about their own thinking. However, observers note that critical thinking skills are not taught in the American schools and rote learning is dominance in the classroom (Gruber & Borreen, 2003; Keating, 2004; Linn & Songer 1991; Stenberg 1996). Even though cognitively, adolescents are capable of critical thinking but it is often argued if they able to use this skill to make competent decision.

and Cauffman (1996, 2001) proposed that psychosocial factors which are greater influencer of adolescents’ decision should be considered. Both the cognitive and psychosocial factors interact during the decision making process. Arnett indicates that research has shown that adolescents aged 15 and younger have lower psychosocial maturity.

With these research finding in mind, let us look into the recent protests in Hong Kong that has been largely led by young people below 18 years old. Critics have attributed the negative sentiments among the young people to the education system. One of the areas of the education system that has been fiercely debated is the necessity of having compulsory liberal arts education for secondary school students. An article in South China Morning Post (Chiu, SCMP, 23 May 2018) “Liberal studies debate traps Hong Kong students in political combat zone” reports on the issues that are fueling this debate.

The cognitive and psychological factors Steinberg and Cauffman (1996,2001) proposed are evident in this article. From a survey done, 80 per cent of 18 years old (Secondary Six) interviewed agreed that liberal studies ‘enhanced their ability to think from multi-dimensional perspectives [and] increased their awareness of the society.’ (Chiu, 2018) This shows that the adolescents appreciate that they are being challenged cognitively. They find that they are benefiting from the critical thinking skills taught in such classes as the three conditions listed by Keating are developed by this age.

The next consideration will be the psychological factors that influences adolescents in their decision making process. Adolescents’ opinions can be swayed by the opinions of a significant other or more so their peers. Early adolescent are less capable of following through the steps of the decision making process in the behavioral decision theory (Beyth-Marom & Fischoff, 1997; Byrnes, Miller, & Reynolds, 1999; Fischoff, 2005, Furby & Beyth-Marom, 1992; Jacobs & Klaczynski, 2005). However the article highlights that there are no textbooks which are designated by the Education Bureau and teachers developed their own materials based on broad curriculum guidelines by the Education Bureau. Thus, teachers delivering the lessons can be influenced by their political biasness.

The newspaper article quoted from Stephen Chiu Wing-kai, chair professor at Education University’s department of social sciences, and Trevor Lee Tsz-lok, a lecturer at Hang Seng Management College’s department of social science‘curriculum, that pedagogy of liberal studies had “relatively insignificant influence” in fostering youth political engagement”. They claimed that the subject only seeks to ‘enhance’ students’ political awareness but very few will be motived to turn their views into actions. However, studies in behavior decision theory has indicated that this motivation to take actions and escalating into protests in adolescents can be irrational as the possibility of consequences evaluated by adolescents for their actions is different from adults.

In conclusion. schools should rethink how they are infusing critical thinking into their curriculum, since adolescents are immature in the influences of psychological factors that guides their decision making. Critical thinking can be infused into Science subjects and not just the humanities. In the case of Hong Kong, a broad spectrum of topics and themes should be covered instead of narrowing confining critical thinking to only political discussion.

Theory Hui & Sun’s Model

This model divides cognitive competence into three types of thinking: Creative thinking, a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first).  Critical thinking, which includes reasoning, making references, self-reflection, and coordination of multiple views. Critical thinking has been described as “the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment, which uses reasoned consideration to evidence, context, conceptualizations, methods, and criteria. ” (Facione, Peter A. Critical Thinking: What It is and Why It Counts, Insightassessment. com) . Rational thinking refers to logical or reasoning being involved in the thought process. It refers to providing reasons or rational behind thoughts or ideas.

It adds an element of calculation and planning to a steam of thoughts rather than basing them on emotion or personal opinion. It is a kind of objective process of thinking and an analytic approach to any problem. Rational thinking is based on reasons or facts and is hence much more calculating and realistic.

Geiwitz’s Model

This model divides cognitive competence into three steps of thinking: Know what, to know what is the problem 2. Know how, to know how the problem can be solved . Know why, to know why choose particular method to solve the problem, or to evaluate the method currently used.

In Hui and Sun’s model, creative thinking is the innovative way of thinking. It allows people to invent new things or idea. Critical thinking is used when commenting on something, e. g. in writing editorials. As for rational thinking, it is used when analyzing. In my opinion, the second model is easier to understand. And it shows progressive levels of cognitive competence, whereas the first model only divides our thinking into three different ways. Therefore, I would further explain cognitive competence using the second model for reference. Take the example of inventors of the world’s first airplane – the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur.

This is an good example to illustrate the concept of cognitive competence and the Geiwitz’s model. Applying the Geiwitz’s model, the Wright brothers’ aim was to create a “flying machine”, this is the “know what” level of cognitive competence. They then started to think and design this machine, and this is the “know how” level of cognitive competence. Finally they evaluated the products (what’s good and not good about it) and thought how to improve further. The “know how” and “know why” steps repeated. And finally an mature airplane was invented. Start Know what: to invent a flying machine Know how: How to built a better flying machine

Why this model is good/not good enough Repeat A satisfatory model is invented Another example to illustrate is the development in high jump styles. The styles used in high-jumping has changed from initially scissors style, to straddle style, and finally the Fosbury style which is still using nowadays. Start Know what: to jump high Know how: What jumping style Know why: Why this style is good/not good enough Repeat A satisfatory syle is invented Factors affecting cognitive competence I think the factors affecting the development of one’s cognitive competence can be divided into intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors.

Intrinsic factors are those confine to yourself, while extrinsic factors are those influenced by the environment. For intrinsic factors, I think there are: intelligence, personalities, knowledge and past experience. For intelligent, I think it is not difficult to imagine that it is important for high cognitive competence. Intelligence is particularly important for the “know how” and “know why” stage. Only if you are wise enough can you think of a new way to solve problem that no one has ever think of or find out what is the problem of existing method being used by other people.

Moreover, intelligence is kind of inborn; therefore, cognitive competence is also inborn to a certain extent. As for personality, I think people with different personality may affect his/her performance in problem solving and the presentation of his cognitive competence. For example, if a person lacks confidence and likes to deal with problem in a low risk aspect, he/she may not abandon the existing widely used method to tackle the problem and use new methods even though he is clever enough to think of many other new potential methods. They may only attempt the new ways when they are 100% more effective and safer than the existing ones.

Knowledge and past experience are very similar. They both can be regarded as memory. They are very important factors that affect cognitive competence. When tackling problems, memory always acts as your “reference”, it gives you basic information and background about the problem. And help you to figure out the solution in relation to this “reference”. Like the case of the Wright brothers, when they tried to invent a flying machine, their knowledge in engineering gives them basic information of how to build it. It is interesting to notice that sometimes past experience may hinder our cognitive performance.

For example, when you are dealing with a project you are very familiar with, you might too much into your experience and knowledge and think that it is impossible to explore new methods. For extrinsic factors, there are: Environment (e. g. family background, situation of the problem) and the nature of problem Environment is the major extrinsic factor affecting one’s cognitive competence. It determines many of intrinsic factors including past experience, knowledge and even personality. Environment can also affects ones attitude to deal with the problem, thus performance of cognitive competence.

For example, the due date of your proposal is tomorrow morning and now is already three o’clock in the morning and you haven’t even started yet. I am sure you may feel desperate and will not spend much time to think of the new ideas. Moreover, family socialization also affects cognitive competence and intelligence of people. Another one is the nature of the problem. It determines one’s past experience and knowledge are useful or not. It is because the past experience and knowledge can not apply to all situation.

Importance of cognitive competence in leadership Cognitive competence is important in leadership. A research points out that cognitive skills were found to be directly correlate with high-level of leadership performance in a MLE (Military Leadership Exercises) research. (Marshall-Mies et al. , 2000) Often included intelligence, general skills, crystallized skills (e. g. oral and written expression and comprehension), and creative or divergent thinking capacities are cognitive capabilities that should influence leadership performance. (Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks & Mumford, 2000).

I also agree that cognitive competence is important in leadership. First of all, leader with higher level of cognitive competence can deal with different kinds of problems with his own way of thinking. That means they can find out his own most effective way to tackle the problem without copying others method. This gives the leader independency that he does not need to rely on others too much. It also gives them maturity that they can have their own way of thinking. Independency and maturity surely are the important factors of a leader. This makes people happy and feeling safe to follow you.

Secondly, leader with high level of cognitive competence can have great contribution to the team. They can give out a lot of useful ideas that no one has thought of before. This already makes them the strongest ones or the most unique ones in the team. People would love to follow leaders which are stronger than them. Again, this makes them feel safe. Finally, leaders with high level of cognitive competence can have a clear mind and know what is wrong in the team. They know what the team should do (goal). And they evaluate the performance of the team, and find out what should be improved.

That means they are not only using cognitive skills in problem solving, but also in team management. It is because “team management” itself is already a task. People with higher cognitive competence usually have higher IQ and are conflicts encountering. Ways to enhance the level of cognitive competence Before discussing how to enhance the level of cognitive competence, I think we should first identify what cannot be changed or be improved.

They are called constrains. Through understanding what are the constrains, we can focus on what can and what should be improved. The constrains include family background, intelligence and personality. These factors are sort of fixed, or can only have little change. So, to raise the level of cognitive competence, I think it is effective that we try to learn as much as possible. This is to enhance our knowledge and enrich our experience. As mentioned, knowledge and past experience are two important factors affecting one’s cognitive ability.

This is because they are our own sources of information about the problem being coped. We can make use of this information to find a way to solve the problem. We may not figure out any new method, at least we know how people deal with it previously. In Janet E, Et Al, The Role of metacognition in Problem Solving, four steps of thinking is also mentioned to guide people to solve problems. They are: Identifying and defining the problem . Mentally representing the problem . Planning how to proceed . Evaluating what you know about your performance

This way of thinking can help people to organized their thoughts, so that they can deal with the problem step by step. I think it is a quite useful way to improve cognitive performance because it makes people organized and focus on one job at a time. This prevents them from being interrupted from different sources. Furthermore, it helps people to think logically. Part 2 Self-reflection Hong Kong students are known to be a copycat. We are blamed to have low level of creativity and afraid to try new things. People always say that we just copy things from others or textbooks without digesting them.

But I think it is not totally my case. I am not a stupid student. I used to be very creative in primary school. Others describe me as naughty. It is because all my creativity is used in inventing new ways to play tricks on my classmates. I remember one time I played a game in an activity class. My teacher ask my group to use a deck of playing cards to build a tower as high as we can. Then we started. Other groups are using the traditional method (see left). Obviously it requires high technique. Therefore they can only built towers with few floors high. But I figured out another method.

I folded up two cards, turned them sideway to make two “L” shape walls, put them facing each other to make a square wall, on top of it I placed a flat card. And I repeated to do this. Of course, my team built the highest tower. But guess what happened next. My teacher told us that was against the rules. Playing cards are not supposed to be folded (She didn’t tell us before the game). We lose that competition at the end. I think, after this event, my creativity started to slowly bury in my heart deeply. When I recall this event, I discover one important thing.

That is our creativity is often being restricted by our teachers, and our education system. Teachers set all the projects, homework with rules and restrictions, trying to make them easier to mark and compare. But this made our assignments all looking the same. Examination questions have all the model answers, this made our student the same person who can only memorize answers without digesting the questions and answer them in their own way. Not that I don’t have critical thinking and creativity. It is just because they have to be thrown away to survive in HK’s education system.

Take the example of A-level exams, the curriculum is very tight that teachers even cannot have time to teach us all the topics included. How would I have time to individually explore all the topics taught? Instead, in order to get high grades in this exam, I spent most of the time on memorizing past paper’s model answers. I know it would not help my cognitive development, but getting into a good university is more important to me. I believe this is also the problem of many students. Now, when I am given a problem to solve, I still try my best to explore the alternatives.

May be this is due to my personality. I just don’t like to be the same with others. I like to be unique. But I think I am not creative as I was small anymore. Apart from the reason about the restrictions set by teachers just discussed, another possible reason may be due to my own knowledge and experience. As I mentioned in part 1 of this report, knowledge and experience, although can help to solve your problem, they sometimes hinder your cognitive performance. Sometimes this happens to me. I just rely too much on the knowledge and experience, and cannot think out of the box.

But the major reason is still because of the education system in HK. But in the university, a place to train student’s critical thinking and creativity, I think that this problem would become less severe. To improve my cognitive abilities, I think the best way is to train to have independent critical thinking. Don’t rely too much on knowledge from any sources and my own or others’ past experience. Always try my best to look for other possible alternatives. Although this might spend a lot more time and at the end there may not come up any new things. But I think the process can also help me to develop my cognitive skills.

Although it might hinder my cognitive performance, I think it is still important to enrich my knowledge and broaden my horizon. This is because learning more can let me compare different theories and thus train my independent critical thinking. They are also my valuable first encountered source when any problem comes to me.

Reference

1. Willis SL. (1996). Everyday cognitive competence in elderly persons: conceptual issues and empirical findings, Oct;36(5):595-601
2. The W. T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136)
3. Catalano, R. F. , Berglund, M. L. , Ryan, J. A. M. , Lonczak, H. S. , & Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention and Treatment, 5 (15), 1-106.
4. Grundmann, M. ; Teo, Thomas; Socialization, intelligence, and cognitive competence (1997) Marshall-Mies et al. , 2000
5. Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks & Mumford, 2000 Heydenberk R. A. and Heydenberk W. R. , Increasing Meta-Cognitive Competence through Conflict Resolution(2005)

APPLE INC 2 Voted as the most innovative company for three consecutive years during 2006-2008 and voted as America’s number 1 most Admired Company (McGregor, 2008), Apples faces a major challenge to continue growth at this level. Describe two factors you think Apple should consider as the company develops long-term strategy for growth. I think that as Apple continues to move forward with out the guiding force that was Steve Jobs, they have to consider the impact that competitors are going to have on their market share.

There are now several competing devices similar to the iPhone, iPod, and iPad in the market place now. Apple will have to continue the tradition of innovation, and homegrown product development to stay on top. With new leadership, comes new ways of doing things. Even though the new CEO of Apple inc, Tim Cook is a Steve Jobs protege, he will have his own style, and it remains to be seen how much of an impact that is going to have in the future. For the moment Apple seems to be doing just fine. Current earnings over this period a year ago are up. (Apple Inc. 2012)

If Apple were to build a balanced scorecard, what two objectives do you think should be included in the learning and growth perspective? “In a knowledge-worker organization, people — the only repository of knowledge — are the main resource. ”(Balanced Score Card Institute, 2012) Apple should continue to ensure the professional development of its managers and engineers. The talents of these people have brought Apple to where it is today. Product development should be another objective. Apple inc. has been doing things right (for them) for quite awhile now.

Their ability to innovate, and develop products that are simple to use has been one of the keys to their success. APPLE INC. 3 References: Balanced Score Card Institute. (2012),Balanced Score Card Institute- A Strategy Management Group Company Retrieved June 10, 2012 from: http://www. balancedscorecard. org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default. aspx Apple Inc. (2012) Apple Inc. Retrieved June 10, 2012 from: http://www. apple. com/pr/library/2012/04/24Apple-Reports-Second-Quarter-Results. html

Rice was initially suspended or three games as a result of his actions. It was not until the situation became public that the NFG decided to take further aggressive action against Rice. This situation could have been handled much differently had the NFG thought out the potential impact Rice’s actions would have on the NFG its fans, and domestic violence camps. It’s important to think critically in these types of situations because it shows that action is being taken not only because complaints are made, but because it is truly unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

Otherwise, you will find yourself justifying the actions of the fender as well as your organization. Define free will, truth, knowledge, and opinion. Explain how we use them to form thoughts. What role does each play in critically assessing situations? Free will can be defined as the “capacity to respond in ways that oppose even the strongest influences” (Ruggeri, 2009). Free will determines what someone really wants without consequence rather then what they are forced to do.

Truth is anything that can be proven, it is “the reality of the matter, as distinguished from what people wish so, believe to be so, or assert to be so” (Ruggeri, 2009). Truth is not opinion but ether facts that are waiting to be discovered. Facts may change, but the truth will always be just that, the truth. Knowledge is taught and is always evolving. Knowledge is what we are familiar with; “we can obtain authentic knowledge in any one of three ways: personal experience, observation, and report from others” (Ruggeri,2009) .

Unknowing helps with understanding the topic in question and drawing educated conclusions when all the facts are not present. Opinions are subjective and “are intensely personal” (Ruggeri 2009). Opinions can be of taste or judgment but either way does not require explanation or defending. Identify three hindrances to the critical thinking process. Determine methods for overcoming these hindrances. Identify a time in which you experienced a hindrance in critical thinking. Describe a method you could use to overcome the hindrances.

Three hindrances in the critical thinking process are the mine-is-better habit, stereotyping, and resistance to change. “The mine-is-better habit hinders our thinking. It destroys objectivity and prompts us to prefer self-flattering errors to unpleasant realities. If you wish to be a good thinker, you must learn to intro this habit and keep your ego from interfering with your search for truth” (Ruggeri 2009). Having an open-minded during the thinking process can help with the mind-is-better habit.

Being open-minded removes any false notions that your way is better and allows for an accurate assessment of the current situation. “Resistance to change is the tendency to reject new ideas and new ways of seeing or doing without examining them fairly” (Ruggeri 2009). In order to overcome this hindrance we must be willing to let go of the pass and give change a fair change before writing it off. Stereotyping is another hindrance to the critical thinking process. It is a generalization of any group or class of people. “The most common stereotypes are racial, religious, and ethnic.

There is the stereotype of the black, the fundamentalist Christian, the Italian. But there are many other types as well, no less firm for being less common-?for example, stereotypes of homosexuals, the clergy, college dropouts, feminists, male chauvinists, New York City, singles’ bars, motherhood-?even God” (Ruggeri 2009). The best way to over-come a stereotype is to conduct research and base your thinking from what is learned through first-hand research. I experienced a hindrance in my thinking process when trying to decide whether I should enroll back into school. As too focused on the change that going back to school would have on my daily routine. Once I stop focusing on the change and pay more attention to the pros, I successfully moved forward with my though process. Identify a message in advertising. Describe how you perceive the message of the advertisement. Try to determine the reality of the advertisement. Distinguish between your perception and the reality of the message. Samsung recently released a commercial advertising their new Galaxy Note 4 as the next big hint.