Thinking Critically Simulation

Thinking Critically" Simulation

In the "Thinking Critically" simulation I tried to use the fishbone or cause and effect tool to help me try to identify the problem. I varied the approach by listing possible symptoms and then tried to determine the root causes. The critical urgent items I had listed were product mix, legal action, and new store. The non-urgent items I identified were attrition, market trends, and variable pay. And the non-critical urgent items I identified were inventory and WAN. My thought was much like doctors approach of diagnosing an illness by identifying the symptoms to get to the root causes.

By applying the critical thinking components I was able to see issues as symptoms as opposed to being the problem. One example that I was able to eliminate was the fallacy of the operations manager. The employees were not happy the way she was treating them that she was pushing to them to hard. I looked beyond these allegations and only concentrated on her past performances thus eliminating her as part of the problem. Continued with this process until I was satisfied with decisions I had made. By applying the critical thinking components I was able to keep focused on the problems.

Four key points that I was able to pick up on from the simulation come directly from the "Process of Decision Making" diagram particularly from "Making the Decision" section. The simulation seemed to apply the four elements of decision-making; identify causes of the problem, frame alternatives, evaluate impacts, and make the decision. Each sub-portion of the simulation dealt with each one of these items. First part dealing with problem identification being able to evaluate each cause/problem using the provided information. The second part dealing with different alternatives to solve the problems and evaluating the possible impacts that each of your choices may have. The third part addresses making your decisions and trying to anticipate the outcomes of your decisions.

Being able to apply this simulation to my work is not an easy task since I work in the insurance industry particularly customer service. The demands of the customers are a little different than that of retail industry. In retail, a product is sold based on the demand and requirements of the customer. This is similar with insurance but the demands are slightly different. The laws of state and requirements