Meet Michelle Rodriguez.
Michelle is an IT Manager at Ace Finance. She manages a small team that provides general IT technical support services to the stakeholders at Ace Finance. She is currently based in one of their regional offices and works from home as well as in the office depending on her schedule.
Her duties include:
- improving system performance by identifying problems and recommending changes
- leading a small team of IT technical support officers
- training of junior staff
- ensuring that all staff (depending on their role) are current with IT-related upgrades, technical innovations and related legislation, organisational policies and procedures
- updating job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities and maintaining personal networks.
Michelle recognises that to perform these tasks well, her critical thinking skills need to be sharp.
In this module, you will learn the skills and knowledge that enable Michelle to perform her role, namely how and when to:
- establish an environment that fosters critical thinking
- lead critical thinking processes and approaches to problem-solving and decision-making
- seek opportunities to develop a critical thinking mindset in self and others.
You will be introduced to the key characteristics of critical thinking and the value of such approaches in a work environment and follow a seven-step process for resolving a work issue. You will learn about Bloom's Taxonomy framework that demonstrates people's thinking levels (from lower-order thinking to higher-order critical thinking), along with the Eisenhower Matrix and the SPADE framework to help with solving problems and making decisions.
Throughout the module, there will be opportunities to develop your knowledge and critical thinking skills so you are ready for your assessment, including looking at Ace Finance’s ‘Decision Making Policy and Procedure'.
Let us begin by considering Michelle’s tasks by asking her the following three (3) questions.
Michelle responds:
As an IT Manager, my role involves constantly assessing and addressing the complex technical needs of stakeholders. This requires me to think critically and apply problem-solving skills to develop effective technical solutions and provide appropriate technical support. By demonstrating critical thinking in my role, I encourage my colleagues to approach their work with a similar mindset, fostering a culture of critical thinking within our team and the organisation.
In meetings, we use techniques such as:
- asking questions of each other
- listening and paraphrasing to check understanding
- considering the perspectives of other team members
- identifying the pros and cons of possible solutions.
Michelle responds:
Absolutely, promoting a critical thinking mindset is crucial in our team. IT technical support is a field where decisions can significantly impact stakeholders’ work, its efficiency and productivity.
By encouraging critical thinking, we ensure that our team members:
- thoroughly analyse situations
- consider multiple perspectives
- make informed decisions.
Critical thinking allows us to approach challenges creatively, adapt to changing circumstances, and deliver the best possible care to our clients.
Demonstrating and promoting critical thinking as a desirable and valuable skill encourages critical thinking behaviours in others. This is a win-win scenario for all of us. It encourages staff to be more analytical when solving problems or evaluating processes and to derive a logical conclusion or solution to a problem. This results in employees becoming more effective at performing work tasks which helps to meet the goals of the team and contribute to achieving the organisation’s strategic objectives.
Michelle responds:
The benefits of applying critical thinking in the workplace include:
- promoting respect for diverse ways of thinking
- increasing the range of approaches to problem-solving
- solving complex problems
- fostering creativity through unexpected outcomes (for example, different from the original issue)
- increasing teamwork and efficiency
- analyse information objectively
- reducing the likelihood of workplace conflict through effective decision making.
Critical thinking is a skill that an individual can use in every area of life. Overall, it improves our efficiency, effectiveness, and the quality of care we provide to our clients at Ace Finances.
Now, let's dive into the learning!
