Syllabus 1

MGT/350 Version 5

Syllabus
School of Business
MGT/350 Version 5
Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making
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Course Description

This course provides students opportunities for analysis, synthesis, prescription, and application of critical
thinking and decision making within the organization. Emphasis is placed on preparing managers who can deal
clearly, rationally, and creatively with a diverse workforce and dynamic workplace. This course equips students
with concrete skills in critical thinking and decision making that will allow them to identify and solve
organizational problems, as well as provide strategic direction.

Policies

Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained
within the following two documents:

• University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document.
• Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum.

University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies
may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed
modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality.

Course Materials

Bateman, T. S. & Snell, S. A. (2007). Management: Leading and collaborating in a competitive world (7th ed.).
Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill.

Kirby, G. R. & Goodpaster, J. R. (2007). Thinking (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Langdon, K. (2001). Smart things to know about decision making (1st ed.). Oxford: Capstone.

Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2006). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life (2nd ed.).
Upper Saddle River: NJ: Prentice Hall.

Robbins, S. P. (2004). Decide and conquer: Make winning decisions and take control of your life (1st ed.).
Upper Saddle River: NJ: Prentice Hall.

All electronic materials are available on the student website.

Week One: Characteristics of Critical Thinking and Decision Making

Details Due Points

Objectives 1.1 Describe critical thinking and its importance and benefits to
decision-making processes.
1.2 Analyze different types of thinking.
1.3 Apply critical thinking to decision making.
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Readings Read Ch. 1 & 2 of Thinking.

Read Introduction & Ch. 1 of Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking
Charge of Your Learning and Your Life.
Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

Discussion Respond to, 2 discussion questions, 8 replies or answer the Food See Main 4
Questions / for Thought + 7 replies, and 1 weekly summary Forum
Participation /
Weekly Summary

Learning Team Create the Learning Team Charter. Monday 5

Instructions Begin working on your Faculty Choice Assignment due in Week 5/23/2011
Two

Individual Prepare a 700-to 1,050-word paper in which you describe critical Monday 10
Critical Thinking thinking. 5/23/2011
Application Paper
• Provide an example from your personal experience in applying
critical thinking to a work-related decision, and the importance and
benefits of critical thinking in the decision-making processes.

• Write in third person

• Cite at least two different references.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Week Two: Problem Identification and Formulation

Details Due Points

Objectives 2.1 Examine the processes and forces involved in problem

formulation.
2.2 Apply critical thinking to problem identification and formulation.
2.3 Describe a problem in a manner sensitive to various stakeholder
perspectives using formulation tools and techniques.

Readings Read Ch. 7, 9, 10, & 11 of Thinking.

Read Ch. 4 & 5 of Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your
Learning and Your Life.
Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

Discussion Respond to, 2 discussion questions, 8 replies or answer the Food See Main 4
Questions / for Thought + 7 replies, and 1 weekly summary Forum
Participation /
Weekly Summary

Learning Team Begin working on your Problem Formulation and Identification

Instructions Paper due in Week Three.
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Learning Team The faculty member will assign one of the following assignments to Monday 5
Faculty Choice each Learning Team: 5/30/2011
Assignment
• Thinking and Decision Making Paper

o Prepare a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you

analyze at least three different types of thinking styles.

o Compare and contrast the three different types of

thinking and comment on how each affects the critical-
thinking process.

o Apply critical thinking to the decision-making

process by discussing workplace examples that highlight
each of the three different types of thinking you have
examined in this paper.

o Prepare to discuss your findings and examples in

class.

o Write in third person

o Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

o Sample list of thinking styles:

• Emotional
• Logical
• Scientific
• Creative
• Pessimistic
• Optimistic
• Convergent
• Divergent
• Inductive
• Deductive
• Closed question
• Open question

Team Thinking Style Assignment

• Team A: a) Emotional b) Logical k) Closed Question
• Team B: c) Scientific d) Creative l) Open Question
• Team C: e) Pessimistic f) Optimistic i) Inductive
• Team D: g) Convergent h) Divergent j) Deductive
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Week Three: Decision Making

Details Due Points

Objectives 3.1 Describe tools and/or techniques used in decision making.

3.2 Examine decision-making models and influences.
3.3 Apply a decision-making technique to a situation.

Readings Read Ch. 14 of Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your
Learning and Your Life.
Read Ch. 1–3 of Smart Things to Know About Decision Making.
Read Ch. 4, 12–26 of Decide & Conquer: Make Winning Decisions
and Take Control of Your Life.
Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

Discussion Respond to, 2 discussion questions, 8 replies or answer the Food See Main 4
Questions / for Thought + 7 replies, and 1 weekly summary Forum
Participation /
Weekly Summary

Activities and For Weeks Three through Five, you will work individually using the
Preparation Decisions in Paradise Business Scenario located on your student
Decisions in website as the basis for these three assignments. In this scenario,
Paradise Business you will play the role of Nik, and your current employer is the
Scenario organization represented by Alex, Nik, and Chris. You will also use
the mission of your current organization to assist you in decision
making in discussing this business scenario.

There are three phases to this assignment which will be cumulative,

meaning that each part will build upon the next. You will use this
paper and feedback from your instructor as input to improve your
Week Four and Week Five assignments. The three deliverables for
this project are:

• Week Three: Decisions in Paradise Paper, Part I

• Week Four: Decisions in Paradise Paper, Part II
• Week Five: Decisions in Paradise Paper, Part III

Learning Team Begin working on your Problem Formulation and Identification

Instructions Presentation due in Week Four.

Individual Beginning in Week Three and for the remainder of the course, you Monday 10
Decisions in will be working with the Decisions in Paradise Business Scenario 6/06/2011
Paradise, Part I where you will incrementally apply concepts from the course
readings, research, Internet sites, and your experience to create a
complete response to the scenario in Week Five. The assignment in
Week Three is Decisions in Paradise, Part I:

Read the Decisions in Paradise Business Scenario found on your

student website.
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Assume the role of Nik, and use your current employer (or one with
which you are familiar) as the organization represented by Alex, Nik,
and Chris.

Use the information from the case, materials from the course,
independent research, and the mission of your current organization
(or one with which you are familiar).

Prepare a 700- to 1,050-word paper, in which you develop the

preliminary considerations for your organization establishing a
greater presence on Kava by:

• Defining the issues that appear in this business scenario

• Discussing the forces that are involved in formulation of the

problem

• Using problem formulation tools and techniques, describe

the organizational and environmental obstacles in a way that
considers various key stakeholders that will be impacted by
decisions

• Write in third person

• Applying critical thinking in the decision-making process

Learning Team Each Learning Team member will investigate and observe the Monday 5
Problem decision-making processes most prevalent in their organization. 6/6/2011
Formulation and
Identification Paper Collate, compare, and contrast the findings from individual team
members, as a team.

Prepare a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you compare and

contrast the problem identification and formulation styles in your
team’s organizations.

Discuss the strengths and weaknesses found in each style.

Consider the most favorable aspects of each style discussed to

describe a process by which a problem can be identified and
described to stakeholders in a manner that is sensitive to their
perspectives.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Week Four: Decision Implementation

Details Due Points

Objectives 4.1 Determine factors affecting decision implementation in an

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organization.
4.2 Evaluate resources and actions required for decision
implementation.
4.3 Evaluate ethical implications from stakeholders’ perspectives of
a decision.

Readings Read Ch. 5 of Smart Things to Know About Decision Making.

Read Ch. 27–36 of Decide & Conquer: Make Winning Decisions
and Take Control of Your Life.
Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

Discussion Respond to, 2 discussion questions, 8 replies or answer the Food See Main 4
Questions / for Thought + 7 replies, and 1 weekly summary Forum
Participation /
Weekly Summary

Learning Team Begin working on your Thinking Critically Simulation Review due in
Instructions Week Five.

Individual During Week Four, you will continue working with the Decisions in Monday 10
Decisions in Paradise Business Scenario and build upon your assignment from 6/13/2011
Paradise, Part II Week Three, where you began development of a response to the
scenario. For the Decisions in Paradise Part, II complete the
following items:

Read the Decisions in Paradise Business Scenario.

• You are Nik, and your employer is the organization

represented by Alex, Nik, and Chris.

Use your Week Three assignment as foundation for this next

assignment.

Use the information from the case, materials from the course,
independent research, and the mission of your current organization,
and your Week Three assignment.

Prepare a 700- to 1,050-word paper, in which you apply a decision-

making technique to propose the appropriate solution(s) for your
organization to establish a greater presence on Kava by:

• Applying a decision-making technique to identify the

solution(s)
• Providing an analysis of the specific steps utilized in
applying your selected decision-making technique
• Using the definition and various elements of critical thinking
addressed in Week One, to examine the decision-making
model you selected and explain how it influences and/or
impacts your proposed solution(s)
• Write in third person

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

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Learning Team Prepare a Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation consisting of 10 to Monday 10

Problem 15 slides with speaker’s notes summarizing your findings of your 6/13/2011
Formulation and Week Three Learning Team assignment, Problem Formulation and
Identification Identification Paper.
Presentation
• In your presentation, be sure that each team member
describes the decision-making processes most prevalent in
their organizations and that the strengths and weaknesses
of each style are summarized.

• For each problem identification style, provide an example of

how a problem statement could be prepared so that the
problem could be identified to stakeholders in a manner that
is sensitive to their needs and perspectives.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Week Five: Evaluation of Decision Outcomes and Processes

Details Due Points

Objectives 5.1 Apply appropriate evaluation tools and techniques.

5.2 Evaluate decision-making outcomes and processes.

Readings Read Ch. 7–9 of Smart Things to Know About Decision Making.
Read Ch. 3 of Management: Leading and Collaborating in a
Competitive World.
Read Ch. 5–11 of Decide & Conquer: Make Winning Decisions and
Take Control of Your Life.
Review Ch. 4 of Decide & Conquer: Make Winning Decisions and
Take Control of Your Life.
Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

Discussion Respond to, 2 discussion questions, 8 replies or answer the Food See Main 4
Questions / for Thought + 7 replies, and 1 weekly summary Forum
Participation /
Weekly Summary

Individual In Week Five, you will continue working with the Decisions in Monday 10
Decisions in Paradise Business Scenario and build upon your assignment from 6/20/2011
Paradise. Part III Weeks Three and Four where you began development for a
response to the scenario. For the Decisions in Paradise, Part III
complete the following items:

Read the Decisions in Paradise Business Scenario.

• You are Nik, and your employer is the organization

represented by Alex, Nik, and Chris.

Use your Week Three and Four assignments as the foundation for
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the current assignment.

Use the information from the case, materials from the course,
independent research, the mission of your current organization, and
your Week Three and Four assignments, to prepare a 1,050- to
1,750-word paper, in which you describe your rationale and plan for
implementation for the proposed solution(s) for your organization to
establish a greater presence on Kava by:

• Determining factors affecting decision implementation in an

organization and your proposed solution(s)
• Evaluating resources and actions required for decision
implementation of your proposed solution(s)
• Evaluating the ethical implications from stakeholders
perspectives of your proposed solution(s)
• Write in third person

Individual Resource: Assigned reading from the course Monday 10

Final Examination Click the link to the Final Examination on your student website 6/20/2011
available from the end of Week Four through the end of Week Five.
Complete the Final Examination. You are allowed one attempt to
complete the exam, which is timed and must be completed in 3
hours. Results are auto graded and sent to your instructor.

Learning Team Use the link provided on your student website, individually complete Monday 5
Thinking Critically the Thinking Critically Simulation. Be sure to have access to the 6/20/2011
Simulation Review following documents located on your student website to assist in
completing this assignment:

• Problem Solving Tools and Techniques

• Decision Making Steps
• Decision Making Worksheet

Discuss your impression of the simulation and the findings you have
recorded on the three documents listed above.

Prepare a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you summarize the

content of the simulation and provide responses to the following
questions:

• What problem evaluation tools and techniques were

encountered in the simulation and how do they differ from
the tools and techniques that you would have used in this
situation? Describe the evaluation tools and techniques that
you would have applied.

• How did these techniques assist with the evaluation of

decision-making processes and outcomes?
• What was the outcome reached in the simulation and what
changes in your decision-making techniques would have
generated better results?
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
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Discussion Questions

Week One Discussion Questions

• Thinking—what is thinking?
Has your train of thought developed and changed throughout the years? How will your thinking
change 10 years from now after going to college, reading books, and writing papers? What if you
have not read any books, gone to college, or written any papers—would your critical thinking skills be
any different? Explain.

• Think of a business decision from your own experience or find current business events from the
newspaper. Discuss how you used critical thinking to solve your issue. Discuss whether or not critical
thinking was applied to the current event to solve the problem and if so, how.

• Fallacies
NON SEQUITUR
In this fallacy the premises have no direct relationship to the conclusion. This fallacy appears in
political speeches and advertising with great frequency. Example: A waterfall in the background and a
beautiful girl in the foreground have nothing to do with an automobile’s performance.

Non Sequitur happens to be a favorite tool of those in marketing. The Cadillac CTS commercials ask,
“When you turn your car on does it return the favor?” This question is asked after the commercial goes
through all of the luxury features of the car, which has nothing to do with the car’s performance. What
about the Kia Soul with the cool dancing hamsters singing “You wanna get this, or do you wanna get
with that,” this question has nothing to do with the car being a well built car to drive. Discuss some of
your favorite fallacies!

Week Two Discussion Questions

• Identify and define an existing problem in your organization or an organization in which you are familiar.
What decision making criteria did you use to address the problem? How did you weight the criteria?
Were you able to generate alternate solutions to addressing the problem, after weighting the criteria?
Discuss the alternatives. What steps did you take to resolve the problem? Was the decision you made
successful?

• Fallacy: POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC.

A form of a hasty generalization in which it is inferred that because one event followed another it is
necessarily caused by that event. Example: Mary joined our class and the next week we all did poorly
on the quiz. It must be her fault.

When is the last time you made a post hoc ergo propter hoc error? Was it done in your organization or
daily life? Discuss it.

• Skepticism: The Latin definition: Scepticus, disciple of Pyrrho of Elis, from Greek Skeptikos, from
skeptesthai, to examine. Webster’s dictionary says; an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity
either in general or toward a particular object

Skepticism is an integral part of critical thinking. Discuss a time when you were skeptical about a work
related task or problem? How did your critical thinking skills get you through the task? Did you use
rational deduction? In hindsight was your skepticism warranted?
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Week Three Discussion Questions

• Which decision making model do you prefer to use in your organization? Why? Do ethics play a role in
which decision-making model is used in your organization? Provide an example of how ethics might
dictate which decision-making model is used in a particular organizational situation.

• When making a decision we rely heavily on our experiences, feelings, and we tend to act on an
impulse. We take a short cut; avoid a difficult trade-off, all because in our minds we think we know the
conclusion based on our experiences. Discuss a time from your business life when you made a
decision based on your experience, but you were wrong. “Experience can teach us a lot, but it also
tends to limit our thinking” (Robbins, 2004 p.13).

• Here is Food for Thought for controlling your destiny or at least a critical thinking lesson on what is
controlling your destiny. Robbins (2004) has a chapter on; What controls your destiny? The book offers
a test that gives the reader an idea about what drives your life. Robbins (2004) stated that locus of
control gives the reader an idea of how well he or she accepts blame for his or her own actions. People
that have a high external locus of control feel as though they have no control over their lives. Standing
up and accepting the blame for your actions is not only the right decision to make, but it also proves you
are in control of your own destiny.

Take the test on page 29-31, it is a short 10 questions multiple choice quiz. Share in this discussion
forum what you come out with, just for fun. Tell us the results and answer why the answers came out
that way.

Week Four Discussion Questions

• Where you are from directly influences how you make decisions. In some countries decision-making is
based on subjective feelings. In China Confucian Principles are used to make decisions. Confucian
Principles dictates the need for the organization to ‘save face’ and to be honorable at all costs. How
does culture play a role in your organizational decision-making?

• Listed below is a nine step Decision-Making Model. Break down a problem where you had to make a
decision from your organization to fit these steps, and discuss it.

Framing the Problem

1. Identify the problem.
2. Define criteria, goals, and objectives.
3. Evaluate effects of the problem.
Making the Decision
4. Identify causes of the problem.
5. Frame alternatives.
6. Evaluate impacts of alternatives.
7. Make the decision.
Evaluating the Decision
8. Implement decision
9. Measure impacts.
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• Scientific Thinking Challenges

If you are talking medication, to what extent do you think your belief about the medication is contributing
to its effect?

The views of astrologers have not been supported by scientific studies. Why then do so many people
continue to believe in astrology?
Can the opinions of the general public about UFO’s, astrology, or psychic phenomena be used to
determine any facts about these subjects?

Discuss the critical thinking behind believing.

Week Five Discussion Question

• We learn from experience. Langdon (2006) suggested recording the Decision-Making Process so that it
can be repeated for future use. Documentation backs up the outcome of each step. In recording each
step the decision-maker knows what works well in their decision and what could be changed. Discuss a
tool that you would build or a tool that you already use in your organization that records decision making
steps. See Langdon (2006), Smart Things to Know about Decision-Making chapter 8 for an example.

• The final stage on the Decision-Making Model is the evaluation of the decision. At this point the
decision maker is collecting data on how well the decision is working. Negative feedback means the
implementation of the decision will take more time or a bad decision was made. If the decision is going
well, then the maker knows that he or she has done well. Discuss the evaluation of a decision that you
made in your organization. How well did you do? Did you receive any negative feedback that made you
take more time or change your decision?

• 1. What was the most important thing you learned during this class?
2. What important question remains unanswered?

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Copyright © 2010 University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2010 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2010 Capstone Publishing Ltd (A John Wiley & Sons Co.). All rights reserved.

Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix® editorial standards and practices.

Nancy "Oni" Boston

University of Phoenix
Doctoral Student- DM
oniife@email.phoenix.edu
nancyboston@aol.com