Critical Thinking Styles and Forces of Influence Making decisions is a major portion of the manager's responsibilities. It is an aspect that cannot be taken lightly nor can it be done in a hasty manner. Hasty, careless decisions can have devastating results on the manager's department or even for the entire company. Decisions that are made with deliberation using different kinds of processes, however, can lead the department or company to better and/or more profitable operations. When decisions are indeed made in this manner, the manager should feel confident that he or she has made an appropriate decision and is the best option given the information available at the time. This does not mean to say that the manager will always make the correct decision; lack of information or situational changes can lead to faulty analysis. However, if the manager uses critical thinking and proven successful decision-making strategies, he or she can and should be confident in whatever action they have decided is appropriate. Their own confidence level will, in fact, affect the outcome of their action. Forces of Influence "Managers can be called "information workers"; a manager is a craftsperson whose raw m

ind. Another approach used to process information is the logical scientific approach. Which according to McAulay, Russell and Sims note that within the "logico-scientific mode" of decision making, it is important to discover the whole truth about the situation in order to make a logical and definitive decision. This type of decision cannot be based on one's opinion or even the opinion of the team; it must be based on hard evidence (32). To base decisions on personal perspectives or opinions without taking the time to analyze the situation can result in losses for the company. One other factor that is definitely an influence and a thinking pattern, which can effect a decision-making process, is the manager's personality. Different personality types have been related to decision-making strategies used. Waldersee and Sheather addressed this issue in a study they did. They found that characteristics such as problem solving style, locus of control, the need for achievement, risk aversion and the degree of tolerance the manager has for ambiguity are all directly related to the strategy used to make decisions. Personality characteristics then drive the implementation of whatever decision has been made. For example, some studies have concluded that an internal locus of control is directly linked to innovations within the company as well as to a greater effectiveness in managing. Other studies have linked a willingness to accept risk and a high degree of tolerance for ambiguity to being effective in building the company but not in maintaining it at any given level. These researchers caution the reader that personality chara

Some common words found in the essay are:
McCall Kaplan, Waldersee Sheather, Forces Influence, Russell Sims, Forms Thinking, Influence Managers, process information, critical thinking, forces influence, personality characteristics, managers process information, process manager's, values beliefs, context situation, mccall kaplan, called information, locus control,
Approximate Word count = 1095
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)