Thinking Styles

Introduction

Every person has wondered how much work that goes into thinking. Thinking is something every human does from the time they wake to the time they fall asleep. Critical thinking is the most in-depth thinking. There are three different types of thinking: deductive, closed question, and open question. This paper will discuss how each thinking style is applied to the decision-making process in the workplace as well as comparing and contrasting the three types of thinking.

Deductive

Deductive thinking is making a conclusion or decision based on facts. These facts have been proven and shown to be true. Deductive thinking can be used to prove conclusion. There are two different styles of deductive thinking, which can help anybody decide the most plausible conclusion for a specific situation.

Conditional reasoning and syllogisms are used to make a conclusion. Conditional reasoning informs a person of the relationship between conditions, as it consists of "if then" statements that are used to deduce a conclusion. However, the premises of the conclusion can be either valid or invalid. Syllogisms consist of two statements or assumptions that a conclusion is drawn from. They can also refer to quantities such as none, all, or some.

In a workplace environment, deductive thinking can be used as an if-then proposition. Given the facts, a person can compare and analyze if the facts are valid and make a conclusion. If an associate is given a task by a manager, the task is completed by the end of the day and without the manager visually knowing that the associate has completed it, then based on the fact that it is completed, the conclusion can be drawn that the associate followed instructions and carried out the task. However, this is drawing out a conclusion; unknowingly whether the associate passed on the task to someone else, or completed divided the task between two more associates.

When it comes to competence and ability to carry out job functions, syllogisms are always used in a workplace. Managers would want to maximize the time they have to complete a certain agenda and projects. They may think about who is best to carry out specific instructions and tasks. They compare one associate's strengths against others to best serve company's needs. For example, they might say "Joe is better at time management than Jane, and Cindy is better at it than Joe." Who really is the best person to carry out the task at hand? They let personal opinions as well as their experiences to influence their decisions.

Closed Questioned

Closed questioned thinking or behavior in the workplace is a field between two people when having meetings and or training. Not the best approach but in some cases necessary. When using closed questioned thinking or behavior, short and precise answers are the response for the closed questioned question; very little detail of any kind if any at all is given. When giving instructions or presenting business proposals as well as delivering summary of goals and tasks closed questioned dialogue is used. The use for closed questioning in critical thinking may be set up for a positive or a negative state of mind just by asking successive questions with yes or no answers. For example, "Are you happy with your current product?" and "Would you like to try a better product?" Another example is turning an opinion into a closed question by adding labels to a question, such as, "isn't it?" or "don't they?" to a statement. For that reason closed questions may be answered with a small phrase or one