Critical Thinking in Management
Overview
This unit builds upon on students capabilities to identify problems and make effective decisions in a business environment. The unit will assist students to think clearly and rationally, and make judicious use of logic and evidence to guide decision-making. This requires analysing and assessing our thinking for clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic and significance with a view to its improvement. This unit helps students develop proactive reasoning abilities, so that students are better positioned to make, and persuasively present informed judgements about contemporary managerial issues.
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Make informed decisions in business environments, drawing on logical reasoning, reliable sources of evidence and academic theory
- Recognise faulty thinking and cognitive biases and explain how they contribute to or influence decision making
- Analyse managerial issues using multiple ethical frameworks and decide on a principled course of action
- Apply multiple problem-solving strategies for analysing a complex business issue and formulating an innovative solution
Teaching methods
Swinburne Online
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online Contact (Phasing out) Online Learning Activities | 4.00 | 12 weeks | 48 |
| Unspecified Learning Activities (Phasing out) Independent Learning | 8.50 | 12 weeks | 102 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
All Applicable Locations
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face to Face Contact (Phasing out) Lecture | 1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| Face to Face Contact (Phasing out) Tutorial | 1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| Online Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning | 1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| Unspecified Learning Activities (Phasing out) Independent Learning | 9.50 | 12 weeks | 114 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Analysis | Individual | 30 - 40% | 3,4 |
| Major Assignment | Individual | 30 - 50% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Presentation | Individual | 20 - 30% | 1,2 |
Content
- Forming and evaluating the strength of arguments
- Using principles of evidence-based management to inform decision making
- Historical approaches to the study of organisations and managerial tasks.
- Ethics and corporate social responsibility
- Cognitive biases and persuasion tactics
- The role of rational and intuitive thinking in management decision-making
- Reflective skills for learning and improving performance
- Critical thinking skills for dealing with contemporary management issues
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.