CRITICAL THINKING

AND DECISION
MAKING
THE HUMAN MIND
 Unlimited

possibilities
and
capabilities
Module 1
STEP 1

Begin with an exercise that triggers the

thought process of the students
PUT YOUR THINKING CAPS
ON
A Dwarf lives on the 20th floor of a sky
scrapper. Every morning he goes into the
lift, pushes the correct button, and is taken
to the ground floor; he goes off to work
and comes back in the evening. He enters
the lift, pushes the button, and goes up to
the 10th floor; he then walks up the rest of
the stairs. The question is: Why doesn’t he
go up to the 20th floor in lift?
The Dwarf and the Elevator
The Follow-up
 Explain the logical thinking that is required in
this question.
 Now introduce them to critical thinking
 THE NEXT STEP
 What is critical thinking?
 In simple words - it is logical and
analytical thinking
IN OTHER WORDS….
 Itis the process of carefully considering every
aspect of a question / situation/ problem
 Leads you to workable solutions as the mind
engages itself in various ways to solve a
unique problem.
 The neurons in the mind work like a big,
complicated hard disc and deconstruct a
theory / a problem / a situation in a logical
manner.
Step 2

 After the definition, go to your illustrations

which translate and connect the definition to
real life
EXAMPLE 1
 This illustration
explains how the
human brain can outwit
a computer through a
process of critical
thinking.
 ILLUSTRATION 1
 We are all aware that computers work on logical
premises. So, a computer does not commit any
errors. Since it is programmed to function in a
particular way, if the end user follows the
instructions step by step, answering / ticking all
questions / answers, nothing goes wrong. When
something goes wrong, our critical thinking helps us
to set things right – critical thinking here refers to
one’s ability to think rationally.
Rohit and critical thinking
 Rohitis a dept. head in a non-IT company.
There are about 15 people who are
working in the company at his level. All of
them share three systems, which connect
them to the internet. The systems are
periodically checked by the Systems
Department. More often than not, one of
the three is dead, not working, goes into a
coma, or behave a in an eccentric
manner; the non IT managers are all end-
users, but think very logically and critical
thinking is their forte.
Why did Rohit use his critical
thinking
 One of the systems in Rohit’s department
crashed, was reformatted and brought back to
life. Rohit and his colleagues enthusiastically
started to use it. When they got connected to the
net, it was quite successful. But, the second time
when they keyed in their user name, there was
an unexpected development. The computer
automatically remembered their password too!
Oh, God, how did this happen? None of them
had ticked the tick sign in the box that says
Remember this password. Some did not bother.
Others were worried. Rohit did not want to give
up. It is only a machine, why can’t there be a
logical solution to the problem?
The Human Brain VS
The Computer
How did Rohit use his critical
thinking
 Rohit arrived at a clever solution. Confuse the
computer, he thought to himself. The next time,
he got connected, he typed in his username,
deleted the password – the real and genuine
password – and keyed in a cooked up password.
The computer naturally told, the username and
password do not match! He keyed in the real
password now, ticked the box not to remember it
and …. The trick worked!! He then went to
settings, and instructed the computer not to
remember the passwords and from then on, the
computer did not come up with any of their
passwords!
 Critically think!
 Thatis what we call as critical thinking,
wherein, you delve into a problem logically
and decide and implement it successfully.
STEP 3
 Move on to a different kind of critical thinking
process
 The purpose – to make the student to think of
a critical situation and explain how it is solved
 ILLUSTRATION 2
 Itis an age of borrowed money - be it
credit cards, or loans from banks for big
projects like buying a house. Rishabh is
just 35 and works in a multinational
company, and his compensation package
includes a company- leased
accommodation and his eligibility for this is
Rs. 25,000 per month. The company also
takes care of the advance amount that is
normally paid ( that is, 10 months of rent )
 Rishabh, who is living in one such Company
leased accommodation , is advised by his
auditor that he should buy his own house, give it
for lease to his company and stay there. So
Rishabh applies for a loan of 50 Lakhs, for
which he has to pay an EMI of Rs. 25,000 for a
period of 20 years. (This EMI would be taken
care of, through the rent that the company pays
for his house) The flat finally costs him 60 lakhs.
 Rishabh’s dream home
(of course, on loan!!)
Rishabh is armed with critical
thinking
 Besides the loan amount of Rs. 50 lakhs,
Rishabh invests Rs.10.5 lakhs, which he
has saved over the years. The day after
he moves in, he gets a bill for Rs.3 lakhs
from the builder. Rishabh's wife panics
because they do not have the amount, but
he does not. .And he is able to pay the
amount. How? Think logically, from real-
life-point-of-view.
Critical Thinking Exercise
 Probe into this critical thinking process
 The answer stems from common sense.
ILLUSTRATION 3
 Thiscan be used for commerce and
management students, and for others, the
trainer has to explain the terms balance
sheet, assets, liabilities etc, how they are
calculated to be equal in a balance sheet.
INFOSYS WAY – HOW?
 We all have heard of the success story of
Infosys Technologies. They have innovated
everywhere, even their Balance Sheet was
innovative in its own way. .
 Around 15 years ago, Infosys Technologies had put
in their human resource in the column for assets in
their balance sheet. In business world, this was the
first time that a company considered their
employees as the biggest assets and defined their
value in monetary terms. How did they calculate this
value in terms of crores of rupees?
The Infosys Innovation
 Let
the students think for a while and get the
answer
STEP 4
 Other aspects of Critical Thinking:
 Assumptions, Fallacies, Inferences

 The trainer can take up one of these and

explain with an example
Exercise : Situation

A man is lying in the gutter

Assumption 1: Only
drunkards lie in the gutter

Inference 1: He must be a
drunkard
Assumption 2 : He must have
slipped accidentally

Inference 2: He needs help

Assumptions that affect
 Let us take the case of Sukanya; she is
educated, sociable and friendly. She has a
small embroidery unit and is quite
talented. She is very close to her
neighbor, who is separated from her
husband. Sukanya is pretty, smart and
young. But she wants to remain single and
her parents are apparently worried.
Sukanya’s case
A concerned cousin talked to Sukanya to
find out the real reason; she could draw
out the truth; Sukanya's friend has told
her that all men are bad and ill-treat their
wives. This fallacy or assumption that all
men are bad had to be removed logically;
the cousin counseled her about it and
pointed out examples of other happy
couples with caring and loving husbands.
It took some time, but it worked.
Module 2: Decision Making

 Who doesn’t have trouble in making

decisions?
Decision making
 STEPS

 Knowing oneself
 Analysis of the situation

 Examining and evaluating alternatives

 Prioritizing

 Deciding on the best solution

 Convert the decision into effective action

Decision making example
 Let us take the case of Pushpa, a final year
student of BCom. Her father was not keeping
well and was working in a public sector unit. In
spite of the family's concerted efforts to give him
the best medical treatment, he passed away. On
compassionate grounds, Pushpa was offered a
job in the organization, since her mother was not
educated. Pushpa, being a good student, was in
a dilemma. As the eldest daughter of the family,
she could take up the mantle of the income
-earner, or could continue her studies with the
financial help of relatives. But she had to say yes
or no to the organization.
PUSHPA’S DECISION…?
 Pushpa thought about the options; she
could complete her degree and get a job,
or start working, leaving College. She
knew that even after completing the
course, the salary she would get would be
the same as she was being offered now.
What did Pushpa decide?
MODULE 3 – THE ACTIVITIES
 The trainer can throw open some dilemma
situations that involve critical thinking and
decision making and ask the students to work
out the solution in groups and present the
same to the class.
 The trainer can also conduct a written test
Activities – Dilemma situations
 Rajatis a BCA 6th semester student and
has got placement in a call center; the
salary is good and he needs to have a job
to support his family; he has also got a
scholarship to do his higher studies, which
he had always been dreaming about.
What should he do?
Activities – Dilemma Situations
 You are on your way to Pune to attend
an interview and the fellow traveller
suddenly has a heart attack. He is also
travelling alone, like you. What would you
do?
ACTIVITIES – DILEMMA
SITUATIONS
Naveen and you have been working on a
project in a company and you are the Project
leader. Naveen’s father falls sick and he has
to be with him. Would you insist on Naveen’s
being with you and finishing the project, or
dump him from the project or help him in the
crisis?
Activities – Decision making
 Knowing yourself can make the decision
making process earlier.
 The following exercise can be used to help
you decide and also discover what you
consider to be the most important in your life.
Exercise 1
 Prepare slips of paper in 5 different colors –
and give 15 slips to each participant. (These
slips of papers represent different aspects of
life)
Ask the students to fill in the details in the following
manner:
 3 slips of pink – people who are important to you
 3 slips of blue – activities that you enjoy doing
 3 slips of yellow – positive perception of yourself
 3 slips of green – ways in which you administer
others
 3 slips of white – hopes, beliefs, or dreams that you
have for your life
The slips can also be marked A,B,C,D and E)
Now read the instructions to
the entire class
 You are travelling to Delhi with all your
papers packed, by train. Your train costs you
one blue slip and one other color.
 Take 2 slips, one of them blue, crumple them,
and throw them into the center of the room –
and then pause..
 The journey continues.. You are now hungry.
A companion invites you for dinner.. In
exchange for 2 slips of paper
 At Delhi, your friend provides you a place to
stay for free. The next day, you go out and
get lost.. The ride back costs you 2 more
slips..
 On your return, you want to call home.. The
recorded message on the answering machine
says.. 2 more slips please..
 You have to shift to a hotel, which is
expensive… the cost? 3 slips!
 Now, take the remaining slips that you have,
turn to the person at your left, ask him/her to
pick one slip…
 This leaves you with just 3 slips of paper
Analysis of the exercise
 Atevery point you are giving up things..,
which are the ones you gave first?
 Did it seem progressively difficult to choose
between people and other things of
importance to you?
 What were the things that you wanted to hold
on till the end?
SUMMING UP
 Involve your trainees in every step of critical
thinking and decision making
 Throw hints, Give clues

 Your clues should lead them to logical

conclusions
THANK YOU!