Question:

Building a Blueprint for Personal and Professional Growth Plan

Component 1: Using the chart on page 99 of the Ancona article (uploaded), evaluate managerial capabilities. Where could there be improvements? How does each of these areas tie into critical thinking?

Component 2: In 2–3 paragraphs, reflect on what could be learned about different ways of thinking, steps in critical thinking, fallacies in thinking, and the way this knowledge is shaping goals and approaches to both professional and scholarly work.

In addition, write 1 paragraph reflecting on where management in general could use improvement and how you can use the skills in critical thinking to do so. What information is still needed in management and how could it be obtained?

Grading criteria for this assignment is uploaded

Answer:

Building a Blueprint for Personal and Professional Growth Plan: Final Exam

Component 1

I consider myself a good sense maker in spite of my tendency to strongly feel that I am right and others are wrong. However, I sometimes appreciate other people’s perception of reality, especially insights that are interesting. Moreover, I appreciate changes in the organization. Regarding relating, the key weaknesses include failing to live up to my own expectations, and perceiving elements of severe untrustworthiness among those I work with.

In terms of visioning, I am always keen to see the bigger picture although it is not as easy as it seems. Somewhere along the way, I sometimes lose track of the underlying goals, mainly because of lack of motivation. Moreover, I have never figured out my work as a continually enjoyable endeavor without frequent crises. Regarding inventing, I take pride in the ability to clearly conceptualize the organization’s vision. Meanwhile, I often feel the need to cultivate a positive perception of the relationship between my organization’s aspirations and the way day-to-day work is organized.

Component 2

I appreciate the fact that there is much I could learn about various ways of thinking, steps in critical thinking, the existence of fallacies in thinking, and the way all this knowledge is shaped into goals and approaches for my profession. Most importantly, it is possible for me to learn about the power of positive thinking. Through positive thinking, it is possible to make sense of the things that other people say while still managing to not only stand up to and advocate my position, but to maintain a healthy balance between these two aspects (Ancona, 2007).

Moreover, I can also learn about how to fallaciously think that other people are wrong while I am right. Avoidance of subjective thinking is a cognitive skill that has to be consciously learnt at the place of work (Manasse, 1985). On the same note, learning to be objective is an excellent way of avoiding perfection and instead, focusing on dealing with one’s weaknesses.

Component 3

In general, management can also benefit from new information on how to acquire skills in critical thinking. This information mainly relates to leadership skills, objective thinking, ability to align the day-to-day activities with the company’s vision, and nurturing a culture of objective thinking (Weick, 1995). This information can be obtained from various sources, ranging from scholarly research, organizational case studies, and personal experiences of highly respected organizational leaders.

References

Ancona, D., Malone, T., Orlikowski, W., & Senge, P. (2007) In Praise of the Incomplete Leader Harvard Business Review, February 2007, 92-100.

Manasse, A. (1985) Vision and Leadership: Paying Attention to Intention, Peabody Journal of Education, 63(1), 150-173.

Weick, K. (1995) Sensemaking in organizations, London: Routledge.