Critical Thinking: Opinion Piece

The arguments that develop among employs are a typical scenario in any given company. Take, for example, a conflict between two employees, where one is severely injured on a table saw with wood. He or she would argue on his defense claiming that he followed the right procedure while operating the machine and the company is responsible for his injury. On the other hand, the company administration claims that the device was in safe condition and the carelessness of the employee caused him the injuries, while the manager in charge of the machine claims that the machine had technicalities and needed repair. Therefore, the whole accident turns into an argument and a blame game that needs to be critically looked upon and resolved. Some factors contribute to the existence of disagreement in an organization, for example, personal difference, lack of clarity, conflicting goals, and uncertainty (Paul, 2013). Therefore, critical thinking is an essential element in solving different issues turning them into an opportunity, and below is how it does that.

Critical thinking demands that the objectivity of the argument is clearly spelt out during the resolution process as it gives room for rationality in conflict management. The management of the organization has to take a step from the disagreement in order look at it from a fair angle. Therefore, critical thinking gives one an opportunity to evaluate viewpoints, recognize assumptions and look at facts as non- partisan to the problem at hand. As the saying goes, if one is part of the problem, he can never be part of the solution because the result will always be biased (Levy, 2016). Additionally, critical thinking allows you to clarify the goals of solving the disagreement clearly which, as a result, set the platform for a sufficient resolution.

The problem set in the argument is the focus of Critical thinking rather than the persons involved. Dealing with the peoples tends to manifest an emotional outcome which is a negative attitude towards resolving an issue, thus making mistakes and coming up with an emotion-based conclusion. Therefore, critical thinking gives the leader an opportunity to separate the issue at hand from the people and to moderate the resolution, keeping the main agenda (Shiraev, 2016).

Additionally, critical thinking as a better means in evaluating arguments involves different personal opinions and beliefs of the parties involved. Therefore, critical thinkers have the obligation of listening to all their viewpoints without necessarily agreeing with them (Paul, 2013). It helps the thinker in compiling all the thoughts presented to him for process and concrete reasoning, thus improving on the chances of better resolution. It also presents facts, trend, and information that surround the problem, which when combined with relevant evaluation process provides a formidable base for resolving the disagreement (Shiraev, 2016).

The negative impact of retaliation is not only unhealthy to the employee who places the charges, but it also affects other workers in the industry. Therefore, to protect the image of an organization, preventing retaliation is a crucial factor to consider and this is how. To begin with, formulate policies that will prohibit unlawful retaliation, thus making it easy for you to defend in the courts of law (Paul, 2013). For example, it is advisable, to begin with, non- retaliation added to the harassment and anti-discrimination policy. Accordingly, you should also provide training to the employee regarding the kind of conduct that calls for retaliation which should put on paper for references in case of unlawful retaliation.

Additionally, you should not isolate or ignore claimants, for if you do, you will only be subjecting yourself to a more vigorous retaliation. A proactive measure and the engagement prevents the retaliation for escalating even further, you should issue the claimant with a copy of policies and help them whenever a problem may occur. A follow-up protocol will also be ideal to ensure that the problem does not manifest into a much more significant issue, thus preventing the retaliation.

In some situations, you should consider transforming the work environ, to give room to employees to report to their supervisors, implementing other work schedules, or change performance evaluators, to decrease, if not remove, the likelihood of retaliation. You should also be more concern in ensuring that such transformation does not present a retaliatory mood in the organization (Paul, 2013). The documentation of the changes agreed upon and signed by the employees should be considered to prevent future claims by the workers that the restructuring of the whole system is an act of retaliation.

In conclusion, the retaliation prevention process should favor both the employer and the employees because an act of biases will lead to resignation. When employees resign more frequently due to unfavorable policies, the hiring of worker threshold of the organization will depreciate thus tarnishing the image of the structure and no employee would wish to be retained for an extended period. Also, put in mind the cost of hiring new employees more often. It is therefore of great importance to consider the wellbeing of employees because they can build you, and can also destroy you.

References

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2013). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your professional and personal life. Pearson Education.

Shiraev, E. B., Shiraev, E. B., & Levy, D. A. (2016). Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and contemporary applications. Taylor & Francis.