Strategic thinking refers to the ability of a business to come up with effective plans that find and develop opportunities, alongside potential risks in line with the organization’s objectives within a particular economic situation. Good strategic thinking helps understand the fundamental drivers of business, develop unique opportunities to create value in an organization, and further, enables creative dialogue among people who provide the managerial direction, such as boards and management committees. Strategic thinking is, therefore, important as a core competency, especially in terms of the managerial realization of business goals and objectives. Moreover, a strategic mindset determines the best use of available resources whilst aligning them with the action plan of the organization (Horwath, 2014). However, research has indicated that it takes years to develop strategic thinking competencies as it requires time and experience to reflect on situations and decisions; finding ways to connect ideas, and to make choices in an organization. To increase critical thinking in an organization, adequate training exercises, programs, and challenges as well as evaluations should be employed.
The business world, in a contemporary sense, is bedeviled with increased market pressures, uncertainties, and conflict of ideas and opinions, and these create problems that can only be mitigated with the engagement of critical thinking. The improvement of strategic thinking requires the development of essential skills to be used in the daily running of activities of the organization. These skills are a key determinant of the competitiveness that a business enjoys over its competitors (Moore & Center for Strategic Intelligence Research, 2007). Many businesses concentrate more on the achievement of short-term goals and also, on overcoming obstacles, most of which lead to loss of many opportunities for growth and success. Practicing critical thinking through simulation is a tool that helps increase the thinking capability of all employees in the organization. These exercises allow the employees to come up with solutions to problems that are usually encountered in the line of business. Moreover, the knowledge acquired during the training programs is used in the real business world which, with continued practice, enhances the ability of employees to think critically.
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The Evaluation of employees through the application of questions that are geared towards the determination of critical thinking, gives valuable feedback on the success of individual employees and also, helps in the determination of whether or not this evaluation has improved their critical thinking abilities (Katherine & Randolph 2013). The setting up of challenges, which in turn, employees are required to solve through critical thinking, indicates their competency. Critical thinking will enhance the performance of the organization and as well, will help create a competitive advantage. Whilst the development of critical thinking can take years to achieve, it is also possible that, at the end of the program, some people will not have acquired the ability to think critically. It is, therefore, important to evaluate and select the best candidates. This is because the development of strategic thinking over time will not necessarily be successful, seeing as some people might never attain critical thinking abilities in spite of organizational investment in programs for the development of critical thinking (Pherson & Pherson, 2013).
There is a huge difference between strategic thinking and critical thinking, even though they both entail the ability to identify crucial information through the analysis and the application of that same information to yield positive results to businesses and organizations. However, the goal of strategic thinking is to plan for the near future, but in line with the organization’s objectives. Conversely, critical thinking involves looking at situations and weighing all possible solutions before arriving at conclusions (Horwath, 2014). Therefore, understanding the need not only to have the ability to make effective decisions with regards to the organization, but also to help develop short and long-term strategies, will be a key motivation for employees as they will act as guidelines in the selection of employees who are best suited to meet organizational needs. Also, being both a strategic thinker and a critical thinker will be the basis of talent management strategies for many employees. This will ensure that only qualified personnel are recruited into the organization to enhance better spotting trends, the creation of opportunities as well as the capitalization on all opportunities that are available to the organization.
Organizational managers will be prioritized when increasing the critical thinking and evaluation of the organization’s workers for the selection of the best candidates. This is because, understanding the fundamental methods of critical thinking enable the managers to effectively address the right problems, proactively identify potential risks and to make better decisions for the organization (Moore & Center for Strategic Intelligence Research, 2007). Furthermore, the managers are the bearers of the most challenging assignment as their responsibilities are to make decisions and provide guidelines that ensure their subordinates do the right jobs the right way. It is of the essence for the managers to develop and utilize strong critical skills in order for the organization to gain a competitive advantage and in the process, to attain general success. The other employees should also be involved in the training and exercise program and evaluation to ensure they stay involved in the process for the benefit of the organization
Strategic thinking, a process that applies strategic planning, innovation, and operational planning, is an important pillar that helps improve the performance and as well, the success of any organization. Also, in order to create a unifying, coherent and integrative decision-making framework, pertaining to resource utilization and further, to the determination of business direction, critical thinking, and strategic thinking, are fundamental requirements for all workers in the organizations. Although it is a process that requires a lot of time, strategic thinking is an essential determinant of business market success. The goal of any business is to out-compete other competitors within the same market; with stakes high in the global economy, it is essential for employees to become both critical and strategic thinkers. For any organization looking to make changes towards more strategic thinking, a shift in mindset, both at the levels of individual employees and at those of the organization, is required, and this demands involvement of and commitment to learning. While the associate change is not quick or easy, the results of the development of strategic thinking are a sustainable form of competitive advantage for such like an organization.
References
Horwath, R. (2014). Elevate: The three disciplines of advanced strategic thinking . New York: Willey.
Moore, D. T., & Center for Strategic Intelligence Research (U.S.). (2007). Critical thinking and intelligence analysis . Washington, DC: Center for Strategic Intelligence Research, National Defense Intelligence College.
Pherson, Katherine. H., & Pherson, Randolph. H. (2013). Critical thinking for strategic intelligence . Los Angeles: Sage/CQ Press.
