Some believe that critical thinking skills and the ability to use intellectual decision-making skills, are the two main reasons that decide the successful business leader. Even though some people might think this is not true, others are beginning to find out that it is true. The fact that businesses are moving at speeds faster than ever proves this to be true. Being able to use and recognize critical thinking skills and intellectual decision-making, gives you the ability to know if your decision will be right today as well as tomorrow. In order to examine this, you have to look at the understanding of critical thinking and decision-making.
             Critical thinking as defined in the dictionary is a type of critical analysis: disciplined intellectual criticism that combines research, knowledge of historical context, and balanced judgment (MSN Encarta Plus). Critical thinking as defined in the University of Phoenix: Readings In Critical Thinking is the "reacting with systematic evaluation to what you have heard and read. It also requires a set of skills and attitudes. These skills and attitudes are built around a series of critical questions. [...] 1) The awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions. 2) The ability to ask and answer critical questions at appropriate times, and 3) the desire to actively use the critical questions" (3).
             The material for this course defines critical thinking in many different ways, yet it all points to the same thing. We must have the skills to take one's thinking apart thoroughly, to analyze each part, assess it for quality and then improve it. In order to do this you must first understand the parts of thinking or basics of reasoning. These elements include purpose, question, information, inference, assumptions, point of view, concepts, and implications (Elder and Paul 34).
             We must take command of our thinking and use information in our thinking that is both relevant to the questi...