Critical Thinking and Humanism in Business

If you have a job, your job is to solve a problem. Solving problems effectively requires critical thinking skills.

All business are in the business of solving customers problems. People are hired to work for the company to help the company better solve these problems and to solve the problems that prevent the staff from solving the customer’s problems.

Eventually companies get big enough where they need to hire HR professionals to solve the problems that come with having people on payroll. Like how to pay people efficiently and make sure they get the benefits the company provides and to correct paychecks that have errors. HR also has to ensure that all paperwork is in compliance and that people are legally allowed to work for the company to preemptively ensure that legal problems aren’t created through ignorance of the law. Eventually companies get big enough that they also need to hire HR professionals dedicated to dealing with the problems of employee relations, which is a fancy way of saying, interpersonal problems that can cause legal liability for the company if not dealt with properly.

Since every aspect of a business is related to solving a problem, learning how to solve problems is an essential skill for any job. This is why critical thinking is so important.

A humanistic approach to business is a way of understanding the interrelated nature of the problems we are solving and the people for who and with whom we are working. We are never simply solving one problem. All the problems of the company are related. We don’t want to fix one problem and create another problem if we can avoid it.

Humanistic business management is a holistic way of viewing the business of business. Critical thinking is central to this approach because it is impossible to weigh all the various elements at play unless you know how to think clearly.

Critical thinking is useful precisely because it requires the challenging of assumptions. The question why – why are we doing things this way? What exactly are we trying to accomplish? What else and who else is impacted by this decision? By asking these questions we can see the big picture and how our piece of the puzzle relates to everything else that is going on within the company.

It is mind expanding. Like viewing the complexity of the cosmos within the inter-dependent web of employees that is your company.  I find this connected and yet holistic viewpoint inspiring and motivating.  And while it make seem like a lot to take in, by taking the time to think about how things work together, you actually are able to gain a clarity that helps focus on the problems that really matter.

Critical Thinking and Humanism in Business. It’s a powerful combination.

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