The two readings identify what critical thinking (CT) is (Facione, 2007, p. 2; Sedtke, 2009).
The articles are similar because both argue the benefits of developing CT with (Sedtke, 2009,
p. 7) arguing that CT skills ‘play a significant role for productivity improvement in future.’
Similarly, Facione (2007, p. 20) argues CT ‘is a necessary condition for the success of democratic institutions and for competitive free-market enterprise.’ The articles differ because Sedtke (2009, p. 1) presents his view of CT from the perspective of managing organisations while Facione (2007, p. 23) outlines the importance of CT from a wide variety of perspectives for the benefit of society in general.
Sedtke (2009, p. 3) highlights the main problem as the way managers think because of the way they see their role as either being dominated by modernist concerns for ‘effectiveness, reliability and efficiency’ or the post-modernist perspective of a manager who has ‘vision, creativity and inspiration’ which empowers employees. Facione (2007, p. 17) takes a more functionalist view by looking at the decision making process and identifying a weakness called the ‘dominance structure’ suggesting ‘that when we settle on a particular option which is good enough we tend to elevate its merits and diminish its flaws relative to other options’.
The major difference is that Sedtke (2009, p. 2) is primarily concerned with people as workers while Facione (2007, p. 20) is concerned for people as citizens.
When I enter the workforce, I will be aware of the different management styles and become a better manager because I understand that there might not be one ‘right answer’ or ‘perfectly prepared solution’ (Sedtke, 2009, p. 4). This should help me to ‘improve my future’