Why is critical thinking important in this era of information bombardment?

Tomorrow’s business leaders or today’s MBA students (aren’t they the same?) are expected to be decision-makers. However, these decisions cannot be made in thin air. A thorough understanding of scenarios, both present and potential is required to arrive at a well thought of decision. Even with careful and meticulous planning, when things go astray, a leader first takes responsibility rather than playing blame games, and then reflects to identify what could have been done better.

It is tempting to circumvent the need for thorough research in an era of information bombardment. The decisions are based on readily available statistics, views, and value judgments. An article today says "X is good for your health" and a week later an article reads "consuming X kills you." I'm sure you've found such contradictory studies in the past. That's because researchers increasingly publish results that will create a buzz instead of highlighting the "truth" in order to stand out. And often these buzz-worthy results are extreme positions. For quite some time now, balanced opinions and attention to detail have not seen the light of day. And this includes positions on issues such as food habits, media content, environmental issues, political positions, and many other areas.

Courses on communication, leadership, and ethics taught at B-schools aim to facilitate learning in a way that one can take a balanced and unbiased look at both sides of a story before forming an opinion. It gives you the strength to question studies with incomplete methodologies, no sample details, and generalized results. With the need to revive critical thinking, we have to reduce dependency on available data. B-Schools education helps you develop curiosity and strong ethical roots. This is not only beneficial for businesses but also for society at large.

An example of same is “Give Goa” course at GIM - Goa Institute of Management. The institute encourages students to work for social cause by supporting them in identifying the root cause. Students then collaborate ideas and come up with innovative solutions basis their class room learning. The amalgamation of management skills for addressing social realities is a unique learning experience for the students.

Karman Khanna is a Senior Lecturer at Goa Institute of Management. He facilitates the business communication course for students of the first year. Besides, he is working on adopting a minimalist lifestyle which he agrees is not as easy as he thought it would be.