Critical Thinking - Globally

Critical thinking skills aide us in analyzing, troubleshooting and recognizing the best way to approach and handle situations. Within the global marketplace this would seem to be a benefit in understanding and relating to those in other regions of the world. I do not have specific experience within the global market but I do have experience working with diverse groups of people and / or organizations representing different cultures, socio-economic classes and races.

With any level of diversity there are difficulties in communication or relationships that need to be overcome. Having the skills to critically analyze, interpret and develop plans for relating to others is beneficial in any environment. During one of my previous classes I was on a team with 4 other people, one of which had a much different understandings of teamwork and leadership. During introductions we all share some of our background but I did not expect or understand how those backgrounds would factor in to our abilities to work as a team. We had some difficult and challenging moments in our team that almost cost the team our final project in the class. Had we taken the time initially to think about our cultural difference and how those might factor into our communication we could have possibly avoided lots of frustration.