1. Critical Thinking and/or Critical Thinking Roadmap Harvard Business.

Provide
business context for each stage (correlate it to Operations Management).

The Critical Thinking Roadmap published in Harvard Business Review

emphasizes the importance of being an exceptional thinker, especially in the
context of career development. The framework is divided into four phases: execute,
synthesize, recommend, and generate.

The first stage: execute pertains to how well the individuals follow
instructions and ensure the tasks are completed on time, following a set of
standards and quality. This is why companies should have Standard Operating
Procedures (SOPs), which help their employees execute their tasks and guarantee
consistent quality. Some companies have a fixed production scheduling to ensure
the timely delivery of their products. And to ensure that every product meets their
standards, companies also strictly adhere to quality control. This stage ensures that
production processes are executed efficiently and within quality standards.

The second stage: synthesize makes use of past performances and identifying
important insights to create new ones. Data analysis is important especially when
companies need to optimize their operations or improve their production process.
That is why companies like Amazon continuously synthesize data, whether it’s from
customers or market trends, to forecast demand. By doing so, they can optimize
their inventory and reduce production costs.

The next stage is recommend, where the individuals provide recommendations

based on existing insights. Recommending solutions are very much important for
companies in order for them to improve their current performance. A sensible and
actionable recommendation optimizes existing production processes by monitoring
the past strategies or what has already been done. This stage helps companies
assess their current performance and provide a logical evaluation of it.
 The last stage is generate, where the individuals fully create new strategies
that help bring new directions. Innovative strategies improve operational
performances and help companies reach their long-term goals. That is why
operation managers are required to have strong critical thinking skills; so that they
can provide the best alternative course of actions for their companies.

2. Principles of Logic. Provide business context each (correlate it to Operations

Management).

The principles of logic or the laws of thoughts provides a way for us to evaluate
information based on reason and evidence. It allows us to analyze problems and
derive meaningful conclusions. The Principle of Identity tells us that if something
is what it is, then it is not something else. For example, an operation team who
develops new flavors for their product cannot suddenly be the marketing team for
their products. This is why it is very much important for the company to recognize
each team’s purpose, their processes, and limits. Thus, it ensures the efficient
production and workflow of the company. The Principle of Non-Contradiction
states that something cannot exist and not exist under the same conditions
simultaneously. For example, a company strategy cannot be both efficient and not
efficient at the same time. This principle is important to ensure that a strategy
optimizes their current performance and is aligned with the company’s vision and
mission. The company has to consider every possible consequences and impact it
will have on each part of the company, so that a strategy does not contradict with
existing processes or their long-term goals. The Principle of Excluded Middle
explains that something is either true or false and there is no middle ground. Like
the previous example, a strategy either reaches the company’s goal or it does not;
there is no halfway point. This principle is important especially in monitoring stage
of planning, where the company has to assess their past strategies, whether it is
failed or successful. Companies have to be mindful of their current state and how
their past strategies have impacted them. These principles ensures that operations
are going smoothly with consistency and within quality standards.

3. Essential Business Acumen Skills. Provide business context.

Business Acumen Skills are the ability of an individual to see the “bigger picture”
of a business and how each part of it works to attain its goals. The first skill is the
financial acumen, where individuals have to determine the impact of company
decisions to its financial state. Knowledge on the company’s financial state is
needed in order to optimize the allocation of resources, budgeting, and ensure that
the production processes maximizes its profitability. Analytical skills are also
important for companies to analyze information, whether from market trends or
competitive analysis, and make decisions out of it. Companies need not only to
process data but also identify significant patterns from it that will help them
improve efficiency. Data analysis is crucial in operations in order to responsibly
manage inventory and forecast possible demand or decline. Leadership skills
pertain to the ability to manage and oversee the entire process of a business and
also take action. A good leader ensures that their company reaches their vision and
mission while also fostering collaboration within. Strategic thinking pushes us to
create innovative solutions that will help reach our goals. Company strategies
should be aligned with their long-term goals while ensuring that day-to-day
processes contribute to their objectives. Market Orientation involves
understanding scarcity and the needs of the customers to ensure that the products
being delivered are within the demand and standards of the market. This helps
companies to further improve their production processes, whether it is quality
production or delivery time. Marketing skills are the ability to promote products
based from the customers’ preferences and the market trends. It is important for
companies to keep up with the trends and recognize how marketing, especially on
social media, can help persuade customers to buy their products. Problem-solving
skills is the ability to manage difficult situations properly. Companies should react
to challenges pro-actively, like how Johnson and Johnson handled their Tylenol Crisis
by issuing a recall on their products. The next skill is the ability to have laser
focus. It emphasizes the importance of prioritizing your time and giving all your
attention at a certain task. This helps us work efficiently and ensure that our work is
within the standards. The next one is understanding stakeholder needs, where
every company decision should consider the views of others in the business. When
it comes to decision-making, companies should not only consider their goals, but
also how it impacts their stakeholders. The last skill discusses the ability to
understand cause and consequence of certain decisions. This is important in
order for companies to identify root problems, explore strategies, and assess how
each strategy can impact the company.

4. Reflect on how you can apply these topics in improving your Long Quiz
performances.

Upon learning the concepts of Critical Thinking Roadmap, Principles of Logic, and
Business Acumen Skills, I believe I am more capable of facing challenges and
problems, not just for the given problems in the Long Quiz but also in real-life. With
the Critical Thinking Roadmap, I realized that I have to fully understand first the
problem and the mentioned symptoms of the root problem. This also helps me see
beyond what is in the surface and find what the true problem is. Using the Principle
of Logic, I realized that answering problems should be clear and concise as well as
not have contradicting ideas. It definitely helped me approach problems with a clear
mind and also improved my skills in communicating my ideas. I know that business
acumen skills are developed and improved over time, but understanding the
importance of each skill made me realize that every skill is needed for decision-
making. I also believe exposing ourselves to real-life business situations, whether
local or international companies, can broaden our perspectives and help in creating
innovative solutions and strategies. Using stoicism and neo-stoicism allow me to
face not just exam questions, but also real-life challenges pro-actively by focusing
more on what I can control, such as my abilities, as well as approach them positively
with rational thinking. Applying Machiavellianism will help me be strategic and
practical. For example, in long quizzes, I can strategically prioritize questions that
are complex. It will also help me improve my problem-solving skills. Improving my
communication skills will also help me structure my answers properly as well as be
concise with my answers.

5. Correlation of stoicism and neo-stoicism and Machiavellianism to your BSA

journey and to Operations Management.

Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy that teaches us to focus on what we

have control of and accept the things we cannot change. Neo-stoicism is a
combination of stoicism and the values and beliefs of Christianity. It mainly
emphasizes our faith and the idea that challenges are part of God’s plan. These two
philosophies instantly made me think of Dr. Angela Davis’ quote “I am no longer
accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”.
This kind of thinking allows me to allocate my time and efforts productively by
focusing on what I can do and what I can control. For example, instead of pondering
on the low score I got from our last quiz in accounting, I decided to expose myself to
more comprehensive problems and prepare for the next exams. Having faith in God
and believing in myself have also been helping me with my BSA journey. There are
times when I do not trust myself when studying and answering exams. However,
knowing that I have done my best to study and that God is always with me, it
somehow calms me down and reminds me that it is okay to make mistakes. It helps
me see these mistakes as opportunities to grow and improve myself. When it comes
to applying it to operations management, stoicism and neo-stoicism allows us to
think rationally, especially in decision-making, when our business is faced with a
challenge. This also made me think of the prior debate we had in our class: whether
a business should prioritize its customers or its employees. Indeed, we cannot
control our customers, their preferences, and even our competitors. That is why we
should be focusing on improving the productivity of our employees and the
optimization of our operations. Using the philosophy neo-stoicism, we can create
strategies that aligns with our company’s vision and mission, ensuring that our
practices are ethical and legal. Having a stoic and neo-stoic outlook helps us
balance different aspects of our lives as well as live productively.
Machiavellianism, on the other hand, is the trait of focusing on achieving goals
efficiently through strategies and cunningness. Regardless of moral or ethical
implications of their actions, a Machiavellian will do whatever it means to gain
power. In a positive sense, it teaches us how to think critically about how to face
challenges and come up with strategies. Considering the intense competition in our
course program Accountancy, machiavellianism helps us be competitive, think of
ways to stand out and position ourselves for success. However, it is important to
note that being both strategic and goal-oriented should not cost our integrity. We
should still be mindful of our actions and consider its moral and ethical aspects. In
operations management, machiavellianism helps us to prioritize efficiency and
results. It guides us to be practical when it comes to decision-making. It can also be
seen in negotiating with clients or possible investors. Machiavellianism can be
beneficial to a business only if it is for the betterment of the whole and the
achievement of its long-term goals. But if machiavellianism promotes manipulative
and toxic environment, it should be overcome by fostering transparency and mutual
respect across the organization. Machiavellianism should be used for our growth
and the achievement of our goals, while also maintaining a positive and healthy
environment for everyone.

6. Discuss about essential communication skills: types, kinds, elements. Discuss

why it is important in an organization and in the overall operations
management.

Communication is the process of sending and receiving information. It includes

a sender, who starts the communication by sending a message, which is the core
idea that needs to be shared. Before sending the message, the sender will go
through a process of encoding their ideas into words. The message will then be
passed into a channel, such as spoken words, written email or text message. The
receiver is the one who gets the message, and decodes it depending on the context.
Once the receivers interprets the message, they will send a feedback. Any
interference that can hinder the passage of message is called noise. Communication
can be through the use of spoken words or sign language; this is what we call verbal
communication. Nonverbal communication, on the other hand, is our facial
expressions, body language, hand movements, and eye contact. Written
communication is a form of verbal communication, but makes use of letters, emails,
notes, texts, billboards, and many more. Visual communication pertains to sending
messages through graphical representations or visual aids. Communication can
either be formal or informal. Formal communication is when a set of commands is
being followed. A vertical formal communication happens at different organizational
levels, such as a manager making an announcement to its employees. Horizontal
formal communication happens between colleagues or different departments, such
as human resource and sales teams. A diagonal formal communications happens at
different levels that are not directly linked, such as a salesman and manufacturing
manager. On the other hand, informal communication is casual and unstructured; it
allows messages to move freely in the organization.
Having the skills to communicate effectively and clearly allows us to understand
information more accurately. Communicating information should be clear and
concise. That is why it is important for us our define our goals first, which will help
us eliminate irrelevant details, making our message clear and concise. We should
also be mindful of nonverbal cues, which includes facial expressions, gestures, and
body language. These nonverbal cues tells us how our message is received,
whether the receiver understands it or is confused about it. Being mindful of our
tone is also important, especially when we are putting an emphasis to our message.
Communication is not just about sending information, it also includes active
listening. We should be able to give others our attention when they are the ones
speaking. Empathizing is one way to improve active listening. If we are able to
empathize with others, we should also be able to listen to their perspective.
Effective communication in operations management or in any organization
whatsoever ensures coordination between all departments. It provides alignment
towards our goals and minimizes misunderstandings. This will then help us avoid
wasting time and efforts. It will improve our workflow and efficiency. Through clearly
and effectively communicating information, we can develop better relationships
with one another, ensuring trust also to our stakeholders. Since operations
management also includes continuous improvement, it is important to continuously
share our ideas and gather feedback from one another. Effective communication
allows us to improve coordination, efficiency, relationships, and decision-making. By
being aware of the process of communication, its various types, and elements as
well as having essential communication skills, we can develop collaboration,
prevent misunderstandings, and enhance overall productivity.
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