Download BSL 4080Unit III Case StudyColumbia Southern UniversityBSL 4 and more Lecture notes Accounting in PDF only on Docsity! BSL 4080 Unit III Case Study Columbia Southern University BSL 4080 Creative Thinking and Problem Solving Unit III Case Study Whether you are a manager or an employee, it is important to avoid fallacies that do not provide the legitimacy needed to make a sound argument. A fallacy is a mistaken belief, especially one based on an unsound argument. From the standpoint of logical thinking is a failure in reasoning in which renders the argument invalid. Learning how to recognize and avoid fallacies will make you less likely to fall victim to faulty arguments[ CITATION Hus19 \l 1033 ]. There are many strategies to help avoid fallacies in the workplace which we will discuss throughout this paper. We start with an easy one, Know yourself. This strategy seems easy and is a cardinal rule for good critical thinking but can make you vulnerable if you do not recognize the ones you are most likely to fall for. Improving your self-confidence and self-esteem will make you less likely to give into behavior like peer pressure or the fallacy of popular appeal [ CITATION Unk20 \l 1033 ]. People who have self-confidence do not become defensive or back down when fallacies are used. Developing good listening skills is the next strategy for avoiding fallacies even when you may disagree with the sender. I often say to people to we must try to listen to understand rather than listen to respond. Allowing the person to finish their argument even when fallacies are present keeps the person from becoming defensive. If a fallacy is present, point it out after they have finished but remain respectful. If their argument is weak ask for supporting evidence of their position rather than dismissing it. The next strategy is to avoid all ambiguous or vague terms. Ensure you are clearly defining the key terms of your argument. If there is something unclear, do not be afraid to ask questions or ask the person to rephrase their argument. While it sounds like the first strategy of knowing yourself, knowing the topic is just as important [ CITATION Hus19 \l 1033 ]. Jumping to a conclusion without understanding the topic will cause you to commit a fallacy. So, do the research and become familiar with the relevant evidence from credible sources. Adopting some skepticism can help us avoid coming off as closed minded. The last two strategies for avoiding fallacies are watching our body language and being okay with not winning the argument. Our body language or nonverbal cues can make someone not believe what you are saying. Whether is comes from rolling your eyes, glaring or even walking away while someone is speaking. The last strategy deals with putting our pride or the need to win aside. If your purpose is to win the argument rather than get to the truth about the issue, you are more likely to use your own fallacies because you cannot defend your position. When evaluating the six bullets that need to be addressed, I try to look at the merits of each one and the possible background information not being given. When evaluating whether salesperson is given the adequate resources, I ask the question “Have you asked for the resources or information you need.” We have implemented a new line of watches, so the resources sales personnel need is readily available, they just need to be given access. The next is the financial manager does not like the marketing department, so they do not trust the numbers he produces. This is a fallacy because the finance manager has his personal opinion of someone to influence the way he treats someone from another department. These are two departments that have very little interaction when it comes to the business of selling watches. The finance manager has a create an environment where the fallacy dictates the relationship between their departments. The last is marketing manager firing any salesperson who is unable to hot the established sales targets. There are a lot of outside influences that dictate the success of salespeople. It is the job of the manager to dig down to discover the underlying cause of their shortcoming. Some of
