CAT (Critical Analytical Thinking) seminar
GEN 202: Critical Analytical Thinking (CAT)
Elevator Pitch:
The Critical Analytical Thinking (CAT) course provides a setting for students to further develop and hone the skills needed to analyze complex issues and make forceful and well-grounded arguments. In 16-18 person sections, you will analyze, write about, and debate a set of topics that encompass the types of problems managers must confront. In doing this CAT will enhance your ability to identify critical questions when exploring challenging business issues. The emphasis will be on developing reasoned positions and making sound and compelling arguments that support those positions.
Founder:
Stanford University – Graduate School of Business (2007)
Key ideas:
We help you understand what makes a strong, logical argument. Here, you practice different ways of thinking and hone your oral and written communication of analysis. You learn persuasion and criticism.
Every MBA student takes the Critical Analytical Thinking (CAT) seminar, which focuses exclusively on building these skills. CAT transcends any discipline or function of management. CATenhances your ability to identify critical questions when exploring a new business issue, to parse issues, to develop reasoned positions, and to make compelling arguments.
Critical Analytical Thinking (CAT) addresses issues that transcend any single discipline or function of management. In 16-person sections, you will analyze, write about, and debate fundamental issues, questions, and phenomena that arise in many forms in management. CAT will enhance your ability to identify critical questions when exploring a new business issue, to parse issues, to develop reasoned positions, and to make compelling arguments.
The main points are to get students to understand what makes for a strong, logical argument (within a complex, sometimes ambiguous situation); to articulate these arguments orally and in writing; and to defend them logically. As part of the process the students also learn to analyze others' arguments and to see points in common and in difference with them. Several of the CAT topics challenge the students' notions of what principled leadership means. Real-life managerial decision-making requires choices among difficult alternatives.
Worth Reading/Watching:
CAT at the GSB. Overview Guide and Example Assignments.
