PMGT5811: Critical and Systems Thinking

Analytical thinking abilities are essential in building and communicating management strategy for all projects, from the most simple to the most complex. This unit develops critical judgment skills, applicable to complex problem situations involving uncertainty, incomplete information and dynamically interacting systems and contexts. Students will develop their ability to articulate a critical, reflected and well-reasoned response at a level that contributes to project strategy discussions. In addition the unit also equips students with knowledge and communication competencies that will be valuable in all aspects of their academic study. Students engage with theoretical frameworks and concepts in order to practice robust methods of questioning and argument. A central element of content is linking theory to practice with students' experience as the focal point. The unit will help students to clearly define the main problem at hand, organise and filter relevant evidence and issues, identify and evaluate logical connections, recognise critical assumptions and uncertainties, reach well-reasoned conclusions, develop and reflect on your own personal views, and present critical arguments in a constructive manner to colleagues and supervisors. These abilities are essential for an understanding of the relevance of epistemological and ontological considerations in relation to the broader, more thoroughgoing analysis of complex system dynamics to be developed in other advanced Project Management units.