Critical Thinking on Controversial Topic Research Paper

Critical Thinking on Controversial Topic - Research Paper Example 16). The situations given above show that communication is not easy. It can be found anywhere especially leaders deal with such situations that will test their experience and temperament in solving the issue. Clear communication is the key through discipline and proper advancing of agendas, promoting learning and strengthening relationships (Jarkins, 1999, p. 73). In real world situation, conflict is approached head on to solve it. If the conflict is not solved, it may just prolong the agony and the problem would still be there. Some people may give certain advice on how to make difficult conversations easier. Ten ways can be done: opening the lines of communication, acknowledging the other person’s willingness to talk, setting a time limit, paraphrasing each other’s comments, working out a compromise, making a list of questions to be answered, accepting being wrong, respecting expert opinion, understanding the emotional factors, and reviewing the things learned (Goldsm ith, 2011). The paper will not go into the details of the ten ways in dealing with difficult conversations but will focus on critical thinking skills on controversial topics. Critical thinking helps people to become wise even though they may not be practicing philosophers. What matters most is the concept of giving up two senses: â€Å"sense of obviousness and sense of absurdity,† (Sen, 2010, p. 1). Critical thinking contributes to intelligence analysis and a formal meaning may develop the ground towards the understanding of its importance according to the definition of Richard Paul and Lina Elder: that mode of thinking – about any subject, content, or problem -- in which the [solitary] thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them (Moore, 2007, p. 8). The definition clearly shows what critical thinking is. Basically it is a way or process of thinking about certain matter wherein the person or thinker does his best effort to improve his ability in learning and understanding the reason. In simpler words, each person gives meaning to a certain thing through mental maps or representation of the reality. Such an activity aides the person in proceeding to â€Å"revising, expanding, improving [†¦] mental map† and the understanding of the reality. In critical thinking, memory plays a key role (Leicester, 2010, p. 2). Since critical thinking is already defined, the next term is controversial topics. Controversial topics are issues that people have very strong yet various feelings and opinions and are subject to heated debates. Various opinions may come from social, political or religious beliefs. Controversial topics make people either positive or negative depending upon the created strong arguments for and against the subjects. Controversial topics are used in research assignments especially on reviews and looking at the pro s and cons (Questia, n.d.). in other words, controversial are things that have more than two ways of viewing the right answer while topics which are usually controversial are issues that cause heated debate due to more than one â€Å"correct† answer (Versfeld, 2005, p. 7). In Harvard Law School being the center for training the would-be law professionals, difficult conversations happen and are allowed. In the past, the school management of

Discuss the legal and ethical issues surrounding Solyndra, the Essay

Discuss the legal and ethical issues surrounding Solyndra, the California based solar panel manufacturer - Essay Example Solyndra, a solar panel manufacturer, was formed in the Silicon Valley in 2005. The company focused on designing and manufacturing solar photovoltaic equipments mainly for commercial and public utility purposes. The client base constituted of commercial firms, government agencies, energy companies and other roofing firms. The company was established by Dr. Christian Gronet in 2005 as Gronet Technologies Inc (Hargreaves, 2012). At a later stage, the company was renamed as Solyndra that pioneered in the development of greener energy. The company aimed to create a breakthrough to reflect ways in which the government and business organizations would function in a cleaner energy environment (Brewer, Kinsey & Mendenhall, 2012). The saga of Solyndra venturing in the creation of greener technology is observed to encounter a severe downfall owing to the potential mismanagement of funds by the US government. Solyndra focused on gaining a competitive advantage such that it aimed to develop solar panels without the use of polysilicon, which was considerably expensive in the energy market. Though the production cost of solar panels created by Solyndra was high in nature, yet its installation was found to be considerably cheaper. During 2009, a huge loan amount of around $535 million was sanctioned by the US Government in order to enhance production and distribution operations of the company. The legal and ethical issues that rocked the company started with the declaration and receipt of this huge loan amount, which was observed to fail in achieving the required objective owing to fall in the value of polysilicon and also organizational inability to sustain the cheap installation costs (Wang, 2011). Similarly, wit h fall in the prices of natural gas and rising competition for the entry of Chinese firms, demand for the solar photovoltaic equipments produced by Solyndra faced a major setback. The