"Thinking is skilled work. It is not true that we are naturally endowed with the ability to think clearly and logically - without learning how, or without practicing."  --Alfred Mander, Author

As Mander suggests -- and as we have previously explored here - thinking takes discipline, practice and curiosity.  In Bob Abel's final installment of his three-part series on critical thinking, we will explore a number of concepts that need to be understood and that are fundamental to the continuous development of critical thinking and problem solving.  Here Abel, who is on the faculty of the Organizational Leadership and Supervision Division of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (http://new.ipfw.edu/ols/), concludes that critical thinking can be a meaningful differentiator for establishing a competitive advantage through any organization's human resources.   Read more.

Federal, state and local government officials tell us that economic growth comes from entrepreneurship, which is interpreted by many as meaning we need more business start-ups.  However, in this article, Jim Falkiner, Manchester College's Mark E. Johnson Professor of Entrepreneurship, suggests that this interpretation may miss the mark, asserting that most small business start-ups are primarily unproductive and wasteful.  He says that if we want to encourage more business start-ups as public policy, then we need better business start-ups.  But he questions if that is possible and if it is the best use of public funds.  "Might there be an effective, low-cost and renewable source of growth just beneath our gaze?" he asks, referring to today's existing businesses that he feels may be a better source of economic  growth.