Part Five: CORT — Information and Feelings

Information and Feelings

This section focuses on the relationship between the emotional and cognitive aspects of thinking.

It addresses tools for collecting the information needed to understand an idea or problem and assessing the validity and reliability of that information as evidence.

It also recognizes the influence of emotions on decision-making. Our natural preferences—such as love and dislike, attraction to certain colors, fear of certain things, and aversion to others—make us different from one another and can lead us to make different choices even when using logic.

Tool 1: Information

Information

Explanation

This tool focuses on collecting all relevant information about the subject under consideration.

It acts as a checklist that helps us verify whether we have collected all the necessary information and whether we have developed a sufficiently complete understanding of the subject.

We should distinguish between:

• What information is available.

• What information is missing.

Example:

Suppose we are planning to establish a new business.

Among the information we may need are:

• Competitor information.

• Their products and services.

• Relevant details about those products.

• Other critical information without which a sound decision cannot be made.

Exercise 1: What information do you need before deciding to enter a new business related to computer accessories?

Exercise 2: What information do you need before deciding whether to attend a course in technology, data analysis, or Artificial Intelligence?

Exercise 3: What information do you need about a school where you are considering enrolling your children?

Tool 2: Questions

Questions

Explanation

This tool directs our effort toward formulating questions that help us obtain missing information.

The missing information is identified through the previous tool.

In scientific research, this is related to problem formulation.

Exercise 1: Formulate questions using What / Which / How / Why / When / Where for Exercise 1 in the previous tool.

Exercise 2: Formulate questions using What / Which / How / Why / When / Where for Exercise 2 in the previous tool.

Exercise 3: Formulate questions using What / Which / How / Why / When / Where for Exercise 3 in the previous tool.

Tool 3: Clues

Clues

Explanation

Clues are the words, concepts, or indicators that may point toward possible solutions.

They can represent ideas that lead to many actions or possibilities. In this sense, clues act like a magnifying glass for discovering solutions.

They may already have been identified in the information collected, or they may be among the items we need to investigate further.

There are two types:

• Separate Clues

• Combined Clues

Example:

The widespread adoption of SAP for enterprise management.

Possible clues that help explain its adoption include:

1. Quality

2. Suitability

3. Ability to customize and modify the system

Together, these factors may explain its adoption across small, medium-sized, and large organizations.

Exercise 1: You notice a high failure rate in the English subject in secondary school. Identify and discuss the clues that may explain this phenomenon.

Exercise 2: You notice difficulties in recruiting specialists in areas such as programming and Artificial Intelligence. Identify and discuss the clues that may explain this phenomenon.

Exercise 3: You notice a high resignation rate in a particular department or business sector. Identify and discuss the clues that may explain this phenomenon.

Tool 4: Contradictions

Contradictions

Explanation

After developing a set of ideas, we may discover that some of them contradict one another, or that one of our conclusions is incorrect.

A contradiction is a conflict between two ideas.

An error, on the other hand, is an illogical or unsupported conclusion resulting from an assumed cause.

Example:

In the previous example, the widespread adoption of SAP may initially have been attributed entirely to efficiency and suitability.

That conclusion is too broad and should be verified. SAP has also experienced implementation failures in different companies and countries, so the results cannot automatically be generalized across organizations of different sizes and circumstances.

Exercise 1: What contradiction exists in the following statement?

“Employees should not receive training because they may look for other opportunities and leave the company after being trained.”

Exercise 2: What contradiction exists in the following statement?

“We should be cautious when working with talented employees so they do not demand salary increases that could create conflict among their colleagues.”

Exercise 3: What contradiction exists in the following statement?

“Academic study does not necessarily guarantee competence in the workplace, so it should not receive significant attention.”

Tool 5: Guessing

Guessing

Explanation

The intended meaning here is educated guessing—a reasoned estimate based on the researcher's intuition, experience, and available knowledge.

It does not mean making unsupported claims without knowledge or experience.

The objective is to obtain additional information and avoid simply giving up when information is incomplete.

Guessing is used primarily in two situations:

First: Formulating hypotheses about a problem or issue. These represent the researcher's initial assumptions, which the researcher attempts to verify throughout the investigation.

Second: When information is unavailable and cannot be obtained at the current stage.

There are two levels of prediction:

• Near Guess: A prediction that is relatively close to the actual result.

• Far Guess: A prediction that is substantially different from the actual result.

Example:

We may predict that a student will fail because the student does not put sufficient effort into studying.

Exercise 1: What do you predict are the reasons for your lower grades in some subjects during your final academic year?

Exercise 2: What do you predict might happen to employees in a department if the company does not develop or train them?

Exercise 3: What do you predict happened to students' academic performance during COVID-19 when distance learning was used?

Tool 6: Beliefs

Beliefs

Explanation

This tool distinguishes between different types of beliefs.

There are two types:

1. BP — Personal Belief

A belief based on one's own experiences and emotions.

2. BO — Belief of Others

A belief adopted from other people.

A belief is something a person accepts as a given or assumption without examining its truth or validity.

The objective here is awareness rather than criticism.

The purpose is not to attack people's beliefs, but to examine the sources and foundations of those beliefs.

Example:

“Women are more stable, while men are more capable and resilient at work.”

This may be a belief held by some managers without examining its evidence or source.

Exercise 1:

Distinguish between personal beliefs and beliefs of others in the following statements:

• “Following quality-management systems slows work down and costs too much.”

• “Following quality-management systems is essential for quality assurance and maintaining reputation.”

Exercise 2: “Prices are always increasing.” Discuss this statement.

Exercise 3: “Companies do not pay employees sufficient salaries.” Discuss this belief.

Tool 7: Ready-Mades

Ready-Mades

Explanation

Ready-mades are pre-existing opinions or solutions that can be used when we are unable to fully verify or investigate the ideas under consideration.

In some situations, established expert opinions can provide a temporary basis for action when there is insufficient time to conduct a complete investigation.

Example:

Should we accept the opinion that organizations should begin by adopting Cloud Computing completely, or should we use it only as an input to our own thinking and evaluation?

Exercise 1: Should you regard the opinion that all educational levels should adopt distance learning as a final answer, or simply as an input for further thinking?

Exercise 2: Should you regard the opinion that mobile-phone use should be limited to specific hours as a final answer, or as an input for further thinking?

Exercise 3: Should you regard the opinion that all scientific disciplines should be translated into Arabic as a final answer, or as an input for further thinking?

Tool 8: Emotions and EGOs

Emotions and EGOs

Explanation

This tool emphasizes the importance of thinking first and then recognizing the emotional response.

Emotions can be divided into two types:

1. Ordinary Emotions

Emotional responses to situations, such as:

• Love

• Dislike

• Sadness

• Happiness

2. Ego-related Emotions

Feelings about oneself, such as:

• Pride

• Strength

• Courage

• Self-confidence

Example:

A student may feel happy when bright and attractive colors are used to present content on an e-learning platform.

The student may also feel a sense of achievement when performance badges are displayed on the same platform.

Exercise 1: What emotions may arise in a student when the platform is difficult to use or the examinations are difficult?

Exercise 2: What emotions may arise in an employee from good or poor treatment by a manager?

Exercise 3: What emotions may arise in a customer when customer service follows up with them after a purchase?

Tool 9: Values

Values

Explanation

This tool focuses on identifying the values that guide our approach to solving problems.

These may include higher and lower-priority values, and they can differ from one person to another.

Values influence:

• Priorities.

• Areas of attention.

• Solution clues.

• Decision-making criteria.

Example:

In Islamic law, five essential interests are commonly identified:

• Religion

• Life

• Intellect

• Lineage/honor

• Property

In everyday life, different people may prioritize values differently. For example, one person may prioritize health over education or wealth, while another may make a different choice.

Exercise 1: Rank the customer's values when purchasing a product:

• Quality

• Price

• After-sales service

Exercise 2: Rank the company's values in its relationship with:

• Management

• Employees

• Customers

Exercise 3: Rank the values of a systems-management department:

• Continuous improvement

• Teamwork

• Quality

Tool 10: Simplify / Clarify

Simplify / Clarify

Explanation

This tool focuses on clarifying what is confusing and simplifying what is complex among the ideas we have developed.

The goal is to express the final understanding in a clear and concise form.

Example:

Describe the Agile methodology in two lines:

Agile is a project-management approach that divides project work into short, equal time periods called iterations. Each iteration begins with planning and ends with a usable project output, supported by regular team follow-up and continuous review throughout the project.

Exercise 1: Describe Management by Objectives (MBO).

Exercise 2: Describe Digital Transformation in three words.

Exercise 3: Describe UML in one sentence.

Summary

We have now completed Part Five of the CORT program: Information and Feelings, covering the following ten tools:

1. Information

2. Questions

3. Clues

4. Contradictions

5. Guessing

6. Beliefs

7. Ready-Mades

8. Emotions and EGOs

9. Values

10. Simplify / Clarify

Practice the Ten Tools

We should give ourselves sufficient time for:

• Understanding the explanations.

• Studying the examples.

• Thinking through the exercises.

• Practicing individually and together with our sons and daughters.

This is the true objective of the course: learning the principles of thinking, practicing them, and then practicing them again and again.

Exercise 1: What additional tools could be added?

Exercise 2: Which tools provide little or no value?

Exercise 3: Which tools could be combined?

Exercise 4: Which tools should remain separate?