Breaking the quality barrier: critical thinking and conflict resolution.

Breaking the quality barrier requires case manages to possess the skills of critical thinking and conflict resolution. After a brief focus on habits that create barriers to critical thinking, a critical thinking assessment is offered. Strategies for critical thinking and how to create a culture of openness and flexibility are discussed. Critical thinkers bring to conflict situations skills that foster win-win conflict resolution. An example is used to discuss the skills of assertiveness and negotiation. An example is given that demonstrates how to deal with defensiveness by first stating agreement and then disagreement.