Thinking & Problem Solving Skills
Today's dynamic business world demands that you make decisions that significantly boost productivity and drive competitive advantage. But how do you know whether a decision will benefit the organization? And how do you know that the decisions are based on rational and statistical reasoning? Explore how to become a dynamic problem solver with the skills to make accurate decisions.
Definitions of Problem Solving
Problem-solving is a set of activities designed to analyze a situation systematically and generate, implement, and evaluate solutions.
Problem Solving is the seeking of solutions to problems that arise in an organization.
A problem is an intricate unsettled question: a source of perplexity, distress, or vexation. The problem-solving process leads to the formulation of decisions intended to resolve the recognized problems.
The problem refers to the existence of a gap between where a person is and where one would like to be. The thought process involved in a person's effort to remove obstacles in the way to achieve the goal state is called problem-solving.
Problem-solving begins with a certain original state called the initial state of a problem. Problem-solving behavior begins with an obstacle or difference between the original or initial state and goal or end state. The goal is desired by the operator in the situation and has some properties defined by the operator to convert the problem state into the goal state.
Benefits of Effective Problem-Solving Skills
- Ability to make decisions more rationally and wisely
- Avoid making wrong decisions
- Avoid a variety of irrational ideas, false assumptions, and other emotions
Approaches to Problem Solving
What are the principles of sound decision making and different decision-making styles? How do you measure the return-on-investment of your decisions? How to make decisions with business partners who might not see the world the same way you do?
There are many approaches to problem-solving, depending on the nature of the problem and the people involved in the problem.
Rational Approach
The rational approach involves clarifying, giving a description of the problem, analyzing causes, identifying alternatives, assessing each alternative, choosing one, implementing it, and evaluating whether the problem was solved or not.
Appreciative Inquiry
This approach asserts that "problems" are often the result of our own perspectives or a phenomenon. For example, if we look at a particular situation as a "problem," then it will become one and we'll probably get very stuck with the "problem". The appreciative inquiry includes identification of our best times about the situation in the past, wishing and thinking about what worked best then, envisioning what we want in the future, and building from our strengths to work toward our vision.
Steps in Problem Solving
In an organizational context, one should adopt rational and creative approaches to problem-solving. Using a problem-solving approach and tools you can achieve the right mindset for problem-solving, can brainstorm alternatives, and analyze the problem using analogies, idea nets, and mind mapping and eventually visualize the best solution to your problem. Given below are generally accepted steps to problem-solving:
1. Identify the problem
Problem identification is undoubtedly the most important and the most difficult step in the process. All subsequent steps will be based on how you define and assess the problem at hand. A problem is a situation or condition of people or the organization that exists but members of the institution consider that undesirable.
2. Exploring the Alternatives
The second step in the problem-solving process is to explore alternative solutions to the problem identified in step 1. In this step one tries to generate and evaluate alternatives by doing brainstorming, taking surveys or facilitating discussions.
3. Selecting an Alternative
The third step in the problem-solving model is to select one of the alternatives. After one has evaluated each alternative, one alternative needs to be selected that would come closest to solving the problem with the most pros and minimum cons.
4. Implementing the Solution
The fourth step involves developing an action plan and implementation by arranging funding, resources, timelines, and target objectives. Resources include people, information (data), and things. The plan should state who will do what and when. And finally, implement the action plan to put the decision in place.
5. Evaluating the Solution
Evaluation means to monitor the progress to establish if the situation has changed and the problem has been resolved. Evaluating the results to declare the success of the alternative deployed.
Related Links
You May Also Like
-
Communication is defined as the process of meaningful interaction between two or more persons with a view to arriving at a common meaning and understanding. There are different types of communication and these are used on different occasions. In this section on communication skills, Technofunc will equip you with the skills most needed in today’s dynamic, demanding workplace.
-
In today's innovation-driven economy, understanding how to generate great ideas has become an urgent managerial priority. Managers need to encourage and champion ideas and need to help their organizations incorporate diverse perspectives, which spur creative insights and facilitate creative collaboration by harnessing new technologies. Innovation is the embodiment, combination, and/or synthesis of knowledge in original, relevant, valued new products, processes, or services.
-
Storming Stage of Team Development
Storming is the second stage of team development and this stage is characterized by a bid for power and inter-personal conflicts. Learn the key factors that occur in the storming stage and the strategies that a team leader can adopt to pass this stage of high winds
-
Concept & Definition of Stress
Stress is a popular expression used by people in day to day life. Pressures of day to day living sometimes necessitate coping or dealing with them and stretch the body beyond its natural capacity. They are called stressors. Stress is a natural, ongoing dynamic, and interactive process that takes place as people adjust to their environment.
-
Many different types of teams have been identified by social scientists. Managers may encounter the diverse types of challenges while managing different kinds of teams. Challenges associated with Cross-Functional Teams might be different from that of a Geographically Dispersed Team or a Virtual Team. This article explores some common categories and subtypes of teams.
-
Tips for Effective Time Management
After studying and analyzing how time is spent, why time is wasted, and where time is wasted you need to decide about the changes required for effective utilization of time. For this purpose, a large number of remedial measures can be taken by you. The first and foremost determinant of a planned and purposeful utilization of time is to develop consciousness of the value of time at all levels of the organization. Planning, goal setting, and defining priorities are concerns to addressed immediately.
-
Evidence of the medically damaging symptoms of work stress necessitates applying the treatment of stress management. Stress management is increasingly drawing the attention to the management experts not only as a remedial measure but also as a way to resource management. If the workplace can be made a little more lovable the increase in the achievement of the organization may be much time more. If group stress can be removed by introducing group discussions and recreational facilities a long-lasting team spirit may get developed.
-
Facilitative Leadership is all about involving the employees in the decision-making process at all levels enhancing their sense of ownership, responsibility, and motivation. Facilitative leadership style uses a number of indirect communication patterns to help the group reach consensus and build commitment for the decision taken. To be effective in modern organizations, managers need to become facilitative leaders, learn what it means to be a one.
-
Building Perfect Creative Team
One misconception around creativity is that creative act is essentially solitary. Most of the world's important inventions resulted not from the work of one lone genius, but from collaboration of a team with complementary skills. Managers should build teams with the ideal mix of traits to form a creative group and then establish the conditions that make creativity much more likely to occur.
-
We define Lean as the systematic elimination of waste through a continual effort to decrease inefficiency; the lean leader strives to create a more efficient organization. Lean leadership is a philosophy. It is a consistent way of thinking and being in your role as a leader. The focus of this approach is on raising new leaders and help their team embrace a culture of continuous improvement. Learn what we mean by lean leadership style and its principles.
