Barriers to Effective Problem Solving - Essay Example

Barriers to Effective Problem Solving 0 Introduction: Problem solving can be regarded as a tool and a skill as well as it is a process. As a tool problem solving helps to identify and find a solution to the immediate problems and it is a skill once learnt can be applied to different problem situations. It is also a process of various steps to be undertaken before a decision can be arrived with respect to a problem. Today's business professional is expected to deliver innovative answers to business issues by adopting a thinking process which is 'outside the square' and this calls for diligent exercise of powers of logic and emotional intelligence for an effective evaluation of the confronting business situations objectively. The decision making process in any complex business situation involves solving problems and then making decisions. Problem solving comprises of the activities of selecting the issues that need attention, defining the goals to be achieved and finding or designing probable and proper courses of action. Different methods and models have been evolved for problem solving and the efficiency of each one is affected by some barriers. This report presents a discussion on some of the barriers to effective problem solving and the organisation's attempts to mitigate the impact of these barriers and improve upon the effectiveness of the problem solving process. 2.0 What is Effective Problem Solving "Effective problem solving is any method by which problems are solved for a satisfactory amount of time to a satisfactory degree without wasting time and resources." (Business Solutions) The problem solving process usually involves various steps to be followed in sequence to arrive at an effective solution to the problem encountered. Though different steps are involved in the process of problem solving it is possible to establish three distinct phases for problem solving. According to these phases are (1) Problem Selection, (2) Problem Framing and (3) Problem Solving. There are different objectives to be achieved in each of these phases and each one involves different steps to achieve its objectives. Of these processes problem selection is dependent on several internal and external environmental factors. Problem framing is the most important and most difficult phase; it has the most profound effect on where one ends up (Bardwell 1991). "The initial representation of a problem may be the most crucial single factor governing the likelihood of problem solution. What may appear as a formidable problem in one representation may be solved immediately in another format. A mere change of representation may by itself provide a solution. Whether a problem is solved or not and how long the solution will take depend a great deal upon the initial representation." (Posner 1973: 149) Problem solving represents the actual implementation and evaluation process. Issues may arise in this phase due to improper and inadequate problem framing in addition to the organizational problems of organizing and managing the resource. The presence of several barriers also may hinder an effective problem solving process. It is important that the all the phases of the problem solving process should be undertaken sequentially. It should also be kept in mind that the phases are iterative and may have to be gone through again from the beginning to evaluate certain options. Since the outcomes cannot be anticipated with certainty iterations may have to done in between the phases while the problem solving process is in progress. "Skipping steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces satisfying results" (Kotter 1995:59) 3.0 Jumping to a Solution before Sufficiently Understanding the Problem: The most critical to effective problem solving is 'jumping to a solution before sufficiently understanding the problem. "A review of the literature on integrated resource management strongly confirms the importance of appropriate problem definition or framing-getting the context and questions right before actions are taken "(Bardwell 1991, Clark et al. 1999, Elliot et al. 2003, Kakoyannis 2004, Senge 1990) Wondolleck and Yaffee 2000 state "the way a problem is defined affects the solutions". The organization may be confronted with the additional complexities of the problem by jumping into a solution. There will be no construction of different opportunities for consideration and this may lead the organization to focus its attention and energy on the negative directions. This may affect the implementation of solution, as a wrong or inappropriate solution to a problem will pull the organization backwards. The result will be that the team members of the organization may loose enthusiasm and confidence and also will be de motivated which is vitally important for the organizational growth. 4.0 Implementing the First Solution that Comes to Mind: Defining the problem, thus gives half the solution to the issue. Once the problem is defined and framed properly the next step is to generate the best solution. In developing the alternative solutions perseverance is an important characteristic that a problem solver should have. There will be occasions when mental blocks deter the progress of problem solving. 'Getting hooked to the first solution that comes to mind' is one of the mental blocks that hinder the process of problem solving. (Memphis Notes) If the organizational members are subjected to this mental block it will affect their capacity to generate more ideas that will help the organization to find a more appropriate problem to the issue on hand. Without generating more ideas and sticking to the first solution deprives the organization the chances of discovering and constructing creative solutions to the problems, This will also result in putting a limitation on the thinking process and there may not be the required 'stretch' of imagination and thinking in exploring new ideas. With the result that there may not be any effectiveness of the solution that is being applied as no other alternatives would be developed for consideration. The thinking process should be both 'inside the box' and 'outside the box' to develop constructive and creative options that will be beneficial to the organisation. One of the ways to remove this barrier is to organize brain storming sessions to generate new ideas and solutions. Brain Storming is considered as an effective tool that works on large group-solving sessions. Using Osborn's checklist may generate better and new ideas to the organization. Adopting Random Stimulation and Other People's Views (OPV) may also help to remove this barrier. 5.0 Rarely Collecting and Analysing the Relevant Data: Any effective problem solving process involves exploring all the available sources of data and that too from different points of view. This enables the problem solver to get to know the important elements of the task or problem situation and focus his attention on those important elements only. Consideration of what is known about the situation and what one wants or needs to know makes the problem solver to understand the core realities of the issue involved which is essential for solving the problem. It is also equally important that all the data collected are analysed in detail to understand the real elements of the issue or the problem. If this step of collection all the data and analyzing them fully is not adopted it may lead to a poor understanding of the key elements in the current realities of the task. If the relevant data are rarely collected and if the collected data are not properly analysed the problem solver will be distracted from the real goal and he will be directed towards exploring wrong or undesirable solution to the problem. It may also result in the problem solver making a number of assumptions most of which may prove to be wrong and make the problem solving ineffective. 6.0 Not Planning and Communicating Improvement Actions: The logical process after evolving the probable solution to the problem is to prepare for action. "Preparing for Action involves exploring ways to make promising options into workable solutions and preparing for successful implementation." (Donald Treffinger et al.) In this process an effective planning on the part of the problem solver and the involvement of other organizational members is of critical importance. In order to make the options into workable solutions there must be effective planning and communication of the options and develop them into actions. Without a proper planning process it would be difficult for the organization to analyse the effectiveness of various components, stages and tools required for putting the ideas into action and choose the appropriate one. Lack of effective communication of the options, to the other members of the organization will deprive the organization to get the best out of people, resources and methods. Ineffective planning and improper communication of the developed ideas will make the total efforts put in the problem solving process futile and ineffective. Any shortcoming in the planning and communication of the improvement actions prevent the problem solver to use practical tools to turn good ideas into powerful solutions to the problems. The problem solver may not be able to decide wisely on the application of different methods of implementing the solution and thereby the chances of making the problem solving process a success are greatly reduced. 7.0 Not 'Following Up' Implemented Actions by Checking for Effectiveness and Lessons Learned: Arriving at great solutions alone is not enough to get the desired improvements in the organisational effectiveness. A proper implementation and follow up of the actions for checking the effectiveness of such actions is a prerequisite for getting the desired result. Not doing this will have its impact on the organization in the following ways: Improper allocation of responsibilities to the organizational members leading to chaos in the functioning. Improper allocation of resources that may affect the profitability of the organization. Lack of motivation among those members who are otherwise capable of taking more responsibilities. Without a review of the actions it may be possible that the efforts of the members are being put in a wrong direction as the decisions and actions need to be changed according to changed business environments. It is important for the growth of an organization that all the methods and processes adopted for an effective problem solving are reviewed to ascertain whether they had produced the results as anticipated. This review is also important from the angle that if there is any necessity to make amendments or alterations in such methods due to changes in the circumstances surrounding the organization. If the methods employed or the solution identified is good enough with some minor improvements then the organization may decide to continue with it. In case there is any inconsistency with the methods a new process of problem solving must be started to replace the original ineffective one. Thus it must be understood that the review of the solutions is a continuous process and any stoppage of this process will result only in to the detriment to the growth of the organization. 8.0 Impact of Various Methods and Methodologies on the Problem Solving Process: The various steps involved in problem process may be summarized as below: 1. Identification of the problems 2. Generation of alternative ideas 3. Forming a hypothesis 4. Designing the analysis 5. Finding alternative solutions 6. Choosing the best solution 7. Implementation of the solution and 8. Evaluation of the results (Aleksandar Nedeljkovc) There are a wide variety of methods and methodologies available that can be used effectively in each of the above steps to make them meaningful as well as successful. Aleksandar Nedeljkovc states that "the problem-solving process should begin not just with facts that we get every day in our database but with flexible structure which we can use for different cases and different situations". The structuring of the information and data being collected with respect to various organizational issues is the main objective of the different methods and models developed for use in the different phases of the problem solving process. Methods like 'logic tree' enable the breaking of a complex problem in to groups smaller and simpler ones so that they can be solve individually. 'Brain Storming' and 'Six Thinking Hats' helps in the generation of new ideas in the problem solving process. 'Quick and Dirty Test (QDT) and 'Issue tree' find themselves useful in forming a hypothesis about the issue on hand. In the designing phase to analyse the external environment and the market segment models like PEST and Porter's five forces are being increasingly used. While SWOT analysis enables the company to identify its strengths and weaknesses, models like EFQM and BCG matrix contribute to the value creation of the organization. Thus the purpose of all these methods and methodologies is to strengthen the thinking process and arrive at a clear and logical path to the problem solving. 9.0 Conclusion: The most important point in any problem solving process is to understand the importance of having well motivated and efficient people. No amount of thinking and other efforts put in the selection and application of models and methodologies will produce the desired results in the problem solving process unless there exists a clear structure of the process and a clear and level headed thinking. Doing things inconsistent with the normal process like the ones commented upon in the report would only invalidate the problem solving process instead of providing an appropriate and workable solution to the problems considered. 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Brian Dorval 'Creative Problem Solving (CPS Version 6.1TM : A Contemporary Framework for Managing Change' Center for Creative Learning Inc http://www.cpsb.com/resources/downloads/public/CPSVersion61B.pdf Elliot, M.; Gray, B.; Lewicki, R.J. 2003 Lessons learned about the framing and reframing of intractable environmental conflicts. In: Lewicki, R.J.; Gray, B.;Elliot, M., eds. Making sense of intractable environmental conflicts: concepts and cases. Washington, DC: Island Press: 409-435. Kakoyannis, C. 2004. Learning to address complexity in natural resource management. Ph.D. dissertation Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University. 213 p. Kotter, J.P. 1995. Leading change: why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review. March-April: 59-67 Memphis Notes 'Problem Solving: Chapter 4' http://www.ce.memphis.edu/1101/notes/problem_solving/problem_solving_4.pdf. p 1-8 Posner, M.I. 1973. Cognition: an introduction. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. 208 p. Senge, P.M. 1990. The fifth discipline: the arts and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency Doubleday. 423 p. Wondolleck, J.M.; Yaffee, S.L. 2000 Making collaboration work: lessons from innovation in natural resource management Washington, DC: Island Press. 277 p. Read More