Ogn 117 2021 Problem Solving

Problem solving
• Problem solving is all about using logic, as well as imagination, to make sense of a situation
and come up with an intelligent solution. In fact, the best problem solvers actively
anticipate potential future problems and act to prevent them or to mitigate their effects.
• Problem-solving abilities are connected to a number of other skills, including:
1) analytical skills
2) innovative and creative thinking
3) a lateral mindset
4) adaptability and flexibility
5) level-headedness
6) Initiative
7) resilience (in order to reassess when your first idea doesn’t work)
8) teamworking (if problem solving is a team effort)
9) influencing skills (to get colleagues, clients and bosses to adopt your solutions).
 Identifying a problem is often the kernel for a new business or product idea – and, as such,
problem solving is an essential ingredient of entrepreneurialism. It is also a key component
of good leadership.
Purpose of using problem solving techniques?
• Problem-solving is important both to individuals and organizations because it enables us to exert control over our
environment.
1. Fixing things that are broken: Some things wear out and break over time, others are flawed from day-1. Personal
and business environments are full of things, activities, interactions and processes that are broken or not operating
in the way they are desired to work. Problem-solving gives us a mechanism for identifying these things, figuring out
why they are broken and determining a course of action to fix them.
2. Addressing risk: Humans have learned to identify trends and developed an awareness of cause-and-effect
relationships in their environment. These skills not only enable us to fix things when they break but also anticipate
what may happen in the future (based on past-experience and current events). Problem-solving can be applied to
the anticipated future events and used to enable action in the present to influence the likelihood of the event
occurring and/or alter the impact if the event does occur.
3. Improving performance: Individuals and organizations do not exist in isolation in the environment. There is a
complex and ever-changing web of relationships that exist and as a result, the actions of one person will often have
either a direct impact on others or an indirect impact by changing the environment dynamics. These
interdependencies enable humans to work together to solve more complex problems but they also create a force
that requires everyone to continuously improve performance to adapt to improvements by others. Problem-solving
helps us understand relationships and implement the changes and improvements needed to compete and survive in
a continually changing environment.
4. Seizing opportunity: Problem solving isn’t just about responding to (and fixing) the environment that exists today. It
is also about innovating, creating new things and changing the environment to be more desirable. Problem-solving
enables us to identify and exploit opportunities in the environment and exert (some level of) control over the
future.
5. Build confidence
How will someone assess your problem-solving skills?
• Your problem-solving abilities can be assessed:

i. by asking for examples of times when you
previously solved a problem;
ii. by presenting you with certain hypothetical
situations and asking how you would respond
to them
iii. by seeing how you apply your problem-solving
skills to different tests and exercises.i.e case
study
Barriers to Effective Problem Solving
• Learning how to effectively solve problems is difficult and takes time

and continual adaptation. There are several common barriers to
successful CPS, including:
1) Confirmation Bias: The tendency to only search for or interpret
information that confirms a person’s existing ideas. People
misinterpret or disregard data that doesn’t align with their beliefs.
2) Mental Set: People’s inclination to solve problems using the same
tactics they have used to solve problems in the past. While this can
sometimes be a useful strategy (see Analogical Thinking in a later
section), it often limits inventiveness and creativity.
3) Functional Fixedness: This is another form of narrow thinking,
where people become “stuck” thinking in a certain way and are
unable to be flexible or change perspective.
Cont.
4. Unnecessary Constraints: When people are overwhelmed with a problem, they can
invent and impose additional limits on solution avenues. To avoid doing this, maintain
a structured, level-headed approach to evaluating causes, effects, and potential
solutions.
5. Groupthink: Be wary of the tendency for group members to agree with each other —
this might be out of conflict avoidance, path of least resistance, or fear of speaking
up. While this agreeableness might make meetings run smoothly, it can actually stunt
creativity and idea generation, therefore limiting the success of your chosen solution.
6. Irrelevant Information: The tendency to pile on multiple problems and factors that
may not even be related to the challenge at hand. This can cloud the team’s ability to
find direct, targeted solutions.
7. Paradigm Blindness: This is found in people who are unwilling to adapt or change
their worldview, outlook on a particular problem, or typical way of processing
information. This can erode the effectiveness of problem solving techniques because
they are not aware of the narrowness of their thinking, and therefore cannot think or
act outside of their comfort zone.
4. Evaluate the options.
• What are the pluses and minuses? Honestly!
• Separate the evaluation of options from the selection of options.
5. Select an option or options.
• What's the best option, in the balance?
• Is there a way to "bundle" a number of options together for a more
satisfactory solution?
6. Document the agreement(s).
• Don't rely on memory.
• Writing it down will help you think through all the details and implications.
7. Agree on contingencies, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Conditions may change. Make contingency agreements about foreseeable
future circumstances (If-then!).
• How will you monitor compliance and follow-through?
Seven-steps for an effective problem-
solving process
1. Identify the issues.
• Be clear about what the problem is.
• Remember that different people might have different views of what the issues are.
• Separate the listing of issues from the identification of interests (that's the next step!).
2. Understand everyone's interests.
• This is a critical step that is usually missing.
• Interests are the needs that you want satisfied by any given solution. We often ignore our
true interests as we become attached to one particular solution.
• The best solution is the one that satisfies everyone's interests.
• This is the time for active listening. Put down your differences for awhile and listen to each
other with the intention to understand.
• Separate the naming of interests from the listing of solutions.
3. List the possible solutions (options)
• This is the time to do some brainstorming. There may be lots of room for creativity.
• Separate the listing of options from the evaluation of the options.
End
• Create opportunities to evaluate the agreements and their implementation. ("Let's try it
this way for three months and then look at it.")
• Effective problem solving does take some time and attention more of the latter than the
former. But less time and attention than is required by a problem not well solved. What
it really takes is a willingness to slow down. A problem is like a curve in the road. Take it
right and you'll find yourself in good shape for the straightaway that follows. Take it too
fast and you may not be in as good shape.
• Working through this process is not always a strictly linear exercise. You may have to
cycle back to an earlier step. For example, if you're having trouble selecting an option,
you may have to go back to thinking about the interests.
• This process can be used in a large group, between two people, or by one person who is
faced with a difficult decision. The more difficult and important the problem, the more
helpful and necessary it is to use a disciplined process. If you're just trying to decide
where to go out for lunch, you probably don't need to go through these seven steps!
• Don't worry if it feels a bit unfamiliar and uncomfortable at first. You'll have lots of
opportunities to practice.

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Problem solving

• Your problem-solving abilities can be assessed:

• Learning how to effectively solve problems is difficult and takes time

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