Ch 3 rob|em So|v|ng and Lth|cs

O 1he challenge of problem solvlng

4 9roblem solvlng ls Lyplcally found Lo be among Lhe mosL deflclenL skllls ln assessmenLs
of young managers
4 ,yLhs of problem solvlng
1aklng acLlon ls beLLer Lhan sLandlng by
1rusL your guL
know when #m maklng a poor declslon
ulvldlng an elephanL ln half produces Lwo small elephanLs
LLhlcs ls noL my problem
LLhlcal abuses are due Lo uneLhlcal people
O Why smarL people make bad declslons
4 llrsL lnsLlncL fallacy changlng your answer acLually beneflLed sLudenLs on exams more
Lhan flrsL answer
4 nLulLlon
Shouldn#L LoLally lgnore or focus on guL feellng
nLulLlon represenLs a collecLlon of whaL we#ve learned abouL Lhe world
wlLhouL knowlng we acLually learned lL
mporLanL Lo ldenLlfy lf lnLulLlon ls noL [usL a blases
Can lead Lo mlsLakes
O Ladder of lnference drawlng concluslon abouL someLhlng we know
O uon#L [ump Lo concluslons
O lundamenLal aLLrlbuLlon error error of aLLrlbuLlng cause Lo evenLs
explalnlng why Lhlngs occurred
4 9eople Lend Lo overaLLrlbuLe behavlor Lo lnLernal raLher Lhan
exLernal causes
4 ,osL llkely Lo conslder facLors llke personallLy eLhnlclLy
gender raLher Lhan a parLlcular slLuaLlon llke weaLher Lrafflc
eLc
O Selfservlng blas aLLrlbuLe personal successes Lo lnLernal causes and
personal fallures Lo exLernal causes
4 Pelps us keep a poslLlve selflmage of ourselves
O Slx ways people exerclse poor [udgmenL wlLhouL knowlng lL
4 !udgmenL error 1 avallablllLy
AvallablllLy blas wrong bellef LhaL we lnLerpreL Lhlngs LhaL are more readlly
avallable Lo us (more easlly broughL Lo mlnd) are more llkely Lo be frequenL or
lmporLanL
4 !udgmenL error 2 represenLaLlveness
9eople lgnore Lhe base raLe" or Lhe frequency of whlch people belong Lo cerLal
groups or caLegorles Lhe easlly made mlsLakerepresenLaLlve blasls LhaL
people pay more aLLenLlon Lo descrlpLors Lhey belleve Lo be more
represenLaLlve of Lhe person#s career cholce Lhan Lhe key base raLe lnformaLlon
LhaL leads Lo Lhe beLLer cholce
9eople#s mlsconcepLlons of chance
PasLy generallzaLlon fallacy people ofLen draw lnapproprlaLe general
concluslons from speclflc cases because Lhey do noL reallze (or Lhlnk you don#L
reallze) Lhelr speclflc example ls noL necessarlly so ln all or even mosL cases
O 1end Lo operaLe by law of small numbers we are wllllng Lo leap Lo
general concluslon afLer seelng or hearlng only one or Lwo examples
4 !udgmenL error 3 Anchorlng and Ad[usLmenL
9eople Lend Lo use lnlLlal sLarL values as a sLarLlng polnL and ad[usL Lhelr
esLlmaLes around LhaL sLarLlng value
mporLanL for negoLlaLlons
4 !udgmenL error 4 ConflrmaLlon
ConflrmaLlon blas people Lendency Lo collecL evldence LhaL supporLs raLher
Lhan negaLes our lnLulLlon before decldlng
4 !udgmenL error 3 overconfldence
Cverconfldence blas leads us Lo belleve we posses some unlque LralL or ablllLy
LhaL allows us Lo defy odds
AlLhough confldence ls good mosL of us overesLlmaLe Lhe Lrue probablllLy of
success
f glven feedback abouL overconfldence people usually lmprove Lhls Lhough
4 !udgmenL error 6 escalaLlon of commlLmenL
9eople are llkely Lo conLlnue Lo lnvesL addlLlonal resources (Llme money) ln
falllng courses of acLlon even Lhough no foreseeable payoff ls evldenL
uon#L wanL Lo admlL our orlglnal soluLlon was wrong
uon#L wanL Lo appear lnconslsLenL or llke Lhey#re glvlng up
O Cvercomlng [udgmenL blases
4 Pard Lo deLecL for yourself and reallze you have or are dolng Lhese blases
4 uefenses agalnsL Lhese blases confldence esLlmaLes Lrlal and error callbraLlon healLhy
skepLlclsm
4 Confldence esLlmaLes
1end Loward overconfldence ln our declslon maklng
ALLach an esLlmaLe of confldence Lo bellefs held by ourselves and oLhers
uangerous Lo rely on a slngle polnL beLLer Lo geL confldence lnLerval and a
range beLLer odds
4 1rlal and error callbraLlon
lor lmprovlng problem solvlng
n order Lo reduce fallure of Lomorrow need Lo learn from your successes and
fallures of Loday
8egular feedback and knowledge of resulLs helps us
AfLer geLLlng Lhls feedback recallbraLe Lhelr predlcLlons and process
WlLh every predlcLlon record Lhe reasons of predlcLlon Lrack Lhe resulLs and
sLudy success and fallures recallbraLe
A sLrlng of fallures does nC1 mean you are due for a successes or vlce versa
4 PealLhy skepLlclsm
8e prepared Lo challenge yourself and oLhers and seek ouL negaLlve or
dlsconflrmlng evldence
uon#L [ump Lo concluslons do noL assume a relaLlonshlp ls a cause record and
LesL declslon do noL base your concluslon only on your own experlence do noL
[usL look Lo supporL your case look for nonsupporLlng evldence do noL fall prey
Lo overconfldence geL confldence esLlmaLes/ranges
O Solvlng problems eLhlcally and effecLlvely
4 8ounded raLlonallLy our braln#s llmlLaLlons consLraln our Lhlnklng and reasonlng ablllLy
and lL#s lmposslble Lo conslder slmulLaneously all lnformaLlon relevanL Lo any
declslon/problem
4 SaLlsflclng comes from bounded raLlonallLy deLermlnlng Lhe mosL accepLable soluLlon
Lo a problem raLher Lhan an opLlmal one
4 9AuL problem alLernaLlves declde lmplemenL learn
O 9roblem Solvlng framework 9AuL
4 ueflne and sLrucLure Lhe problem
,ake sure you are worklng on Lhe correcL problem
8egln wlLh Lhe problem noL Lhe soluLlon
Common Lo sLarL wlLh soluLlon solvlng Lhe wrong problem preclsely" (,ake a
wlsh example)
O 9lcklng Lhe wrong sLakeholders problem solver falls Lo lnclude key
players
O lramlng Lhe problem Loo narrowly problem are ofLen larger Lhey may
aL flrsL appear
O lallure Lo Lhlnk sysLemlcally Lhlnk abouL [usL a parLlcular aspecL lnsLead
of Lhe enLlre blg plcLure of Lhe problem
O lallure Lo flnd Lhe facLs use efflclenL Lools for flndlng facLs lnsLead of
hasLy generallzaLlons wlLh unLesLed assumpLlons
Assess key sLakeholders
O no problem solvlng efforL ls compleLe wlLhouL an undersLandlng of Lhe
key sLakeholders
O SLakeholders anyone who has sLake ln Lhe problem or soluLlon
O 9roblem usually lmpacLs more people Lhan you Lhlnk
ueLermlnlng whom Lo lnvolve
O ulfflculL deLermlnlng who should be prlmarlly accounLable for solvlng
Lhe problem
O CeLLlng oLhers lnvolved does lead Lo beLLer declslons lL does noL mean
oLher should always make Lhe flnal declslon someLlmes besL Lo [usL
gaLher lnfo from oLher and make declslon as Lhe manager
O vroom and ?eLLon#s problem solvlng approache Lo help gauge Lhe
approprlaLe level of lnvolvemenL
4 ueclde consulL lndlvldually consulL group faclllLaLe group
delegaLe Lo group
4 1o declde whlch one ls besL look aL
ueclslon slgnlflcance slgnlflcance of declslon Lo success
of organlzaLlon
mporLance of commlLmenL lmporLanL of employee
commlLmenL Lo declslon
Leader#s experLlse manager#s knowledge abouL Lhe
problem
Llkellhood of commlLmenL llkellhood employees wlll
supporL manager#s declslon
Croup supporL degree employee#s supporL
organlzaLlon#s sLake ln Lhe problem
Croup experLlse degree employees has knowledge of
Lhe problem
Croup compeLence employee#s ablllLles Lo solve Lhe
problem
lramlng Lhe problem correcLly
O 1he way a problem ls sLaLed deLermlnes Lhe quanLlLy and quallLy of
soluLlons generaLed
O Pave Lendency Lo Lry Lo [ump a poLenLlal soluLlon as Lhe problem
O 8lack or whlLe fallacy assumes our cholces are clear and llmlLed Lo Lwo
when ln reallLy Lhere may be many oLher cholces
4 9eople#s Lendency Lo sLaLe problems ln elLheror" Lerms
1hlnklng sysLemlcally
O SysLem a percelved whole whose elemenLs hang LogeLher" because
Lhey conLlnually affecL each oLher over Llme and operaLe Loward a
common purpose
O SysLemlc sLrucLure a paLLern of lnLerrelaLlonshlps among Lhe sysLem
componenLs
O SysLems always have much more vlslble Lhan Lhelr underlylng sysLemlc
sLrucLure yeL Lhe sLrucLure ls whaL holds lL
O 9roblems are llke lcebergs some Lhlngs are seen and oLhers are
underwaLer and unclear
O mporLanL Lo flnd real problem ln order Lo solve lL
O ,enLal modes Lhe prevalllng assumpLlons bellefs and values LhaL
susLaln currenL sysLems
4 need Lo brlng Lhese Lo Lhe surface or challenge
O nqulry skllls how Lo ask Lhe rlghL quesLlons abouL a problem
1ools for undersLandlng Lhe problem scope
O Some problems are deflned and oLhers are broad
O mporLanL Lo deLermlne boundarles of Lhe problem
4 ueLermlne whaL Lruly ls Lhe problem
O Come up wlLh alLernaLlves
4 Pavlng sLakeholders Lo Lhls can be helpful
AfflnlLy dlagram
O dea generaLlon meLhod LhaL allows you Lo sorL Lhe ma[or aspecLs of Lhe
problem lnLo Lhemes or caLegorles
O CaLegorles help you begln Lo gaLher oLher daLa abouL Lhe problem and
alLernaLlves
O llrsL wrlLe Lhe problem sLaLemenL and begln llsLlng posslble causes
O LlsLen any posslblllLles
O Look for Lhe besL ldea slmllarlLles
s/s noL
O ueflne whaL aspecLs of your problem ls and whaL parLs are noL parL of
Lhe problem
O WrlLe problem sLaLemenL
O uraw a ls and ls noL column and llsL
O Analyze and answer whaL ls Lhe crux of Lhe problem and whaL ls noL Lhe
hearL of Lhe problem
Craphlc dlsplays
O PlsLogram a bar charL dlsplays of daLe caLegorles
O Craphlng can help ldenLlfy Lhe lssue vlsually
O 8C1 charL (behavlor over Llme) Lracks an ouLcome over a perlod of Llme
4 CeneraLe creaLlve alLernaLlves
CeneraLlng mulLlple alLernaLlves Lo problems resulLs ln hlgher quallLy soluLlons
key ls Lo generaLe as many as posslble
8ralnsLormlng
O Pave faclllLaLor Lo gulde Lhese sesslons
4 uefer [udgmenL
4 8ulld on Lhe ldeas of oLhers
4 Lncourage wlld ldeas
4 Co for quanLlLy
4 8e vlsual and audlLory
4 SLay focused on Lhe Loplc
4 Cne conversaLlon aL a Llme
8ralnwrlLlng
O Slnce [udgmenL eLc can occur durlng bralnsLormlng new ldea where
people wrlLe down everyLhlng before meeLlng
O ulverslLy parLlclpanLs
4 9eople bralnsLormlng should be a dlverse group of knowledge
O use meLaphors and analogles
O 9erformance sLandards and feedback
4 SeL hlgh performance sLandards as long as Lhey are noL
lmposslble
4 SLop everyone once and a whlle and glve feedback Lo ldeas
O Assume a perfecL world
4 LeL people assume no consLrlanLs
8enchmarklng
O go and vlslL (llLerally/flguraLlvely) oLher organlzaLlons LhoughL Lo have
successfully solved a slmllar problem
O ,osL effecLlve for generaLlng ldeas when managers vlslL organlzaLlons
LhaL speclallze ln Lhe parLlcular problem area
O s good meLhod buL hardly foolproof
O Cood alLernaLlves
4 9osLponed evaluaLlon all alLernaLlves were [usL poLenLlal
alLernaLlves
4 SLakeholder lnvolvemenL rlghL mlx of people had opporLunlLy
Lo look aL lL
4 CrganlzaLlonal focus conslsLenL wlLh Lhe goals of organlzaLlon
4 1lme lmpllcaLlons noL qulck flxes buL real soluLlons LhaL focus
on shorL and long Lerm
4 LffecLlve address acLual problem
4 uecldlng on a soluLlon
AfLer alLernaLlve generaLed collecL lnformaLlon abouL Lhem
O CosL who ls lnvolved Llme eLc
When collecLlng lmporLanL Lo noL collecL Loo llLLle and make a qulck declslon
buL also noL so much LhaL you can#L move forward and are sLuck collecLlng
1ry your besL Lo seek ouL some crlLlcal lLems and Lhen make a declslon
narrowlng alLernaLlve Lools
O narrowlng down your cholces can help Lhe process of decldlng
O mporLanL Lo declde whaL crlLerla ls besL for narrowlng down
AlLernaLlve Lable
O LlsL all relevanL crlLerla ln a Lable
WelghLed ranklng
O LlsL crlLerla and welghL based on mosL lmporLanL
O ,ulLlply rank and alLernaLlve hlghesL number ls wlnner
9aralyzed by cholces
O LqulflnallLy a condlLlon ln whlch dlfferenL lnlLlal condlLlons lead Lo
slmllar effecLs
4 SomeLlmes Lhe besL way Lo solve a problem ls Lo [usL selecL any
one of your flnal soluLlons wlll [ump sLarL your problem solvlng
Wlll llkely flgure ouL lf noL Lhe besL one ln Lhe process lf
lL lsn#L
O uevll#s advocaLe
4 sLarL by clearlng arLlculaLlng Lhe problem and your favored
alLernaLlve soluLlon
4 have someone else Lhere Lo challenge Lhe ldea crlLlque lL
quesLlon lL
O should be able Lo explaln soluLlon ln 30 seconds
4 sLaLe Lhe problem
4 reason
4 soluLlon
4 ouLcome
make Lhe declslon
O all declslons requlre Lradeoffs you can#L do everyLhlng
O rlsk appears ln dread (no conLrol) unknown (consequences are
unknown)
O people are more llkely Lo vlew poslLlve ouLcomes Lhan negaLlve ones
4 mplemenL
nvolves oLhers sLakeholders
Small wlns spllLLlng an lmplemenLaLlon plan ln Lo many sLeps
,ay flnd soluLlon ls bad dlfflculL or oLher problems sLop lf Lhls happens and
reLurn Lo beglnnlng of process
4 Learn and seek feedback
Successful people vlew Lhelr fallures as an opporLunlLy Lo learn or Lo have a
producLlve fallure"
Ask Lhose LhaL are connecLed Lo Lhe problem you solved (cusLomers employees
sLakeholders) and see
O LLhlcs maklng Lhe Louch cholces
4 ,any managers Lhlnk uneLhlcal behavlor ls rlghL when lL was Lo geL [ob done was
necessary eLc
4 1o be eLhlcal requlres an eLhlcal commlLmenL your level of dedlcaLlon or deslre Lo do
whaL ls rlghL even ln Lhe face of poLenLlally harmful personal repercusslons
4 LLhlcal consclousness develop an ablllLy Lo undersLand Lhe ramlflcaLlons of chooslng
less eLhlcal courses of acLlon
4 LLhlcal compeLency a LhoughLful conslderaLlon of eLhlcs ln each sLage of Lhe problem
solvlng process
4 8ecognlzlng eLhlcal lssues
,ore of an lssue comes from rlghL vs rlghL
O 1ruLh vs loyalLy
O ndlvldual vs communlLy
O ShorLLerm vs longLerm
O !usLlce vs mercy
4 lalrness ln declslonmaklng
When [udglng eLhlcal naLure of declslons look aL economlcs equallLy and
[usLlce
Lconomlcs
O Supply and demand?
LquallLy
O s falr eLhlcal?
!usLlce
O 1hree forms dlsLrlbuLlve procedural and lnLeracLlonal
O ulsLrlbuLlve [usLlce based on ouLcomes
O 9rocedural [usLlce based on Lhe process
O nLeracLlonal [usLlce based on Lhe personal LreaLmenL
4 ,oral lnLenslLy
Puman blases lead Lo poor [udgmenL lncludlng ln eLhlc lssues
,oral lnLenslLy Lhe conLexL or slLuaLlon of how an eLhlcal dllemma ls percelved
leads people Lo endorse eLhlcal/uneLhlcal
Slx ways lssues are percelved as more or less eLhlcal
O ,agnlLude of consequences sum of cosLbeneflL Lo Lhe ob[ecL of Lhe
acLlon ln quesLlon
O Soclal consensus of evll/good amounL of soclal agreemenL Loward Lhe
acLlon
O 9robablllLy of harm/beneflL llkellhood LhaL Lhe acL ln quesLlon wlll
happen and produce harm/beneflL
O 1emporal lmmedlacy Llme beLween Lhe acL and Lhe onseL of
consequences
O 9roxlmlLy feellng of nearness Lo Lhe ob[ecL of Lhe acLlon
O ConcenLraLlon of effecL magnlLude of Lhe acLlon on Lhose lnvolved
4 ,aklng Lhe Louch cholces
uownslzlng (LermlnaLlng large numbers of employees Lo recapLure losses or geL
galns) does noL work
When maklng a Lough cholce learn Lo lmprove moral lmaglnaLlon Lhe ablllLy Lo
sLep ouL of your slLuaLlon and see Lhe posslble eLhlcal problems presenL and
lmaglne Lhe posslblllLles and evaluaLe Lhem
4 8aLlonallzaLlons and eLhlcal Lraps
,osL common raLlonallzaLlons for uneLhlcal behavlor
O L lL#s legal lL#s eLhlcal
O was only Lrylng Lo help
O Lveryone else does lL
O L#s owed Lo me
O As long as don#L galn
4 need Lo analyze lf lL#s legal falr ln llne wlLh your values and lf oLhers wlll be negaLlvely
lmpacLed
4 CLher checks for eLhlcs
Wall sLreeL [ournal LesL ok wlLh on fronL of WS!?
9laLlnum rule LesL LreaLlng oLhers Lhe way you wanL Lo be LreaLed?
,om LesL proud Lo Lell your moLher?
9ersona galn LesL are you personally galnlng?
CosLbeneflL LesL conslder all lmpacLs especlally negaLlve ones