PROBLEM SOLVING

Instructor: Mahwish Naz

 t i s
h a
W

It is a mental process.

It is part of larger problem process that includes PROBLEM

FINDING and PROBLEM SHAPING.
 Types of Problem:

Well defined problem:

• All information is given and clear for e.g. puzzle

crosswords etc

Ill defined problems:

• No appropriate information is available for e.g.

selecting profession__>best strategy__>purpose or
goal
 Decision making> problem solving

Types of Givens: initial condition of the problem

information:

Operations: various actions you apply

Goals: end solution or result always defined at

beginning of the given.
Problem state: in process to sort out (different
possible solutions)
Solution: all resolved, goal achieved.
 6
Problem
Definition.

ST
EP
Analyze the

S
problem

iN
PR
Generating
possible

O
Solutions.

BL
EM
Analyzing
the solution

SO
Selecting the

LV
best Solution
(s).

IN
G
Implement
the problem-
solution
 1:Problem Definition
Define the problem

You need to decide what you want to achieve and write it down.

Write down the problem forces you to think about what you are actually trying to
solve and how much you want to achieve. involves comparing your current state to
the future state you want to be in and to identify the gaps between them.

In this step it is also checked that you are answering the right problem.
 2- Problem Analysis.
“What are the facts and circumstances that frame this
problem?"

The five-why analysis is a tool that’ll help you get to the

heart of the problem. (Who, what, when, where, why)

It is often to check where we are, what is the current

situation, what is involved in making it a problem, is it
really a problem etc
After investigation it is often good to go back one step to
reconfirm that your problem definition is still valid.
 3- Generating possible Solutions.
“What are our most plausible three or four options?“

At this stage you should concentrate on generating

many solutions and should not evaluate them at all.

Brainstorm creatively – ask lots of questions about the

who, what, where, when, and how of the causes to
point to various possibilities.
 4- Analysing the Solutions.
"What is our best course of action, all things considered?"

Note down the good and bad points and other things which are relevant to
each solution. You could do this by rating each possible solution you came
up with in step 3 according to criteria such as how effective it will be, how
much time or effort it will take, its cost, and how likely it is to satisfy.

Even at this stage you are not evaluating the solution because if you do so
then you could decide not to write down the valid good points about it
because overall you think it will not work.
 5-Selecting the best Solution (s).
This is the section where you look through the various
influencing factors for each possible solution and decide which
solutions to keep and which to disregard.

Sometimes pure facts and figures dictate which ideas will work
and which will not.

By voting for the solutions you will end up with a shortlist of

potential solutions. You may want to increase the depth in the
analysis of each idea and vote again on that shortlist to further
refine your shortlist.
You will then end up with one, many or no viable solutions.

In the case where you have no solutions that work, you will need to repeat
the generation of solutions section to discover more potential solutions.

Alternatively you might consider re-evaluating the problem again as

sometimes you may not find a solution because the problem definition is not
well defined or self-contradictory.
In other situations, it will be purely feelings and intuition that decides.

You also create a second plan in case of unpredictable circumstances so that if

anything goes wrong with your plan, you have a “plan B” in place.
 6- Implement the problem-solution
“Okay, let’s look at it again. What did we miss?"

Write down what you are going to do next.

Now that you have a potential solution or solutions you

need to decide how you will make the solution happen.
Execute the solution that you have chosen as the best
solution
This is the logical step to physically solving the problem.
 Decision Making Styles
Decision-
making is
the process There are three basic styles of decision making:
of
identifying
and
choosing
alternatives
based on the
values, Reflexive Reflective Consistent
preferences decision decision decision
and beliefs style style style
of the
decision-
maker.
 Decision making styles:
1. Reflexive style:
• It is a person who thinks fast and makes quick decisions
without getting all the information he needs or giving too
much thought to the alternatives.

2. Reflective style:
• reflective decision maker is one who takes long time and
analyses the situation before making a decision.

3. Consistent style:
• Balance between reflexive and reflective decision making is
in reasonable time.

If your decision making style is
analytic, you probably enjoy
solving problems and puzzles.
They are adaptable and can
function well even under
unique or challenging
situations. Unfortunately, this
style of decision making can be
very slow and time consuming.
4. Analytic Style
An analytic style decision
maker is innovative and likes to
analyze large amounts of data
before making a decision.
An analytic decision maker
wants to use direct observation,
data, and facts when coming to
a decision. They also tend to
want to control every aspect of
the process.
 5. Conceptual Style

A
conceptual
They are
Conceptual style
They are achievemen
style decision
extremely t oriented
decision maker will
creative and and like to
makers like take risks
like to look think far
to look at and try to
for solutions into the
problems make
that are future when
from an decisions
outside the making
artistic that take a
box. important
angle. broad vision
decisions.
in problem
solving.
 6.Behavioral Style
People who use a behavioral decision making style are
very interested in making sure that everyone works well
together and avoids conflict.

They are very persuasive talkers and are good at getting

people to see things their way.

Behavioral decision makers like working with a group.

Together they attempt to reconcile differences and
negotiate a solution that is acceptable to all parties.
 leadership styles:

A leadership style refers to a leader's characteristic behaviors

when directing, motivating, guiding, and managing groups of
people. Great leaders can inspire political movements and social
change. They can also motivate others to perform, create, and
innovate There are four types of styles:

Autocratic Consultative Participative Laissez-faire

Styles Styles Styles Styles
 1. Autocratic:

leadership style keeps strict, close control over

followers by keeping close regulation of policies and
procedures given to followers.

When leader tell the group members what they want to

done and how they want it accomplished, without
getting the advice of the other

Leader make decision independently

 2. Consultative:

Consultative leadership is Usually [not always] accepts

basically task oriented and ideas and thoughts from the
always focuses on the end team even when it contradicts
result by using the skills of with his own and Pays more
others in formulating plans attention in stimulating
and taking decisions.  creativity and innovation.
 2. Consultative:
The leader shares the problem with the relevant team
members individually getting their ideas and suggestions
without bringing them together as a group

You ask your team for information that would be helpful

and for their opinions, either individually or as a group,
but you make the final decision

Then the leader makes the decision that may reflect

team member influence
 3. Participative:

participative team leadership can be viewed as a style that depends on

the leader functioning as a facilitator and not a dictator to issue orders
and get things done.

Participative leadership in its most effective form will let the talents and
potential skills of the team members to be made the best use of
particularly when arriving at decisions and taking the right course of
action.

The final decision will always be taken by the leader. 

 3. Participative:
You pull your team together to discuss the situation and decide as a
team. You facilitate their reaching consensus, where everyone agrees to
support the decision. As a member of the group, you must be willing to
support the decision as well.

It is the leadership style in which the leader involves subordinate in goal-

setting, problem solving and team building etc

But retains the final decision making authority

 4.  laissez faire:

leadership style is where all the rights and power to make

decisions is fully given to the worker

It is non authoritarian leadership style.

The leader try to give least possible guidance to subordinates

and try to achieve control through less obvious means.

They believe that people excel when they are left alone to
respond to their responsibilities
Individual and group activities
 Advantages and disadvantages in group activities
• In handout (
Chapter 1 Problem Solving Hand out.docx )
Factors that Affect Problem-
Solving Activities
 Problem solving entails
perceiving and resolving a gap
between a Present situation
and a desired goal by tackling
the known or unknown The ability to solve problems
obstacles that block the goal. however depends on many factors.
 1. Personality Types

Carl Jung’s personality types and mental

processes of sensing, intuiting, thinking, and
feeling to decision-making preferences.
• Individuals preferring introversion take time to think and
clarify their ideas before acting, while those preferring
extroversion talk through their ideas to clarify them before
acting.
• Introverts remain concerned with their own understanding
of important concepts and ideas, whereas extroverts seek
feedback from the environment.
Sensing individuals considers facts, details, and reality when making decisions to solve
problems.

Intuitive individuals try to understand the meaningfulness of the facts, the

relationships among the facts, and the possibilities of future events that can be
imagined from these facts to make decisions, and usually develop new, original
solutions.

Thinking individuals tend to use logic and objective analysis during problem solving,
and

Feeling individuals tend to veer toward subjective considerations of values and feelings
in the problem-solving process.

Perceiving individuals approach problems as they emerge, and they prefer flexibility
and adaptability. Feel energized by last minute pressures.

Judging individuals people usually live life in planned and organized manner and enjoy
coming to closure. Avoid stressful last minutes rushes.
 2. Temperament
The ability of a person to
solve problems depends
on both personality type
High-risk takers who
and temperament.
usually find themselves
People motivated
in more problems
toward a goal or those
generally tend to be
who are high achievers,
more adept in solving
take that extra effort and
problems, also.
initiative to find the root
cause of problems and
solve it. A far bigger personality
dimension, however, lies
in the positive treatment
Others go by the routine of the problem, or
procedure and do the considering it as an
minimum required. opportunity to learn
new things. A negatively
charged problem
impedes solution.
 3. Thinking Patterns

Another of the major factors that affect problem-solving activities includes the
thought processes or thinking patterns of the concerned individual.

The major thought process dimensions include:

Emotional thinking or Realistic thinking or the Empirical thinking or

Strategic thinking or a
judging whether a approach of starting from judging whether the
bigger long-term focus
solution is right or wrong what can be done and situation is right or wrong
 instead of short-term
based on emotional fixing the essential based on past
departmental focus.
commitment. problem first. experiences.
 Besides such dimensions, the
ability to think systematically
through a rational process,
such as systems things,
Problem solvers need to
thought and effect process,
choose the appropriate
and contingent thinking, and
thinking pattern based on
the ability to forge
the situation.
hypothesis improves the
thinking processes.
 4. Skills and Technical
Competency

The ability to solve a problem depends greatly on the person’s competency relative to
the problem in hand. For instance, a team leader skilled in computer networking might
be able to manage a network failure, create ad hoc procedures until the systems are
restored, or effectively direct the recovery by functional experts.

A team leader with no clue on networking would remain totally at sea and
at the mercy of the functional experts.

At times problem-solving requires creativity and innovation, which again

depends on the personality and temperament of the person, and the culture of
the organization.
 5. External Environment

The external environment  of an organization remains the root cause of many
problems in a project, and the solution depends on the external environment itself.

For instance, availability of skilled manpower depends on the labor market, running
of machinery  depends on the provision of energy by the utility provider, and starting
operations depends on compliance with the procedures to securing the necessary
permits.

The best approach to problem solving is having a good understanding of the state of
the external environment to reconcile the business operations with the external
environment.

A business cannot control or alter the external environment. It can only harness it to
its advantage. In this realization lies the key to solving most problems.
THANK YOU