Problem Solving And Decision Making

Why is it important to consider the process of problem solving and decision making? Why can't a person simply hear of an issue and pick the first solution that comes into his/her head? Problems arise continuously both in and out of the workplace. A person can make a snap decision without too much consideration of the problem. In some cases an incorrect decision will not have a drastic effect on their lives, but sometimes a quick decision without careful analysis can be disastrous for themselves and for others. Problem solving and decision making skills can be beneficial to all people in all walks of life as a way of minimising negative consequences and creating a positive, practical outcome. As your skills increase, the more competent and dexterous you will become. You will spend less time explaining why things went wrong and more time basking in praise from those around you!

I once worked for a manager who continuously made quick decisions without any analysis or consideration of the problems he was attempting to solve. The manager would often be too busy to properly examine the issues or the solutions and would simply attempt to implement the first solution that came to his head. He never gained a firm grasp on the problems within his team and solutions were often inadequate and caused more problems than they solved. He never considered the process of problem solving or risk analysis and was therefore often unsuccessful in his endeavours.

Another office often used short-term workarounds to solve problems on a temporary basis rather than taking the time to take to investigate the problems and find a permanent solution. The problem with this approach is that they never found the time to schedule long-term solutions and further 'quick fixes' were put in place based on previous temporary solutions. This led to bad quality products and services where the clients were often let down. This company is no longer in business. It is acceptable to solve an immediate problem with a short-term workaround provided you make the investigation for the long-term solution high priority. If you continue using short-term workarounds then you will have a shaky foundation for any future projects.

You should therefore never underestimate the importance of in-depth problem solving. Following a process will give you a basis for an informed decision. You will be able to look back and justify your reasoning. To begin this process it is necessary to properly define the problem. When issues arise, attempt to break them down to find out what the underlying problem is. Do not be tempted to try and solve the problem before you are fully aware of what the problem is. Once this has been identified look at why the problem exists. List all the possible causes, as this will assist you when considering the best solution. Be aware of the people who are affected by the problem. It could be one person, but more likely a problem will affect many people and therefore any solution you implement will affect them also. Since the solution will involve some sort of change, all appropriate people must be informed. You can not expect a solution to be effective unless your staff are aware of how and why the solution works.

Once the problem has been thoroughly analysed, you must begin the process of finding a solution. I have found that the most useful tool in this process is the brainstorming session and resulting spider graph. Bring those involved into a meeting and encourage them to call out possible solutions in a supportive atmosphere. This will generate ideas and discussion and give everyone a change to voice their opinions and ideas. People are more likely to accept a solution even if they did initiate it, if they feel their own ideas have been considered.

Once you have all possible solutions gathered, complete a risk analysis on each one. Look at a solution objectively and question the possible effects of its implementation. It may solve one problem, but will it generate any other issues? For example, if a school has a problem of space and one solution is to halve the class size for a particular year, this would solve the problem. This solution would however generate other problems such as reduced funding, a damage in the reputation of the school, the problem of which children to remove etc. It is far better for you to think of all possible risks and negative associations of a solution yourself rather than being surprised after the solution is in place. A 'tell them before they tell you' policy is always best or you will look incompetent and uninformed. If you are aware of a negative consequence you can at least attempt to minimise it. One way to do this is by a simple pro and con list for each solution. It may not be enough to pick the solution with the fewest cons. If one solution has a con such as losing a company a lot of money, but another solution has four minor cons, it would still be appropriate to pick the solution with more cons. Grade the pros and cons with a level of importance to manage their value.

You should now be in a position to make an informed decision about which solution will solve your problem most effectively. When you have made this decision and implemented the solution, continue to evaluate how effective the solution was. No matter how thorough your analysis, there will often be unexpected variables that can affect your solution adversely. This should not be seen as a negative event since every problem can generate a solution and a learning experience. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes. The next time you implement your problem solving and decision making skills you will have learned from your previous mistakes and will improve and develop the process. When looking at a problem it is important not to simply place blame on a particular person. This can cause problems within a team for all members. Other employees may be quick to agree for the current situation and future problems since it takes the emphasis off them, especially if they know you are likely to blame individuals. For future issues, you are less likely to get an honest response from your staff about how issues arise if they see you blame an individual.

Hopefully this will give you a basic outline for problem solving and decision making, but remember that it does not necessarily need to take a long time to complete. The purpose of this process is not to drag things out or generate extra paper work. The aim is to allow people involved to understand the problem and create effective, efficient solutions that truly work. When looking at the long term, the time taken to complete this process if far more efficient than taking extra time later to undo inadequate solutions or try out several solutions since the first one does not solve the problem.