Problem Solving and Decision Making Part-1

          So a new lecture begins and we, all the more excited to learn a new concept. Dr. Mandi introduced the concept to us and suddenly everybody started concentrating with rapt attention, because the topic was: Problem Solving and Decision Making, something that each one of us fights against day in and day out, something that we all are in search of answers to. Dr. Mandi started out explaining us about the various aspects of Problem Solving and Decision Making.

a) Problem Solving:

          Now, unless we know that a problem exists we cannot convert it into an Opportunity. Hence, the first and the most important step in Problem Solving is Identifying the problem in the first place because if the problem is one and we are toiling hard to solve it assuming that it is something else wont bear any fruits. Accordingly, we use generic methods in an orderly manner, for finding solutions to problems. This forms the crux of the Problem Solving process.

          The next step of the Problem Solving process is to explore ideas and then select the most pertinent idea that will help us to solve the problem effectively. This leads us to another important aspect of management called Decision Making.

b) Decision Making:

          Decision Making is nothing but the process of the Selection of a course of action among several alternatives. And in the end, every Decision Making process produces a final choice.

The output can be an action or an opinion of choice. But Decisions can be made in two ways:

(a) Individually

(b) In a Group.

          Individual Decision making is extremely fast and simple. It depends on the structure of the organization. However, the basic problem with Individual Decision Making is that is tends to be partial. There can be severe bias in the process.

          Group Decision Making is a more organized and methodical process of solving problems than Individual Decision Making. This is because, in Group Decision Making, a problem is everyone's and not just of the one person who is making the decision. Hence, the group gets a variety of different perspectives on the problem and the probable solutions for the same. However, it is not without its share of flaws. Like, Group Decision Making is extremely Time- Consuming. There is also a very good chance of divergence in the group which can lead to too much time being wasted in arriving at the final course of action to be taken. Each individual thinks his suggestion is a better one and tries to defend it against other alternatives.

c) Job Design:

          Job Design is the process in which we decide the contents of a job. It helps in fixing the duties and responsibilities of the job, the methods of doing the job and the relationships between the job holder and his superiors, subordinates and colleagues.

          However, what we need to understand is that Job Design is different from Organizational Design. On one hand, Job Design is a Micro level process whereas on the other hand, Organizational Design is a Macro level process. How jobs are designed is very important and crucial to an organization. Jobs should lead to happiness and self-satisfaction which in turn must lead to high Productivity and better levels of Excellence. Significance can be improved by giving incentives and Incentives need not be money alone. It could be recognition from higher management (like a letter of Appreciation or a photo in the Annual Company magazine).

Primarily, Job design takes place by looking into the following five aspects:

1. Skill Variant – Is it Low, Medium or High?
2. Task Identity – Is there Low, No or High identity?
3. Task Significance –  Is the job least significant, most significant or of no significance at all?
4. Autonomy  –  Does the worker have autonomy?
5. Feedback – How quickly will feedback be given?

d) Group Cohesiveness:

          When talking about social groups, a group is said to be in a state of cohesion when its members possess bonds linking them to one another and to the group as a whole. Although cohesion is a multi-factored process, it can be broken down into the following 4 main components:

1. Social Relations
2. Task Relations 
3. Perceived Unity
4. Emotions

          Members of strong cohesive groups are more inclined to participate readily in the group’s activities and to stay with the group. The mental distances within the group shorten.

More about this in the second part of Problem Solving and Decision Making.