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What we do ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEM SOLVING Organizational problem solving is not just decision making. Finding & solving the RIGHT problems is key ! Deciding what to do when improving an organization is like the offense reaching the line of scrimmage in football. To make any progress and to score one must go further. The process of organizational problem solving can take a certain time. Unfortunately, busy executives often spend too little effort on the problem finding and formulation stages in their generally commendable but often misguided belief in the benefits of acting quickly and decisively. For example, the response to a drop in sales might yield the decision to develop an elaborate incentive system for the sales force. But the real problem might be caused by the poor pricing strategy or by administrative problems which create excessive delays in fulfilling an order. There are five main stages in the organizational problem solving process: 1.Finding the Problem 2.Formulating the Problem 3.Making the Choice of the Solution 4.Implementation of the Solution 5.Audit & Review of Results of the Implementation Organizational problem solving begins with the process of finding the problem. This is the most difficult stage because things are often not what they seem. What one sees as a problem depends on what ideas one has about organizations. Symptoms can both illuminate and mask underlying organizational problems. Finding the problem is a detective game in which the critical clue is sometimes obvious and other times subtle and intuitive, emerging only after a long process of search and elimination.
Don’t work on the wrong problems Organizational problems, once found, are generally obvious and self–evident but they do not appear so at the beginning. What one wants to avoid is called a Type III error; the error of working on the wrong problem. There are usually many problems but which are really critical? Problem Formulation This is a difficult one for you, because it always involves values which need to be surfaced and dealt with in order to create a shared understanding about what is going on and how to improve. Organizations have many stakeholders with differing objectives and values: » Stockholders seek greater dividends and profits. » Management wants control, wealth, and increased growth » Workers demand more security, pay, and health benefits » Government needs tax revenues produced by the organization » Bankers and creditors want to get repaid » Environmentalists may want the organization to invest more in pollution abatement » Suppliers want continued business » Customers demand more services, greater quality, and lower prices All of these competing values and objectives need to be factored in when formulating the problem to be solved. Making a decision This stage is relatively simple. When the two previous stages have been completed competently, the third stage involves selecting the best available alternative given the specific circumstances and constraints surrounding the problem. The new paradigm provides new insights for creating new solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. Implementing This involves implementation planning and the actual implementation of the solution as it is deployed throughout the organization. This is the stage during which the ''rubber meets the road''. There are always problems in the implementation of a solution designed to improve an organization. This is where grand sounding concepts and theories smash up against the rocks of reality. While attention to details is important, what matters is the match between the solutions and reality. The fourth stage done right, improves the shared understandings required for making significant progress in becoming and remaining well–organized. Audit and result review Monitoring the solution deployment actively against the stated objectives. Always, the audit and review stage produces facts and suggestions for improving some or all of the four earlier stages. It is always valuable to verify that solutions have, in fact, worked. Each of the five stages are interdependent and important. Bear in mind that implementation begins the day the organizational improvement process is started and not just when a solution has been agreed upon. How the assignment is approached, who has a say in the process, and the practitioner’s own deportment and character all that affects implementation. Clearly, the primary goal should be successful implementation which improves organizational effectiveness and the worth of the organization. The quality of the solution is generally less decisive than the process of reaching the solution and the way in which it is implemented. Of course, a quality solution is usually easier to implement because it is more acceptable. Another feature of organizational problem solving is that there are no final solutions. All solutions lead to new problems and then to new solutions. Organizational problem solving is an on–going process as long as the organization survives. Is your business well-organized for improvement and success? Our Practioner’s guide for Organizing an Organization is a powerful new model that takes into account: » Processes and people » it shows you how to identify the most pressing problems to solve » it’s an electronic assessment tool that is highly effective, easy to use, systematic and data-based and explains to you how to produce a better-organized organization. Do you have questions about your improvement project? Don't have the answers - don't know who to ask? It's FREE to ask our EXPERT TEAM Contact our Orlando office phone: 001 3214026128 we reply within 48 hours. or send us an email: info@theartofquality.com |