#Problems of problem solving - By SN Panigrahi,
Essenpee Business Solutions,
Definition of Business Problem,
Organizational Problems - Root Causes,
Problems of Problem Solving,
10. 10
Often an apparent lack of problems can mean that the “fat” in your business in the form
of Inefficiencies & Ineffectiveness are built up in the business un-noticed.
For Example inventory, long lead times and excess labour and overhead can cover up
everyday problems and deny you the opportunity to find and fix these issues.
Big inventory buffers might mean that the poor reliability of a key process does not get
noticed because the business never runs out of stock, or worse, excess inventory will be
held as “insurance” against poor machine reliability.
Excess labour can also hide quality and product design problems as operators spend
their “spare” non-value added time reworking product.
It is important that problem-solving is a routine process in your business and not just a
one-off event.
11. 11
Growing businesses face a range of challenges. As a business grows, different problems and
opportunities demand different solutions.
Every Organization invariably Encounters one or the other Problem which may find its Roots
from
➢ Absence of Clear Direction from Top Management or Lack of Leadership ability
➢ Lack of Organizational Alignment
➢ Failure to Develop Key Competencies
➢ Poor Communication Processes
➢ Lack of Awareness
➢ Development & Strategic Issues
➢ Interpersonal & Cultural
➢ Operational
➢ Safety & Environmental
➢ People & Performance Related
Some of these problems are obviously more severe or complex than others.
12. Failure to Develop Key
Competencies
Lack of Awareness & Poor
Communication Processes
Operational Issues
Absence of Clear Direction
from Top Management
Lack of Leadership ability
Lack of Organizational
Alignment
Development & Strategic
Ailment
Interpersonal & Cultural
Dogma
People & Performance
Related
Every Organization invariably
Encounters one or the other Problem
which may find its Roots Broadly from
……..
13. 13
Businesses either Fail or Prosper depends on how well they Identify the
Problem Early and Address or Resolve the Problem.
“Problems are Good” as they give us opportunities to improve. Most of us
react negatively to problems when they take us by surprise. Our first
impressions often define our reactions to problem in a negative light on how to
Avoid or Mitigate the Problem.
Problems are Unavoidable – Majority of them are caused by External Factors
beyond your Control - the Impact and Intensity of the problems are however
Variable and depends on Situations.
If you can Learn to Accept Problems as a Normal, Regular, and Completely
Unavoidable part of Business, you’ll take your first step toward handling them
with more grace and objective understanding.
14. 14
It is Your Mindset to See Problems, as Opportunities or Threats.
For Example Customer Rejection & Return of a Product on Quality Grounds,
may be taken as a positive Opportunity to Probe the Root Cause and Improve
upon Quality on Sustainable basis or taken as financial loss and some how to
manage to sell at discount.
There may be some Devastating Incidents like COVID – 19, that made markets
around the world crashed, Economies Collapsed, significantly
Impacting Businesses, Supply Chains greatly Disrupted, Business Operations
Halted and the Damages are Continuing and still Uncertain. However, some
businesses turned this adverse impact into Positive Opportunity to adopt to this
New Normal.
15. 15
Businesses either Fail or Prosper depends on how well they Identify the
Problem, Define the Problem and Address or Resolve the Problem. Not every
problem has an easy solution. Tackling the complexity of most significant
business issues can take Different Approaches and a pool of talented people
with diverse points of view take conclusive Decisions.
However, here we shall Discuss the Problem of Problem Solving.
Often due to either problems not being recognized or being recognized
but not being dealt with appropriately, Businesses may signal themselves
for Trouble and certain times even threaten for Survival or result in
Collapse of Businesses.
16. 16
Real
Problem
Problems not being
Recognized Early
Recognized but not
being dealt with
Appropriately
Problems are
Suppressed or Hide
the Problems
Problems are
Attributed to People
& Blamed
Jumping to Fix the
Problem without
Factual Analysis
Poor Diagnosis:
Wrong Assumptions;
Data Error or Bias
Offering Solutions
without Understanding
Consequential Impact
Not Changing with
Circumstances
17. 17
The First Step in Solving any Problem is Recognizing & Admitting that there is a Problem. Every
organization has some types of problems in its business. But not every organization works to Recognize
the Problems early of it’s happening and correct those problems. When things in business start going bad
and the problem probably keeps getting worse, then Businesses start to Recognize Problems very Lately,
by which time major damages must have occurred.
Identifying a problem can be a difficult task in itself.
It's useful to consider the following questions when faced with a problem.
➢ Is there a problem at all? Is the problem Real or Perceived?
➢ Is this problem really an Opportunity for Improvement?
➢ Does the problem Need Solving?
➢ If not Resolved, what could be Consequences?
Do not Perceive the Problem – Real Problems should be Recognized Early – Businesses are
sometimes Blind to Problems & it’s Sources. Information may not Received to signal that a Problem
Exists or even No such Mechanism in the organization exists to Smell & Capture the Problems. “Feel
Good - Everything is Fine” - such attitude factors also not Good always, as we should be Critical in
Positive Manner to gauze the Surroundings of Business & Circumstances.
18. 18
While addressing the Problems, most companies aren’t sufficiently rigorous in defining the problems
they’re attempting to solve and articulating why those issues are important. Without that rigor,
organizations miss opportunities, waste resources, and end up pursuing short term initiatives or case to
case approach as and when problems happen, which aren’t aligned with appropriately dealing the
problem completely.
Organization generally assigned to Fix a very Specific, near-term problem. But because the firm doesn’t
employ a rigorous process for understanding the dimensions of the problem, do not address underlying
problem from it’s root cause.
Often, once identified, some problems defy resolution and are managed as conditions to be endured
rather than situations to be solved in entirety.
19. 19
Generally, People because of various reasons like Fear of loss of their Position, Damage of
Reputation etc adopt the approach of Denial, Non-Disclosure and Pretending there isn’t any
Problem, though there exists some problems.
Many times employees or / and management have a vested interest in identifying business
management mistakes in a company or department. These mistakes can encompass many things
like Poor Communication, Lack of Clear Vision, No Mechanism to Recognize & Reward, Fear of
Expression or Openness, “Why Should I Highlight Negative things” attitude etc.
Also Many Times Business are trying to Suppress or Hide the Real Problems. For Example
Drop in Sales, Market Department may immediately justify saying Market Slow Down, Entry of
More Competitors, Preferences for Import etc… etc…, without much factual details, but mostly
generalizing, but not analyzing the Root Causes and try to Hide the Facts. The prime Reasons for
Fall in Sales may be Customer Dissatisfaction because of Frequent Product Rejections, Non-
Attending the Complaints, Wrong Documentation, Poor Communication / Relationships etc.
20. 20
Problem solving skills are highly sought after by employers as many companies rely on their
employees to identify and solve problems.
Unfortunately when a problem occurs, it is common to look for someone to blame, even though it’s likely to
be the system and not the person at fault.
Some people tend to personalize problems. Whether or not they are to blame, people often look upon
problems as personal failings which are embarrassing. Management also try to Fix the Person for the
Problem and may not Look into Real Cause and Investigate.
For example, if performance in your department is substandard, you might think the problem is with the
individuals submitting work. However, if you look a bit deeper, the real issue might be Problems with
Systems & Procedures or a lack of training, or an unreasonable workload.
Businesses Fail when Interpersonal relationships fail because of poor problem solving.
Approaching a problem analytically focused on facts and not to blame, can improve problem solving greatly.
Instead of starting with Who did it? ask,
What happened?
Why it Happened?
When did it happen?
Under what circumstances?
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A lot of the work in problem solving involves understanding what the underlying issues of
the problem really are - not the symptoms. Dealing with a customer complaint for example,
may be seen as a problem that needs to be solved, and it's almost certainly a good idea to do
so. But Customer Complaint is only a Symptom and not a Problem which need to be
Analyzed for it’s Root Causes to eliminate the problem & Permanently Resolved.
Following on from problem identification, structuring the problem is all about gaining more
information about the problem and increasing understanding. This phase is all about a period of
observation, careful inspection, fact finding and analysis, fact-finding and developing a clear
picture of the problem, building a more comprehensive picture of both the goal(s) and the
barrier(s), careful analysis of the different possible courses of action and then selecting the best
solution for implementation. This stage may not be necessary for very simple problems but is
essential for problems of a more complex nature.
Jumping to Fix the Problem without Factual Analysis may prove to be Disastrous.
22. 22
Any trend or deviation from the truth in data collection, analysis,
interpretation and publication is called bias or data errors. Bias in data
collection, can occur either intentionally or unintentionally. Bias causes
false conclusions and is potentially misleading. Therefore, it is essential
that proper care should to taken to analyze the Problem with Factual
Data.
Don’t guess about underlying causes or simply assume. Incorrect
diagnosis or decisions without diagnosis may proved to be costly
consequences. The odds of hitting the right answer without diagnosis is
really low, so it’s as important to guard against self-induced ‘framing’ as
that imposed by others.
23. 23
Even though well prepared we are for problem solving, there is always an element of the
unknown. Although planning and structuring will help make the problem solving process more
likely to be successful, good judgement and an element of good luck will ultimately determine
whether problem solving was a success.
You need to ensure that the steps you take today don't themselves create additional problems for the
future. For Example opting for Substitute Raw Materials with objective of Cost Reduction, without
Analyzing Long Term Functional Impact of the Finished Product.
Effective risk management is essential for Proper Actionable Outcomes or Decisions.
1.identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and /
or the environment (i.e. risk analysis); and
2.making judgments "on the tolerability of the risk on the basis of a risk analysis" while considering
influencing factors (i.e. risk evaluation).
Put in simpler terms, a risk assessment determines possible mishaps, their likelihood and consequences,
and the tolerances for such events. The results of this process may be expressed in a quantitative
or qualitative fashion. Risk assessment is an inherent part of a broader Problem Solving Approach to help
eliminate any potential risk-related consequences.
24. 24
Market conditions continually change, so you need to revisit and
update your business plan regularly. As your business grows, your
strategy needs to evolve to suit your changed circumstances.
For example, your focus is likely to change from winning new
customers to building profitable relationships and maximizing
growth with existing customers. Existing business relationships
often have greater potential for profit and can also provide reliable
cash flow. Newer relationships may increase turnover, but the profit
margins may be lower, which may not be sustainable.
