Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills

1 Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills

Session Outline 2 Decision / Decision Making Factors affecting decision making Decision making process Issues / Challenges / Problems in Decision Making Approaches to improve ability to make decisions and solve problems effectively

Forethought 3 Some are easy like Some are difficult like

4 A Month of Mangsir

Problem 7 In a day, when you don t come across any problems- you can be sure that you are traveling in a wrong path. -Swami Vivekananda A problem is a situation or a state of affairs that causes difficulties for people. It is also a gap between a current and a desired state. The gap may be viewed as the difference between 'what is' and 'what should be' or 'where we are' and 'where we want to be'.

Problem Solving 8 If a problem is a gap between two states, then problem solving is 'the process of closing that gap, i.e. changing the current state into the desired one.'

9 A decision is one when there are different things you can do and you pick one of them.

Decision Making A matter of choice Basic action of our life Essence of managerial job Wh Questions in every aspects of personal or professional life

Decision making Combination of mental, physical and behavioral processes related to: Rationale Resources Results Resolution

14 Decision Making Decision making is a cognitive process leading to the selection of a course of action among the alternatives, and enabling to act for producing desired results. Decision making is a series of logical steps to reach at the agreement for moving forward. Systematic response to a problem situation or forward moving through intelligence, understanding, analysis, rational logical selection, preparedness for implementation.

15 As an officer, sometimes we know everything we can know. Sometimes we know only something, but not everything. And sometimes we know absolutely nothing- but we still have to decide!

16 A correct/right decision makes our life better and gives us some control over life. On the other side, a bad decision may force us to make another one which could be even worse. Like the old saying, if the first button at one s coat is wrongly buttoned, all the rest will be crooked.

17 Decision making- essence of managerial function

Decisions in Planning What are the organization s long term goals? What strategies best achieve these objectives? What should the organization s short term objectives be? How difficult should individual goals be?

Decisions in Organizing How many employees should I have report directly to me? How much centralization should there be in the organization? How should jobs be designed? When should the organization implement a different structure?

Decisions in Leading How do I handle employees who appear to be low in motivation? What is the most effective leadership style in a given situation? How will a specific change affect worker productivity? When is the right time to stimulate conflict?

Decisions in Controlling What activities in the organization need to be controlled? How should those activities be controlled? When is a performance deviation significant? What type of management information system should the organization have?

Factors Influencing Decision Making Cognitive and personal biases Emotional bias Skills and competencies Situational factors Instrumental factors Political and legal factors Economic and financial factors Technological factors Socio-Cultural factors

Ethical Decision Making 24 Ethical Dilemma_(360p).mp4

Ethical Framework for Decision Making Five Sources of Ethical Standards for Decision Making The Utilitarian Approach The ethical action is the one that will produce the greatest balance of benefits over harms. The Rights Approach The ethical action is the one that most dutifully respects the rights of all affected. The Fairness or Justice Approach The ethical action is the one that treats people equally, or if unequally, that treats people proportionately and fairly. The Common Good Approach The ethical action is the one that contributes most to the achievement of a quality common life together. Virtue Approach The ethical action is the one that embodies the habits and values of humans at their best.

26 Exercise Assessment Test Yourself

Result 27 A score ranging from 41 to 48 is above average to excellent and suggests a strong capacity for decision making. A score ranging from 30 to 40 is average, while a score of 29 or lower is below average.

Rational Decision Making Process 28 Pre-decision phase Issue or problem: agenda setting Analysis of issue or problem: Interpretation, identification and understanding SWOT ANALYSIS PEST ANALYSIS STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS SPOILER ANALYSIS Designing alternatives Examination/assessment of alternatives

29 Decision phase Ranking the alternatives Determination Choice Post-decision phase Preparedness for implementation Action plan Monitoring Feedback Evaluation Re-decision phase Acknowledging the lessons learnt Reformed/improved decision making

Assumption of rational decision 30 making Problem clarity Known options Clear preference Constant preference Not time or cost constraints Maximum pay off

Common terms Rationality/bounded rationality Satisficing Intuition Well structured/poorly structured problems Programmed and non-programmed decisions

32 Levels of decision making

Tolerance for ambiguity Decision Making Style High Analytic Conceptual Directive Behavioral Low Rational Way of thinking Intuitive

35 Decision making styles

Modes of thinking - Let s work on 36 Group Divide the participants into six groups Each group have 20 minutes for group discussion The discussion issue The increasing rate of Army Officials not returning to the country and service who go for higher education, training, visit etc. As a member of the army organisation how would you deal with this problem. One participant from each group will present their group s idea (s)(5 minutes for each participants) Decide on the solution (5 minutes)

37 Six Thinking Hats- Team Decision Six Thinking Hats Team Making Decision Making Early in the 1980s Dr. de Bono invented the Six Thinking Hats method The six hats represent six modes of thinking and are directions to think rather than labels for thinking. That is, the hats are used proactively rather than reactively The method promotes fuller input from more people. In de Bono's words it "separates ego from performance". Green Hat thinking The key theoretical reasons to use the Six Thinking Hats are to: This is the hat of creativity, alternatives, proposals, what is interesting, provocations and changes. encourage Parallel Thinking encourage full-spectrum thinking Blue Hat thinking separate This ego is the overview from or process performance control hat. It looks not at the subject itself but at the 'thinking' about the subject. "Putting on my blue hat, I feel we should do some more green hat thinking at this point." In technical terms, the blue hat is concerned with meta-cognition.

38 Six Thinking Hats- Team Decision Making White Hat thinking This covers facts, figures, information needs and gaps. "I think we need some white hat thinking at this point..." means Let's drop the arguments and proposals, and look at the data base." Red Hat thinking This covers intuition, feelings and emotions. The red hat allows the thinker to put forward an intuition without any need to justify it. "Putting on my red hat, I think this is a terrible proposal." Usually feelings and intuition can only be introduced into a discussion if they are supported by logic. Usually the feeling is genuine but the logic is spurious. The red hat gives full permission to a thinker to put forward his or her feelings on the subject at the moment.

39 Six Thinking Hats- Team Decision Making Black Hat thinking This is the hat of judgment and caution. It is a most valuable hat. It is not in any sense an inferior or negative hat. The black hat is used to point out why a suggestion does not fit the facts, the available experience, the system in use, or the policy that is being followed. The black hat must always be logical. Yellow Hat thinking This is the logical positive. Why something will work and why it will offer benefits. It can be used in looking forward to the results of some proposed action, but can also be used to find something of value in what has already happened.

40 Six Thinking Hats- Team Decision Making meta - cognition Green Hat thinking This is the hat of creativity, alternatives, proposals, what is interesting, provocations and changes. Blue Hat thinking This is the overview or process control hat. It looks not at the subject itself but at the 'thinking' about the subject. "Putting on my blue hat, I feel we should do some more green hat thinking at this point." In technical terms, the blue hat is concerned with meta-cognition.

Benefits of Six Thinking Hats 41 Method Create awareness that there are multiple perspectives on the issue at hand Convenient mechanism for switching gears Rules for the game of thinking Lead to more creating thinking Improve communication Improve decision making

Six Cs of Decision making 42 Construct Compile Collect Compare Consider Commit

Personal trap in decision making 43 Not willing to come out of comfort zone Fear and biasness in thinking and analysis Getting lost in minutia Seeking unanimous approval Willing to decide beyond authority

System trap in decision making 44 Too little, inaccurate or wrong information Overlook viable alternatives or waste time considering alternatives beyond realistic prospects Not following the six Cs Failure to clearly define the expected results Worst of all, failure to reach a decision

System thinking is crucial Maybe pushing on that wall to the left will give some space. 45

46 Oops!

Considerations Priority Ethics Standards Implementation Teams and Network Technicalities Indecisiveness and Decline Diversity Risk propensity

49 WE SELDOM HAVE TIME FOR THE IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE ARE WORKING ON THE IMMEDIATE AND THE IMMEDIATE IS SELDOM THE IMPORTANT - Peter Drucker

50 Think Laterally, and be creative.

51 Score Interpretation 18-42 Your decision-making hasn't fully matured. You aren't objective enough, and you rely too much on luck, instinct or timing to make reliable decisions. Start to improve your decision-making skills by focusing more on the process that leads to the decision, rather than on the decision itself. With a solid process, you can face any decision with confidence. We'll show you how. 43-66 Your decision-making process is OK. You have a good understanding of the basics, but now you need to improve your process and be more proactive. Concentrate on finding lots of options and discovering as many risks and consequences as you can. The better your analysis, the better your decision will be in the long term. Focus specifically on the areas where you lost points, and develop a system that will work for you across a wide variety of situations. 67-90 You have an excellent approach to decision-making! You know how to set up the process and generate lots of potential solutions. From there, you analyze the options carefully, and you make the best decisions possible based on what you know. As you gain more and more experience, use that information to evaluate your decisions, and continue to build on your decision-making success. Think about the areas where you lost points, and decide how you can include those areas in your process.

How to Overcome Indecisiveness Avoid decidophia: fear of making wrong decisions Networking with like-minded persons Be entrepreneurial Manage stress Better preparedness Dialogue for negotiation Ability (knowledge, skill, information) Willingness (desire, aptitude, confidence) Do analysis Develop team and teamwork Avoid passing buck and rentseeking tendencies Logically frame the problem realities Use time management skills Balance value and fact