Problem identification

Figure

ONE SOMETIMES FINDS WHAT ONE IS NOT LOOKING FOR

ALEXANDER FLEMING

TRAINER’S NOTES

Topic: Problem identification

Time required: Approximately 2 1/2 - 3 hours (can vary given the way this exercise is processed)

This session is designed to help participants understand how to identify problems more precisely. On the surface, this may seem unnecessary. After all, a problem is a problem. Unfortunately, many managers encounter difficulty in carrying out their responsibilities because they do not take time to identify problems more accurately or have the necessary skills to do so. In either case, this is an important step in the problem solving process and merits attention in management training.

TASKS:

1. Present a short lecture based upon the written materials in the workbook and your own experience. Focus on the differences between problems, symptoms and solutions. This is an area where many managers encounter difficulty in the problem solving process.

2. If you have small groups of participants working on performance deficiency indicators identified in an earlier session, have these small work groups (3 -4 participants) use the problem identification exercise to verify the problem and to increase understanding about the problem. Since the performance deficiency will vary in its particulars with each participant’s work situation, I would have each individual complete the questionnaire and then hold a discussion, within the small work group, of the similarities and differences in their perceptions of the problem.

An alternative option is to have the total group identify a problem common to most organizations and work through the questions outlined in the exercise in a plenary session. Each step in the process can be discussed regarding its implications to problem solving.

3. The small group discussions can be followed by a plenary session to re-emphasize the key points in problem identification and to answer remaining questions.

OVERVIEW

STEP B: IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

In the action research cycle of events, no step in the process can be as difficult as identifying problems and opportunities. Of course, there are times when the problems we face, or the opportunities that can be tapped, are crystal clear. No one questions them and they can be addressed directly.

There are other times, however, when problems are fuzzy, ambiguous, difficult to describe. They even go around masqueraded as something else. While opportunities can also fit these descriptive terms, they are more often limited by the imagination and the courage of the organization and its leaders. First, a look at problem identification.

Thinking is preparation for action. People who are afraid of action, Increase the preparation

Otto Fenichel

THE “HOW TO” OF PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Problems are those things that keep you or your organization from getting from where you are to where you want to be. This suggests that you know where you want to be - which is not always the case. Sometimes problems defy identification, let alone solution, because we are not clear about what we want to achieve.

Setting goals, or defining end results (what would the problem look like if it were solved?), becomes an important task early in the problem solving process. Without knowing where we want to go, it is difficult to determine: (1) how we want to get there; and (2) whether or not we have arrived. If we don’t know where we want to go, it doesn’t help to buy a road map.

Another “problem” in identifying problems is the tendency for problems to mask themselves as symptoms, or even solutions. Symptoms are those visible aspects of a problem that often bring the problem to our attention. Symptoms rarely explain a problem; they are only manifestations of the problem. For example, a headache is a symptom of something else. The problem could be eyes train which, in turn, may be a symptom of something else - a problem within a problem. We could treat the headache (a symptom) but the next time we read, the “problem” returns. Effective problem solvers need to dig beneath the surface, where symptoms reside, if satisfactory results are to be achieved. Solutions also masquerade as problems. In a workshop of this kind, a management team from an East Africa city was asked to identify a problem. They said they needed to install water meters throughout the community. Problem or solution? Solution, of course, but what’s the problem? When they took the mask off their “problem,” they discovered two different faces. Water meters would: (1) raise revenues and (2) save water - a scarce resource. In this case, the management team was faced with two legitimate problems: (a) a revenue deficiency and (b) a limited water supply. Once the management team “identified” the real problems, water meters were no longer seen as a problem, but a solution. The team quickly realized that the installation of water meters was only one solution to the two-faced resource problem. There are many ways to raise revenue or conserve water. Identifying a solution as the problem often denies the consideration of other solutions.

One of the first questions to ask in the problem identification stage of problem solving is: “Have we defined the problem or have we identified a solution?”

THE PROBLEM DIALOGUE

One way to understand your problem is to talk to it - ask it a series of simple questions. This dialogue with your problem is perhaps the easiest way to understand whether you have a problem and whether or not you want to do something about it. Sometimes the best solution is not to solve the problem.

Here are some questions to ask your problem:

· What is the problem?

· Why is it a problem?

· Why should the problem be solved?

· When is it a problem?

· Where is it a problem?

· Whose problem is it?

· Are others interested in the problem?

· Do they see it as a problem?

· Would they be willing to contribute to its solution?

· Who is sufficiently unhappy with the problem that they are willing to try and solve it?

· Who will be opposed to solving the problem?

· What, really, is the problem, and why? (It is important to continue to come back to these fundamental questions even though you thought you had the answers earlier?)

· Is the problem, as we defined it, a symptom of something else? (A problem within a problem?)

· Have we defined the problem as a solution?

· What would happen if we didn’t solve the problem? How many times have you been so perplexed by a problem that you simply ignored it - and it slowly went away? Sometimes the best solution to a problem is no solution.

These questions, when taken seriously, will trigger a flow of information that will: (1) help you understand the complexity of the problem; and (2) begin to suggest alternatives for solution.

For example, questions regarding individuals or groups who are involved in the problem and their commitment to resolving it may, in fact, begin to tell you that the time is not right to spend your energies trying to solve the problem at this time. Just because a problem exists, doesn’t mean those involved are willing to do anything about it.

On the other hand, solving the problem may require a redefinition of both the problem and those who can help bring about a solution. As mentioned earlier, identifying the problem can be the most difficult step in the action research process.

A problem well stated is a problem half-solved

THE OPPORTUNITY GAME

Effective managing not only involves making decisions and solving problems. It also requires a pro-active stance by the manager to search out and seize upon opportunities, both within the organization and its external environment. Problem solving, by its very nature, is reactive. The manager has a problem; he or she reacts to solve it. Opportunities require a proactive style - reaching out for a course of action that is important but not urgent. Problems are urgent, or they would not be seen as problems. On the other hand, they are not always important.

There are other distinctions one can also make between problems and opportunities.

· Problems are often oriented toward maintenance (fix it, solve it, get on with it). By contrast, opportunities are focused on development.

· Opportunities as problematic, they always involve some risk and uncertainty. Is it feasible? Will it work? If it works, will there be any benefits? If there are benefits, will they outweigh the costs? Problems on the other hand, only become risky and uncertain when they are not solved.

· Opportunities live in the future and the risks must be calculated against a future that is not always predictable. Problems live in the past, resulting from actions or inactions that have or have not already happened. The results of solving the problem or not solving the problem is often more predictable.

· Opportunities require foresight - a vision about what can be. Problems more often than not require hindsight - determining what went wrong.

· The critical question, when tapping opportunities, is: What if? The important question, when solving problems, is: why?

· With problems, you seek solutions. With opportunities, the search is for benefits.

· Finally, opportunities can be ignored. Problems, more often than not, cannot be ignored.

The optimistic manager sees an opportunity in every problem while the pessimistic manager, when presented with an opportunity, only sees problems in trying to take advantage of it. The difference between a problem and an opportunity is sometimes only a state of mind.

EXERCISE

The following questions are designed to help you define your problem in more detail. (If you have decided to pursue an opportunity, many of the following tasks would also apply.)

1. What is the problem? (Start with a rough description and underline the key words and phrases.)
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2. Why is it a problem? What would the problem look like if it were solved?
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3. Whose problem is it? Who owns it? (Once you have determined who the problem belongs to, go back and underline all those you believe are willing to invest in its solution and, finally, circle the individual, group or organization you believe is the most important in the problem solving venture).
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4. Where is it a problem? Is it localized and isolated, or is it widespread and pervasive?
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5. When is it a problem? (e.g., every Monday morning at 8 a.m.; once in a full moon; only when it rains; when the boss is in town). As with other questions, be as specific as possible in your answer.
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6. How long has it been a problem? If it is a long standing problem, this may say something about the ability, will or priority to solve it.
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7. Really now, what is the problem? Go back to your statement in task one and determine whether: (a) the problem you defined is a symptom of a bigger problem; or (b) a solution to what you think is the problem. If you decide you are dealing in either symptoms or solutions, go back to Step 1 and try to identify the real problem.
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8. Finally, what would happen if nobody did anything to solve the problem?
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