Planning a course of action

Figure

ONLY THAT WHICH IS PROVISIONAL ENDURES

FRENCH PROVERB

TRAINER’S NOTES

Topic: Planning a course of action: Part 1

Time Required: Approximately 4 - 5 hours

Following problem analysis, the participants are requested to generate a list of various options that might be considered in achieving the defined objective. These are ultimately narrowed to the best option with, perhaps, a back-up strategy. Once the best alternative is determined, the next step is to put together a plan of action. Three sessions (or 45 hours) have been allocated to carry out the option generating and narrowing processes. It could take less time, depending on the number of reports to be given and critiqued.

TASKS:

1. Given the participants’ understanding of the various forces that will work for and against the accomplishment of their objective (completed in the previous session), the next step is to consider various options available to accomplish the objective. If you have not used a brainstorming technique earlier in the course, this is a good time to introduce it. The objective is to generate as many ideas as possible that can be considered to accomplish the objective. (The brainstorming technique is outlined on pages 80-81 in the training materials.)

There are a number of ways to identify options and the task can be accomplished in different sized groups. Mold the process to your needs and those of the group. Be flexible.

2. Once your participants have generated a list of options to be considered in achieving the objective, it is time to narrow them down to the one to be ultimately implemented. This process can be achieved in two steps. First, eliminate the ideas that are clearly not achievable and choose the two or three alternatives that are obviously viable. Since the participants have given considerable thought to the problem and its environment (the force field analysis), the best alternatives will literally pop out for further consideration. This narrowing process can be done in the smaller work groups that have been working together during past sessions. When the possible options have been narrowed to two or three, the individuals in each small group should complete the questionnaire (Impact anAlysis: Narrowing the Options) which is included in the training materials. The Impact Analysis Exercise should be completed for each of the final options to be considered. (Make sure you have photocopied enough forms.) Impact analysis involves assessing 5 criteria and a number of consequences for each option. The assessment exercise results in a gross score for each option being considered. These can be summarized on the Summary of Impact Analysis sheets (also provided in the training materials). The higher the score, the better the option. While this exercise is unlikely to be used back on the job, it points out the criteria and consequences that are important to consider in assessing any potential course of action.

3. Ask each small group to prepare and present a short report to the total training group for critique. The report should briefly describe the final 3 or 4 options considered; the one ultimately selected for implementation; and a discussion of the process used to reach decisions.

Topic: Planning a course of action: Part 2

Time required: Approximately 3 - 4 hours (depending upon the number of reports)

This session is a natural follow up to the Impact Analysis. Each small work group will design a plan of action to carry out their best option for achieving the objective determined earlier.

TASKS:

1. Give a short lecture on the steps to be considered in putting together an effective action plan. These are outlined in the readings, under the section entitled, “A detailed plan” (p. 83).

2. Have each small group prepare their plan of action using the forms available.

3. These plans should be reported to the total group for critique and discussion.

The forms designed for the action planning process (pages 85-91) are detailed and require one sheet for each task to be completed. This may seem a bit cumbersome (and probably not something that would be used often back home) but certainly the substeps represent an important sequence of decision making thinking in formulating an action plan. While the process is detailed and may seem too time consuming, it is worth pursuing for those who want to become better managers.

OVERVIEW

STEP D: PLANNING A COURSE OF ACTION

In the prior three steps, time has been spent defining problems and opportunities, establishing objectives to address these problems, determining the importance of various objectives and analyzing the forces that influence the accomplishment of selected objectives. This phase of the problem solving cycle has three distinct steps designed to put the objective into action. These include: (A) generating and evaluating options; (B) narrowing the many options into one; (C) developing a detailed plan of action; and (D) determining a flow of activities.

A. GENERATING AND EVALUATING OPTIONS

At this point, it is desirable to generate as many options as possible to solve the problem and meet the objectives. As a start, it would be useful to look back at the “force field” created earlier. Options are often suggested by the forces in the field. Sometimes an option will focus on reducing one or two critical restraining forces. Sometimes it’s a combination of reducing restraining forces and taking advantage of driving forces. This is the point in the problem solving process where creativity is important. The management team should be looking for new ways of thinking.

One approach to generating options for problem solving is “brainstorming.” Because brainstorming has proven to be such an effective management tool for helping work teams be more creative, the process is described in the following paragraphs.

THE BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUE

A facilitator writes the topic or question to be brainstormed at the top of a large sheet of paper, then asks the group to call out their ideas in short phrases which can be written down quikly. In order to set a creative, high-energy tone, the following guidelines should be stated to the group from the onset.

· No judgments. No idea or suggestion, however unusual, is to be dismissed, or edited. (There will be a time to evaluate the ideas later.)

· Anything goes. Offbeat, unusual, humorous, and bizarre ideas are encouraged.

· Go for quantity. The more ideas, the greater the possibility for coming up with a winner.

· Building on other people’s ideas is fine.

The facilitator of the brainstorming can help to keep ideas moving, if necessary, by: (1) setting a time limit - commonly 3 to 10 minutes, depending on the topic and size of the group - so that people will know they can’t afford to sit on an idea; (2) giving a few examples to start things off; (3) coaxing (gently); or (4) asking for different sorts of examples if the group starts to develop a “one track mind.”

The conventional approach is to have one person record the group’s ideas on newsprint or a blackboard for all to see. Sometimes, two recorders work as a team, writing alternate items, so the group does not have to wait for the recorders to catch up.

Another variation that is especially useful if you have several topics to brainstorm is to write each topic on a separate sheet of newsprint or blackboard, and provide each participant with a marker or chalk so they can go up to the lists and record items “graffiti-style.”

Some researchers and trainers have suggested that brainstorming is not necessarily the best technique to generate lots of creative ideas. The problem seems to be that a group of people can go off on one tangent without exploring the full range of possibilities. This suggests several variations of the brainstorming process.

Variation 1:

Instruct each group member to brainstorm individually on the topic, writing down ideas on a small piece of paper. Then, share the ideas by reading off the lists (or compiling the lists later).

Variation 2:

Divide the group into two or more teams, each to brainstorm on the same topic. The “parallel groups” approach has some of the advantage of Variation 1, plus the sense of group cooperation which is an important side-effect of brainstorming.

Despite its limitations, brainstorming remains a popular technique. For many groups, it has provided a first dear picture of their potential to think creatively together and to move off in new directions. It also lets everyone know where the ideas have come from, thus setting the stage for consensus and action.

Having many good ideas improves your chances of having a good one

SYNETICS

Synetics, another popular approach to creative thinking, is a composite method, or series of methods, to help individuals and groups think more creatively - to generate new ideas - to unearth ways of doing things that are different and more productive. J. Gordon, author of the synetics approach, defines it as “the joining together of apparently different and irrelevant objects.” Synetics uses analogies, metaphors and similes to break out of the boundaries we often put on our own thought processes. These boundaries have a tendency to restrict our freedom to explore other possibilities as we continue to dig deeper into the routine of our experience.

Gordon suggests both learning (making the strange familiar) and innovation (making the familiar strange) as processes for fostering creative planned change. To better understand these processes, he defines four psychological states in the creative process:

(a) Detachment and involvement: Seemingly contradicting efforts to either get outside of the problem or deeply into it.

(b) Deferment: Tolerance for new ideas. In the case of problem solving, deferring action until all reasonable (and some unreasonable) options have been considered.

(c) Speculation: Including a flurry of questions, suppositions, intuitive responses, “thinking the unthinkable.”

(d) Autonomy of object: Or, as Gordon suggests, the end product (goal) sought becomes the process experienced.

Synetics operates from the psychological stance that it is easier to solve other problems than it is to solve our own. We need to get “outside of our problem” so we can get deeper into it - to develop insight by using “outsight.” The key is to go beyond the boundary of our conventional experiences in order to understand day-to-day events.

Creating new options for problem solving is enhanced by the ability to:

(a) Suspend judgment;
(b) Tolerate ambiguity and sometimes frivolity;
(c) Give up treasured positions and attitudes
(d) Set aside position and authority so others can contribute freely;
(e) Think intuitively in an environment that honors rational thought;
(f) Turn things upside down and inside out;
(g) Look over our own shoulder to process the process; and
(h) Always keep the big picture in mind, even when we are coping with the minute details.

Intuition is the subconscious accumulation of past experiences

SATISFICING OPTIONIZATION

Generating options, as a manager, can sometimes become a trap. After all, if s fun trying to figure out all the various ways to solve a problem. It can also give the manager an excuse for indecision. (“I haven’t looked at all the alternatives.”) The challenge is to open the door to new ideas, new ways of doing things, without becoming overwhelmed.

The manager is someone who must make decisions and solve problems in imperfect conditions. There is seldom time or resources available to find and implement the perfect solution. More often than not the manager is obliged to accept the first satisfactory solution, to not let the “best” become the enemy of the good.

Herbert Simon, who has written extensively about decision making in public settings calls this the “satisficing” solution. It is impossible to know all the options that are potentially available in any complex situation. It is also impossible to foretell future consequences accurately (although we must try to foresee the consequences of our decisions to the extent we can). Nor is it always possible to put values on events that have not yet occurred. So, all decision making is imperfect and subject to limits of rationality.

Having said this, and recognizing the reality of “satisficing” behavior by managers, it is important to resist the pressures that often force us to take the first available satisfactory solution to a problem. Finding new options to old problems is how the future gets invented. The effective manager is one who has one foot firmly planted in the present situation and the other gently searching for a solid piece of ground in the territory yet to be trod.

B. MANY OPTIONS TO ONE

While most problems can be solved in more than one way, the manager must “bite the bullet” and decide which option he or she is going to use. Sometimes the “best” option is obvious. Other times, it is more difficult to decide among various alternatives. These are the times when it is necessary to ask some fundamental questions about the various options so a reasoned judgment (decision) can be made.

(a) Will this option clearly help us reach our objective? (In other words, is it goal directed?)

(b) Is it feasible? Can we do it? Will it work?

(c) Do we have the resources to carry it out? People? Funds? Equipment? Time? Leadership? Organizational capacity? Motivation?

(d) Is it adequate to meet the challenge? Given the size of the problem, will this option result in change to make pursuing it worthwhile?

C. A DETAILED PLAN

Once the manager has decided on the “best” option, (one which satisfies the criteria stated above), it is time to put together a detailed plan of action. This plan should answer the following questions:

(a) What are the activities involved (steps to be taken)?

(b) Who will take primary responsibility for each action? (Someone needs to be in charge.)

(c) Who else needs to be involved?

(d) What resources will be needed (people, materials, money, equipment, skills)?

(e) When will each action be complete? (Not only how much time will be required, but a realistic date of completion.)

(f) How will we know progress is being made toward carrying out our option and meeting our objectives? How are we going to evaluate success? What are our verifiable indicators?

D. SEQUENCING EVENTS

The final stage of action planning is putting the various activities into sequence - some sense of what needs to be done in what order. Certain activities are dependent upon others and some activities are more critical than others.

A well known procedure for charting the sequence of activities is called PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique). Basically, in using the PERT procedure, one starts at the end point (the completion of a project) and works backwards through the activities and events that must occur in reaching that end point. For example, if the end point is a 3-session training program for homeowners to teach them building techniques, we can work backwards in this fashion:

· The week before the program, we will need to make sure last minute preparations (i.e., the training materials are ready, the instructors are ready, the list of homeowners is complete).

· Even before that, we need to secure a training site - e.g., a demonstration house in the initial stages of construction.

· To secure a site we will need to check out several possibilities.

· At about the same time, we will need to assemble training materials (a construction booklet, building materials, tools, etc.).

· Before all that, we will need a training design.

· And so forth until we arrive at the starting point.

Developing a PERT chart is generally a group activity. Each party to the project begins to see how his or her tasks fit into the overall plan. The group also begins to see how things could be done differently which would save time.

PERT is also a method that permits revisions in the plan when things don’t work out like the original plan said they would. Plans never work out quite right. But the planning process is indispensable.

A low income housing management team in Zimbabwe developed a simplified version of PERT which helped them determine the sequence of activities to initiate a large complex shelter project. Once each work group within the team (e.g., building liaison officers, community development workers, administrative officers) decided what they needed to do over a set period of time to carry out their roles and responsibilities within the project, they put these tasks on 5x3 cards. These were attached (by using masking tape) to a large matrix, which covered an entire wall of a local community centre. The matrix listed all the various work groups, or individuals, responsible for carrying out various tasks on the vertical axis. On the horizontal axis (across the top of the chart) was listed a three and one half month timetable, week by week. After each of the critical actors on the implementation team posted their tasks in the sequence they believed they should carry them out, they negotiated with other individuals or work groups a sequence and timing which took into consideration the interdependency of their actions. The building liaison officers, for example, told the community development staff they needed to schedule their training two weeks earlier than planned so the building liaison officers could begin meeting with individual plot holders.

By the end of the negotiation session, the implementation team had created a 30 foot long PERT chart with over 200 individual tasks. Each of those tasks had been negotiated (in terms of the overall time frame) against all other interdependent tasks. More importantly, the individual work groups began to realize the importance of teamwork and communication.

PERT charts don’t need to be fancy, they just need to work to the benefit of all concerned.

Good decisions are seasoned by projecting them into the future to see if they work

EXERCISE

TOPIC: IMPACT ANALYSIS: NARROWING THE OPTIONS: STEP I

OPTION #

(Complete this form for each major option being considered.)

* The OBJECTIVE to be achieved is:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

* The OPTION for achieving this objective is:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Check one numerical response for each of the following criteria:

(1) FOCUS:

_ 4	- option is focused directly on achieving the objective
_ 2	- option is focused more on another issue but will help achieve the stated objective
_ 0	- option is not focused on achieving the stated objective

(2) FEASIBILITY:

_ 4	- option is very feasible to implement
_ 2	- option is questionable in terms of its feasibility of implementation
_ 0	- it is highly doubtful that we could implement this option

(3) RESOURCE AVAILABILITY:

_ 4	- option can be implemented within the resources already available
_ 2	- resources could be garnered to implement this option but it would be difficult
_ 0	- it will be impossible to get all the resources required to implement this option

(4) ADEQUACY:

_ 4	- option is very adequate in meeting the challenge stated in the objectives
_ 2	- it is barely adequate to meet the challenge
_ 0	- option will not meet the challenge

(5) COMMITMENT:

_ 4	- top leadership will commit immediately to this option
_ 2	- getting leadership commitment is questionable
_ 0	- top leadership will not make commitment to this option

Assessment Criteria: Record the number of:	4 scores	x 4=
	2 scores	x 2=
	0 scores	x 0=
	Total

Potential Consequences: This option, if implemented, will have the following consequences (circle appropriate number):

		Favourable	Hard to say	Disastrous
Economic	Short-term	2	1	0
	Long-term	2	1	0
Social	Short-term	2	1	0
	Long-term	2	1	0
Political	Short-term	2	1	0
	Long-term	2	1	0
Environmental	Short-term	2	1	0
	Long-term	2	1	0
Cultural	Short-term	2	1	0
	Long-term	2	1	0
	Totals

TOPIC: IMPACT ANALYSIS: SUMMARY OF IMPACT ANALYSIS: STEP II

For each option being considered, transfer criteria and consequence values assigned earlier.

		Option 1	Option 2	Option 3	Option 4
Criteria
Focus		_____	_____	_____	_____
Feasibility		_____	_____	_____	_____
Resources		_____	_____	_____	_____
Adequacy		_____	_____	_____	_____
Commitment		_____	_____	_____	_____
Consequences
Economic
	short term	_____	_____	_____	_____
	long term	_____	_____	_____	_____
Social
	short term	_____	_____	_____	_____
	long term	_____	_____	_____	_____
Political
	short term	_____	_____	_____	_____
	long term	_____	_____	_____	_____
Environmental
	short term	_____	_____	_____	_____
	long term	_____	_____	_____	_____
Cultural
	short term	_____	_____	_____	_____
	long term	_____	_____	_____	_____
	Total points

It is possible to score a total of 40 points: Any option scoring less than 32 should be seriously reconsidered before any decision is made to implement it.

Any score of 10 or less (in either of the two categories) should prompt a reconsideration of the option. Low scores may require (1) new options be generated; (2) the expectations (objective) be readjusted to be more realistic; or (3) a redefinition of the problem.

EXERCISE

TOPIC: ACTION PLAN: STEP I

A. The objective to be realized is:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

B. The best option for achieving the objective is:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

C. The tasks required to carry out the options are (list all the tasks below):
________________________________________________________________

1.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

4.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Use an additional sheet, if necessary.

TOPIC: ACTION PLAN: STEP II

List each task to be completed below (from Step 1) and answer the following questions.

Task No. 1 is:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Which will be the primary responsibility of
________________________________________________________________
(be specific)

Who will also need to involve
________________________________________________________________

The total time required to complete the task is
________________________________________________________________
(in hours, days, weeks)

and it should be completed by
________________________________________________________________
(a specific date)

The following resources will be needed (funds, equipment, materials, manpower, etc.):
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

The verifiable indicators of success in completing this task are (how will we know the task has been accomplished satisfactorily):
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

TASK NO.

TASK
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

WHO:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

WITH WHOM:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

TOTAL TIME REQUIRED:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

COMPLETION DATE:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

RESOURCES REQUIRED:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

VERIFIABLE INDICATORS:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Use an additional sheet for each additional task.