Problem Identification : Methods

Problem Identification : Methods

1) Deviation from Past Performance
I took to the past for symptoms of problems in the present.
Employee turnover increases
Sales Decline
Sales expenses increase
More defective units are produced
MB 014 – History of Management, Case Study
2) Deviation from the Plan
 New products fails to meet its market share objective
 Profit levels are lower than planned
 Construction of a new plant is far off schedule
3) Criticism
 Customer dissatisfaction with new product / with their delivery
schedule
 Union presents grievances
 Investment firms may not recommend the organization as a
good investment opportunity
4) Competition
 Organization’s competitors for resources & clients
 A competitor introduces a superior new product

Problem Identification : Evaluating Alternatives
1) Conditions of Risk
50 % chance of capturing the youth market with new product
Actuarial tables used by insurance companies

Probabilities will be reasonalble accurate for a great number of cases over the long run

2) Conditions of uncertainty
Decision maker – no idea of the probabilities associated with the
various alternatives
Institution, Judgment & personality of the decision maker play an
important role
3) Multiple & Conflicting objectives
Competitiveness objective of a high quality product & an
efficiency objective of low maintenance costs
Profitability objective v/s Social responsibility
4) Optimal solutions are often impossible
Managers can in no way be aware of every possible alternative
Most managers are therefore not "Optimizers" but "Satisfiers".

History of Management, Case Study

History of Management, Case Study Introduction

Five elements governing a firm’s ability to manage competition
successfully are…
 People
 Poor Quality
 Cost containment
 Speed of delivery
 Innovation

Need for Decisions

A problem is the difference between what should be happening & what is actually happening.

1 Problem
Consciousness
Ability to determine problems by recognizing
abnormalities or sensing abnormal situations
2 Problem
Clarification
Identifying a discrepancy between an actual &
desired state of affairs
3 Cause
investigation
Finding the problem – root cause
Organizational problems

1 Problems with "Full" Solution 100 % Solution
Solution will give increased satisfaction &
morale among employees.
Example : Increase in 5 min tea break
2 Problems with "Partial"
Solution
Only Partial solution – Can not solved fully
Parties must adopt the holistic attitude of
‘give & take’ or ‘live & let live’
3 Problems with "No" solution No Solution
Become a condition & one must adjust to
live with the condition
Solution is beyond the normal capacity of the organization


Response to problem
1 Problem Avoiders Avoids or ignores information that points to problem
This type of people – Ostrich bird or Africa
People are – inactive & don’t want to confront problems
2 Problem Solvers Try to solve problems
People are – reactive with problems when they occur
3 Problem Seekers Actively seek out problems to solve or new
opportunities to pursue
People take – proactive approach to anticipating
problems before they occur


Effective Decision Making : Types of Decisions
 Programmed & non programmed decisions]

Problem Identific