Problem solving & making decision

1. Problemsolving & makingdecision Learning Objectives Stéphanie LANNUZEL, Anthony GIOT, Marine KERRIOU, Charlotte POULIQUEN, Aliénor Crozon, Guillaume Vetillard

2. Definition of problem • A problemis a perceived gap between an existing state and a desired state. • There are manyproblemssuch as : • He doesn’t have enough time to complete the survey • The number of interviews are toosmallso the conclusions are not valid • There isnot enough money to extend the investigation • Not enough money to do a completesurvey and to have the financialmeans to packaging, media etc… • An assistant remove issues about media habits to givenatL&H’s (so the questions about media habits concernonly in 3 cities) • Bad communication between Bob, Charles and Barry • The main problemis an ethicalproblem, Must he tell the problems to Barry and Charles. • The customerdemandisclear but wethinkit’s an Ill structuredproblemsbecauseit’ssolved an highdegree of uncertaintly, frequentlyarousecontroversy an conflictamong the people.

3. Bounds and limits on rationality • There are limited information and thatreflects time constraintsconsiderations. • There are toomanyproblemsso Bob can’t to solveeachproblesms • The communcationbetween Bob and his organisation isbadsotheycan’tresolve the problem • There is a lack of organsation • A satisficing solution isestablishing an adequatelevel of acceptability for a solution to a problem and then screening solutions until one thatexceedsthislevelisfound.

4. Bob sufferingfromtoolittle information or toomuch? • Wethinkhe has a lack of precise information about the attend of customer (existing state). • Barry don’tsaid to Bob what the customerwanted

5. How has Bob framedhisproblem • To strengthenitsrecommendations, hecalled to Marjorie (advertisingagency), sheis an external to the organisation and offershim a new independante perceptive. • A frame couldinclude : • Assumptions about the boundaries of a prblem • The possible outcomes of a decision • The reference points used to decide if a decisionissuccesfull

6. Elements of groupthink or escalation of commitment • Indeed there are some escalations of commitment in this case because Bob took some bad decisions in the past that are irrecoverable. • By instance, Bob gave to his assistant a part of a mission that he failed because he lost one part of the information. Then Bob badly acted because he should have informed his boss of the mistake instead of saying nothing. This story has generated a lot of mistakes which justifies an escalation of commitment.

7. Confirmation bias and the anchoring effect • Bob thought Barry would be more concerned about the recommendations initales his client while Bob might have of going to see Barry or call the customer directly for their expectations.

8. Are theirethical issues in this case • There are someethicalproblems in the case especiallywith Bob whoisverystressed due to hisbad management of time. As explained in the lecture: “Althoughemotionscanenhance the decisionmakingprocess in relation to correctingethicalerrors or whendealingwithcreativeproblems, theycanalsodistract and unsettledecisionmakers, and lead to poorchoices. Research has shownthatmoodcanalso have an important impact on the decisionmakingprocess, especially for uncertain or ambiguousproblems. Moodcan affect information recall, evaluation, creativity, time reference, and projectedoutcomes.” • Wethinkthat Bob did not how managedhisemotionalproblems. Thenhekepthisproblems for himwhilehewould have had to speak to his boss and colleagues about itwhatengendersproblems of ethics

9. Whatshould Bob do? • Bob should have informhis boss of hisproblems • Bob should have identifieditsproblemsearlier: First heshould have identifiedclearlyeachproblems and tried to solvethem one by one in takingthemintoconsideration. Indeed, the first issue has generatedother issues in creating a snowballeffect. • Secondlyheshouldbe more transparent and informhis boss and colleaguesat the beginning of the identification of the problem. Indeed, theycould have helpedhimwiththeirexperience to solve the problem and hecould have been lessstressed. Working in team would have helpedhim to manage his time in a betterway and feltlessstressed in havingsome time withhisfamily. Morale plays an important role on the effectiveness of work.