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Chapter 4 Problem Finding

Chapter 4 Problem Finding. Objective Finding, Fact Finding, Problem Definition get a good understanding of the problem before you try and solve it. How about introducing street parking!.

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Chapter 4 Problem Finding

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  1. Chapter 4 Problem Finding Objective Finding, Fact Finding, Problem Definition get a good understanding of the problem before you try and solve it. How about introducing street parking!

  2. “if I had one hour to save the world I should spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and five minutes finding the solution – Albert Einstein

  3. Introduction • Objective finding • Divergent thinking! • Convergence (further exploration in relevant area) • Hits & Hot-spots • Priority & critical nature • Eg. SWOT analysis • Fact finding • Who, what, where, when, why, how? • Idea generation! • Problem finding • Redefinition approaches • Analytical methods

  4. Objective Finding …SWOT Analysis • Identifies various strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats • Review various combinations • Strengths-opportunities, • strengths-threats, • weaknesses-opportunities • weaknesses-threats

  5. Objective Finding …Brainstorming • Find “hits” • Subjective process! • Clusters or “hotspots” • Criteria • Ownership • Priority • Critical Nature

  6. Fact Finding

  7. I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. • Rudyard Kipling Example Low Staff Moral Objective? Deductive reasoning!

  8. Dimensional AnalysisChecklist for initial exploration

  9. Dimensional Analysis5 dimensions Example Shop Floor Productivity Decline

  10. Dimensional Analysis5 dimensions … Example Shop Floor Productivity Decline

  11. Problem finding- The Delivery Company That Could Not Deliver • Many hundreds of parcels reported missing by angry customers. • Most of these parcels turned up within a few days • Promoting the efficient next-day-delivery image! • A senior managers to investigate • there seemed to be too many people working on the sorting of the parcels • and that many of them did not seem to know what to do. • This was producing considerable confusion • some packages were being put on to the wrong vans • others were temporarily stored in corners of the sorting room because staff did not know what to do with them.

  12. Problem finding- The Delivery Company That Could Not Deliver • Reducing the number of sorters • Introducing a clear system of coding to identify relevant delivery vans, and training sorters on how to implement such a system. • What works!

  13. Problem Finding • Examines information • fact finding stage • Re-definitions = More possible solution • Take into account current situation!

  14. Problem Finding- predefined steps| Figure 4.7 P80/ textbook

  15. Problem finding- redefinitionPracticing perspective getting • Generate (ambiguous) scenarios • Get perspective • Sam is early for work. • He is searching his desk. • The desk is very untidy. • He repeatedly examines the drawers.

  16. Problem finding- redefinitionPracticing perspective getting

  17. Problem finding- redefinitionPracticing perspective getting

  18. Laddering • At the top- the strategic or conceptual level • How to improve sales techniques (high level) • In the middle- operational and managerial level • How to provide sales training (middle level) • At the bottom- immediate and fix-it-quick level. • How to produce a sales manual (low level) Why? Start with “How to” How?

  19. The Pyjama Company • Resistance from employees to frequent changes to job and work methods • developments in the product and in production methods had forced this • Objective • Overcome resistance to new methods of operation • Address employee satisfaction and grievances • increase the motivation of employees and thence productivity and efficiency.

  20. The Pyjama Company … • Fact finding • Output standards set for all the jobs • Daily output of all workers published • Bonus according to productivity. • Grievances- as they learned a particular job and started to earn more they were transferred • frustrated by their loss of earnings. • Problem finding (Many problems apparent) • pay rates, absenteeism, high turnover, low standards of efficiency, marked aggression against management, etc

  21. The Pyjama Company … • Redefining the problem using boundary-examination (restructure assumptions) • 1 The problem was initially considered to be ‘In what way might the company overcome resistance to new tasks?’ • 2 To overcome this resistance, further ways of rewarding workers in addition to financial incentives needed to be found. This could have resulted in employees being more favorably disposed towards transfers between tasks/jobs. • 3The problem was redefined as: ‘How might employees be encouraged to be more positive towards the transfers? Biases Concerns Blocks

  22. Redefinition technique Goal Orientation- five stages • First- work out a general outline of the problem. • falling sales after a new competitor • Second- what the goal is? • The desired state • regain the previous level of sales. • The next steps- work out what obstacles and constraints to reach the goal • Limited funding is available • Inherent difficulty (4th) • External constraints (5th)

  23. Redefinition technique Goal Orientation- five stages … • Finally, write down the requirements, restrictions and hindrances • ‘How to get more people to buy our products without reducing or raising prices or being reliant on funds from within the firm

  24. Redefinition technique Boundary Examination • A fresh look (re-examining ) at the assumptions understand more clearly about our assumptions about the boundary

  25. 1 In what ways might the company reduce costs of producing and marketing its goods so as to be more competitive in the marketplace? • 2 In what ways might the company reduce costs of producing and marketing its goods so as to be more competitive in the marketplace? • 3 Keywords and Phrases • (a) company reduce costs – assumes that the firm can reduce costs and it is necessary to do so. • (b) producing and marketing – assumes that the focus of the problem is production and marketing. • (c) more competitive in the marketplace – assumes that the firm is not competitive enough in the marketplace. • 4 Redefinition • (a) company reduce costs and • (b) producing and marketing were taken as the key assumptions. • It was felt that the real problem lay not in reducing costs or in more efficient production and marketing but in making the product more attractive to customers. How to make the product more attractive to customers? Traffic is making me late at doing things.

  26. Redefinition MethodsProgressive Abstractions • Make different problem definitions by employing progressively higher levels of problem abstraction until a satisfactory definition of the problem is attained.

  27. Progressive Abstractions Steps • 1 Write down a general statement of the problem. • 2 Generate possible problem solutions by asking the question • What is the essential problem? • 3 New problem definitions are developed from the answers produced at (2). • 4 (2) and (3) are repeated until the solutions begin to exceed existing skills and technological resources and/or until the solutions are outside one’s sphere of influence. • 5 Select a satisfactory problem definition for the purpose of generating ideas.

  28. Progressive Abstractions- Examples • 1How to improve meetings. • 2 IWWM we improve meetings? • (a) have at the most convenient times; • (b) circulate agendas well in advance; • (c) have better-structured meetings. • 3 IWWM we schedule meetings at the most convenient times for people? • (a) use diary facilities on email to find times when people have other recorded commitments; • (b) Invite only people for whom the meetings are highly relevant. • 4IWWM we invite only people for whom the meetings are highly relevant? • (a) keep a detailed list of people’s interests and update regularly on the network.

  29. Redefinition Methods Why Method

  30. Why Method- Example • IWWM we improve the performance of car tyres? • Q:Why do we want to improve the performance of car tyres? • A: To improve tyre road-handling under adverse conditions. • Redefinition: IWWM we improve tyre road-handling under adverse conditions? • Question: Re-definition • Answer: To make cars safer to drive. • Redefinition: IWWM we make cars safer to drive? • Question: Why do we want to make cars safer to drive?

  31. Root Cause Analysis Technique - Five Why’s Five Why's refers to the practice of asking, five times, why the problem exists in order to get to the root cause of the problem Employee turnover rate has been increasing Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Employees are leaving for other jobs Employees are not satisfied Employees feel that they are underpaid Other employers are paying higher salaries Demand for such employees has increased in the market

  32. Analytical Techniques: Decomposable Matrices View the subject of a problem in hierarchy

  33. Decomposable Matrices: • Example: How to improve the design/performance of a motor car. Finished Product (a)economy (b)comfort (c)reliability (d)acceleration Chassis sub-system: (a)body (b)seats (c)windscreen Power sub-system (a)engine (b)transmission (c)fuel (d)gearbox (e)electrical Electrical sub-system: (a)alternator (b)battery (c)ignition system (d)lighting system Lubrication sub-system: (a)oil and grease material speci?cation (b)servicing requirements

  34. Decomposable Matrices: • Example: How to improve the design/performance of a motor car. Use the rating 5 for further exploration

  35. Analytical TechniqueCause and Effect Diagram • We look for causes, effects and associations and produce a map or diagram • Next stage involves picking out those causes and effects which seem to be central to the problem under study. • If something is too far removed from the central problem, it is discarded. • Use for redefinitions of the original problem or as starting-points for further exploration

  36. Cause and Effect Example

  37. http://www.envisionsoftware.com/es_imgs/Fishbone_Diagram.gif

  38. Root Cause Analysis Technique – Fishbone Diagram • Fishbone Diagram (a.k.a. Cause and Effect Diagram) is an analysis tool that provides a systematic way of looking at effects and the causes that create or contribute to those effects. Cause Cause Detail Detail Result (Problem) Detail Detail Cause Cause The value of the Fishbone Diagram is that it provides a method for categorizing the many potential causes of problems or issues in an orderly way and in identifying root causes

  39. Assignment: GW-C4Do the cases: 1. Keeping up with demand2. Production problems

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