Program Director of Training & Human Development at AADP Diploma of Psychology, Alison, 2012 Sales Management & Marketing Diploma, Cambridge International College, 2011 B. Sc. Pharmacy, Alexandria University, 2006 Neuro Linguistic Programming “NLP” Diploma, American Board of NLP Neuro Conditioning Dynamics “NCD” Diploma, Canadian Training Center Certified Trainer, Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia Certified Professional Trainer in Thinking skills, Ibdaa’a Center, Saudi Arabia Certified International Trainer “CORT 1-6” Thinking Program, Edward Debono Certified Trainer, TRIZ “Theory of Inventive Problem solving”, XAAB, Saudi Arabia Member at “TRIZ Association of Asia” Member at The “Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies” Ideal Student Award, Alexandria, 1998 Hobbies: Reading - Ping Pong - Travelling- Internet

What is Problem? What is Solution? Problem Solving Approaches Thinking outside the box Lateral thinking & Problem Solving Osborn-Parnes (Creative Problem Solving)

You’re the train captain and you saw group of people on your way while they don’t respond to the train horn voice. You know that there’s another way you can go through it and avoid the expected crash which may kill such innocent people; but the problem is the other way is old and you are not sure about its safety. Moreover, there’s a child playing there. What will you do? Why? Decide Now, you don’t have a lot of time.

A problem is an opportunity for improvement. A problem is the difference between your current state and

your goal state. A problem results from the recognition of a present

imperfect and the belief in the possibility of a better future

The management of a problem in a way that successfully meets the goals established for treating it.

Sometimes the goal will be to eliminate the problem

entirely; sometimes the goal will be only to treat the effects of the problem.

The possibilities inherent in the problem, together with the

ambition, resources, and values of the problem solver, will help in shaping the goals.

There are two basic approaches to solving problems :

(1) Stop it approach : where the cause or source of the problem is attacked. It is designed to cure a problem.

(2) Mop it approach : where the effects or symptoms of the problem are attacked. It focuses on the effects of a problem.

Each of these approaches has three basic forms. We will detail these approaches and their forms, using the

problem of a leaking water tank to illustrate each one.

•By preventing a problem from occurring (or recurring) we have perhaps the ideal solution.

•The prevention approach is often a difficult one to apply because it requires predictive foresight and it is often costly.

• In our water heater example, we would build a very high quality water heater, perhaps with a copper tank, so that it would never leak.

Prevent It

•Eliminating a problem once and for all is also an excellent way of attacking a problem.

•Elimination solutions should be considered in nearly every problem situation.

•Elimination solutions can be expensive and politically unpopular, however, so that they are not always feasible.

• In our leaking water heater example, an elimination solution would be to plug or seal or otherwise repair the leak, the cause of the problem.

Eliminate It

• Some problems, like trash production, cannot be eliminated entirely. In such cases, a strategy of reduction can be highly effective. Almost any problem can be made less of one by reducing its size.

• In our water heater example, suppose we couldn't perform a repair (an elimination solution) until a day or two later. We could reduce the problem by turning off the incoming water. Without line pressure on the tank, the leak would slow down; that would be better that a full force leak.

Reduce It

•Here the damage caused by the problem is repaired or treated. • Note two things: (1) by itself a treat-it solution is not going to be nearly as

effective as some form of stop-it solution & (2) treat-it solutions are often needed in addition to an elimination or reduction form of solution.

• In our water heater example, we mop up the water, fix the damaged floor, hang the rugs out to dry.

Treat It

• In this form of mop-it approach, the effects of the problem are put up with.

•The effects are taken for granted and measures are taken to endure them. • In our leaky water heater example, we might install a drain in the floor, or

waterproof the floor.

Tolerate It

•Here the problem is deflected. Sometimes the problem will simply be redefined as not a problem.

• It's hard to think of a legitimate redirection for our leaking water heater problem, but suppose that the leak is small and the floor is not being damaged. We might say, "Well, we need the humidity; the leak is actually a good thing." Remember that a problem is a problem only when someone defines it as such.

Redirect It

connect up the dots by four straight consecutive lines (that is, without taking your pen or pencil off the paper). You should be able to complete this task within three minutes.

‘The nine dots’ problem introduced by John Adair in 1969, in a book called Training for Decisions.

As the exercise ‘The nine dots’ illustrates, thinking outside the box means being able to spot assumptions, habits or customary ways of thinking that are widely and uncritically accepted but have no basis in reality. Many of these we breathe in by virtue of the society in which we live. They are among the everyday conventions we accept as truths without too much examination. The phrase thinking outside the box ties in with the concept of lateral

thinking, introduced by the well-known thinker and writer Edward de Bono in The Five Day Course in Thinking (1968). A person uses lateral thinking to move from one known idea to creating

new ideas.

Lateral thinking Vertical thinking Changes Chooses

Looks for what is different Looks for what is right Makes deliberate jumps

directly from another One thing must follow

Welcomes chance intrusions

Concentrates on relevance

Explores the least likely directions

Moves in the most likely directions

Always be willing to challenge widely accepted assumptions.

Can you remove three lines to get three squares ?

1 2

How Many persons do you see?

What do you see in this photo?

What is Decision Making? Decision Making Types Decision Making Styles Decision Making Approaches Decision Making Strategies Decision Makers Styles CORT 1 Approach in Decision Making Tips In Decision Making

The selection of an option over others (which include no action), under conditions that are uncertain and expose you to a risk and consequence, In order to reach an objective. The study of identifying and choosing alternatives based on

the values and preferences of the decision maker. The process of sufficiently reducing uncertainty and doubt

about alternatives to allow a reasonable choice to be made from among them.

• This is the yes/no, either/or decision that must be made before we proceed with the selection of an alternative.

• Decisions whether are made by weighing reasons pro and con.

Decisions whether

• These decisions involve a choice of one or more alternatives from among a set of possibilities, the choice being based on how well each alternative measures up to a set of predefined criteria.

Decisions which

• These are decisions that have been made but put on hold until some condition is met.

• The best contingent and opportunistic decisions are made by the prepared mind (one that has thought about criteria and alternatives in the past).

Contingent decisions

Most people have a set of already made, contingent decisions, just waiting for the right conditions or opportunity to arise.

Time, energy, price, availability, opportunity, encouragement, etc. , all these factors can figure into the necessary conditions that need to be met before we can act on our decision.

• These decisions are permanent. Once taken, they can't be undone.

• The effects of these decisions can be felt for a long time to come. Such decisions are taken when there is no other option.

Irreversible

• Reversible decisions are not final and binding. In fact, they can be changed entirely at any point of time.

• It allows one to acknowledge mistakes and fresh decisions can be taken depending upon the new circumstances.

Reversible

• Such decisions are put on hold until the decision maker thinks that the right time has come.

• The wait might make one miss the right opportunity that can cause some loss, specially in the case of businesses.

• However, such decisions give one, enough time to collect all information required and to organize all the factors in the correct way.

Delayed

• These decisions enable one to make maximum of the opportunity available at hand.

• However, only a good decision maker can take decisions that are instantaneous as well as correct.

• In order to be able to take the right decision within a short span of time, one should also take the long-term results into consideration.

Quick Decisions

• One of the ways of decision making is the experimental type in which the final decision cannot be taken until the preliminary results appear and are positive.

• This approach is used when one is sure of the final destination but is not convinced of the course to be taken.

Experimental

•This approach involves trying out a certain course of action. If the result is positive it is followed further, if not, then a fresh course is adopted.

•Such a trial and error method is continued until the decision maker finally arrives at a course of action that convinces him of success.

•This allows a manager to change and adjust his plans until the final commitment is made.

Trial and Error

•Conditional decisions allow an individual to keep all his options open. He sticks to one decision as long as the circumstances remain the same.

•Once the competitor makes a new move, conditional decisions allow a person to take up a different course of action.

Conditional

• when the leader maintains total control and ownership of the decision. The leader is also completely responsible for the good or bad outcome as a result of the decision.

• The leader does not ask for any suggestions or ideas from outside sources and decides from his or her own internal information and perception of the situation.

Autocratic

•when the leader gives up total control of the decision. The complete group is totally involved in the decision. The leader is not individually responsible for the outcome.

•The complete organization or group is now responsible for the outcome. This is not a democratic style because everyone must agree and "buy in" on the decision. If total commitment and agreement by everyone is not obtained the decision becomes democratic.

Consensus

• when the leader involves the members of the organization. Other perspectives of the situation are discovered because the leader deliberately asks and encourages others to participate by giving their ideas, perceptions, knowledge, and information concerning the decision.

• The leader maintains total control of the decision because, although outside information is considered, the leader alone decides.

• The leader is also completely responsible for the good or bad outcome as a result of the decision.

Collective - Participative

• when the leader gives up ownership and control of a decision and allows the group to vote.

• Majority vote will decide the action. Democratic

Group Authoritarian The group shares ideas and analyses, and agrees upon a decision to implement.

The manager makes the decision based on the knowledge he can gather. He then must explain the decision to the group and gain their acceptance of it

Method

30 min 5 min Make decision 0 min 30 min Explain decision 0 min 30 min Gain acceptance

Studies show that the group often has values, feelings, and reactions quite different from those the manager supposes they have. No one knows the group and its tastes and preferences as well as the group itself. Clearly, just from an efficiency standpoint, group decision making is better. More than this, it has been shown many times that people prefer to implement the ideas they themselves think of.

Developmental discussion: insures systematic coverage of a topic. insures that all members of the group are talking about the same aspect of

the problem at the same time.

Developmental or structured discussion Free discussion The problem is broken down into steps, smaller parts with specific goals.

The problem is simply put on the table for the group to talk about.

Concept

Instead of asking generally whether Abdallah should take the job, the group works on sub questions: What are his skills? What skills does the new job require? How does he rate on each of the skills required? Notice that these questions seek specific information rather than more general impressionistic opinions.

Abdallah has been offered a job change from sales to training. Should he take the job?

Example

• This is the strategy of choosing the best possible solution to the problem, discovering as many alternatives as possible and choosing the very best.

Optimizing

• In this strategy, the first satisfactory alternative is chosen rather than the best alternative. It’s perfect for many small decisions.

• The word satisficing was coined by combining satisfactory and sufficient. Satisficing

• This stands for "maximize the maximums." This strategy focuses on evaluating and then choosing the alternatives based on their maximum possible payoff. (sometimes described as the strategy of the optimist)

• It is a good strategy for use when risk taking is most acceptable. Maximax

•This stands for "maximize the minimums." In this strategy, that of the pessimist, the worst possible outcome of each decision is considered and the decision with the highest minimum is chosen.

•The Maximin orientation is good when the consequences of a failed decision are particularly harmful or undesirable.

•Maximin concentrates on the salvage value of a decision, or of the guaranteed return of the decision. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

Maximin

• (Aim-Goal-Objective) • Identify the decision to be made together with the goals it

should achieve AGO

•Consider all factors (You – Others – Community) •Widen your scope and get all facts, information, data, etc. CAF • Find Important Priorities FIP •Alternatives- Possibilities – Choices. •Develop and generate alternatives. APC •Consequences & Subsequent • (Immediate , Short-term , Med-term, Long-term) •Rate each alternative

C&S •Plus – Minus- Interest •Make the decision PMI

Do not make decision that are not yours to make The collection of complete information and the consideration of all alternatives is seldom possible for most major decisions, so that limitations must be placed on alternatives. Keep your ideas visible {write on paper (Mind map)} Write down pros and cons of your decided action(s). involve those affected by your decision to get their commitment. In group decision, try to have the four Herman thinking styles in the group & get the best of them

What is Problem? What is Solution? Problem Solving Approaches Thinking outside the box Lateral thinking & Problem Solving Osborn-Parnes (Creative Problem Solving)

What is Decision Making? Decision Making Types Decision Making Styles Decision Making Approaches Decision Making Strategies Decision Makers Styles CORT 1 Approach in Decision Making Tips In Decision Making

www.buzzle.com www.virtualsalt.com http://www.cpsb.com http://www.leadershipmanagement.com Decision Making and Problem Solving Strategies, John Adair. Creative Problem Solving , William E. Mitchell and Thomas F. Kowalik. Harvard Business Review - January 2006 - Special Issue - Decision Making. HBR-The Seasoned Executive's Decision Making Style. Problem Solving And Decision Making Handbook. Osborn-Parnes Creative problem Solving (CPS). Edward De Bono - Lateral Thinking. Cognitive research trust (CORT 1) Edward De Bono.

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