Problem Solving and Decision Making

Problem Solving & Decision Making:

The most important job of a manager in an industry is Problem Solving and Decision making. After arriving to a decision he also needs to implement it.

Now both Decision making and Implementation can be done at either Individual level or team-wise. Thus if we draw a matrix we can get four combinations:

Of all the combinations one coloured yellow is the most complex at it it involves complexities due to the involvement of the group in which different candidates may have different views regarding the problem. The one where both the decision and implementation is done by individual is an example of Craftsmanship. In Modern Management system all the decisions are made in groups.

Coming to the different steps in decision making 

• Estimation Analysis
• Valuing
• Priority Setting
• Problem Analysis
• Information Gathering
• Problem Definition
• Situation Analysis
• Idea
• Decision Making
• Implementation

We also discussed about the relation between Problem Solving and Decision making. The latter is a subset and outcome of the Problem solving process as shown in the below Venn Diagram:

The problems can be classified into two broader categories:

• Rich and Poor differenciation
• Simple and Complex

But however complex the problem be, its never "Tough". We should be ready to handle any problem we face     

- Only Solutions can be classified as simple or complex.

Creating a World without Poverty- Social Business :: 

This blog can be treated as a case study based on the lecture given by Md. Yunus in Amory University 
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_6nHYSgHxs .

 He explained in the video how he developed the micro-finance model in the poor villages of Bangladesh which eventually got replicated all over the world. He set up a system of Social business whose main purpose is not profit maximization but serving the most pressing problems of the society.He explained how simple non collateral based loans can transform the lives of poor. He visualized " we have created a society that does not allow opportunities for those poor people to take care of themselves because we have denied them those opportunities".

He explained a model which was innovative and opposite to collateral based conventional banking system. While the conventional banks grade the loan takers on the basis of their creditworthy assets and worship the principle " the more you have, the more you get" , Md. Yunus gave maximum loans to the poorer strata without taking account their credit-worthiness ie. " the more your pressing need, the more you get"- so it can be said he set up a new kind of capitalism that serves humanity's most pressing needs.

Poor children given high nutrient curds as food supplement

The most common thing for any new business is understanding the demand. He understood that 'Opportunity' is the missing factor in the lives of the poor and this prevents them to transform their lives. So, by giving them loans, he was actually showing them the path to build their own fortune through small scale industries and services. In the video he gave an example where he met a girl with her mother- the latter got benefited from the loan and was able to help her daughter build a bright future of a doctor. He thus made us understand that the main stumbling block before the illiterate mother was "poverty" and "lack of opportunity" and not merit.


While going through internet I found a good point wise difference between the above two banking system:



Another important pushing factor he explained was that he pulled the corporate giants like Adidas and some water purifying companies into social business where the sole motive is not profit maximizing but to reach the poor solving the problem........... at one point he set the daunting target in front of Adidas that no one should be bare footed!!!

Thus the main take away from the video was that how a person without having any firm background in banking sector can understand the basic needs of the society and alleviate the problems faced by mass. He actually envisioned the holistic development of the society through "business"- the terminology we relate only to profit making. Also this is a system how through a business society is contributing to itself - only the case is that the distribution of benefits is equally enjoyed by all. That's amazing!!

Thus the whole lecture was very inspirational and motivating in understanding the basic necessities around us and how to create and deliver value to our society through some business model which can make "poverty" an extinct word in Dictionary-

Valley Crossing by 3 Idiots: An illustration of Team Work

Teamwork is the effort or activity done by a group of people to achieve a common goal. A strong team is one in which the strengths and skills of individual team members are combined in an efficient and effective manner to achieve the goals. 

In this blog I would like to illustrate an example of teamwork with an activity done in class- Valley Crossing:

In this activity 3 person will work as a team to cross a valley- separation between two blocks as shown in the picture above. The distance between the blocks is greater than single step- so its not possible for a single person to cross by jumping. So, the three people will cross it using a wooden rod as shown below:

Persons	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Steps
1	Safe	Safe	Safe
2	Half Risky
3	Full Risky
4	Half Risky	Half Risky
5		Full Risky
6		Half Risky	Half Risky
7			Full Risky
8			Half Risky
9	Safe	Safe	Safe

In the above diagram the different states of the individual are also mentioned - like safe, half safe and full risky

Safe State: Its the state at which both the feet of the individual is on ground

Half Safe: When one of the feet is on ground and the other in air.

Risky state: It is the state when both the feet are in air and the individual is completely depending on other two.

The success of the activity depends on the following factors:

Trust: It is one of the most important factor for the activity. There are half risky and risky states where the individual needs to trust and depend on the other 2 person. Similarly for any other group activity trust plays a very vital role.

Share of Responsibility: At all the positions while crossing everyone shared equal responsibility. At no time was any person more responsible for a success/failure than the other one and this defines why they had success in the end.

 COORDINATION : Nothing would have been possible unless there was coordination at place. If they had lost a single bit of coordination  at any point then the whole idea would have failed. Similarly in our business world we need to coordinate things properly. If not done well the whole thing could go haywire resulting in utter failure of the concept in spite of hard work.This coordination should be there all throughout the hierarchy of the organization .

In class also we discussed how the risky and half safe states can be converted to safe states- just like attaining a 6- sigma state in a company. By proper management and planning only the state cannot be reached. We need innovation which can reduce the operating cost and increase the production at the same time to reach 6 sigma.

Solving NAVRANG Cube

How to Solve N.A.V.R.A.N.G  CUBE:

N.A.V.R.A.N.G  Cube is a six- faced cube made up of 27 smaller cubes - there are 9 different colour cubes and for each colour set there are 3 identical cubes.The cube looks similar to RUBIC Cube. The cube is said to be solved when each of the faces has 9 different colour cubes ie. there is no repetition of same colour cube at any face.

I tried to demonstrate the method of solving the cube through a method which is fast and fool proof and uploaded the same in Youtube so that interested people can have a look and give suggestions if any. As per the suggestion of Dr, Mandi I have only prepared the same in my Mother tongue ie. Bengali. Hope you enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWez2McBj1U&feature=youtu.be

Bringing N.A.V.R.A.N.G Cube Simile in Organization Management:

The solving of N.A.V.R.A.N.G cube is somewhat like solving the problems of Organisation Management. As the cubes of same traits do not appear at the same face so should not be the people or resources of same skills and characters appear at the same strata - else there may be ego clash or skill deficiency. As the colours of the rainbow or here the N.A.V.R.A.N.G Cube each strata or division of an Organisation should be made up of different types of people so that the organisation structure is holistic and multidimensional.

But while doing that the management also needs to channelize these whole diverse set of resources towards the common organisation goal else it may lead to complete organizational failure.

3 Monks Story

     The Learning from 3 Monks Animated Story

When we are talking about Organizational management, Team work and its importance takes a vital role. The very simple animated video that Dr. Mandi referred us to watch is filled with learnings. Once you watch the video you will not directly come to any specific conclusion but a thinking process will start in your mind and with eventual analysis lot of learning can be derived from the same.

The below is the link of the video in YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rolBiHfWokY&feature=player_embedded


The whole story can be segmented into the following major stages:

• Stage 1, with a single monk:

Each monk has a capability of carrying 2 buckets at a time and performed his work very efficiently and his needs where also fulfilled when he carried 2 buckets of water.

• Stage 2, second monk arrival:

The requirement of water is increased since the number of people are increased. So they planned to get the water by collaborating with each other. So they carried 1 bucket of water and placed the bucket exactly at the center so that the work load is decreased.
Some of you might be in an assumption that this is inefficient since 2 people are carrying only 1 bucket (Initially I felt the same :) )

But, By Calculating the energy used in each case, the 2nd case was more efficient than the 1st.

• Stage 3, third monk arrived:

Since everyone consumes equal amount of water no one is willing to get the water. Suddenly an emergency situation(the monastery started burning) occurred when they realised the value of team work. They collaborated effectively and make the problem resolved.

• Stage 4, Introspection of the Ideas:

The three monks now started thinking to increase the efficiency which lead to new method of using wheel and axle to lift water.The idea which they generated reduced their effort drastically. They increased it to a vast extent and lived happily.

• Understanding from the story:

1.  There is always a scope for improvement in the organisational systems.
2.  Team work will always lead to efficiency in the organisation.
3.  Team work helps in generation of new ideas which may lead to innovation.
4. Technology should be used to reduce the work load.
5.  Experiences in crisis management comes handy to come up with new innovative methods to solve the problems.
6. Improvement is a continuous process but innovation is sudden.
7. Like the size, figure and nature of 3 different monks, an organization also consists of different types of people. The nature, personality differences as well as the ego can create disparity in the system which may lead to complete organization failure. So its the task of the manager to channelize the resources in one direction so that maximum efficiency can be derived out of them.