Problem solving

Problem solving

Problem solving

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According to Min Basadur, there are eight steps of solving problems in a process, these steps are designed to address problems in the best way that illustrates innovativeness and resilience at all time. This analysis is based on Natalie MacLachlan’s experience in finding a job after graduating from university. The chapter illustrates expectations and experiences that job seekers face when they get to new places of work. Basadur methodology helps in guiding one to learn to adapt to changes in work places or at times of adversity. The steps Basadur considered are:

Step 1: Problem finding.

This step obtains meaning by following SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. Natalie knew her potential to produce good results from her days in school where she would score highly in her exams and her ability to work swiftly with others. Weaknesses are important to note because they help one to know their vulnerability and mitigate where they can. Natalie planned for a good engagement at work upon graduation but to her surprise, her supervisor made a sentiment to her the one has to do things he shouldn’t do after she complained about her job. Natalie observed she must have behaved unconventionally that her superiors concluded that she was a slacker employee.

At the time Natalie was in college, Hospitals Software Solutions (HSS) was developed by Ottawa software engineering students to solve challenges in hospitals which had not integrated technology into their operations. The students saw a huge opportunity because many hospitals used paperwork to store information which technology would go a long way in helping them to do it. Natalie’s willingness to work on behalf of communities in London and Ottawa poised her to find opportunities to work even when there is least monetary returns.

Threats are crucial in knowing an impending danger that if not averted will damage good ventures. Natalie observed that her poor performance in her first job posed a threat to her productivity because of little motivation that infected her spirit. HSS upon realizing imminent threat from its competitors decided to buy and integrate them into itself.

Step 2: Fact finding.

· HSS was formed by a team of ten software engineering students to address problems of data storage in hospitals.

· During Natalie’s interview, upon responding to questions and information about herself to the panel, the company’s management in unison observed that she was perfectly fit to serve as the company’s project manager.

· Natalie was called to be informed that HSS had confirmed her appointment into the position of project manager.

· Provisional budget cuts by the government forced hospitals to innovate ways to serve patients effectively within their limits.

· Many hospitals in Ontario were still using paperwork to store their information.

· HSS saw a huge opportunity in hospitals in Ontario because of the old ways of data storage.

· HSS founders worked so hard and made huge sacrifices to ensure that the company rose.

· Chow, a senior employee was resistant to use of technology in the company to sort data.

Step 3: Problem defining.

Natalie received a call later from Densmore informing her that a new offer was being made to her instead of project manager. She was offered Customer Care Team Lead, which was a new newly created position. She didn’t like the change because there was no clear job description to it. Though Densmore insisted that the job was more prestigious than the earlier one, she accepted the offer partially with a condition that a clear job description would be provided in two weeks. On arriving at the workplace, she was dealt a major blow when she was told that she would have to do data entry and database cleanup tasks because there was no one to train her for the appointed job.

Step 4: Idea finding.

This is a way of creating means to solve problems, ideas developed included:

· Natalie went to Chow to inquire on clarity of her job.

· Natalie devised new ways of saving time in her data entry to reduce redundant data from the system.

· Natalie sought feedback from Chow to help in evaluating her performance.

Step 5: Evaluating and selecting.

This step provides that the selected ideas are put into practice. Natalie evaluated the procedural way of entering data manually and established that it was a redundant way that caused all the mess that accumulated workloads for weeks. She realized that Chow was not happy with her performance in completing her duties in time from colleagues so she decided to work on her on ways and check figures under the help of existing program.

Step 6: Action planning.

This a way in which certain steps are developed that will lead to successful implementation of a solution. Natalie was very frustrated by Chow’s lack of appreciation to her efforts to work faster, she noted that since her work didn’t require that she collaborates with others, she began to work from home where there were fewer distractions. She made the decision knowing that Chow was too busy to spend time with neither her nor the programming team.

Step 7: Gaining acceptance.

The idea in this step is that best ways of doing work can sometimes be resisted by those not willing to embrace change. Natalie worked so hard to beat timelines and deliver worthy results by embracing technology usage to sort out information faster and accurately but Chow was unwilling to support her innovativeness. He instead frustrated her efforts by referring her back to old redundant ways. Natalie decided to keep quiet and work from home in the best way that she knew was fit for her responsibilities.

Step 8: Taking action.

This step provides that deeds are done according to the steps provided by action plan and continually evaluating and adopting new insights that would help in ensuring that solutions are implemented successfully. Natalie came to realize that serious action needed to be done by the company if it were to grow. She found no room for productive conversation with neither Chow nor Worthington. She considered talking to the president of the company because she wanted to make a change in the company. Her own observation and that of her colleagues agreed that the company’s president was an easy man to talk to and always wanted to do everything that would be done to improve the company. The chapter concludes with Natalie’s determination to act without doing other mistakes and to get herself out of blame.

In conclusion, Natalie found herself at the center of a disfunctioning system that didn’t appreciate individual efforts to improve the company’s productivity. Chow showed envy by frustrating her good performance in data entry, even when faced with a challenge in the system, he attributed all mess to Natalie. It’s evident at the end of the chapter that Natalie was going to make a choice for the good interest of the company.

References

Kurt, D. Tracy, J.F, & Robert, C.M (2017). Case in Health Services Management. Health professional press.