Sunday 18 August 2013

Problem Solving and Decision Making


Life is full of them, isn’t it? Be it managerial, psychological, mathematical, chemical, physical or in the form of whatever word ending in “-al”, one has to face problems and come out with solutions. Mind you, finding the problem itself is not a child’s play in the first place, but, once found, a question remains if all problems need to be solved? What I intend to mean becomes clear when we consider that whenever faced with some problem, there are just three options. First, and the most preferred option, is to eliminate the problem forever from the root. Second acceptable choice is to conquer and change the situation to your favour. And if both fail, then accept it as-is and bear with it forever. In some cases, the third option does make sense and saves a lot of time, effort and deliberation if the problem is akin to a dog’s tail.

Problem’s out there… How to solve?
Having introduced ourselves to the problem and its nature, it can be categorized as either simple or complex. Likewise, the solutions to problems could also be simple or quite complex. If we imagine a 2 x 2 matrix of problems and solutions, then the part where complex solutions solve complex problems is the most elusive and specialized in terms of competence. Although such a combination does bring out the best, the solutions cater to a chosen few. What fun in that? 

Simple Problem                              (I)
                      And Simple Solution
Simple Problem                                     (II)
                      And Complex Solution
Complex Problem                          (III)                            
                          And Simple Solution
Complex Problem                                (IV)                            
                         And Complex Solution

A common phrase in everyday parlance is K.I.S.S intending to mean “Keep it Simple, Stupid!”! A popular notion or perception is that solutions to complex problems need to be complex, more on the lines of saying “More is better”. Yet, a commonly unrecognized fact remains that, on occasions, keeping things simple is the right way to go.  

In my opinion,the mark of a genius lies in solving complex problems in a simple manner, with a deft trick of sorts. Solutions which are not understandable to the masses and cannot be reproduced are of little use, especially in a managerial sense. And, they are not very attractive, to say the least, are they? On the other hand, the subtlety and guile of a simple solution of trick captivates the audience and a single piece of puzzle is sufficient to unravel the whole mystery. If that piece is found, you have conquered the whole thing!

A simple example of a Rubik’s cube comes to mind. On the face of it, the cube presents a complex problem to be solved in terms of aligning coloured faces once scrambled. Since the scrambling is random, a host of problems can be devised. Yet, the knowledge of a generic algorithm does the trick and is enough to solve each and every problem. This is a basic tenet of Creative Problem Solving. The solution to the problem lies in a subtle step which makes the solution simple. Yet, when that step is known, the nature of the problem and the solution both get undermined. Perhaps this is the reason why the whole thing becomes trivial and the purpose or learning behind the whole process is lost.

Creative Problem Solving:-
If you are thinking you have heard of problem solving before and from where this “Creative” popped in, then let me enlighten you with a fact that Creative Problem Solving basically entails creating solutions to problems from scratch rather than employ already deployed ones. A problem, simple or complex, can have multiple solutions. Each solution has a niche element associated with it and when an entrepreneur taps into a particular solution, an organization is born. The Khan Academy was born out of a problem of educating kids. Hasn’t this been solved before? Yet, why has the way Khan Academy has grown in terms of popularity the way it has? It is just that the entire process of pedagogy is made simpler and more interactive. A niche way to solve a known problem and there you go, the man is a hero today!
Solutons to the problems of education have been found before yet none simpler than what Sal Khan thought of. The differentiating factor lies in the solution yet, in retrospect, couldn't anyone have made a video at home to teach stuff and posted it in YouTube?

Being simple is complex
Seems ironical, isn’t it? Why should being simple be difficult? Most of us have heard the phrase “Common sense is uncommon in common people”. It is a wonder as to why that should be true. One reason might be that our minds are trained and oriented towards convention, towards a notion that as problems get bigger, so do the solutions. We are essentially moving just between quadrants I and IV in the matrix and somewhere down the line we missed the existence of the other two quadrants. Of course, quadrant II is not fancied at all. But, quadrant III is where the fun lies!
 
We all want fun to be part of our lives. So, how do we make ourselves fit in quadrant III? As they say, the first step towards solving a problem is to BEGIN. And, probably we are going wrong in the first step itself by not creating solutions but incorporating solutions learnt from someplace else. Perhaps, Edward de Bono can help us out with one of his videos here. Or perhaps what makes things complex is that we do not have an outlook, a goal to look forward to and direct our efforts towards achieving that goal.

Creativity in Organizations 
The “Survival of the fittest” rule for organizations in the new age world can better be modified to be called survival of the cleverest, nippiest and the most innovative for organizations need to constantly innovate and come up with creative solutions to customer requirements posing as problems. Failure to do so can lead to obsolescence pretty soon. Not just create and innovate, an organization needs to take that step further and maintain its supremacy over time. Take the case of Motorola, for example, which invented the cell phone. Others have gone ahead and beyond with that technology now with Samsung leading from the front and Motorola has well and truly missed the bus.

And, no organization can learn to be creative in a day right? You either have that creative edge in your DNA, like Google or Apple, or hire creative people so that the organizational culture is transitioned over time. As organizations grow and prosper, problems are faced on a larger, more complex scale. And, if you have read till now, it should be aptly clear that the simpler the solution to a complex problem, the better it is!



Mohammad Yunus and the art of alternate organizational management


Much has been said concerning how the technology works. Now, let us see how it made a once small business into a globally-influential institution. Muhammad Yunus, a banker and a Novel Peace Prize recipient experienced this.

A combination of a desire to help, an organized system, and a growing technology made Muhammad Yunus known and appraised throughout the century due to his success in business industry. He is the father of microfinance in Bangladesh that brought much prosperity not only to the poorest class of the people but to the nation itself as well.
His desire to help his poor people started when he observed the devastating effect of the famine and flood to some parts of the Bangladesh in 1974. That happened just three years after the Bangladesh Liberation War, which also resulted to the unstable government and nation. During this time, he observed that the poor, the laborers, and the non-landowners were the ones who were greatly affected. Even though there were many among them who had work, much of them were still had to take usurious loans to finance their small businesses. The traditional banks were also unwilling to lend these poor Bangladeshis due to fear of default.

These concerns led Muhammad Yunus to create the microfinance in Bangladesh. At first, he lent US $27 of his money to 42 women in the village, who in return made a profit of US $ 0.02 each on the loan. From that single beginning in 1976, microfinance grew into having 28,000 members in 1982. A full-fledged bank for the poor Bangladeshis, the Grameen Bank, was created. By July 2007, it supplied US $6.38 billion to 7.4 million borrowers.
 
Handling a growing company was not easy, especially for Muhammad Yunus. As what was really in demand at that time, he also used the technology to address the needs of his members in the microfinance and to reach out to those who are living farther.
Contrary to big banks which help only the rich and the people who are credit worthy, his banks helped the poor predominantly. This was a new revolution in the banking sector as this was one of the first of its kind to be implemented. If you take a closer look at the people who borrow from these banks, most of them are predominantly woman in contrast to the larger banks. This enables woman empowerment by enabling them to become self stable.

One of the biggest achievements of his was that he made the big brands in the industry like Adidas rethink about their strategy and come with low cost shoe models for the poor children. With the help of several other companies he helped the children, females and other malnourished people by giving them nutritious yogurts, micronutrient sachet, cheap mosquito nets etc



The art of Alternative Organisational Management:-

The art of Alternative Organisational management is to break the shackles of conventional thinking that certain things should work only in a particular way. In the case of Mohammad Yunus he changed the way conventional banks think. Through his model Mohammad Yunus taught to the world two important things:-

1)      Treat each one of your fellow human beings as equal

2)      Helping the needy is the duty of each and every citizen
The basis of this alternative type of management is trust, community and meaning. The managerial orientation is caring and compassion while the employee orientation is psychological ownership which leads to the passion and commitment to organization goals in more effective manner. This model reflects the values underlying positive organisational behaviour, where managers focus their attention on helping employees develop feelings of hope, optimism, self-confidence and courage.



A link to one of his wonderful speeches at Amory university is
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_6nHYSgHxs

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 whose main priority should be to help the needy and eliminate poverty