PSYCH 630 Problem Solving AND Judgement Lecture PDF

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PSYCH 630 PROBLEM SOLVING AND JUDGEMENT LECTURE

Working at Unique Thrift can be a rewarding experience if you are an outgoing and positive person. The company motto is “Restoring Lives Through Outreach and Warmth”. The environment is friendly and upbeat; however, the new employees are unruly and mean to customers. Management is in an upheaval and there needs to be some adjustments made. Problem solving is an intricate mental process that consists of utilizing analytical, discovery, identification, and logical skills to solve problems (Anderson, 2010). Although, resolving an issue and making decisions can be challenging, problem solving is the key to fixing various types of complications. Everyone uses unique strategies to combat their issues that arise in daily life including work, home, and school. This presentation will discuss the best methods that management can use to problem solve areas under consideration. Judgements along with a plan and how to implement it into the workplace will also be discussed. All companies want their goal to be that their company can run as smoothly as possible and that the operations of the company are successful. There are methods that our management team can use to help in the aid of solving problems that it may have come up. While our company relies on hiring employees that are very outgoing and are positive there can still be some downfalls that can happen that our company would like to make sure there are methods in place to help our company overcome any of them. The first method that would be put into place would have to do with how there are many different personality types that will be working together in the company. The company would be able to solve this issue by simply having classes that are geared towards this and there could be some role-playing activities to help them bond. The next issue that the company may have that would need some problem-solving skills to be put into place would be that of the employees who are showing up tardy to work. This has created a problem and will make it so the other employees who are showing up on time to be somewhat resentful towards the ones who are tardy. There will be some methods that need to be put into place regarding this tardiness issue as it can really lead to a domino effect of the employees not getting along with each other which can also show through to the customers and have some adverse effects on the company. When an employee does not show up on time it can lead to the other employees having to do extra work to pick up the slack from that employee. So, for this issue that the company may have there would need to be consequences put into place for the ones who are tardy and then a suggestion for a reward to be given to the ones who are able to show up to work on time. Poor judgement may lead an individual to having poor problem-solving abilities. When an individual must make an evaluative judgment or must engage within task, positive effects may enhance evaluation as well as have an empowering potential response, (Anderson, 2010). Both problem-solving and decision-making share importance in skill to business and within life in general. Problem-solving quite often has the involvement of decision-making, as are critical to both management as well as leadership. There is a process and technique to improving decisionmaking or the quality in the decision. Individuals often fail in taking a base rate in account as well as an underestimation of cumulative forces in evidence to make probable judgment, (Kahneman & Tversky, 1984). Decision-making may come naturally to specific personalities; these individuals will concentrate more on quality of their decision making. An individual’s judgment may often be determined through characteristics of their personality. If one is happy or sad may also influence both the content and style of one’s thoughts which in turn affect the value of what may come to

mind. Individuals may have bias in the estimate of probabilities if relying on the factor of memory or similarity, (Kahneman & Tversky, 1984). Leader’s in business have the top role within the organization to make good judgment, well informed decision, and wise decision making in producing desired outcome, (Anderson, 2010). Successful and effective leaders can make this call when it most counts. Most judgment calls are made within the domain of people and crisis, and take a multidimensional approach allowing leadership to pick the best path moving forward, (Anderson, 2010). Phases in judgment may incorporate steps to seeing early on signal to identifying the issues, creating framework and setting a clear parameter to provide context, asking for the input of other members in team, (Robinson, 1964). Good judgment must ground these domains through processes of knowledge within networks, organizations, context, society, and the self. Development of strategy may allow for better evaluation in picking team members. To have a plan, one must know what the problem is. Taking time to understand everyone, as well as their needs is first and foremost. We may think we know a simple solution, but there may be a greater fundamental problem within the team. Once we have the basics of everyone’s desires, devising together with everyone’s thoughts and ideas can be a great alternative to the matter. With the collective thoughts and ideas, we then need to which are going to be beneficial for the company, as well as the needs for the community. Now, it is up to the team to make a collective decision that will satisfy the community, as well as gratify everyone. This may not always be an easy task because the needs and wants from everyone will be different but focusing on the root of the actual issue is where the motivation needs to be. This process can be a lengthy one because of the changes that are required. Will the changes rely on new staffing? Will they be more structural? Are they going to be something as simple as educating or retraining? Lastly, take a break from the collaboration and allow the brain to refresh itself. In each coming day, take some time to practice the ideas into each work day to see what kind of impact it is going to make as an overall team effort. This will help determine on whether the collaboration is a working one or if additional assistance will be needed to help work through the issues. In some cases, getting help from partnered management can be helpful or even visiting other location to see how they achieve overall success. Problem solving is an intricate mental process that consists of utilizing analytical, discovery, identification, and logical skills to solve problems (Anderson, 2010). Everyone has their own unique way of tackling a problem depending on how complicated he/she might see it. Problem solving involves decision making which is some cases is be resolved using specific rules and guidelines. To alleviate the pressure of having employees make every day decisions, most companies have specific rules and regulations as well as guidelines that employees are expected to adhere to. This paper discussed the best methods that management of a thrift store with unruly and mean employees can use in problem solving situations. It also addressed how different methods can be implemented to achieve a positive outcome. The first method addressed the importance of educating employees about different types of personality’s and how to handle confrontations. The second method discussed incorporating a set rule about consequences related to tardiness and ensuring that all employees are held accountable to this rule. The third method discussed an incentive policy to reward good behavior and hard work. Problem-solving often involves decision-making that could critically impact both management and leadership. Therefore, some scenarios related to poor judgement and its impact on decision making was also addressed. Management was advised to have an open relationship

with their employees, and employees are trained to consult with management when in doubt. The employees at the Thrift store were able to have their needs and concerns addressed which in turn made them feel understood and appreciated. The employees also felt motivated and were excited about the initiative the company took in incorporating incentive programs as well as the well spelled consequences related to tardiness that was made available to them. The outcome was a more trusting and open relationship between employees and management, and customers filed fewer complaints because of the new methods of problem solving incorporated by the company. The positive outcome again goes to show that: Leader’s in business have the top role within the organization to make good judgment, well informed decision, and wise decision making in producing desired outcome, (Anderson, 2010), and when this is done, the company is more successful, and employees as well as customer’s have a better experience. Anderson, J. R. (2010). Cognitive psychology and its implications (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. BC Cook Articulation Committee. (n.d.). Working in the Food Service Industry. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/workinginfoodserviceindustry/chapter/effective-problem-solvingand-decision-making/ Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1984). Choices, values, and frames. American Psychologist, 80, 341–350. Robinson, G. H. (1964). Continuous estimation of a time-varying probability. Ergonomics, 7, 7–21....