Problem-solving methods in a globally integrated enterprise

Abstract

Business leaders are expected to guide teams to solve critical business problems through consensus-based decisions, but often lack the tools and techniques to implement sustainable solutions. A primary issue is that the focus tends to be on solving symptoms, rather than root cause. Due to our inherent action-oriented nature, we believe that we intuitively understand the problems and then rush to implement solutions, only to find that our solutions did not solve the real problem to begin with. It is also clear that consensus-based decisions typically produce effective solutions with high levels of 'buy-in'. However, the task of reaching a team-based decision can be challenging - geographically dispersed team, experts' biases, hidden agendas, unclear goals and an unclear problem-solving process frequently derail a team's progress. A successful problem-solving method addresses three critical factors - people, process and technology. The people component focuses on the team itself - group dynamics, communication and decision-making. The process component incorporates distinct steps to identify a common vision of success (and success measures), quantifiable problems (with root causes), and actionable recommendations. The technology component focuses on the tools utilized by the team throughout the process. This paper describes two foundational team-based problem-solving models along with lessons learned drawn from experiences in a global, IT services domain. The first model, 'the Change Model,' is a structured process that focuses on future-state, current-state and action-planning, while the second, the 'Group Decision Process,' focuses on divergent idea generation and convergent data analysis. Copyright © (2008) by the American Society for Engineering Management.