The Competence of "Problem Solving" in Critical Incidents

As Einstein once said himself, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when creating them”. Not only is this one of my favourite quotes, it’s a quote I try to remember and stick by when I address a problem. Day in, day out us humans are dealt with challenges that need to be approached and tackled. However, how we face these problems ultimately decides how well the problem is solved. For this assignment, I will be discussing the competence of ‘Problem Solving’ from summarising my own experience with it and comparing it to the experience of the interviewee. In comparing both experiences, I will reflect on what I’ve learned and will discuss any insights I’ve gained from both the assignment and experience as a result.

Last summer I worked as a multi-sport camp coordinator in my local leisure centre where we had recently just hired some new assistants to work in the summer camps. A few weeks had passed by before I started noticing that the efficiency and productivity of the team was quite slow, certainly much slower than in previous years. As there were new people, the staff were less collaborative with each other and the newbies were ultimately unaware of their role and the responsibilities they had. As a result, it was beginning to have negative effects on the productivity and overall atmosphere in camp.

As camp coordinator, I knew I had to enforce some new activities to improve this issue and encourage the team to cooperate and to communicate effectively before this issue affected the summer camp’s performance altogether. I decided to implement a few new steps into our daily routine at work. I held daily meetings at the end of the day to allow staff voice their opinions, say how they felt the day had run and where they think improvements could’ve been made. It also allowed me to voice any thoughts and ideas I had from the day. In addition to this, I implemented a buddy system into the camp. The buddy system paired a senior camp leader with one of the junior camp leaders. This system helped the newbies become more aware about the role of a camp assistant and demonstrated the level of effort that was expected. Furthermore, I designed responsibility sheets that was given out daily. The responsibility sheet contained the tasks each person was assigned to do for the day and at what time it was to be completed at.

These actions resulted in great improvements for the camps. I saw huge developments in camp morale and collaboration and as the camp progressed, more and more parents commented on the fun atmosphere they witnessed. In addition, the daily meetings and buddy system really helped improve the productivity of the camps. Camp assistants were now working at quicker paces and with less direction from senior levels. As a result, the camps became a more fun and better functioning place for the children. By the end of the summer, we received countless praise and positive feedback from both the staff in the firm and from the parents and guardians of the children.

My dad, who is part of the HR team in a large multinational IT company, is who I decided to interview for this assignment. I felt his high position and dealings with many different people from across the globe made him a great candidate for interviewing. My dad recalled a time when he became team lead of a small group that were working on an IT based project in work. Due to it being a multinational firm, a lot of his team were non- Irish natives who spoke many different languages. As the project progressed, my dad remembers quickly noticing the poor level of English speaking from other team members. Words were getting mixed up and conversational speaking was kept to the minimum. If they ran into an issue or if clients were to ring, they were unable to solve the problem and communicate effectively which lead to poor productivity and a lot of confusion. Being the team lead, my dad knew he needed to take a stance and solve this issue now rather than later. He didn’t want a reoccurrence of this happening again. He knew he had to implement long term effective strategies and put in place systems that would help people of all languages in the company.

My dad acted by taking the issue to his senior manager where they discussed the problem and brainstormed possible solutions. Together, they implemented a translator scheme in the workplace. This scheme provided non-Irish workers with an on-call translator that could help them understand situations and clear up any issues they may have. They also decided to implement weekly language training courses for all multi-lingual workers with poor English-speaking abilities. The results from these actions were reportedly outstanding. The use of a translator scheme resulted in a lot less confusion in the workplace and meant tasks were being completed much more efficiently. Managers also noted that far less time was being taken up trying to re-explain certain tasks. The language training courses evoked huge improvements in workers confidence when speaking with colleagues and clients which meant more tasks could now be completed. As a result, more people could work together in groups and more workers could now solve more problems, helping raise productivity rates by 10%. Having compared both scenarios, I’ve learned that small changes in the workplace can lead to great results. The Hawthorn Studies, for example, portrayed how changes in rest times, days off and collaborations helped increase productivity from workers. It outlined how small changes in how employees are managed can result in greater results for everyone in the firm. This could be seen through both my experience and through my dad’s experience. Productivity and morale considerably improved in the workplace when daily discussions and training schemes were introduced for them. Workers now felt they more valued and that their welfare was being acknowledged.

Upon reflection, I gained valuable insights into the common capabilities and skills that myself and my dad both possess in helping us solve problems. I believe we both took our problems on board and took responsibility in trying to improve them. Llopis (2013) states how “Open-minded people see beyond the obvious details before them” and that “they tackle problems head-on. Both of us were very open minded in this case and thought of a myriad of solutions that, in my mind were quite innovative. We did not shy away from the fear of failure. Instead, we saw these problems as opportunities in helping us showcase our skills and decision-making abilities. There are five common steps to the art of problem solving. Tarvin (2016) states the common steps to problem solving as ‘Defining the problem’, ‘Brainstorming ideas’, ‘Decide on a solution’, ‘Implement the solution’ and ‘Review the results’. From reflecting, I believe we both used these five common steps in solving our problems. We both defined the problem of miscommunication and low productivity very quickly. In addition, we both innovated solutions and implemented these solutions in the form of different schemes and training events. Finally, we both reviewed the results by noticing changes in productivity levels and in receiving positive feedback. If I was dealt with the same problem again, I wouldn’t necessarily change my solutions, instead I would change how I perceived and worked with the problem. Upon reflection, I’ve learned that it’s good to raise the issue with others in the workplace and that not all issues have to be dealt with alone. According to Llopis (2013), “communication is a fundamental necessity” when solving problems. It can help foster a wider outlook on the issue and allow different views and ideas be expressed as a result. Thinking back, I know I didn’t want to hassle anyone else in the firm or put anyone’s job security in jeopardy. Women often tend to understate their assurance of recognising problems around them with while men find it a lot easier to confront it and face its consequences. My dad had the opposite reaction to his problem. He took the problem to his manager where they could work out a solution together and faced any possible implications that may result from it. Perhaps if I were to have raised the issue with other workers like my dad or took time to fully think and question the problem at hand, more ideas and solutions could’ve been proposed, and even better results might have been seen. Marlin (2017) reports “Great minds give you the benefit of their experience”.

Having reflected upon both experiences, I have learned a lot about the skill of problem solving. This assignment has allowed me to see where my strengths lie in this competence while also offering me more guidance on how I could improve this skill in the future. Clearly, everyone deals with problems in their own unique way but there truly is something to be learned and valued from hearing another person’s experience in problem solving.