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Problem Sloving

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Submitted By mime1026
Words 3687
Pages 15
T E A M S

It’s All About Improving
Performance
Teams work better with expanded problem solving and decision making skills by Helene F. Uhlfelder

E

VERYONE KNOWS THAT THE PURPOSE OF

teams is high performance. In the past it was enough that teams or quality circles got involved in solving problems and sharing some of the decision-making responsibilities. Now the success of organizations hinges on the ability of teams to make tough decisions and solve complex problems on a daily basis. This article’s aim is to provide a better understanding of the factors that influence problem solving and decision making and to provide a seven-step model and procedures to use to improve team performance.

improvement cultures or team systems teach their employees tools to use in reaching decisions and solving problems. Whether these tools have four steps or seven steps, they have four basic components: problem definition, data collection to verify the root cause of the problem, solution generation and action planning, including a mechanism for tracking how well the chosen solution works.
These tools are sometimes not used at all and sometimes are used religiously for everything.
Yet, it is rare to find teams that understand the nature of problems and know how to choose the right tool or technique to use in a

A different mind-set

particular situation.

Most organizations that implement total quality management, continuous

Furthermore, team members rarely understand how the way they

Teams face complex challenges in today's workplace.

QU A L I T Y P R O G R E S S

I

F E B R U A R Y

2 0 0 0

I

47

IT’S ALL ABOUT IMPROVING PERFORMANCE

think (human information processing factors) and the biases they carry with them can affect the success or failure rate of the problem solving tools they use.
Human

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