Although they are closely related, problem-solving and decision-making skills are different. Problem-solving skills help you to solve problems by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable chunks. Decision-making skills, on the other hand:
(www.mindtools.com, 2008a)… help you to make the best decisions possible with the information you have available. They help you map out the likely consequences of decisions, work out the importance of individual factors, and choose the best units of action.
As you consider your options for change, they are bound to highlight problems which might seem to be very daunting. Applying problem-solving skills to them will make it far more likely that you will be able to see through your plans for change. As you break down your plans for change into smaller chunks, you will need to decide between possible options. This is where decision-making skills are useful. In some ways, problem-solving skills are very similar to decision-making skills. For both, you have to weigh up possible choices and decide on the most satisfactory unit of action. Ideally, to solve problems and to make decisions, you need to gather as much relevant information as possible. Governments often claim to solve problems and make decisions on the basis of evidence.
However, sometimes there is very little time to gather the evidence that might be needed to make a decision that is completely thought-through and rational. In fact, it is possible to argue that it is always impossible to gather every last scrap of evidence before taking the decisions required to address any problem. If you accept this argument, it means that problem solving has to be based on decision making that is never fully supported by having all the possible evidence or information. This further implies that our decisions always have to contain at least one element of decision making that is based on our feelings and emotions about a problem ? by our ‘gut feelings?. These feelings come into play even if we only use them to decide that we have enough information to make a decision.
It is worth noting that these limits on the value of evidence will also apply to the evidence gathering you are doing in this section. It will be useful to have evidence about your qualities, your knowledge and your skills, but this evidence can never be totally complete. Also it is important not to let a need to gather more evidence get in the way of making a decision and taking action.
The same process applies to aspects of your study too. When you are interested in a topic there is a real temptation to go on reading around this subject in the hope that you can turn up more information. This may not cause any problems if you are just gathering this information for your own enjoyment. However, if you are on a unit of study such as Learning to change, there will come a point where you have to decide that you have enough information to be able to write an answer to a question that the unit poses. So writing an answer to a question can be seen as one form of decision making ? one where it is usually a good idea to gather a reasonable amount of information before you tackle the problem represented by the question.
The other end of the decision-making and problem-solving spectrum is where you have to respond to a problem with an instant decision. If you are having a meal with someone and they suddenly start choking and turning blue in the face, it?s probably not sensible to attempt to solve this by gathering as much information about choking as possible ? they are going to be much more appreciative if you save their life and get the food out of their windpipe by using the Heimlich manoeuvre.
We develop different approaches to problem solving and decision making. Some people love the challenge posed by any sort of problem. Others feel that they cope best when they have to use their intuition or when they have chance to think about any necessary decisions. There are also many people who find it difficult to make decisions, no matter whether these are required to sort out immediate problems or those that are still some way off.
People in many different settings have become interested in both problem solving and decision making. This has led to a variety of ideas being developed to help people think about these skills. Let?s move on by looking at one such ‘tool? for problem solving ? Drill Down.
Drill Down is a simple technique for breaking complex problems down into progressively smaller parts.
To use the technique, start by writing the problem down on the left-hand side of a large sheet of paper. Next to this, on the right-hand side, write down the points that make up the next level of detail on the problem. These may be factors contributing to the problem, information relating to it, or questions raised by it. This process of breaking the problem down into its component part is called ‘drilling down?. For each of these points, repeat the process. Keep on drilling down into points until you fully understand the factors contributing to the problem. If you cannot break them down using the knowledge you have, then carry out whatever research is necessary to understand the point.
Drilling into a question helps you to get a much deeper understanding of it. The process helps you to recognise and understand the factors that contribute to it. Drill Down prompts you to link in information that you had not initially associated with a problem. It also shows exactly where you need further information.
(www.mindtools.com, 2008b )Choose from one of the case studies as your focus for this activity, and watch the relevant video below:
Interactive content appears here. Please visit the website to use it.Transcript
KarenInteractive content appears here. Please visit the website to use it.Transcript ShehnazInteractive content appears here. Please visit the website to use it.Transcript LeveneEach of these highlights a problem that one of the case study subjects has had to resolve. These include Shehnaz having to leave school to look after her mother-in-law and Karen being unsure about the order of letters in the alphabet.
Write this problem down in your Learning Journal and see if you can ‘drill down? into it. Don?t worry too much if you don?t have all the detail you would like. Base your ideas on what you think Karen, Levene or Shehnaz might have done.
What decisions did your chosen person make to try and deal with these problems?
We hope that you found the Drill Down technique an interesting way of thinking about the problems that your chosen person had faced. Remember that the main point of applying this technique is to get a feel of what it is like to break problems down into smaller chunks, so that you feel more confident in applying the technique. For this activity it was more important to imagine that you were ‘in the shoes? of your chosen person. This use of your imagination can help you think about possibilities that may not occur to you otherwise.
For this activity you will need to think of a recent ‘problem? that you have faced. This can be anything as long as you feel reasonably comfortable thinking about it. You may wish to discuss this with someone who is involved in your learning ? you should also feel comfortable about discussing this example with them.
Apply the Drill Down technique to your chosen problem. Check back over the earlier guidance if you are still unsure about how to use this technique.
The key point about problem solving is that you need to be in control of the problem as much as you can. This can seem almost impossible when the problem is a large one. You are much more likely to feel in control (and be able to take action) if you can break down the problem into small chunks. If you think back to the example of Shehnaz, you will probably remember how she faced her problem of not having a teaching qualification by breaking the problem down into smaller steps, such as getting on an Open University course. To begin with none of the three case study subjects felt in control of their lives. They all had to break things down into smaller chunks, such as finding out about training opportunities. By doing this, it becomes much more possible to solve a problem.
Copyright © 2008 The Open University
