Managerial Decision Making: Problem Solving Techniques

This article discusses problem solving techniques for managerial decision making. It covers brainstorming, mindmapping, fishbone diagram and brainwriting. The article provides solutions to the problem of misrepresentation of products in Packaging and Distribution Company. It suggests product reformation and quality testing as probable solutions.

Managerial Decision Making

Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Problem Scenario........................................................................................................................................3
Problem solving- Solution generation.........................................................................................................3
Brainstorming..........................................................................................................................................3
Mindmapping..........................................................................................................................................4
Fishbone diagram....................................................................................................................................6
Brainwriting.............................................................................................................................................6
Suitable Solutions........................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................8
References...................................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
Every organisation is exposed to some kind of problems and challenges that must be addressed
within a specific time period. In this regards, the problem solving and solution generation
techniques are relevant. According to (Kwisthout, 2012), problem-solving can be comprehended
from two facets, the one that concludes to one solution and the other involves socioemotional
solutions that change constantly. This paper has identified a problem faced by the Packaging and
Distribution Company in terms of misrepresentation of the products provided its partner
company. Using appropriate tools and techniques, solutions to the problem have been generated.
Problem Scenario
The case scenario reveals that Frozen food packaging and distributor wholesaler had been lately
facing challenges from food testing authorities regarding their food ingredients and quality. It
was observed that the company manufactures and distributes frozen products which contain
chicken, eggplant and rice gourmet. However, as per the report of Food Testing Authority, it was
found out that the food contains 30% tuna which had not been mentioned nor represented on the
labelling of the product. This had resulted in significantly impacting the reputation of the
company as this product had been a huge success in helping the organisation to overcome
liquidation in the past.
Problem solving- Solution generation
Problem solving is important in any business process as it benefits organisations to develop new
ideas to overcome challenges occurring in the current as well as in the future. The rationale
behind incorporating techniques of problem solving is that it helps in generating new ideas
within quick time.
Brainstorming
It is method which is generally applied within an organisation to generate new and innovative
ideas. The objective of brainstorming is to encourage and motivate employees to share their
ideas and feedback to improve business process. The strengths of brainstorming are that it
encourages creativity, involvement of each and every member in the workplace, easy to conduct
and identification of innovative ideas and new perspective to existing challenges (Wilson, 2013).

Brainstorming Quality
Testing
Supplier’s
Code of
Conduct
Product
Modification
Improving
product
labeling
Conducting
internal testing
of products
Code of
agreement with
suppliers
However, limitations of brainstorming can be in the form that it is time-consuming in nature,
need of facilitators, lack of contribution from all members and opinions of too many people
block production.
Figure 1: Brainstorming
Source: Self
The application of brainstorming would be done to overcome issues within the company. It could
be noticed that involvement of staffs had resulted in acquiring wide range of solutions such as
the company should look to reform or modify its product, conduct quality testing and enforce
supplier’s code of conduct to overcome issues related to misinterpretation of product labelling.
Mindmapping
The mind-mapping is considered to be visual and diagrammatic representations of information
and ideas that depict relationship among the pieces of ideas and information. It is a common
problem-solving technique that allows the representation of different probable solutions that are
mapped in correspondence to the problems (Dutt, 2015). The strengths of mind mapping include
wide adaptability of relevant ideas, provision for convenient editing, enhance memory and
involve concise information. However, the mind mapping technique also has certain weaknesses

Problem-Misrepresenting Product
Managing Reputation
Product Reformation
Making commercial apology to stakeholde
Including Tuna content in labeling
Denying the allegations
Quality Testing
Company Damage
Strict Supplier’s Code of Conduct
Suitable action against suppliers
Introducing new Tuna based product
DNA testing of fish and meat products
Internal food quality testing
Immediate banning of product
Extensive advertisement on ethical sourcing
such as it is time-consuming; there are texts limitation and lack of flexibility in freestyling mind
map (Dutt, 2015). In case of the current company, the problem of misrepresenting the products
requires probable solutions which could be obtained using the mind mapping technique which is
presented below:
Figure 2: Mind Map
Source: Author
From the mind mapping technique, various solutions have been obtained such as conducting
product reformation by either changing labelling or introducing new Tuna based product. On the
other hand, the company must manage its reputation, take stringent action against the overseas
supplier and strengthen the supplier’s code of conduct. The company could also undertake

quality testing using DNA tests on fish and meat products and can also start their internal food
quality testing procedures.
Fishbone diagram
The fishbone diagram is a significant problem-solving tool that defines the cause-effect
relationship. This problem-solving technique is represented as a visualization tool for
categorising the causes of the problem and to identify the root causes of the problem. The
strengths of this technique include comprehensive root cause analysis, objective analysis,
contributing factors identified while the weaknesses include lack of risk management scope, and
failure in cause capture (Istikomah, Basori and Budiyanto, 2017). In the case of the current
company, the root causes and effect of the problem is presented below:
Figure 3: Fishbone Diagram
Source: Author
The fishbone diagram suggests that the effect of misrepresentation of the product would lead to
low sales and profits due to reputation damage, lack of quality testing procedures and lack of
strict supplier’s code of conduct.

Brainwriting
It is another form of brainstorming session wherein minimum of six members are required to be
involved. The benefits of brainwriting are that it is more structured in nature and tends to collect
ideas on paper to be used in the future. The approach is beneficial in collecting wide number of
ideas to single problem in the business (Jo Rudy, 2016). The limitations of brainwriting require
high level of planning and people with bad handwriting could result in the failure of the session.
Energy levels are low as participants are required to write their ideas rather discussing in voice
with others.
Figure 4: Brainwriting
Source: Self 1
Brainwriting sessions conducted within the company could prove to be effective in generating
ideas to enhance quality of foods by providing correct information to its customers. It could be
observed that ideas related to changing of product labels and adding new variant of product
without Tuna had been suggested to ensure business success. Moreover, introduction of quality
testing has also been recommended to check food products internally in the future.
Product
Modification
Changing labels of
product
Adding new
version of product
without Tuna
Reputation
Apologising to
Food Testng
Authority
Providng free
samples of new
product
Quality
Testing
DNA testing
Internal food
testing

Suitable Solutions
On deploying and applying the various problem-solving techniques such as brainstorming, mind
mapping, brainwriting and fishbone diagram, it was found that the problem of misrepresenting
product would lead to low sales and profit for the company. This is because the 30% content of
Tuna had been latent for the customers which would trigger customer issues and damage the
reputation. In this regards, the probable solutions that could be generated include the product
reformation by changing the labels of the products and including the ingredient of Tuna so that
the customers are informed correctly about the ingredients. On the other hand, the company
could launch a new product containing Tuna and put a ban on the existing and misrepresented
product. The second solution is incorporating food quality testing procedure by conducting DNA
testing on the fish and meat products and also starting an internal food quality testing process in
the company.
Conclusion
Thus, it could be stated that the company should consider using ideas such as product
reformation and quality testing as a part of problem solving technique. Both of these techniques
would benefit in regaining lost market reputation and trust from its customers.

References
Dutt, M. (2015). Adding Value to Projects Using Mind Maps. Journal of Creating Value, 1(2),
221-234.
Istikomah, I., Basori, B., & Budiyanto, C. (2017). The Influences of Problem-Based Learning
Model with Fishbone Diagram to Students's Critical Thinking Ability. IJIE (Indonesian
Journal of Informatics Education), 1(1), 171.
Jo Rudy, L. (2016). How to Use Brainwriting for Rapid Idea Generation. Retrieved September
16, 2019, from https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-use-brainwriting-for-rapid-
idea-generation--cms-26451
Kwisthout, J. (2012). Relevancy in Problem Solving: A Computational Framework. The Journal
of Problem Solving, 1(5).
Wilson, C. (2013). Brainstorming and Beyond: A User-Centered Design Method. Oxford:
Newnes.