Problem Solving and Decision Making in the Workplace

This article discusses the complex problems in the workplace, including communication issues, and provides insights on analyzing information, generating alternative solutions, decision-making techniques, implementing plans, communicating with stakeholders, and monitoring techniques.

Problem solving and
decision making

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Complex problem in the workplace.............................................................................................3
Analyze information of the problem............................................................................................3
Range of alternative solutions to the problem.............................................................................4
Decision making technique..........................................................................................................5
Develop a plan for implementing the solution............................................................................5
Communicate the plan to stakeholders........................................................................................6
Appropriate monitoring and review techniques..........................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Problem solving is a method while decision making is a process. Problem solving is more an
analytical aspect of thinking. It also uses intuition in gathering facts. Decision making, on the
other hand, is more of a judgment where, after thinking, one will take a course of action. The
Kitchin is a fine dining restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland, run by Tom Kitchin and his wife
Michaela. It serves fresh Scottish produce in a French style. It was awarded a Michelin
star within six months of opening. This report includes topics such as complex problem, analyze
the information, range of alternative solution, techniques of making decision, development and
implementation of plan, communicate the plan to stakeholders and appropriate monitoring and
review techniques.
Complex problem in the workplace
One of the most common and complex problems in the workplace is communication problems
and it refers to misunderstanding and misinterpretating actions of other people at the workplace.
This problem is common at businesses but businesses like restaurants must keep it effective
otherwise it can affect the quality of service. The impact that these type of problems leaves on
the business is negative and it affects many things such as morale of employees and reduction in
productivity, affect the relationship between colleagues. If it is not solved soon then it will lead
to decrease in profits and arise more of those situations where it affects the goodwill of the
restaurant in the market. Although scope of communication is concerned with the functioning of
business. It is a necessary aspect for every business as it helps them to follow the chain of
command and follow orders from the top level of management (Walton, Toniolo and Norman,
2019).
Analyze information of the problem
There are many types of situations which leads to problems regarding communication in
the Kitchin restaurant. Sometimes it even disrupts the process of decision making which affects
the performance and productivity of the business. Some of the employees do not listen to the
instructions that are given in the meeting and miss out the important things which creates
problems later. Many of the employees in the restaurant do not listen to the instructions till the
end as they assume and predict the outcome of the speaker which is wrong many times. The
process of decision making also gets disrupts by the misinterpreting the instructions given as

many of the employees do not ask about the issue when they are in doubt which leads to create
problems. Also there are some problems which the speaker needs to avoid and that is to avoid
being indirect with their team and explain everything in detail (Soergel, 2018).
Range of alternative solutions to the problem
Right tools for communication-
In order to make the communication more effective The Kitchin needs to make sure that
they are using the right amount of tools such as infrastructure that is functional and provides
communication in a healthy manner. There are some basic tools such as surveys, box of
suggestion, group chat, social messages etc.
Consistency-
The Kitchin tries and makes it sure that the message which is being communicated to
their employees must be done in effective and efficient manner. It is necessary for the restaurant
to maintain a structure for each process so that there is information about who reports to whom
and through which method or tool they communicate. It is also important to maintain the data
which is required or used in the communication.
Avoid mixing work and personal communication-
Some of the employees working at The Kitchin brings their personal life into work which
affects the communication at the workplace. Employees gets distracted from work and forgets to
maintain the discipline and the code of conduct of the workplace. This also wastes time as it
leads to gossip among employees which increases the blaming amongst each other and reduces
the productivity. This is the reason why The Kitchin asks their employees to not talk about their
personal lives at the workplace (Proctor, 2018).
Listen-
In order to improve communication The Kitchin needs to make sure that their employees
are maintaining proper discipline and listening with focus so that no instructions or information
presented in the meeting is being missed out. This is necessary for both the heads as well as the
subordinates of the restaurant. The restaurant needs to make sure that employees are allowed to

speak and share their ideas to bring improvement and changes. If they are allowed to share their
thoughts and opinion then the restaurant might make changes that helps them to take the business
on the next level.
Follow through-
The Kitchin must make sure when they are communicating they need to test that
everyone is in the same zone. For example if the manager is asking about the target for meeting
the sales goals then employees must be present with him and give him the details about their
current position. It will reduce the chances of confusion and make the managers of the
employees sure that everyone is on the same page (Majd, Asgharpour and Ghiasvand, 2017).
Decision making technique
Multiple criteria decision analysis-
This decision making technique allows the restaurant to consider different options which
are guided and set under the criteria. For instance cost, quality offered, level of satisfaction
offered to the consumers. Even ordering a latte requires taking decision as people consider many
things at the time of ordering it such as the quality of beverage, cost etc. In order to take the right
decision there are different steps in this method such as consider all options in the menu before
ordering something particular. Measure the item against other things and then confirm it
according to its importance. Assess and evaluate the value of the item according to your need
(Adair, 2019).
Develop a plan for implementing the solution.
Define the problem-
It is necessary for the Kitchin to find out the problem so that appropriate technique or
strategy can be used to analyze the causes. In order to solve the problem it is necessary to review
the current processes being used and the working of the process so that restaurant can check if
the effective tools are being used or not. Apart from this evaluation of tools is also necessary.
Generate alternative solutions-

The Kitchin needs to try out different and new methods for solving the problem as many
times focusing on one solution does not work. Sometimes multiple solution works better than
one. For this stage it is believed that brainstorming and team problem solving techniques are
more effective.
Evaluate and select an alternative-
At this stage evaluators of the restaurant needs to select one suitable strategy and they
need to keep in mind that the alternative selected must be in the constraint of the business. All
the individuals must accept the solution (Espeland and et.al., 2018).
Implement and follow up on the solution-
Managers of the restaurant need to direct their employees during the stage of
implementing the solution. If they involve them in the process then they feel valued and it will
also generate support in the plan. Restaurant also needs to keep in mind that a proper path for
feedback is made at the time of implementation, this will help the restaurant to monitor and test
the actual results and compare them with the expected results.
Communicate the plan to stakeholders
The Kitchin needs to understand their stakeholders so that they can communicate with
them properly and provide them with the plan. Different stakeholders have different priorities
and that is why it is necessary to present the plan according to their suitability. If the restaurant is
able to tailor the communication then it will be easy for them to communicate with them. Also
the managers of the restaurant needs to define the objectives of the business in the market with a
proper evaluation of return on investment. They need to present the plan at the right time and
with the right tool to make it more effective such as presentation and slides, newsletters etc. Most
important thing that the stakeholders are concerned about is results. Communication will be
considered as effective when both the parties are engaged in it properly that is why methods such
as face to face meeting or video conferencing are considered as the best tool (Chan and et.al.,
2019).
Appropriate monitoring and review techniques
KPI

KPI is known as key performance indicators that are easily measurable which helps to
know that if or not the restaurant has met its expected goals. Other than that this technique also
helps The Kitchin to know the area where spending money is more viable which helps them to
stop losses. There are three types of KPI which is considered as useful in the restaurant business
such as sales and profitability, customer experience and marketing (Lassoued, Awad and Guirat,
2020).
Sales and profitability KPI-
If the restaurant has effective and efficient staff which matches up the demand and
maintains productivity then it is considered as a good restaurant because cost of labor is too high
and creates difficulty in establishment. Restaurant must have an idea about the performance of
the staff so that they can evaluate how much beneficial they are for the business. Business needs
to maintain the level of satisfaction of employees so that rate of employee turnover does not get
disrupt and affects the flow of work.
Customer experience KPI-
It is believed that consumers try only those new places which has a good rating online
and only those restaurants are able to attain it who offers a better customer experience and give
them a fine satisfaction of dining. It is irrespective of the size of the restaurant, even small
restaurants needs to do it as it is necessary for them because consumers think twice before
spending money on a new place and if they are treated well then they will get repeated sales from
them which will increase the level of profits.
Marketing KPI-
This aspect is crucial for The Kitchin as the restaurant business is linked with online
platforms vastly and any negative image online on any platform can affect the business a lot.
This is the reason it is necessary that restaurant has to monitor all the channels of promotion in
an effective manner. They need to apply a strategy which helps them to align the aspects of
marketing together. For instance it takes time for many people to decide what to eat, where to go,
which cuisine to have but online platforms makes it easy for them as it provides them with
detailed information about every restaurant and the quality of service they offer. This many times

change the mind of people and they switch places according to their priority or feasibility.
Restaurant must work up an strategy that it can be looked online but only to some extent (Caprì,
and et.al., 2019).
CONCLUSION
From the above studies it has been concluded that The Kitchin is a high end successful restaurant
with many awards under their name. They are known for their French food. The issue that the
restaurant faces that is the problem of communication between subordinates which is creating
confusion and affecting the flow of work. This may lead to negative image of the restaurant for
which they need to take quick and necessary actions which helps them to come back to track.
Other than this they need to understand the profile of their stakeholders so its easy for them to
present things and communicate with them. Tools such as KPI is being used by the restaurant to
monitor the performance of their employees and to check that if the expected results are met or
not.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Caprì, T., and et.al., 2019. Attention, problem solving and decision making in adult subjects with
ADHD. Journal of Clinical & Developmental Psychology, 1(1).
Chan, C.H.Y., and et.al., 2019. Preferred problem solving and decision-making role in fertility
treatment among women following an unsuccessful in vitro fertilization cycle. BMC Women's
Health, 19(1), p.153.
Espeland, M.A., and et.al., 2018. Impact of a multidomain intensive lifestyle intervention on
complaints about memory, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities: the action for health
in diabetes randomized controlled clinical trial. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 73(11),
pp.1560-1567.
Adair, J., 2019. Decision Making and Problem Solving: Break Through Barriers and Banish
Uncertainty at Work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Proctor, T., 2018. Creative problem solving for managers: developing skills for decision making
and innovation. Routledge.
Walton, D., Toniolo, A. and Norman, T.J., 2019. Dialectical Models of Deliberation, Problem
Solving and Decision Making. Argumentation, pp.1-43.
Soergel, D., 2018. Many Ways of Being Relevant. Information Support for Problem Solving and
Decision Making. Relevance and Irrelevance: Theories, Factors and Challenges, 9, p.223.
Majd, M.A., Asgharpour, S. and Ghiasvand, M., 2017. Effectiveness of Educating Problem
Solving and Decision making Skills on Mental health and Resilience of Female University
Students. International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 3(3), pp.9-14.
Lassoued, K., Awad, A. and Guirat, R., 2020. The impact of managerial empowerment on
problem solving and decision making skills: the case of Abu Dhabi University. Management
Science Letters, 10(4), pp.769-780.