Carwow: Analyzing Problems and Implementing Solutions Report

This report examines problem-solving strategies for the UK-based firm Carwow, focusing on both simple and complex business issues. It explores various problems such as not meeting targets, inefficient meetings, excessive workloads, lack of recognition, and misuse of authority. The report includes an analysis of problem-solving tools like flowcharts, mind maps, system diagrams, and creative decision-making techniques. SWOT and PEST analyses are conducted to assess Carwow's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and the impact of external factors. The report also discusses problem-solving tools like the "5 Whys" and constructive controversy to address issues such as workload and target attainment. The report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges and potential solutions for Carwow's business operations.

Problem Solving

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
Simple and complex problems...............................................................................................1
Flow chart, mind maps and thought showers.........................................................................2
System diagrams.....................................................................................................................3
Creative solutions and decision making analysis...................................................................3
SWOT and PEST analysis......................................................................................................4
Problem solving tools.............................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Issues are the part of every business. Work based problems are the issues which are faced
by a company because of various reasons like insufficient training to employees, improper
monitoring, etc. Every enterprise has some goals. These difficulties will create hurdles in
attaining them and this is the prime reason that solution of problems should be done at the point
of their generation (Schoenfeld, 2016). Carwow is a small UK based firm that assist their
customers in buying a car of their choice at a moderate price. This report will discuss about
simple as well as complex problems. Various solutions of resolving different troubles will be
included in this file. SWOT and PEST analysis of company will be done in this assignment.
''Five whys'', appreciative inquiry, etc. are some problem solving tools and they will be included
in this report.
TASK
Simple and complex problems
Business enterprise is operating in the fast changing world. They have to deal with both;
simple as well as complicated problems. Carwow is a new firm and so, most of the troubles
which they are facing are complex but this does not mean that they can get resolved easily. It is
difficult to decide whether a problem is small or big. For an organisation, same issue can be
simple while for others, it can be very complex. Below are some work based problems:
Not meeting targets continuously – Every enterprise sets some targets for their employees
and various departments. This issue will create hurdle to accomplish coveted targets as well as
goals in an adequate way. If workers will not deliver results according to the expectations of
organisation then performance of entire corporation will do and they may fail to reach their long
term goals (Bardach and Patashnik, 2015).
Insignificant discussions and lengthy meeting – Most of manager do not understand aim
of meeting and then start it without proper planning. This result in hours of insignificant
discussion and wastage of time. The process of decision making become ineffective because of
this problem and it takes lot of time during making a call. Lengthy meeting does not assure good
result. It should be avoided in an organisation.
Too much workload – Normally, a small firm like Carwow put a lot of pressure on their
employees because they do not have much people in enterprise. Impact of this practice does not
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come in their favour and employees try to leave company as they have to spend more than their
working hours in the firm. Quality of work produced by staff members deceases when they have
to do more work in less time.
Lack of work recognition – Sometimes, employees do not get appreciation for performing
better than the expectations of top level management. If workers will feel that their task is not
recognized by senior managers then they will start putting extra efforts in their work. Not getting
timely promotion is another problem relating to same point. It demotivates the workers and
ultimately results in poor performance in next session (Van Aken and Berends, 2017).
Misusing authority – People who are sitting on high position may use their power for
own benefit or do favour to the workers who are close to them. This results in conflicts in
organisation because other employees feel that they are not treated in the same way.
Problems solving tools can assist in finding these troubles and if they can be used for
resolving them provided that they are adopted according to nature of issue.
Flow chart, mind maps and thought showers
There are various kinds of tools which can be used by identifying work based problems.
These techniques can support in removing different problems which can be generated because of
different reasons in Carwow.
Flow chart – This tool depicts a process or workflow. All the activities are mentioned in
a box and they are connected with arrows. Correct approach is solving an issue which involves
breaking it in various parts. Most of the managers focus on results. This is not a correct method
of problem solving. They should concentrate on the process by making a flow chart so that every
aspect regarding trouble can be triggered and removed in a systematic manner. Work based
problems like lengthy meetings and too much workload can be resolved if company uses this
technique.
Mind map – It is a diagram which is visualised by a person for organising different kinds
of information. It is basically a hierarchy which depicts the relation between two or more than
two parts of whole map (Savery, 2015).
Thought shower – Some people feel that braining-storing is bit offensive word so they
developed the concepts of thought shower where discussion on new ideas is made. Complex
problems like failing to meet the given target can be solved by using this technique.
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System diagrams
Carwow may successfully overcome most of their issues if they will identify and resolve
matter in short period of time. System diagrams assist in understanding the impact of one factor
on other. First step of this process is analysing relation between two main components like
quality of service and customer satisfaction (Problem Solving, 2017). If employees will maintain
high level of quality at the time of providing services to their clients then level of customer
satisfaction will increase and various departments will attain their targets in allotted time period.
Feedback loop second step of System diagram, it shows that impact on change in one factor on
other. Balancing loop is third step, suppose Carwow feel that they need to improve their relation
with customer then the can organise and event for them. Balancing is important because it fulfils
the demand of a situation. System can also get effected by external factors, identifying and
fulfilling gap which is created by external elements is crucial part of improving system model
(Weisberg, 2015).
Creative solutions and decision making analysis
Decision making is not an easy process but taking right decision in correct time will
remove various work based problems. Most of the troubles which are faced by Carwow are
related to wastage of funds or failing get desired publicity. Decision making analysis is done by
understanding every aspect of a problem by focusing on both long and short term benefits. Some
small issues like more workload and no appreciation from manager can be solved by focusing on
creative solutions. Suppose, if one employee has more work then other person in his/her team
can assist him/her so both of them can get free in right time. An award system can be initiated by
the management of Carwow so that they can appreciate work which is done by their employees.
This will support company in resolving problems regarding recognition. Concept of lateral
thinking has gained popularity because of creative and indirect approach which is used for
solving the problems. Suppose, managers of Carwow think that they are wasting lot of time in
meeting. They can set a time limit for meeting and try to accomplish it in decided time period.
This positive pressure will remove insignificant conversation and process of decision making
will get fast (Polk, 2015).
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SWOT and PEST analysis
SWOT analysis provides key information about the strengths and weaknesses of a
company. If an organisation has complete details about areas where enterprise is strong and areas
where they are weak then they can successfully cope up with the majority of work based
problems. They can also find opportunities and threats which are present in front of them. SWOT
analysis of Carwow is as follows:
Strengths – Their employees are highly qualified and trained. They have good learn-
ability and adaptability as well as they are able to face any challenge. This strength of company
can be used for setting and attaining aggressive goals. Targets can be attained by using
experience and confidence of workers. They are providing services at an affordable rate and they
have attained success in making a large number of permanent customers in short period of time.
Weaknesses – This organisation does not have much financial resources. This is the
prime reason that they cannot hire more workers and reduce workload on existing employees.
They are struggling to capture decent amount of market share in the industry where they are
operating (Bockstedt, Druehl and Mishra, 2015).
Opportunities – Auto-mobile industry is continuously growing and new technology in
cars is successfully getting attention of many buyers. Most of the customers do not have proper
knowledge about cars and this is a good thing for Carwow. Market of luxury cars is also
growing. This company can also assist buyers who are interested in buying the luxury cars.
Threats – They have many work based problems because of inexperience and poor
relationship between various departments and workers. This is a crucial internal threat for
company because absence of synchronization will result in huge loss. Some other companies are
also offering same kind of services to the customers. This means that number of their
competitors is increasing.
PEST analysis is done for identifying the impact of external factors on Carwow which is
given as below:
Political – This enterprise is operating in the UK that is a country which is going through
major political changes because of Brexit. Political instability can make a negative impact on the
business environment of this nation. This company is already failing to attain success in
achieving their targets (work based problems) and fear of uncertainty. Brexit will provide
negative impact to organisation.
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Economic – Growth rate of UK is low and so, Carwow may have to face some
unfavourable impact because of low growth rate of England. Demand of their services will not
grow with a high rate and this may result in less amount of profit according to their expectations.
Social – Culture of UK is changing and people are spending more amount on buying new
types of cars which are run by electricity like Tesla. They do not have any information about
these new types of vehicles (Jing, Madore and Schacter, 2016). Change in buying trend is
positively impacting this organisation.
Technological – They are using the latest technology at their workplace and this is
assisting them in doing their work in an effective way. It also minimises their work based
problems. Technology is changing rapidly and Carwow is adopting new techniques of working
for resolving significant problems.
Problem solving tools
Every organisation has many tools which they adopt for resolving a problem. Some
effective techniques are as follows:
''5 Whys'' – It is one of the most popular options that are available to Carwow
(Abeysekera and Dawson, 2015). It focuses on five main areas i.e. define, measure, analyse,
improve and control. This method is used for identifying the root cause of an issue. Employees
of Carwow are continuously coping up with trouble relating to reaching their goals. By asking
questions of ''Why'' for five times like, why problems is happening, mentioned firm can take first
step in resolving an issue. This approach believes in analysing the details behind occurrence of a
problem but at the same time, it also focuses on ''When to stop''.
Constructive controversy – This tool focuses on debate on a topic where one side will be
against of something and other will favour it (Abeysekera and Dawson, 2015). This process is
highly effective and it has ability to find solution of major problems like reducing workload on
employees. Both; workers and manager can do productive conversation where they can represent
own points regarding why staff members feel that high workload is not good for them and
management can try to make them understand that why it is in their favour. By having healthy
conversation, they can come to a conclusion.
Appreciative inquiry – This tool is very different from above one because it does not try
to overcome a weakness or resolve a problem. It concentrates on focusing on strengths and so,
they can move forward in other direction where growth can easily be attained (Jing, Madore and
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Schacter, 2016). Carwow has some issues relating to wrong use of power. Instead of asking
manager to stop misusing their authority, they can give him/her more responsibility in the areas
where he/she has performed well. One may think that running aware from problems but working
according to strength is not a bad approach.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that problems can be small or big, finding
their proper solution is essential for long term growth of a company. It has been assessed that
there are various tools which can be used by an organisation and they should choose appropriate
one according to their requirement.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abeysekera, L. and Dawson, P., 2015. Motivation and cognitive load in the flipped classroom:
definition, rationale and a call for research. Higher Education Research &
Development. 34(1). pp.1-14.
Bardach, E. and Patashnik, E.M., 2015. A practical guide for policy analysis: The eightfold path
to more effective problem solving. CQ press.
Bockstedt, J., Druehl, C. and Mishra, A., 2015. Problem-solving effort and success in innovation
contests: The role of national wealth and national culture. Journal of Operations
Management. 36. pp.187-200.
Jing, H.G., Madore, K.P. and Schacter, D.L., 2016. Worrying about the future: An episodic
specificity induction impacts problem solving, reappraisal, and well-being. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: General. 145(4). p.402.
Polk, M., 2015. Transdisciplinary co-production: designing and testing a transdisciplinary
research framework for societal problem solving. Futures. 65. pp.110-122.
Savery, J.R., 2015. Overview of problem-based learning: Definitions and distinctions. Essential
readings in problem-based learning: Exploring and extending the legacy of Howard S.
Barrows. 9. pp.5-15.
Schoenfeld, A.H., 2016. Learning to Think Mathematically: Problem Solving, Metacognition,
and Sense Making in Mathematics (Reprint). Journal of Education. 196(2). pp.1-38.
Van Aken, J.E. and Berends, H., 2017. Problem solving in organizations. Cambridge University
Press.
Weisberg, R.W., 2015. Toward an integrated theory of insight in problem solving. Thinking &
Reasoning. 21(1). pp.5-39.
Online
Problem Solving. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/problem-solving.html>.
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