BMSW4004: Problem Solving and Decision Making in Workplace Report

This report addresses the complex work-based problem of low employee motivation and lack of initiative in development programs within a marketing department. It employs problem-solving techniques, specifically the 'Five Whys' method, to identify root causes and proposes alternative solutio...Read More

Presentation
Knowledge
Exchange
Project
Contents

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Complex work based problem................................................................................................1
Analysis of the information identified in the issue to support decision making process.......1
Usage of problem solving technique to find alternative solutions to the problem.................2
Usage of decision making technique to identify the most suitable solution for the problem out
of the options..........................................................................................................................3
Plan for implementing the solution........................................................................................4
Communicating the plan to stakeholders...............................................................................5
Assessing monitoring and review technique to ensure successful implementation of the
solution...................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Workplace management requires managers and leaders to handle several scenarios which
create barriers in achieving organizational objectives (Ohnos, 2021). This report focuses on
applying problem solving and decision making techniques to determine the best solution for a
work based problem. The complex work based problem identified in this report is low employee
motivation and lack of employee initiative in various development programmes introduced at the
company. This report identifies a suitable solution for resolving this problem through the usage
of problem solving and decision making technique. In addition to this plan for implementing the
solution along with monitoring and review techniques which can assist in successful
implementation of the solution.
MAIN BODY
Complex work based problem
Lack of motivation and low employee involvement in training and development
programmes in the marketing department is the selected work based problem for this report. This
is a common work based problem which require quick problem resolution. This is because of
lack of employee motivation impacts the productivity and timely attainment of business
objective.
Analysis of the information identified in the issue to support decision making process
The main information provided about the complex work base problem of this report is that
employees at the company are not motivated and dedicated to conducting daily activities of the
marketing department. This can be seen through their lack of involvement in the training and
development activities of the marketing department.
The scope of this problem is high as it involves the entire marketing department and low
employee motivation can hinder timely attainment of business objective. The impact of this
business problem is that it has reduced employee productivity and training and development
activities aimed at improving the skill level of employees are not providing the desired results
because of lack of employee motivation.
From the above information it is analysed that the root cause of the problem is low
employee motivation which is affecting overall employee engagement and lowering employee
participation. It is important that the organization finds an efefeuctve solution for enhancing
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employee motivation. The positive impact of increasing employee motivation will be increase in
employee commitment to daily business activities and encourage them to actively participate in
various training activities. The negative impact of making an effort to improve employee
motivation is that increasing employee motivation requires high financial investment which can
be economically burdening for the company.
Usage of problem solving technique to find alternative solutions to the problem
The five whys’s is an effective problem solving technique which involves repeatedly
asking the Why question five ties in relation to a problem (Simmons, 2018). The application of
this technique in context of the work based problem of low employee motivation is provided
below:
1) Why are employees not participating in training and development activities?Answer: The reason behind low involvement of employees in training activities is because of
low employee motivation.
2) Why is the employee motivation low?Answer: Th3e reason behind employee motivation is lack of job satisfaction.
3) Why is there low job satisfaction among employees?Answer: the lack of effective job satisfaction among employee is ineffective and late
compensation along with absence of reward and recognition systems.
4) Why is there any effective reared and recognition system for employees?Answer: The reason for the absence of an effective employee reward and recognition system is
lack of grading criteria and technology for determining employee performance.
5) Why is there lack of employee grading system and technology for determining
performance of the employees?Answer: The reason for this is lack of investment in performance management and employee
reward initiatives.
From the application of the Five why’s tool for problem solving, it can be determined that
the main solutions for resolving the problem of low motivation is to implement a performance
management plan or introduce a reward and recognition system. The performance management
plan will increase employee motivation as they will gain support in their professional progress.
Introduction of reward and recognition system will increase employee motivation by providing
hardworking and tented employees suitable rewards.
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Usage of decision making technique to identify the most suitable solution for the problem out of
the options
The decision making tool which will be used to understand the suitability of different
solutions for resolving low employee motivation is the Pros and Cons method. This decision
making tool is also referred to as dialectical inquiry (Arandjelovic and et. al., 2019). It involves
considering thesis and antithesis of a specific idea in order to effectively evaluating the
consequences of a different ideas. The application of the pros and cons method for alternative
solutions of building a performance management programme and rewards and recognition
system are provided below:
Solution 1: Introduction of performance management programme
Pro Cons
 The primary advantage of
performance management
programmes is that it will
provide employees direction
for their career progression
and skill development.
 Implementation of the
performance management
programme will help the
company increase job
satisfaction as each employee
while be able to attain their
professional ambitions while
working for the company
(Helmold and Samara, 2019).
 The main disadvantage associated with using
performance management programme as
solution for increasing employee motivation are
the high costs associated with successfully
implementing performance management
programme on a departmental scale.
 Implementing a performance management
programme is a lengthy and complex process
which increases the possibility of failure.
 Another disadvantage of implementing a
performance management programme is that
partialities and favouritism in the company can
impact on the effectiveness of the performance
management programme. This can lead to
failure of the programme.
Solution 2: Implementing reward and recognition system
Pro Cons
 The advantage of implementing a reward and
recognition system is that it improves job
satisfaction of the employees each employee
 The main disadvantage of
utilizing a reward and recognition
programme is that it does not
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gains benefits and recognition from the
company according to their level of effort in
attaining business objective.
 The usage of reward and recognition system
at the company can create positive working
culture at the firm (Mehta, Dahl, and Zhu,
2017). This is because every employee will
focus on gaining rewards and recognition by
continuously working on improving their
capacity.
 Introduction of an effective reward and
recognition system will also improve
employee engagement as each employee will
focus on actively participating in various
training and development activities so that
their skills is improved and they are able to
seek the reward and recognition as given in
the system.
provide long term benefit to the
company. This is because
employees are encouraged to gain
short-term goals in exchange of
immediate benefits from the
system which is not suitable for
attaining long-term strategic goals
of the firm.
 Reward and recognition system
only increase productivity of the
employees in relation to the
measuring criteria of the reward
and recognition system (Quan,
Chen and Shu, 2017). This means
that the employees do not focus
on improving overall capabilities
which does not have significant
impact of skill of the workforce.
From the above application of the pros and cons tool for decision-making it is determine
that the most suitable solution for improving employee motivation and employee involvement in
training and development activities is introducing a suitable reward and recognition system. This
conclusion is made from the decision making tool because the second solution of introducing a
suitable reward and recognition system has more pores than cons. On the other hand, the first
solution of implementing a performance management programme for the employees of the
marketing department has more cons in comparison to pros. This means that the most effective
solution for the company is introduction of reward and recognition programme.
Plan for implementing the solution
The steps for implementing a solution successfully in the workplace ae provided below in
relation to work based problem of low employee motivation at the company:

Identification of the actions required: In the first step the actions needed for completing
the activity are determined (Bahadori and et. al., 2018). In case of introducing a reward
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and recognition programme, the primary activity which needs to be completed is to
determine which aspects of employee performance need to be rewarded in exchange of
which tasks. The tasks here include activate participation in training and development
programme, improved productivity and involvement in offering innovative marketing
solutions. The reward includes financial remuneration and companywide recognition.

Schedule the actions: In this stage a time based schedule for the decided action is
prepared. The time schedule for successfully introducing reward and recognition
programme is of 3 months.

Identification of the need resources: The main resources needed for the implementation
of the plan are identified here. The main resources needed for introducing reward and
recognition programme include digital technology to store and analyse data related to
employee performance, employee involvement and practical solutions given by
marketing employees. In addition to this financial resources are also needed to reward
employees appropriately.

Putting measures to counter adverse consequences: In this part action is taken to limit
negative outcome of the plan. The primary risk associated with reward and recognition
programme is that employees will not be encouraged to make overall development. In
order to tackle this negative outcome leaders and managers will take initiative to
encouraging employees in the marketing department to not only improve professional
aspects which are related to reward parameters but also make improvement in other areas
in order to be considered for continuous rewards.

Identification of management of the action: The action of implementing reward and
recognition system will be managed by utilizing participative management style (Dakhil,
Underwood and Alshawi, 2019). Employees feedback will be taken continuously to
ensure that the system is being effectively and providing desired result. In this employee
satisfaction in relation to the reward and recognition programme will be maximised.
Communicating the plan to stakeholders
The communication channel which will be used to communicate the solution for the work
based issue of low employee motivation include digital communication channels. Stakeholders
of this plan include investors, employees and senior leadership. Each of the stakeholder will be
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given continuous information through emails about the implementation and result of the reward
and recognition system.
Assessing monitoring and review technique to ensure successful implementation of the solution
The monitoring technique utilized for the plan of introducing reward and recognition system
is baseline monitoring technique. This involves taking bassline measurements at every stage of
the plan to determine if the desired result is reached. The advantage of this monitoring tool is that
it provides improvements and mistakes made at every stage (Clarke, Kelly and Hardy, 2021).
The disadvantage of this monitoring technique is that it is very time consuming technique.
The reviewing technique used for this plan involves taking feedback from main stakeholders
about the positive and negative impact of the project. The positive impact of this technique is
that actions can be taken to improve stakeholder satisfaction on the basis of the feedbacks given
by each stakeholder. The disadvantage of this technique it can have negative impact on the
objectivity of the review.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that the most important step in moving towards
identification of a solution for a work based problem is too analysing the set of information
known at present. This is because it helps determine that root cause of the problem for which
suitable solutions can be identified. The most effective problem technique which support
problem resolution in the workplace is the five why’s. The useful decision making tool which
can be used to determine the most suitable option out of different alternatives is the pros and
cons technique. This is because it helps determine the benefits and limitations of the technique
which can be used for determining the most suitable action. It is important to communicate the
plan for resolving work based issues to the stakeholders so that they are able to understand the
efforts made for managing the work based issue at the company. Baseline measuring and
stakeholder feedback are effective monitoring and reviewing techniques which can be used to
monitor and review successful implementation of plans for eliminating various business
problems.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arandjelovic and et. al., 2019. The role of depression pharmacogenetic decision support tools in
shared decision making.
Journal of Neural Transmission, 126(1). pp.87-94.
Bahadori and et. al., 2018. Factors affecting strategic plan implementation using interpretive
structural modeling (ISM).
International journal of health care quality assurance.
Clarke, R., Kelly, R. and Hardy, A., 2021. A randomised multiple baseline cases series of a
novel imagery rescripting protocol for intrusive trauma memories in people with
psychosis.
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, p.101699.
Dakhil, A. J., Underwood, J. and Alshawi, M., 2019. Critical success competencies for the BIM
implementation process: UK construction clients.
Journal of information technology in
construction (ITcon), 24. pp.80-94.
Helmold, M. and Samara, W., 2019.
Progress in Performance Management: Industry Insights
and Case Studies on Principles, Application Tools, and Practice. Springer.
Mehta, R., Dahl, D. W. and Zhu, R. J., 2017. Social-recognition versus financial incentives?
Exploring the effects of creativity-contingent external rewards on creative
performance.
Journal of Consumer Research, 44(3). pp.536-553.
Ohnos, T., 2021.
Taiichi Ohnos Workplace Management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Quan, W., Chen, B. and Shu, F., 2017. Publish or impoverish: An investigation of the monetary
reward system of science in China (1999-2016).
Aslib Journal of Information
Management.
Simmons, R., 2018. Introduction to 8D Problem Solving: Including Practical Applications and
Examples.
The Quality Management Journal,
25(4), pp.201-201.
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