Problem Solving Skills Report: Analysis for Primark's Growth

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of problem-solving skills within the context of Primark, a retail industry company. The report begins with an introduction to problem-solving and its importance, followed by a detailed exploration of skills for tackling problems, including psychosocial approaches and critical thinking. It then delves into effective communication skills, analyzing the key components of PEST (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological) factors and the principles of effective communication to reduce workplace barriers. The report also examines numerical knowledge and skills, differentiating between qualitative and quantitative data and explaining mean, median, and mode. Furthermore, it includes a sample electronic job letter and discusses key employee behaviors, as well as the impact of a healthy work environment on performance. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and referencing relevant sources.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Part 1 Skills for tackling problems:.................................................................................................1
Part 2 Effective use of communication skill....................................................................................1
Part 3 Numerical Knowledge & Skills for creating effectiveness at the company..........................3
Part 4 Information communication technology and Professionalism..............................................5
Part 5 Working with others..............................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Problem solving skills helps in finding solution of different complex situations and
problems. It is mental activity which is related to thinking and intelligence. It is very important
for every employee who wants to get job in respected organisation. Primark is retail industry
headquartered in Dublin. It is specialised in selling cosmetics, clothing and houseware items
(Baars and et.al., 2017). In this report, the main tasks involved are different stages of
understanding the problems. Analysis of main steps of innovation ad and critical analysis for
handling the problems is done. Main components of ‘PEST’ are defined and effective
communication principles are analysed. Further, numerical knowledge and skills for creating
effectiveness at the organisation are assessed. Moreover, key behaviours of employees and
impact of healthy work environment on worker's performance are discussed.
Part 1 Skills for tackling problems:
Psycho-social approach looks after every individual and helps in identifying the problems
of every employee of Primark. It also helps in identifying the psychological factors and
surrounding environment and its impact on the mental wellness of the employees. This approach
helps the workers to solve health and social problems. Psychological approach helps in solving
different problems of employees. It can be solved by determining its essential aspects due to
which it is happening (Foss, Frederiksen and Rullani, 2016). The employees must be motivated
to make plan and better strategy to resolve their problems. Further, the employees can increase
their performance by understanding their weak areas which could help them in improvising their
skills to face challenges
Further, Primark can help its staff members by motivating them to apply creative
methods to solve their daily problems. They can provide effective solution and innovative ideas
by working together on the task and related problems. Critical thinking and innovative ideas will
provide more opportunities to the employees to sort out their difficulties. The organisation can
also provide effective and valuable resources to their employees to increase their performance
(Suso-Ribera and et.al., 2016). Critical thinking and development of various strategies will
increase the productivity and performance of the employees as well as their organisation.
Part 2 Effective use of communication skill
2.1 Key components of PEST
Political factors:
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Political factors directly influence the performance of the Primark as political parties in
UK changes frequently. It affects their customer base and brand price because high tax rates and
interest rates adversely affects Primark's position and price.
Economic factors:
Economic slowdown in UK has directly affected the performance of Primark because
whole market of the company is based on the economy of UK. Further, the organisation has to
make effective policies before launching their new product in the market. Primark has to analyse
the economic condition of every country so that it does not have to face losses and failures.
Social factors:
Primark has to manufacture the product according to the culture and tradition of the
people. This will help the company to increase its sales. Primark has to take care of the beliefs,
culture and demands of the people depending upon their social background so that they can
satisfy their needs and increase customer's database.
Technological factors:
Primark has to increase their technical facilities as most of the people in the world
nowadays are preferring online shopping. Primark is required to implement upgraded
technologies in order to meet competitio which might cost them highly as these technologies
changes frequently. This can affect the overall revenue of the company.
2.2 Analysis of effective communication principle for reducing barriers in the workplace
Communication skills are very important for the employees in order to interact with
management as well as customers. It also helps in solving difficult tasks and problems. Further,
effective communication between employees and team leaders reduces barriers and helps them to
solve their problems effectively (Koehler, Newby and Ertmer, 2017). Primark has adopted
various methods of communication in providing useful information to its employees. These
methods include formal, informal letters, emails, face to face communication etc.
Face to face communication:
It is the most effective method of interacting with the employees as it helps in discussing the
problems directly. This reduces conflicts and other barriers to business.
Emails:
Email is another method of communicating important information to the staff members.
It also helps in maintaining effective relationships among the employees and top authority. It
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helps to interact with the workers which work in other countries. Further, through email
supervisor can send their message with images and graphics which helps them in understanding
the message in a better way.
Trainings:
With the help of training, Primark can clear their big pictures to their employees. They
also convey their future goals and objectives to their employees with the help of trainings and
presentations (Nguyen and et.al., 2016).
Part 3 Numerical Knowledge & Skills for creating effectiveness at the
company3.1 Differences between qualitative and quantitative data
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Illustration 1: Qualitative pie chart
Illustration 2: Quantitative pie chart

Qualitative data focuses on description which cannot be calculated while quantitative gives more
concern on numbers and calculations. These data are used in various fields such as business,
marketing, public health etc. Research methodology used in this data analysis is conclusive while
quantitative data uses exploratory research methodology (Pawluk and et.al., 2017). Data in
qualitative methods are interpreted as spoken or written format Quantitative data is used in
computation and in statistical analysis. Structured data collection is used in this method while
unstructured gathering is used in quantitative data. Qualitative data helps in developing initial
understanding while quantitative data recommends final course of action.
3.2 Explaining mean, median and modeMean:
Mean is used to determine the averages of all the values by dividing sum of all the numbers by
total numbers of the values. It is used by the companies to find out their growth ratio.
 Median:
Median is the value that helps in separating higher half of values from the lower halves. It helps
in measuring the properties of different data set in statistics.
 Mode:
It is the value that is sampled most likely. It is used to represent important information of the
whole population and employees in the company.
Part 4 Information communication technology and Professionalism
4.1 Electronic job letter to human resource manager for the post of administrative assistant
To: human resource manager
Subject: Applying for position of administrative assistant
Sir,
I am applying for the position of administrative assistant. My career interest, education
qualification and experience are well aligned with the requirements of the position. I have good
communication, problem solving and leadership skills which will help your company to attract
more customers. I am efficient in handling different issues related to challenging customers. I
have attached my resume which will give you more details about my skills. I will appreciate
personal interview for this opportunity. I look forward to meet you.
Sincerely,
Tom
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Part 5 Working with others
Key behaviours of employees at workplace
Positive attitude:
Employees’ positive attitude at the workplace will help in creating effective and healthy
environment. The organisation has to motivate its employees to leave their ego and work
effectively in the company.
Friendly nature:
All the employees have to behave properly at the workplace. They have to be friendly
with other team members and with their leaders also. Managers have to take care that all
subordinates are working properly so that they can increase their performance (Ramirez and
et.al., 2016).
Take responsibility:
Employees in the Primark has to take responsibility of their work and accept their fault
when they commit any mistake. They have to perform their tasks by taking responsibility which
will increase their productivity.
Meet deadlines:
In order to achieve the target of the company. All staff members have to complete their
work on time.
Impact of healthy environment on employee’s performance
Healthy environment in the organisation will directly affect the performance of the
employees. Effective atmosphere encourages the employees to complete their task on time. It
will motivate staff members to increase their performance by solving their complex tasks
(Schoenfeld and Sloane, 2016). Primark helped its employees to enhance their performance by
providing them essential resources timely.
CONCLUSION
From this report, it can be concluded that problem solving skills are very necessary in
increasing the productivity of the employees. Different steps for critical thinking and innovation
in the company are analysed. Further, effective use of communication skills is discussed. Face to
face, emails, trainings, formal and informal letters are some communication methods by which
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the organisation can provide important information and notices to its employees. PEST analysis
is done to explain the factors which are affecting Primark's performance. Difference between
qualitative and quantitative data is elaborated. Key behaviour of employees in the organisation
are discussed. Moreover, impact of healthy work environment on the performance of the
employees is discussed.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Baars, M. and et.al., 2017. Effects of problem solving after worked example study on secondary
school children’s monitoring accuracy. Educational Psychology.37(7). pp.810-834.
Foss, N. J., Frederiksen, L. and Rullani, F., 2016. Problem-formulation and problem-solving in
self-organized communities: How modes of communication shape project behaviours in
the free open source software community. Strategic Management Journal.37(13). pp.2589-
2610.
Koehler, A. A., Newby, T. J. and Ertmer, P. A., 2017. Examining the Role of Web 2.0 Tools in
Supporting Problem Solving During Case-Based Instruction. Journal of Research on
Technology in Education. pp.1-16.
Nguyen, C. T. and et.al., 2016. Problem-solving skills training for mothers of children recently
diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot feasibility study. Autism. 20(1). pp.55-
64.
Pawluk, E. J. and et.al., 2017. Unique Correlates of Problem Solving Effectiveness in Individuals
with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research. pp.1-10.
Ramirez, G. and et.al., 2016. On the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement in
early elementary school: the role of problem solving strategies. Journal of experimental
child psychology.141. pp.83-100.
Schoenfeld, A. H. and Sloane, A. H. Eds., 2016. Mathematical thinking and problem solving.
Routledge.
Suso-Ribera, C. and et.al., 2016. Social problem solving in chronic pain: An integrative model of
coping predicts mental health in chronic pain patients. Journal of health psychology.21(6).
pp.1015-1025.
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