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1 – 10 of over 127000Mary McMurran, Arthur Nezu and Christine Nezu
The National Institute for Mental Health in England's (2003) paper, Personality Disorder: No Longer a Diagnosis of Exclusion, led to a need for effective treatments for people…
Abstract
The National Institute for Mental Health in England's (2003) paper, Personality Disorder: No Longer a Diagnosis of Exclusion, led to a need for effective treatments for people with personality disorders. Problem‐solving therapy (PST) is an appropriate treatment because, rather than trying to change basic personality structure, the aim is to help people with personality disorder to learn new skills to manage their emotional dysregulation and to work within their abilities to cope more effectively with life's problems. This overview describes the underpinning model of social problem‐solving and explains how PST aims to assist with problem‐solving difficulties.
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J. Barton Cunningham and John Farquharson
General systems theory offers one perspective for defining andunderstanding the problems that organisations face. The author presentsa set of systems problem‐solving principles…
Abstract
General systems theory offers one perspective for defining and understanding the problems that organisations face. The author presents a set of systems problem‐solving principles, and offers a procedure which might be useful when conventional problem‐solving has not been totally successful. The article illustrates this procedure in trying to address a budget deficit problem in a large metropolitan hospital.
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Hailu Getnet, Aron O’Cass, Vida Siahtiri and Hormoz Ahmadi
This study aims to investigate the role of team problem-solving creativity in new product development (NPD) in the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) in business-to-business firms. This…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the role of team problem-solving creativity in new product development (NPD) in the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) in business-to-business firms. This study synthesizes perspectives from NPD, creativity and leadership to examine how work-related factors such as NPD managers’ role ambiguity and individual-related factors such as CEO’s ambidextrous leadership style interact to determine team problem-solving creativity and its effect on new product performance (NPP).
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested using data from a multi-informant survey of 274 middle-level managers within 137 local BoP manufacturing firms in a sub-Saharan African country.
Findings
The results show that an NPD team’s ability to solve problems creatively determines NPP in BoP markets. The findings also show that NPD managers’ role ambiguity has a negative effect on team problem-solving creativity. However, a CEO’s ambidextrous leadership neutralizes the negative impact of role ambiguity on problem-solving creativity.
Originality/value
This study combines three distinct streams of literature, including NPD, creativity and leadership, to explore the antecedents and outcomes of problem-solving creativity. Drawing on creativity and leadership theories, this study reports that the success of creative idea exchanges depends heavily on a supportive environment for NPD team members and minimizing the NPD manager’s role ambiguity.
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Roni Reiter-Palmon, Anne E. Herman and Francis J. Yammarino
This chapter provides an in-depth understanding of the cognitive processes that facilitate creativity from a multi-level perspective. Because cognitive processes are viewed as…
Abstract
This chapter provides an in-depth understanding of the cognitive processes that facilitate creativity from a multi-level perspective. Because cognitive processes are viewed as residing within the individual and as an individual-level phenomenon, it is not surprising that a plethora of research has focused on various cognitive processes involved in creative production at the individual level and the factors that may facilitate or hinder the successful application of these processes. Of course, individuals do not exist in a vacuum, and many organizations are utilizing teams and groups to facilitate creative problem solving. We therefore extend our knowledge from the individual to the team level and group level, providing more than 50 propositions for testing and discussing their implications for future research.
Olivia B. Newton, Travis J. Wiltshire and Stephen M. Fiore
Team cognition research continues to evolve as the need for understanding and improving complex problem solving itself grows. Complex problem solving requires members to engage in…
Abstract
Team cognition research continues to evolve as the need for understanding and improving complex problem solving itself grows. Complex problem solving requires members to engage in a number of complicated collaborative processes to generate solutions. This chapter illustrates how the Macrocognition in Teams model, developed to guide research on these processes, can be utilized to propose how intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) could be developed to train collaborative problem solving. Metacognitive prompting, based upon macrocognitive processes, was offered as an intervention to scaffold learning these complex processes. Our objective is to provide a theoretically grounded approach for linking intelligent tutoring research and development with team cognition. In this way, team members are more likely to learn how to identify and integrate relevant knowledge, as well as plan, monitor, and reflect on their problem-solving performance as it evolves. We argue that ITSs that utilize metacognitive prompting that promotes team planning during the preparation stage, team knowledge building during the execution stage, and team reflexivity and team knowledge sharing interventions during the reflection stage can improve collaborative problem solving.
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Paul J. Riccomini, Jiwon Hwang and Stephanie Morano
While deficits for students with learning disabilities (LD) are prevalent in almost all aspects of mathematics, difficulty in the application and understanding of problem-solving…
Abstract
While deficits for students with learning disabilities (LD) are prevalent in almost all aspects of mathematics, difficulty in the application and understanding of problem-solving tasks are much more challenging to remediate than computational and procedural skills. Given the complexities involved in authentic problem-solving activities emphasized in current mathematics standards and the inherent challenges presented to students with LD, the importance of using strategies and techniques guided by evidence-based practices is paramount. Yet, ineffective instructional strategies for problem solving are still widespread in both mathematics curricula and available teacher resources. In this chapter, we provide a description of a commonly used ineffective problem-solving strategy (i.e., the keyword strategy), an overview of the keyword research, and an explanation for its ineffectiveness. We conclude with a description of three evidenced-based problem-solving approaches and practices that significantly improve the mathematical performance of students with LD.
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The purpose of this paper is twofold: to identify and map contemporary research on advanced technology implementations for problem-solving purposes in the manufacturing industry…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to identify and map contemporary research on advanced technology implementations for problem-solving purposes in the manufacturing industry, and to further understand the organizational learning possibilities of advanced technology problem-solving in the manufacturing industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper outlines a scoping review of contemporary research on the subject. The findings of the review are discussed in the light of theories of contradicting learning logics.
Findings
This paper shows that contemporary research on the subject is characterized by technological determinism and strong solution-focus. A discussion on the manufacturing industries’ contextual reasons for this in relation to contradicting learning logics shows that a Mode-2 problem-solving approach could facilitate further learning and expand knowledge on advanced technology problem-solving in the manufacturing industry. A research agenda with six propositions is provided.
Originality/value
The introduction of advanced technology implies complex effects on the manufacturing industry in general, while previous research shows a clear focus on technological aspects of this transformation. This paper provides value by providing novel knowledge on the relationship between advanced technology, problem-solving and organizational learning in the manufacturing industry.
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Nicolas Gillet, Stéphanie Austin, Tiphaine Huyghebaert-Zouaghi, Claude Fernet and Alexandre J.S. Morin
Research has shown that colleagues' norms promoting the need to respond quickly to work-related messages (CN) have a negative effect on work recovery experiences. In the present…
Abstract
Purpose
Research has shown that colleagues' norms promoting the need to respond quickly to work-related messages (CN) have a negative effect on work recovery experiences. In the present study, the authors examine the direct and indirect – through affective rumination and problem-solving pondering – effects of these norms on work–family conflict, family–work conflict and job satisfaction, and verify whether and how these associations differ between employees working onsite (n = 158) or remotely (n = 284).
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 442 employees completed an online survey that covered measures on CN, affective rumination, problem-solving pondering, work–family conflict, family–work conflict and job satisfaction.
Findings
As hypothesized, the study results revealed that CN were positively related to work–family conflict and family–work conflict, but not to job satisfaction. Moreover, the indirect effects of CN on work–family conflict and job satisfaction were significantly mediated by affective rumination and problem-solving pondering, whereas the indirect effects of these norms on family–work conflict were significantly mediated by affective rumination. Finally, the relations between CN and the mediators (affective rumination and problem-solving pondering) were stronger among employees working onsite than among employees working remotely.
Originality/value
These results revealed that working remotely buffered the detrimental effects of CN on affective rumination and problem-solving pondering.
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Erdogan Koc, Senay Yurur and Mehtap Ozsahin
This study compared the results of self-report and ability-based tests of problem-solving abilities of 144 hospitality managers working at hotels and restaurants through an online…
Abstract
Purpose
This study compared the results of self-report and ability-based tests of problem-solving abilities of 144 hospitality managers working at hotels and restaurants through an online survey. In the first stage of the study, the managers were asked to fill in the self-report problem-solving ability scale by Tesone et al. (2010). In the second stage of the study, the managers were asked to respond to questions in a case-study-based problem-solving test.
Design/methodology/approach
Problem-solving is a key aspect of business process management. This study aims to investigate and compare hospitality managers' actual and claimed (self-report) problem-solving abilities. A lack of unawareness of the actual level of skills may be an important problem as managers who tend to have inflated self-efficacy beliefs are less likely to allocate resources, e.g. time, money and effort, to develop a particular skill or ability they lack. They are also more likely to take risks regarding that skill or ability.
Findings
The results of the study showed that there was a major difference between the results of the self-report test and the actual test. This meant that the managers who participated in the study had inflated self-efficacy beliefs regarding their problem-solving abilities, i.e. they operated under the influence of the Dunning–Kruger effect. The study showed that self-report tests that are commonly used in businesses in recruitment and promotion may not provide a correct level of people's abilities. In general, managers who have inflated self-efficacy beliefs are less likely to be interested in developing a particular skill due to the overconfidence arising from their inflated self-efficacy beliefs. The study showed that managers were less likely to allocate resources, e.g. time, money and effort, to develop a particular skill they lack and are more likely to take risks regarding that particular skill.
Practical implications
Managers in the hospitality industry appear to lack problem solving-abilities. While the hospitality managers assigned high marks for their problem-solving abilities in a self-report problem-solving scale and appeared to be performing significantly good overall in problem-solving, they performed poorly in an actual problem solving exercise. It is recommended that businesses rather than depending on self-report problem-solving scales, they should resort to ability-based scales or exercises that actually measure managers' problem-solving abilities. Also, as managers who had formal tourism and hospitality education performed poorly, tourism and hospitality programme managers at universities are recommend to review their syllabi and curriculum so as to help support their graduates' problem-solving abilities.
Originality/value
The study is original as no previous study compared managers' problem-solving abilities by using self-report and ability-based tests. The study has implications for researchers in terms of developing knowledge, ability and skill-based scales in the future. The study has also significant practical implications for the practitioners.
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The purpose of this research is to present the results of a recent interpretive study of 11 small Central Vancouver Island firms in British Columbia, Canada, which yield new…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to present the results of a recent interpretive study of 11 small Central Vancouver Island firms in British Columbia, Canada, which yield new interpretations of the nature of problem‐solving processes within the wider context of managerial capability as a critical contributor to small business survival.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach taken is positioned within an emergent body of research in the field of small business and entrepreneurship that applies an interpretive paradigm to uncover the complex facets of how individuals develop their capabilities and management practices with a particular emphasis on the small business owner‐manager. More specifically, the critical incident technique method, along with an approach to data analysis and coding that draws from grounded theory, is combined and applied as a qualitative research strategy to yield new understandings of problem solving in small firms.
Findings
Research findings reveal the intuitive, improvised and non‐linear nature of how problems are actually solved in the sample of small firms studied, in contrast with a number of well‐known theoretical research frameworks that propose well‐defined and delineated steps in the problem‐solving process.
Research limitations/implications
The small sample size and the methods chosen to conduct the research do not allow for the generalization of findings to all firms, yet do allow for the emergence of themes among the businesses that participated in the study. Research could be expanded by applying a similar research design to small firms in other regions of Canada to determine whether significant differences or similarities exist and to identify the implications for research in the area of problem solving in small firms.
Originality/value
The identification of problems as critical incidents represents a primary focus of the research and provides a more explanatory account of problem solving from the perspective of small firm owner‐managers involved in the process. The analysis of these highly subjective interpretations represents valuable research findings that provide a basis for the development of theory on problem solving in small firms.
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