Chapter11 – “Problem-solving”

Written By: - Aditya Bikram Dash

Student ID: - 101251804

The definition of problem emphasis the procedure of building the model depicting how the

problem works i.e. its factors, relations or connections amongst factors, symptoms, and certain

factors which decrease or increase the strength of the problem (Osland, J., Kolb, D., Rubin, I.,

and Turner, M. 2007). In the last year of my graduation, it was made compulsory for the students

to complete an internship of 60 days in any real organization and prepare a report on the

learnings from the internship. I searched different organizations and understand the roles and

responsibilities of interns. But out of different roles, the role of customer service executive

attracted me the most. I was thrilled and eager to solve the problems and issues of customers in

the consumer-electronic store and learn more about problem-solving.

Although, I was asked to work under the supervision of a manager because the consumer-

electronic store cannot afford to lose a single customer merely because of poor customer service.

We were a group of 10 individuals who worked together to solve the problems of customers. The

manager provided me the training to deal with structured problems which occurred regularly and

there is a definite and defined approach used to solve the problem.

However, in my internship, I faced an unstructured problem that was very complex and was not

covered with ready-made procedures. One of the valuable customers of the consumer-electronic

store was asking for replacing the product due to a manufacturing defect. The technicians of the

consumer-electronic store checked the product and found that it was not due occurred due to a

manufacturing defect but it occurred due to mishandling of the product by the customers

(Osland, J., Kolb, D., Rubin, I., and Turner, M. 2007). The technician described it by giving

every possible explanation to the customer but he did not want to listen and ask to replace the
product with a new one. Even he said threatened us by saying that he will go to the consumer

forum to file a complaint against the company.

Due to such words of the customer, I lost my temper and asked him to do whatever he wants to. I

was scolded by my manager because of this approach who ask me to write an apology letter to

the customer because it is the mission of the consumer-electronic store to value its customers.

After that, my manager was very nice and humble and he teaches me a great lesson about finding

opportunities in every problem before coming to a particular conclusion. He explained to me the

model given by Kolb to prevent such mistakes in real-life.

The situation become worst because I replied to customers to solve this complex problem, the

whole customer service executive team decided to solve it in a group because it was believed that

no individual has all the essential information, skills, and distinct perspectives and the

contribution of other people in the particular case helps in solving the problem easily. From this

whole process, I realized that the process of problem-solving is not just a mental puzzle, but it

was also a social process that needed perception, creativity, perception, conflict management,

facilitation, and group skills (Osland, J., Kolb, D., Rubin, I., and Turner, M. 2007).

The stages we followed to find the solution to the problem begins with situation analysis i.e.

identifying the most important problem, we found that despite the mistake of the customer, he

wanted us to replace the product with a new one just because he was a loyal customer.

Afterward, from the problem analysis, it was found that the third-party delivery partners

misbehave and mishandle the product which damage some products. the best possible solutions

to this situation could be to change the delivery partners, to change the packaging of the product,

or to reimburse some amount in this case.

amount of the product for the sake of not losing the valuable customer, maintaining his loyalty

with him, and most importantly maintaining the image of the organization. The reason for

selecting this solution is that the other two solutions cannot be implemented immediately and

needed approval from higher authorities as this might increases or decreases the cost to the

company.

B. Reflective Observation

Looking back on this experience, I could feel that I developed problem-solving skills and am

ready to deal with any problem.

I enjoyed being a part of the customer service executive team when I knew that the college was

to hold a competition for solving complex problems, it was a good chance to showcase my skills

and abilities among other students. I resolved the problem by analyzing the situation, finding the

causes of the problem, finding the best solution, and then executing the same. Admittedly, it

proved to be a good method to solve this problem. Hence, I realized the significance of following

these stages to find the solution to the problem (Osland, J., Kolb, D., Rubin, I., and Turner, M.

2007).

Afterward, we tried to make the customer satisfied with the solution so that he can be retained

with the company for a long-time and we were successful in our motive. This action from the

customer service executive team made me realize the sentence given by marketing professionals

i.e. “customer is the king of the market”. In every industry, companies are facing tough

competition, and satisfying and retaining customers is the foremost priority of every company.
Our manager of the customer service executive team played an important role in providing

training to interns and solving the problems in practice with his problem-solving, planning,

prioritizing, and critical thinking skills. Meanwhile, he kept telling us about the models,

practices, and strategies that must be followed to solve the problem and find the best possible

solution to the problem.

Further, it could be seen from the dedication and active participation of the team members to find

the solution for the customer through innovative and creative ideas from the beginning. During

this practice, each member shared his/her opinion on the problem, the factors responsible for it,

causes, symptoms, and all possible solutions, yet through dialectics of problem solution i.e.

through doubting and believing (Osland, J., Kolb, D., Rubin, I., and Turner, M. 2007). This is a

way to theorize two different mindsets needed to solve the problem. In the believing approach,

people desist from evaluating the situation and finding the possibilities of how an idea of

reimbursement to the customer could work. Here, the customer service executive team needs to

understand whether the customer would be satisfied with the reimbursement amount or looking

for something else. Thus, by adopting the approach of believing, the team was able to solve the

majority of the problem.

However, during this practice, the manager also faced the issue of conflict among team members

which was another problem for him because these people did not agree on the same idea to solve

the problem. The manager tried to solve this issue by encouraging the feeling of team cohesion

and spirit and tried to prepare everyone to agree on the same idea of reimbursement. Though, the

manager asked about the decision of reimbursement from higher authority as it affects the profit

of the consumer-electronic store.

Members of the customer service executive team applied their "problem-solving skills". The

team member needed an appropriate mix of brainstorming, analysis, creativity, active listening,

analytical skills, decision making, and critical thinking skills to find the solution to the particular

problem. When we were deciding on the solution to the problem, everyone wanted to solve this

problem with their creative solution, but the ultimate decision was made by the manager. The

strength of the team was strong communication and mutual understanding that in case the

manager did not use the idea of an individual, it did not affect their interest and he started

working as a team. Even, if people disagreed with each other, the manager uttered few words and

settled the conflict immediately. The manager did not let the interpersonal issues affect the

attaining the goals of the team which make him different from other members (Osland, J., Kolb,

D., Rubin, I., and Turner, M. 2007).

For us, we could not find the solution to the problem and were about to make the customer

dissatisfied and unhappy with the services, but the goal of customer satisfaction was only

fulfilled because of the guidance, supervision, and instruction of the manager and the motive of

solving the problem was achieved. Through the above-mentioned things, such small steps

towards problem-solving help us to find the best solution to the issue without losing loyal

customers along with maintaining the store image. I could see that this is successfully achieved

because of the problem-solving, brainstorming, and critical thinking skills of team members.

Using the right combination of these skills in the particular situation in executing the model help

in finding the solution to the problem.

The stage of the Kolb model begins with information gathering and defining the problem which

is done by the active listening skills of an individual. Solution analysis which was the second
stage was completed with the help of analytical and critical thinking skills. implementation

analysis was done through brainstorming and creativity of individuals.

However, from the perspective of the manager, he faced cultural differences while solving

problems as it was very difficult to determine certain factors like individualism or collectivism

and locus of control. Thus, to make the problem-solving procedure easier, he delegates the task

of finding the source of the problem and gathering information about the problem to team

members so that it becomes easy for him to manage the team effectively along with finding the

best solution to the problem. The final result of this decision proved that we made the right

decision to solve this problem.

D. Active Experimentation

From the whole situation, I learned to deal with different real-world problems. This begins with

gathering relevant information about the situation including symptoms, factors, causes, etc.

secondly, to analyze the problem from a different perspective which is followed by solution

analysis that comprises finding alternative solutions to the problem and ultimately executing the

solution in such a way that it does not affect the interest of another party.

Further, I also learned about dealing with problems in the workplace and trying to resolve them

with an emphasis on the nature of the problem rather than judging individuals based on personal

attributes or personality. In the initial stages of problem-solving, the manager keeps the group

prematurely from discussing solutions. The manager takes the opinion of different members

about the problem and establishes all system links to ensure the problem is defined properly and

there should not be any obstacles during the implementation of the solution.
Besides, I also believe that managers should reward or recognize individuals if they share

valuable opinions on a particular problem. This motivates them to think out of the box and find

out the most suitable solution to the problem. Further, the manager must not ignore the

contribution of other members of the team as to solve any issue, it is essential to maintain

cohesion among the team members.

Additionally, excellent communication and active listening skills were of necessary importance

to find the most suitable solution and confirmed the smooth functioning of the customer service

executive team. Meanwhile, it was also important to set realistic goals as well as performance

standard measurements to analyze the contribution of each member of the problem-solving team.

From this situation as well, I realized the significance of group involvement in finding the

solution to the problem is much more than an individual's efforts to find a solution. It is because

the process of problem-solving is much more than a mental puzzle and is a type of social process

where the group's different skills like creativity, communication, conflict management, and

diverse perception are used to find the most suitable solution to a given problem (Osland, J.,

Kolb, D., Rubin, I., and Turner, M. 2007).

A problem exists both in personal and professional life and an individual need to make the right

decision to avoid a negative consequence. Hence, a problem cannot be solved from the same

extent of consciousness that created it but requires different approaches to deal with it.
References

Osland, J., Kolb, D., Rubin, I., and Turner, M. (2007). Organizational Behaviour: An

Experiential Approach, 8th Edition. Publication Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson

Prentice Hall