Effective Problem-Solving: Strategies, Types, and Abilities

Posted on Mar 4, 2025 in Other subjects

What is a Problem?

Problems can be defined broadly as situations in which we experience uncertainty or difficulty in achieving what we want to achieve, e.g.:

  • Stopping smoking is a problem when you decide you want to stop but cannot.
  • A computer malfunction is a problem if it prevents you from completing work on time.
  • An excessive workload is a problem when it interferes with your ability to work effectively.
  • Poor communication is a problem when it reduces the efficiency of an organization.

Why People Fail to Solve Problems Effectively

  • Intellectual defensiveness, closed to new ideas.
  • Fear of being perceived as incompetent.
  • Fear of one’s ideas being unaccepted.
  • Inability to be objective about the problem.
  • Fear of being wrong.
  • Resentment about having to solve the problem; blaming others for causing the problem; no desire to own up to the problem yourself.
  • Believing that problems are the concerns of others, not me; therefore, why waste my time trying to solve them.
  • Mental and/or physical fatigue from trying to cope with problems and finding no fruitful solutions.
  • Feeling so stressed, anxious, or tense in the face of a problem that all energy and attention are drawn to the anger rather than to the problem.
  • Denial that the problem exists.

Types of Problems

Problems are of two types:

  1. Closed Problems: The given information leads to a given outcome, e.g., How to divide 10 oranges among five students equally.
  2. Open Problems: The given information leads to a series of outcomes. For example, How could a third-world country develop into a second-world country?

Abilities Required for Problem Solving

They are as follows:

  • Recall: The ability to recollect facts.
  • Comprehension: The ability to explain ideas in different styles.
  • Application: The ability to use ideas in different situations.
  • Synthesis: The ability to share ideas with other persons.
  • Evaluation: The ability of making judgments & selection. To compare ideas with others and make judgments about which idea is suitable to certain situations.

Stages of Learning

  1. The Technician Stage: Initially, you will be developing your skill in techniques, and you will be heavily dependent on instructors and other staff for direction, evaluation, and so on.
  2. The Researcher Stage: During this stage, you start to study (work) alone without help from instructors or staff, although at times you need some direction or guidance.
  3. The Consultant Stage: Finally, you will gain experience working with customers either within or outside the university.

Strategies for Problem Solving

There are two kinds of strategies:

  • Algorithm: In this strategy, we have clear rules and instructions to solve a problem.
  • Heuristic: In this strategy, we don’t have instructions. We have guidelines for selecting actions and ideas to solve a problem.

Stages in Problem Solving

There are different stages for solving a problem:

  • Polya’s stage
  • Wickelgren’s stage
  • Mason’s stage

Wickelgren’s Stage

Wickelgren’s Stage:

  1. Givens (data, etc.)
  2. Operations
  3. Goals

Polya’s Stage

Polya’s Stage:

  • Get acquainted, i.e., study the given data.
  • Work for understanding.
  • Try to get helpful ideas.
  • Carry out plan.
  • Look Back.

Levels of Problem Complexity

There are six levels of problem complexity:

  1. Level 1: Already known facts
  2. Level 2: Precise rules
  3. Level 3: Skills that have to be gained by practice.
  4. Level 4: A general method that is known, but particular responses have to be selected and evaluated.
  5. Level 5: Reformulation of a problem in order to produce some special methods of solution
  6. Genius – The invention of the problem