Instructions \u2013 PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY \u2756 This assignment is an individual assignment. \u2756 Due date for Assignment 1 is by the end of Week 7 (23\/10\/2021). \u2756 The Assignment must be submitted only in WORD format via allocated folder. \u2756 Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted. \u2756 Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented. This also includes filling your information on the cover page. \u2756 Students must mention question number clearly in their answer. \u2756 Late submitted assignments will NOT be entertained. \u2756 Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions. \u2756 All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font. No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism). Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted. Course Learning Outcomes-Covered \u2022 Describe decision making process for complex issues pertaining to business environment both internally and externally (C.L.O :1) \u2022 Define different perspectives and concepts of problem solving in diverse contexts and business situations. (C.L.O :2) \u2022 Explain and apply critical thinking and cognitive psychology as it pertains to analyze and synthesize information for problem solving and decision making. (C.L.O :3) Assignment Instructions: \u2022 Log in to Saudi Digital Library (SDL) via University\u2019s website \u2022 On first page of SDL, choose \u201cEnglish Databases\u201d \u2022 From the list find and click on EBSCO database. \u2022 In the search bar of EBSCO find the following article: Title: \u201cIs Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them?\u201d Author: Rebecca Knight Date of Publication: April 14, 2021 Published: Harvard Business Review Assignment Questions: (Marks 05) Read the attached article titled as \u201cIs Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them?\u201d by Rebecca Knight, published in Harvard Business Review, and answer the following Questions: 1. Summarize the article and explain the main issues discussed in the article. (In 500-600 words) (Marks 2) 2. What do you think about the article in relations to what you have learnt in the course about improving decision-making and problem-solving skills? reference to support your argument. (In 300-500 words) Use additional (Marks 2) Critical Thinking Question 3. Successful teams\u2014whether in sports or business\u2014usually perform well because each member contributes talents and skills to the group effort. What contribution do problem-solving skills make to team efforts? Provide at least one example that illustrates your points. (Mark 1) HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? by Rebecca Knight Published on HBR.org \/ April 14, 2021 \/ Reprint H06ARP Alessandra Desole\/Stocksy Some teams are really good at spotting potential problems. When colleagues present new ideas or propose new initiatives, team members readily ask tough questions and point out possible risks. But team members ought to provide constructive feedback as well. How can you, the manager, help change the culture on your team from one that\u2019s focused on identifying problems to one that fixes them? How can you set new norms that engender a positive tone? And what\u2019s the best way to reward employees for thinking critically while also making helpful suggestions? Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 1 HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? What the Experts Say Having a team that\u2019s quick to identify problems and voice potential obstacles is not necessarily a bad thing. \u201cIntellectually honest resistance\u201d to a new idea is worth airing, according to Liane Davey, professional speaker and author of the book The Good Fight. But when your team is overly focused on finding problems instead of solving them, it can be detrimental to productivity and morale. \u201cTalent is attracted to possibility, opportunity, and agency,\u201d she says. \u201cYou will lose great people if your team is always talking about why it can\u2019t, rather than about how it can.\u201d And yet, says Heidi Grant, social psychologist and author of the book Reinforcements: How to Get People to Help You, the best teams balance the two. As the manager, your job is to \u201ccreate an environment that allows for both creativity and analytical thinking\u201d in order to come up with solutions that are informed by reality. Here\u2019s how. Recognize underlying issues. For starters, you need to appreciate that your team\u2019s tendencies are not unusual. There are several deep-rooted dynamics at work, according to Grant. When faced with a new challenge or idea, many of us react by \u201cgetting into the details and focusing on obstacles,\u201d she says. \u201cWe ruminate on the problem and its many facets rather than thinking of ways around it.\u201d This predisposition \u201cgets compounded when we work with other people \u2014 there\u2019s a social element\u201d that often exacerbates a group\u2019s inclination to think in negative terms. This social aspect is more or less evident depending on the personalities that compose your team. Hierarchy also plays a role. \u201cManagers and people in power think about the \u2018why\u2019 \u2014 the vision,\u201d Grant says. \u201cThe less power you have, the more you tend to think about the details.\u201d (Perhaps it\u2019s because those people are often the ones who need to deal with the nitty-gritty in the execution stage.) Understanding these dynamics will help you map out the process of changing your team\u2019s culture. Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 2 HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? Reflect on your goal. You need to be clear about the changes you\u2019re looking for from your team. \u201cYou want your team to be more \u2018solutions-focused,\u2019 which is a bit like saying you want your team to be more innovative or more agile,\u201d says Grant. Many managers aspire to those things, \u201cbut it\u2019s not obvious how to get from here to there.\u201d Consider how your team currently responds to new ideas and proposals. What, or who, are the sources of opposition? Where does your team get stuck? Which details cause the most agita? Then, think about what you\u2019d like your team to do differently. This will help you define the specific behaviors you seek. Reflect, too, on why you wish to change your team\u2019s culture, says Davey. \u201cAs a leader, you need to make sure you\u2019re devoting time and energy to things on the horizon and the bigger picture,\u201d she says. \u201cYou can\u2019t spend all of your time on today. You need to keep time and mindshare reserved for tomorrow.\u201d Talk to your team. Next, Grant recommends talking with your team about your observations and what you\u2019d like to see them do differently. Explain that you want the team to do a better job of \u201clooking for alternate routes,\u201d rather than dwelling on the details of a problem. Ask team members for their take on what stands in the way of that and then listen carefully to how they respond. You might hear, for instance, that team members believe they\u2019re under a lot of time pressure, or perhaps they feel that new ideas aren\u2019t welcome. Maybe the team fixates on problems because people feel overwhelmed, says Davey. They might resent you asking them to focus on solutions when they\u2019re already overstretched. \u201cThey\u2019re thinking, \u2018I can\u2019t cope with the status quo, how am I going to manage tomorrow?\u2019\u201d If that\u2019s the case, you need to think about how to \u201csolve the bandwidth question\u201d; otherwise, \u201cyou\u2019re not going to get buy-in.\u201d Ask what you can do to help. What tasks can you remove from their plates? \u201cYou need to be constantly pruning the Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 3 HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? workload,\u201d she says. \u201cRetire old ways of working so that you have room for new ones.\u201d Set new norms. Changing your team\u2019s culture requires getting people on board with new ways of thinking and speaking, according to Grant. To accomplish this, you need to set new norms \u201cthat deliberately lift up other ways of working.\u201d Norms are powerful because we\u2019re heavily influenced by other people\u2019s behavior, she says. Simple things like \u201cbeginning each meeting with a positive reflection\u201d or creating \u201ca trigger word to remind people to be solutions-oriented\u201d can make a big difference, she says. That way, if the conversation veers off course, colleagues can help get it back on track. In that spirit, Grant recommends empowering employees to hold others on the team accountable and speak up if someone is \u201cbeing too problemfocused.\u201d She acknowledges that encouraging employees to call out colleagues will be hard. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t come naturally.\u201d But ultimately, it\u2019s worthwhile because \u201cit will help speed up the shift in how people work together.\u201d Role model. In order to inspire your team to think more creatively about solving problems, \u201cothers need to see you doing it,\u201d says Grant. \u201cYou need to put your ideas out there.\u201d Be direct and straightforward. \u201cSay, \u2018We\u2019re going to talk about solutions now; I don\u2019t want to hear about obstacles just yet. And I am going to get us started.\u2019\u201d Be disarming. Make sure team members know that their ideas don\u2019t need to be perfect. \u201cWhen people are afraid of making a mistake or they\u2019re worried about being evaluated negatively, they get risk averse.\u201d The implicit message ought to be: This is a safe place to propose new ideas. Use \u201cyour body language, tone, and words to invite others into the conversation.\u201d Bring in new information. Davey recommends \u201cusing external information to trigger creative conversations.\u201d For instance, at your next team meeting, you might say, \u201cI Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 4 HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? read an interesting article about a trend in our industry. How do you think this will affect us? What opportunities does this trend create? If this trend continues, what might we need to pay attention to? What hard choices might we need to make?\u201d Asking questions takes the pressure off team members to have specific answers, says Davey. \u201cThere\u2019s no need to be prescriptive.\u201d It spurs \u201cpeople to think about how they respond to how the world is changing,\u201d she says. Including outside voices can also be effective. Invite a consultant or someone from the accounting or legal department to attend a team brainstorming session, Davey says. \u201cThey have data and credibility to contribute\u201d and might spark new strands of conversation. Deal with challenges productively. When you encounter resistance to a new idea, it\u2019s important to listen \u2014 but also to make sure that team members\u2019 fault-finding does not monopolize the conversation, says Davey. Say, for instance, your colleague discounts a possible new strategy because \u201cthe company tried it once decades ago and it didn\u2019t work.\u201d First, you must \u201cvalidate their feelings and their perspective.\u201d Say something like, \u201c\u2018You\u2019re concerned that we tried it before, and it wasn\u2019t successful. That\u2019s a good point.\u2019\u201d If you fail to acknowledge your colleague\u2019s objection, \u201cthe other person might feel bruised and not heard.\u201d Second, you need to figure out a way to address the resistance in a productive way. You could either create a so-called \u201cparking lot\u201d where you place concerns (writing them on a white board that you\u2019ll return to later in the meeting, for example). Or, even better, start a dialog to explore possible solutions. \u201cAsk questions to continue the conversation.\u201d Davey suggests: \u201c\u2018Hypothetically, if we could do it again, what would it look like? How could risks be mitigated? What would we have to solve for?\u2019\u201d The goal, she says, is to combat \u201clazy cynicism\u201d by ensuring that there\u2019s \u201cfactbased rigor\u201d behind any concerns. Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 5 HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? Reward positive behaviors. When you observe team members seeking to solve problems productively, you need to \u201cpublicly affirm that they\u2019re doing the right thing,\u201d says Grant. \u201cNew habits don\u2019t form unless they\u2019re rewarded.\u201d Acknowledge great ideas and creative thinking. Be genuine. \u201cSay the positive thing you\u2019re thinking out loud\u201d in order to \u201cincrease the sense that norms are shifting.\u201d Other team members will take notice of the boss\u2019s support and approval. \u201cSocial affirmation is powerful for changing group behavior.\u201d Davey agrees. \u201cThere\u2019s a certain amount of pride\u201d that employees feel when their manager says, \u201c\u2018This is what we\u2019re looking for.\u2019\u201d Principles to Remember Do \u2022 Reflect on how you can create an environment that allows for both creativity and critical thinking. \u2022 Practice what you preach. Role model the problem-solving behaviors and attitude you would like to see in your team. \u2022 Create a trigger word to remind team members to focus on solutions. That way, when conversations veer off course, colleagues can help get it back on track. Don\u2019t \u2022 Ignore or discount resistance to an obstacle. Instead, explore possible solutions by asking questions. \u2022 Go it alone. Invite a consultant or a member of a different department to attend a team meeting. They might spark new strands of conversation. \u2022 Be stingy with compliments. Publicly acknowledging team members\u2019 creative thinking helps increase the sense that norms are shifting. Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 6 HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? Advice in Practice Case Study #1: Stimulate new ways of thinking by role modeling and setting solutions-oriented norms. Kean Graham, CEO of MonetizeMore, a midsize Canadian ad tech company, says that years ago, his team was overly focused on identifying problems, rather than remedying them. \u201cTeam members would bring up issues without any recommendations for how to fix them,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWhen I tried to get people to think about solutions, people weren\u2019t willing to engage, or they would just give me a list of reasons why an idea wouldn\u2019t work.\u201d This mindset dented productivity. \u201cIt prevented problems from being solved quickly,\u201d he says. \u201cIn fact, many would linger, causing much more damage than necessary.\u201d Kean knew that he had to make a change. First, he reflected on the challenge. He thought about things he wanted the team to do differently and specific behaviors he wanted to see from employees. He adjusted the company\u2019s culture doc to reflect a renewed \u201cfocus on being solutionsoriented.\u201d Then he talked to his team about it. \u201cI told people that we were going to try a new approach and we, as a team, needed a new mentality,\u201d he says. \u201cI said, \u2018From now on, we can\u2019t complain about problems without providing a possible solution.\u2019\u201d Kean knew that he needed to model this new orientation and be ready with fresh ideas and solutions. \u201cIt\u2019s important that I\u2019m the best example of the culture we want to exhibit,\u201d he says. \u201cI am naturally a solutionsoriented person, and I\u2019ve made even more of a point to focus on an actionable solution as quickly as possible.\u201d Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 7 HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? He also worked on setting new norms and even created a special term to encourage his employees to think differently. For instance, he calls discussing problems without a fix a \u201cdead-end.\u201d And he encourages team members to hold one another accountable. \u201cDuring meetings, if we hear someone only mention a problem, we remind them to not give us deadends,\u201d he says. \u201cWe ask instead for that person to suggest a solution so that they take ownership of the process to make sure it gets solved.\u201d Kean makes sure to publicly acknowledge and appreciate team members\u2019 creativity. \u201cIt\u2019s important to be positive, especially when you\u2019re trying to change group behavior,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of that is just saying, \u2018Great idea,\u2019 or, \u2018I like where you\u2019re going with that.\u2019\u201d Eventually, with practice, most employees have shifted their mindset. \u201cNow it\u2019s second nature,\u201d he says. \u201cOur new culture is solutions-oriented, and employees tend to have a high locus of control. They are now proactive about problem solving and feel more empowered to come up with solutions on their own.\u201d Case Study #2: Ask probing questions and encourage team members to take ownership of solutions. Declan Edwards, founder and CEO of BU Coaching, an Australian consulting startup that focuses on employee emotional well-being, says his team could once be described as a group of \u201cpeople searching for fires but with no tools to put them out.\u201d \u201cThey were great at identifying issues, but they had never been encouraged to solve anything for themselves,\u201d he says. \u201cAs a result, they kept bringing all the problems to me and my co-founder. Before we knew it, we were spending more time fighting fires than actually building the company.\u201d Declan felt burnt out and resentful. \u201cI remember attending a team meeting where there was a whole range of problems being brought forward, and no one was taking responsibility for solving them.\u201d Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 8 HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? He realized he needed to change the culture. He wanted his team both to think more creatively and to take more ownership for solving problems. \u201cWhen people have a hand in creating the solution, they are instantly more invested in making it work.\u201d To encourage new ways of thinking, Declan made his expectation clear. \u201cI said to the team, \u2018For every problem you bring to the table, you must also bring one proposed solution,\u2019\u201d he recalls. Declan says that he was wary of putting undue pressure on his team. \u201cSo, I highlighted that it didn\u2019t have to be a perfect solution, but it had to be something that would at least get the ball rolling.\u201d At first, employees needed guidance. But over time, they adapted to a new way of thinking and acting. Today, when an employee presents a problem, Declan encourages the team to have a short discussion about it \u2014 but he makes sure the conversation never devolves into a complaining session. \u201cConfirming that the problem is real validates people\u2019s perspectives,\u201d he says. Next, Declan asks a series of probing questions. What needs to be done? What are our options? What opportunities and risks are there? What is your recommendation? What resources do you need? What are the next steps you\u2019re taking to implement this solution? To spark new ideas, Declan often relies on outside sources. They offer fresh perspectives and new information, he says. \u201cWe have a team of consultants and business advisors supporting us, and we regularly use resources such as podcasts, articles, and more formal training programs to ensure our entire team is at the top of our game,\u201d he says. Today, employees arrive at meetings with solutions and ideas to share. \u201cCulture change takes time, so there are definitely still fires to be put out; however, now it doesn\u2019t feel as if all of that is set on my shoulders,\u201d he Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 9 HBR \/ Digital Article \/ Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them? says. \u201cIt now feels as though we have a united front that is creative, collaborative, and solves problems together.\u201d RK Rebecca Knight is currently a senior correspondent at Insider covering careers and the workplace. Previously she was a freelance journalist and a lecturer at Wesleyan University. Her work has been published in The New York Times, USA Today, and The Financial Times. Copyright \u00a9 2021 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 10 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Instructions \u2013 PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY \u2756 This assignment is an individual assignment. \u2756 Due date for Assignment 1 is by the end of Week 7 (23\/10\/2021). \u2756 The Assignment must be submitted only in WORD format via allocated folder. \u2756 Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted. \u2756 Students are advised to make … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/answers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/answers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/answers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/answers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/answers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/answers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/answers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/answers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/answers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}