How are problems solved in today’s organization? In last 3 decades or so we have seen myriad of management principles come and go. Each of them made their fair contribution in solving organization problems but none of them became truly institutionalized. While all of them are still present in varying degree, organizations continue to seek newer techniques to solve their problems. This is further compounded by the fact that management consultants / gurus keep churning out new concepts; thus, prompting organizations to keep experimenting with new approaches. However, very soon disillusionment sets in and yet a new approach is attempted.
Are these different approaches to problem solving different? If we carefully observe, most of them have lot of similarity. After all, problem needs to be defined well, analysed scientifically, decisions must be based on data and fact, actions & recommendations should be executed well, sustainability angle must be understood and facilitated, people should be involved from the area where the solution is being attempted, teams should be trained in solving problem and implementing solutions, process must be institutionalized by suitable process change etc. etc. The only thing that would be different is the vocabulary, the templates, etc.
On a different note, one of the reasons for growing disillusionment with leadership is also due the fact that some of these have even failed to deliver the hard results on ground. While leadership has done their bit by providing their commitment in terms of time, budget and will to deploy; the outcome has not been pervasive to sustain their interest. Thus, they continue to look for newer ways of problem solving.
