1. PROBLEM SOLVING
IN GROUPS

2. GROUP 4
The
Problem
Solving
Process

3. PRESENTER: M.DUNG
Step 1: Identify and Define the
Problem
The drop in membership
The group’s budget crisis
Cutting the budget Funding the budget
The root problem

4. Identify and Define the Problem
Once your group agrees about the nature
of the root problem you will want to draft a
problem definition, which is a formal written
statement describing the problem.
An effective problem definition:
is stated as a question of fact, value, or
policy.
contains only one central idea.
uses specific, precise, and concrete
language.

5. Identify and Define the Problem
 Questions of fact ask the group to
determine what is true or to what extent
something is true.
“What percentage of our projected expenses
can be covered with our existing revenue?”

6. Identify and Define the Problem
 Questions of value ask the group to
determine or judge whether something is
right, moral, good, or just.
Questions of value often contain words
such as good, reliable, effective, or
worthy.
“What is the most effective way to recruit
new members?”

7. Identify and Define the Problem
 Questions of policy concern what course
of action should be taken or what rules
should be adopted to solve a problem.
“Should we sponsor an annual fund-raising
event with the local Public Relations Society
of America (PRSA) chapter in order to help
fund our budget?”

8. Identify and Define the Problem
After some discussion, the group decided
that the problem they needed to solve was
a policy question that could be best stated:
“How can we increase our revenues in
order to meet our budget in the current
economic conditions?”

9. Step 2: Analyze the Problem
Presenter: Thuy Trang

10. = finding out ASAP about the
problem
• materials available @ library/ Internet
• interview experts, former members (why
they dropped out + what might entice
them to rejoin), non- members (what
would entice them to join).
• conduct surveys

11. Questions to guide problem analysis
• What are the symptoms of this problem?
• What are the causes of this problem?
• Can this problem be subdivided into several smaller
problems that each may have individual solutions?
• What have others who have faced this problem done?
• How successful have they been with the solutions they
attempted?
• How is our situation similar and different from theirs?
• Does this problem consist of several smaller
problems? If so, what are their symptoms, causes,
previously tried solutions, and so forth?
• What would be the consequences of doing nothing?
• What would be the consequences of trying something
and having it fail?

12. important
During the information gathering and analysis step,
it is important to consciously encourage
members to share information they have found
that is new or contradicts the sentiments or
preferences expressed in the group. It is difficult
for most of us to give up our pet theories or
preferred worldviews.
A group that is willing to consider new and
unexpected information will more deeply analyze
the problem and, therefore, will likely come to a
more effective solution.

13. Step 3
Determine Criteria for Judging Solutions
Presented by To Uyen

14. Criteria
standards or measures used for judging the merits of
proposed solutions
 how the group will evaluate the virtues of each
alternative solutions

15. Criteria
Why?
• When developing criteria before thinking about specific solutions
 more likely to come to a decision that all members can accept
• Without clear criteria, group members may argue for their preferred
solution without considering whether it will can solve the problem
and whether it is practicable
 Group members must bear in mind sth in common before
stating their options

16. Suggested questions to set criteria
• What are the quantitative and qualitative measures of success that
a solution must be able to demonstrate?
• Are there resource constraints that a good solution must meet
(costs, time, manpower)?
• What risks are unacceptable?
• Is ease of implementation a consideration?

17. When potential criteria have been listed…
The entire group must agree upon certain criteria and
regard them seriously to judge solutions

18. Example
A group face the problem of budget for stationary, which
costs them up to $450 every year.
After discussion, they’ve agreed on the following criteria:
1. The budget must be cut down to less than $300/year
2. The essential materials’ quality, eg. paper and pen, must be
the same

19. Step 4: Identify
alternative solutions
Presenter: Pham T. Hieu

20. An alternative is the generation of new
ideas
Problem Solutions
A B C D

21. Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a method used in groups in
order to support creative problem-solving, the
generation of new ideas and greater
acceptance of proposed solutions

22. Capacity of human brain
to make associations
Brainstorming
For example:
When a person sees or hears the word “fun”,
the brain automatically searches for words
associations and produces suggestions such as :
cinema, theatre, concert, or terms such as :
humor, friends, relaxation, free time, sun
sea,…

23. Rules of
brainstorming
• No criticism or judgment
• Express completely and freely
• Quantity matters
• All ideas must be put down

24. Benefits
• Solutions can be found rapidly and
economically
• Results and ways of problem-solving that are
new and unexpected
• A wider picture of the problem or issue can
be obtained
• The team shares responsibility for the
problem

25. Step 5: Evaluate Solutions and
Decide
Presenter: Trúc Anh

26. Evaluate Solutions
• Sort through potential solutions to find the
one or ones that will best solve the
problem

27. Evaluate Solutions
• Compare each of the alternatives to the
decision criteria

28. Evaluate Solutions
• Quickly review the list and eliminate
those that obviously do not meet the
criteria

29. Evaluate Solutions
• Concentrate on evaluating the remaining
solutions, talking about how well each
meets specific criteria and comparing the
positive features of each.
 This discussion may result in only one
solution that meets all the criteria, but
often there will be more than one viable
solution.

30. Decision Making
is the process of choosing among alternatives.
• Five methods are commonly used to reach a
group decision. Methods that require greater
agreement among members are more time
consuming.

31. 1. The expert opinion method
• Once the group has eliminated those alternatives
that do not meet the criteria, the group asks the
member who has the most expertise to make the
final choice.
Example: Group leader, the most prestigious
member,…
• Obviously, this method is quick and useful if
one member is much more knowledgeable about
the issues or has a greater stake in the
implementation of the decision.

32. 2. The average group opinion
method
• Each group member ranks each of the
alternatives that meet all the criteria. Their
rankings are then averaged.
• The alternative receiving the highest average
becomes the choice.
• This method is useful for routine decisions or
when a decision needs to be made quickly.
• It can also be used as an intermediate straw poll
so the group can eliminate low-scoring
alternatives before moving to a different process
for making the final decision.

33. 3. The majority rule method
• The group votes on each alternative, and the one
that receives a majority of votes (50 percent + 1)
is selected.
• Although this method is considered democratic,
it can create problems. If the majority voting for
an alternative is slight, then nearly as many
members oppose the choice as support it. If
these minority members strongly object to the
choice, they may sabotage implementation of the
solution either actively or passively.

34. 4. The unanimous decision
method
• The group must continue deliberation
until every member of the group believes
that the same solution is the best.
• When a group reaches unanimity,
however, each member is likely to be
committed to selling the decision to others
and helping to implement it.

35. 5. The consensus method
(an alternative to the unanimous decision method)
• The group continues deliberation until all
members of the group find an acceptable
solution, one they can support and are
committed to helping implement.
• Some group members may believe there is a
better solution than the one chosen, but all feel
they can live with the chosen solution.

36. 5. The consensus method
• Arriving at consensus, though easier than
reaching unanimity, is still difficult.
• Although the majority rule method is
widely used, the consensus method is a
wise investment if the group needs
everyone’s support to implement the
decision successfully.

37. Sometimes a group will choose only one
solution. But frequently a group will
decide on a multi-pronged approach that
combines two or three of the acceptable
solutions.

38. Step 6
Presenter: Pham Hung Thinh

39. Step six: implement the
agree-upon solution
• The group has the responsibility to
implement the agree-upon solution or, if
the group is presenting the solution for
others for implementation making
recommendation for how the solution
should be implemented. The group[ has
already considered implementation in
terms of selecting a solution, but now
must fill in the details.

40. Some key questions
• What tasks are required by the
solutions?
• Who will carry out these tasks?
• What is a reasonable time frame for
implementation generally and for each of
the tasks specifically?