This week in class we read chapter two of Smart Choices, and chapters four and five of our textbook, Strategies for Creative Problem Solving. In doing so, I learned a few interesting concepts and techniques on how to understand, identify, and define a problem. Smart Choices argues that in order for us to make a well-thought-out decision, we must first know the right problem because “how you pose a problem profoundly influences the course you choose” (Hammond, Keeney, & Raiffa, 1999, p. 15). The text says you can make smart choices by doing the following: Be creative about your problem definition Turn problems into opportunities Define the decision problem Reexamine your problem definition as you go Maintain your perspective Chapter
There are two ways in which people make decisions in their daily life or at work: Intuitive or rational. If we talk about intuitive decision-making (IDM) we talk about the subjective decisions that are not based on any facts and purely instinctive, for example whether or not to cross the street. These decisions are fast occurring, have no any need for reasoning and are used if facts are unavailable or making a decision is very difficult.
The Orange Room is creative consulting, an idea for group problem solving to implement finding the problem the emphases begins with observations following up with Brain Storming, then implementing the problem. My interview with Jeanette sparked in her a memory of a sweet time in her life as she recalled the working through the process of the Orange Room with her co-worker, Dan. The Orange Room was created in the mid 1990’s out of the desire to coach others to creatively connect during the process of problem solving.
In the essay “Thought” by Louis H. Sullivan, he states that people don’t always need words just to communicate. There are several ways that individuals are able to communicate without words, they can express themselves by gestures and facial features, like explaining themselves to others. Sullivan believes that both thinking and creative thinking are better without words and that the minds is always working; therefore, it does not have time to place words together. In order to think clearly they must use other means of pondering; although, the mind works quickly it will take a long time to write what they are thinking because the mind continues without stopping. When individuals are reading they are not think their own thought exactly but what
Introduction: Psychic powers? That is what an observer might think while watching someone find the bombs while playing Minesweeper; however, it is really a skill acquired through experience.
Smartthinking provides many different beneficial services that help students all over. It provides help in nearly any subject such as math, reading, science, writing, etc.. Many of these services are useful however, the one that I think will help me the most whether now or in the future is essay submission. Essay submission stood out to me the most because I am a student at Bethel University and we have to write a lot of essay papers instead of actually taking test. When using essay submission it helps people correct any issues or mistake that they may have in there essay paper that they have overlooked. Since I just started school again I will be using this tool quite often. Smartthinking provides a demand for any student. Tutoring is another good service that I can see myself using as well. A tutor is always useful to a student. Therefore I am glad that gives us the option to use
Elements of a theory of problem solving.
The final ZAPS 2.0 assignment for this class is the decision making experiment, focusing on what influences us when picking one option out of many. The experiment opens up that as simple as this process may seem, there are many processes and influential factors that go along with decision making. Up until recently, psychologists and economists theorized that most people utilized expected utility reasoning, which is taking in a form of “expected gain” and making simple decisions based on projected gains weighed against the possible costs, and simply choosing what results in the highest expected gain. Completing this experiment included answering a series of questions that strived to prove our fallible decision making--where under
“The typical procedure for solving a problem will initially involve defining the problem you want to solve.” (gdrc.org) The problem where I have worked at a company for eleven years with the benefit of education
Solving problems is a particular art, like swimming, or skiing, or playing the piano: you can learn it only by imitation and practice…if you wish to learn swimming you have to go in the water, and if you wish to become a problem solver you have to solve problems. -Mathematical Discovery
Life is full of decisions. Some decisions are trivial. Should I choose paper or plastic at the grocery store? Which of the 31 flavors of ice cream should I pick? Other decisions are vital. Should I get married to her or should I take this new job? Your decisions may affect many people or only yourself. In this paper I will present a decision-making model. I will describe a decision that I made at work using this model and how critical thinking impacted that decision.
Problem solving and decision-making are fundamental in all managerial activities. Although these defining characteristics of management can be used interchangeably, current literature makes a comprehensible delineation between the two. Problem solving can be defined as a mental process and is part of a larger process that begins with identifying the problem and ends by assessing the efficiency of the solution. Decision-making is also considered a mental process and identifies several alternative scenarios before making a final selection. For the purpose of this analysis, I will discuss the similarities and differences of problem solving and decision-making. I will also explain the steps of the decision-making process and discuss the different decision-making approaches.
Taylor, J. and Ortega, D. The Application of Goldratt's Thinking Processes to problem Solving. Allied Academic international Conference. Las Vegas. 2003
Knowledge is generated through critical and creative thinking. Creative thinking is something new or original that is created with value. Critical thinking is a type of thinking that questions assumptions and validates or invalidates a current belief or something that is said to be previously true. Knowledge is created through the culmination of generally accepted assumptions and creativity. How do you separate general assumptions and creativity? These two types of thinking can be easily separated in regards to concrete or realistic ideas compared to abstract or original ideas however to generate new, acceptable knowledge critical and creative thinking must interact together. The questioning of established beliefs with the creation of unorthodox new ideas will expose the most beneficial knowledge for the world.
Problem-solving help the students to create their own representation or illustration (De Corte, Vrerschaffel, De Win 1985; Hegarty, Mayer, Monk, 1995; Pape, 2003) based on how they interpret or understand the given problem (Pape, 2003; Van der Schoot, Bakker Arkema, Horsley, Van Lieshout, 2009). Problem-solving also tests their critical thinking skills on how they look for another strategy or ways to solve the problem easier. Problem-solving helps the problem solver to develop characteristics of a good problem solver which includes open-mindedness, optimistic, persistent, not afraid to commit mistakes and systematic person since he is following a certain step in solving the
Critical thinking regularly involves the capability to interpret information and make knowledgeable decisions based on such information. Additionally, problem solving is frequently theorised as the use of critical thinking skills towards the effective solution of a specific problem or towards a specific end goal. Critical thinking is the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances. The general goal of thinking is to figure out some situation” (Critical Thinking, 2001, p.1), solve some problem, answer some questions, or resolve some issue. It also is a process in which a person pursuits reliable and pertinent information about the world. Critical thinking is often described as reasonable, ruminative, trustworthy, and a well-practiced form of thinking that assists people with deciding what they should believe in and what actions should be taken. A practiced critical thinker will ask good questions, collects pertinent data, categorizes common characteristics, logically reasons with the new data and then he or she will come to a trustworthy and dependable conclusion. Critical thinking makes use of many processes and procedures. Some processes include but is not limited to asking questions, making judgments, and identifying