Problem-Solving

Leaning on New Thinking Skills

Howard Eisner

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367749811
• eBook ISBN: 9781000396003
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Industrial Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Problem-solving and better thinking skills are among the top skills that employers are looking for. This book presents various methods of problem-solving that can be adapted to any field. It focuses on a set of a dozen new approaches with an ending result to finding better solutions to problems that you may have previously found difficult.

The book discusses problem-solving based upon new thinking skills and presents the relationship between problem-solving and creativity. A connection between problem-solving and re-engineering is presented as the book explores the ability to tackle new and difficult problems in all aspects of life. It points you in the direction of how to easily find better solutions to problems that previously were found to be difficult.

Target audience is general engineers, systems engineers, scientists, technologists, mathematicians, and lawyers.

1

The Nature of Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is one of the most important skills, say the employers of today. It stands out among other skills, which are attributes like [1]:

• Positive attitude
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Self-management
• Willingness to learn
• Resilience

Now that is quite a list; fortunately, we will deal only with problem-solving in this book. But that appears to be sufficient.

And so we find that Forbes declares [2]:

“Problem solving is the essence of what leaders exist to do…their goal is to minimize the occurrence of problems”. Yes, one solution is to keep them from happening.

We will feature a dozen ways to deal with problem-solving, each one requiring considerable effort to use and master. In addition, these techniques are enhanced if the user brings improved thinking to the fray. This book identifies some two dozen potentially new ways of thinking. A lot of work for the reader. The author hopes that all these efforts will prove to be useful with a tangible payoff. On the matter of effort, we take note of the apparent fact that effort is a “multiplier” [3]:

$“\text{talent}\times \text{effort}=\text{skill}”\text{and}“\text{skill}\times \text{effort}=\text{achievement}”$

We note that Angela Duckworth put forth the proposition that achievement is just about proportional to the square of the effort. The math details perhaps are not important, but the basic idea is. You have got to put in the effort if you want to achieve.

So if you are the boss in an enterprise, you would like your direct reports to have this skill, in spades. Your boss drops an important and complicated problem on your desk and you would like to get some help in responding. You go to your people and drop some aspect of the problem on their desks. Two or more heads are better than one, and they are. So your guys work over the weekend to get a handle on the problem. By Monday afternoon you are presenting some preliminaries to your boss. You are pleased, and so is she. The “machine” is working the way it should. The “machine” is working as if it was well-oiled, and it is. All is well in your territory. And it is based upon orderly thinking and problem-solving. Without these skills, the machine is lying on the ground, huffing and puffing. With the machine in tune, you are happy and so is your boss.

Five Large-Scale Problems

Two types of problem areas are explored in these two sections. The first has to deal with large-scale issues that we have as a society. Each of us as individuals experiences the problem, but mainly as a member of society at large. The second problem area is a set of problems that this author faced during his 30 years in industry. This latter set provides a series of examples that are illustrative. The first set has the following elements:

1. Predatory pricing
2. Getting through college
3. The climate issue
4. Cybersecurity
5. The crisis in IT (Information Technology)

Predatory Pricing

Various small businesses, especially, have run into what they have called “predatory pricing” [4]. They experience the phenomenon directly, they claim, when they have a best-selling product and, all of a sudden, a large competitor appears and undercuts their price by 10%–15%. Same product, basically, but cheaper by 10%–15%. We know what the consumer is going to do. He or she is going to switch to the cheaper offering. Then, the producer gets in touch with the complainer and offers to make a deal whereby they “share” the market. The small business now has a double problem – make a deal or do not make a deal? Complain to the government, or do not complain to the government? Do a bunch of analyses on the problem, or do not spend more time with numbers and projections? So the basic problem that the small business faces has a variety of subproblems, or questions. The small business has a problem that, if handled poorly, could determine whether or not they succeed as a business.

Getting Through College

In case nobody noticed it, we remind everyone that college prices have been steadily increasing. Many students now expect to have a large debt facing them after they graduate from college. How to “solve” such a problem? It is not obvious, but here are some “solutions”: (a) skip college for now until the value-proposition is more favorable; (b) borrow the money from your parents, or other source; (c) go to a less expensive 4-year college; (d) go to a “community” college, which normally is less expensive and plan to move to your college of original choice, based upon your terrific grades and a scholarship. There are probably other variations on the theme, if you think hard enough. So what is the answer? It would appear that just about each and every student has his or her own answer. And so we struggle along.

We continue with a short citation of numbers relative to this problem area [5]. During the past 20 years (*):

• The average tuition and fees at private national Universities have jumped 154%
• The average tuition and fees at public Universities have risen 181%
• In-state tuition and fees at public national Universities have grown the most, increasing 221%
• (*) sample size of 381 Universities

The Climate Issue

One more time, the new report rings the bell on the “climate” problem. One report identifies ways that climate change can affect the ocean [6]. One way, of course, will lead to unacceptable new shorelines. Others will just about kill certain areas for productive fishing. Yet a third will lead to horrific melting of polar ice.

Negative consequences are right around the corner, such as:

• Increasing sea levels and atmospheric water vapor
• Decreasing mountain glacier and arctic ice mass, snow cover and permafrost
• Extreme weather such as droughts, heat waves, wild fires, storms, floods, and blizzards
• Aggregate negative effects on human quality of life

The research-oriented crew at Sigma Xi have decided to increase their support for such actions as [7]:

• Climate scientists as they produce their results
• Global cooperation and collaboration
• Policies and investments that enable technological solutions

Cybersecurity

With the increase in the world of IT (information technology) every company now has to worry about cybersecurity. Hackers seem to be everywhere and it comes down even to the individual and stories that we hear about stealing of identity, breaking into bank accounts and making off with passwords and checks from the local mailbox.

A very recent example of what we are doing about this problem is the new comprehensive policy called a Space Directive – 5 to improve the nation’s defense against cyberattacks [8]. This is focused on space and near-space technologies, and it puts the Department of Homeland Security clearly in charge of cybersecurity defenses. As part of the new Directive, key cybersecurity principles were established, to include:

1. Space systems are to be subject to risk-based cybersecurity-informed engineering
2. Space systems operators must develop and follow cybersecurity p...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Author
• 1 The Nature of Problem-Solving
• 2 Thinking as a Corporate Culture
• 3 The Power of the Idea
• 4 Approaches to Problem-Solving
• 5 Think Tanks and Problem-Solving
• 6 Specific Problems and Their Solutions
• 7 Great Thinkers and Problem-Solvers
• 8 Artificial Intelligence
• 9 Group Problem-Solving
• 10 Miscellany
• 11 Summary
• Appendix A: A Dozen Additional Ways of Thinking
• Appendix B: Acronyms
• Index