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Practical Problem-Solving Skills in the Workplace

 Practical Problem-Solving Skills in the Workplace

Authors: Judith Combes Taylor, Rebekah Lashman, Pamela Hellling
Credit: 1.0 CEUs
Testing Format: multiple choice
Your Price: $139.00
ISBN: 9780761213895
Format: Book

Overview

Problem-solving skills to identify and resolve work-related problems and improve job performance.

With the increasing emphasis on initiative in the workplace, it‘s essential to know how to recognize, define, and analyze problems and then develop workable solutions to correct them. This course provides all the skills needed to achieve this, including a problem-solving tree.

Course Objective: Develop skills to recognize, define, analyze, and solve problems in the workplace.

Selected Learning Objectives

• Evaluate your own problem-solving strengths and weaknesses

• Use problem-solving skills to identify and resolve work-related problems and improve your job performance

• Track the steps you need to solve work-related problems with the Problem-Solving Tree

Testing Format

This course contains one multiple choice test valued at one Continuing Education Unit (CEU).

Table of Contents

About This Course

How to Take This Course

Pre-test

1. Why You Need to Be a Problem Solver 1

For Whom This Course Is Designed

Why Problem Solving Is Becoming a Business Necessity

The Changing Global Economy

Why American Employers Are Looking for Problem Solvers

The Meaning of Problem in a Business Setting

Problems May Be Big or Small

Middle-range Problems

What Employers Say About Problem-solving Employees

Assume Responsibility for Solving Small Problems Yourself

Involve the Boss Early When the Problem Exceeds Your Responsibility

What Boss Means in This Book

Recap

Review Questions

2. Portraits of Successful Problem Solvers 11

One Portrait of a Problem Solver: Andrea Jefferson

The Attributes of Successful Problem Solvers

Gathering, Sorting, and Analyzing Information

Having Confidence in Yourself

Being Flexible

Taking Risks

Being Objective

Communicating Your Ideas Effectively

Recap

Review Questions

3. Identifying Work-related Problems 23

Problem Identification Is a Real Skill

The Alarm Goes Off

Make Sure You’re Listening for the Alarm

A Problem Interrupts the Flow of Your Work

Problem Versus Distraction

Knowing What to Do Next

Can You Continue Your Work?

The Yes Branch: Make Sure You Are Not Evading a Problem

The No Branch: Situations in Which You Cannot Complete Your Task

Identifying Typical Problems in the Workplace

Processing

Interacting with Customers

Special Assignments

Supervising

You Have a Problem

Recap

Review Questions

4. Defining the Problem 39

The Importance of Defining the Problem

Defining Is a Process

The Process Has Two Steps

How to Define Problems

Learning How to Talk to Yourself: the Ws

Using the Ws: An Example

Don’t Confuse Solutions with Problems

Recap

Review Questions

5. Gathering Information 51

The Importance of Information Gathering in Problem Solving

The Information at Hand

Gathering Further Information

When Information Gathering Is Appropriate

When Information Gathering Is Not Appropriate

Figuring Out What You Don’t Know

Remember the W Questions

Start with the General, Then Get Specific

Research Methods: How to Find Out What You Need to Know

Networking for Information

Researching Documents

Recap

Review Questions

6. From Problem to Project 63

Understanding the Elements of a Project

Knowing Your Destination

Developing a Project-objective Statement

Plan the Route to Take to Get to Your Destination

Identifying Essential Project Tasks

Category Sorting

Last-to-first Sorting

Applying a Critical-needs Test

Recap

Review Questions

7. The Work Plan: Organizing and Managing Your Project Tasks 77

The Purpose of a Work Plan

The Elements of a Work Plan: Task Analysis

Recap

Review Questions

8. Managing and Evaluating the Progress of Your Project 89

What Project Management Is All About

Turning Your Work Plan into a Project-management Tool

Establishing a Project-milestone Schedule

More Advanced Methods for Displaying Your Project-Management Plan

Gantt Charts

PERT Charts

Some Last Words on Problem Solving

Recap

Review Questions

Bibliography

Post-test

Index