bs ii module 1

Amity School of Business

PROBLEM SOLVING & CREATIVE THINKING

BS – IIBy: Parul Goel


- Problem solving is a mental process.

-Is part of the larger problem process that includes problem finding and problem shaping.

Problem - Solving


Considered the most complex of all intellectual function.


Problem solving occurs when we move from a given state to a desired

goal state.


• There are always problems

• There are no big problems; only small ones


• You can solve them when YOU are bigger than the PROBLEM

• But if you don’t solve them then, they become BIGGER than you


• Every problem has a Solution

• Actually every problem has more than one solution

Amity School of BusinessWhat’s Your Problem-Solving Style?Directions: Circle the correct letter, then distribute the 10 points among choices a, b and c.

1. When I am faced with a complex situation or problem, I tend to:

_____ a. Ask friends

_____ b. Solve it myself

_____ c. Seek professional help

2. People who are great problem solvers:

_____ a. Have very clear goals and objectives

_____ b. Find the best solution

_____ c. Ask the right questions

3. I am happiest when I am deciding:

_____ a. How things should be

_____ b. How to make things better

_____ c. How things are now

4. When I am bothered by something I look at:

_____ a. How I would like things to be different

_____ b. What I should do to make things better

_____ c. The cause of the problem

5. When I am under pressure, I

_____ a. Spend a lot of time thinking about it

_____ b. Solve it quickly

_____ c. Sit back and carefully examine the situation


6. I am most interested in:

_____ a. The way things could be

_____ b. How to improve things

_____ c. The way things r now

7. When I am in a group, I tend to help the group:

_____ a. Determine goals

_____ b. Take action

_____ c. Obtain the facts

8. When I find out that another person does not like me or is angry with me, I:

_____ a. Try to understand what that person wants

_____ b. Try to make things better between us

_____ c. Get more information

9. When another person asks me for help with a problem, I tend to:

_____ a. Find out what the person wants to accomplish

_____ b. Give suggestions

_____ c. Get more information

10. People in general are likely to get into trouble when they:

_____ a. Lack a vision for the future

_____ b. Don’t take risks

_____ c. Act on impulse


Add the numbers you have written.

a: 8, b: 2, c: 1

Totals:

A: _____

B: _____

C: _____

Now add 5 points to A and subtract 5 points from C.

A: _____

B: _____

C: _____

A= Idealist interested in values

B= Activist interested in proposals and ideas

C= Realist interested in information and situations

Amity School of BusinessEXERCISE

1. List 10 problems you solved today. What problem-solving skills did you

use?

2. When you have a major problem, is there somebody you go to for help?

What is it about that person that makes you think he or she can handle the

problem?

3. Describe the biggest problem facing you right now. What skills will you

need to solve it?

Amity School of BusinessRating Scale

• Critical thinking skill

• Problem solving skill

• Expression of ideas

• Thinking creatively

• Emotional intelligence


• Means-ends thinking:– Ability to articulate the step by step means

necessary to carry out the solution to a given interpersonal problem.

– Ability to recognize obstacles, the social sequences deriving from these solutions.

– Recognition that interpersonal problem solving takes time.


• Consequential thinking:– Being aware of the consequences of social acts as

they affect self and others.– Ability to generate alternative consequences to

potential problem solutions before acting.


• Causal thinking:– Reflects the degree of appreciation of social and

personal motivation.– Involves the realization that how one felt and acted

may have been influenced by and, in turn, may have influenced how others felt and acted.

Amity School of BusinessThe Jug Activity


In “everyday” language:

• Thinking “outside” the box

• Thinking about thinking

• “Unlimited” thinking

• Divergent thinking

T H I N K I N

G

Amity School of BusinessWhat Is Critical Thinking?• It is thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal directed.

• It is literally thinking about something from many angles.

• Examples of people who use critical thinking in their daily lives:

lawyer who found loophole to free his client, computer repair

technician who found the one tiny circuit problem in your computer,

homemaker who discovered a way to reduce the household debt

each month, the student who discovered that reading the material

before class made listening easier.

• Critical thinking is about making informed, enlightened, educated,

open-minded decisions in college, in relationships, in finances, and

in life in general.


Huitt’s (1992) classification of problem-solving techniques:

• Critical thinking--linear and serial, more structured, more rational and analytical, and more goal-oriented• Creative thinking--holistic and parallel, more emotional and intuitive, more creative, more visual, and more tactual/ kinesthetic

Critical Thinking


Springer & Deutsch’s (1993) classification of brain-lateralization dominance:

• Left brain thinking--analytic, serial, logical, objective

• Right brain thinking--global, parallel, emotional, subjective

Amity School of BusinessExercise

• How many addition signs should be put between digits of the number 987654321 and where should we put them to get a total of 99?

• Divide the face of the clock into three parts with two lines so that the sum of the numbers in the three parts are equal.

• If you begin with a one digit integer, multiply by 3, add 8, divide by 2 and subtract 6, you will get the integer back.

• If Jane is older than Kim, Kim is older than Shawn. Shawn is younger than Jane and Rachel is older than Jane List the people from oldest to youngest.

Amity School of BusinessSolutions

1) 9+8+7+65+4+3+2+1 = 99 -> 7 addition signs.

2) 2) 9+8+7+6+5+43+21 = 99 -> 6 addition signs.

Trial and error [(2 * 3 + 8)/2] - 6 = 1 <- NO [(6 * 3 + 8)/2] - 6 = 7 <- NO [(8 * 3 + 8)/2] - 6 = 10 <- NO [(4 * 3 + 8)/2] - 6 = 4 <- YES!! The number is 4 Algebraically: [(3*x + 8)/2] -6 = 4

Rachel, Jane, Kim, Shawn

Amity School of BusinessMatch Problem

• Can you arrange these six matches into four equilateral triangles?

Amity School of BusinessMatch Problem

Fixation• The inability to

see a problem from a new perspective.

Amity School of BusinessMaking It Work For You

Critical thinking skill development involves:

• Restraining emotions

• Looking at things differently

• Analyzing (breaking down) information

• Asking questions

• Solving problems

• Distinguishing fact from opinion

Amity School of BusinessRestraining Emotions

• It is crucial that you know when your emotions

are clouding an issue. Example: Should drugs

be legalized? Should terminally

ill patients have the right to state assisted and/or

privately assisted suicide?

• If we allow our emotions to run rampant and fail

to use research, logic, and evidence (expansive

thinking), we cannot examine the issues critically

and have a logical discussion regarding the

statements.

Amity School of BusinessRestraining Emotions

If you feel that your emotions caused you to be less than objective, you might consider the following tips you are faced with an emotional decision:

• Listen to all sides of an argument or statement before you make a decision or form an opinion.

• Make a conscious effort to identify which emotions are causing you to lose objectivity.

• Do not let your emotions withdraw you or turn you off from the situation.

• Don’t let yourself become engaged in “I’m right, you’re wrong” situations.

Amity School of Business…Restraining Emotions

• Work to understand why others feel their side is valid.

• Physiological reactions to emotions, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, should be recognized as an emotional checklist. If you begin to experience these reactions, relax, take a deep breath, and concentrate on being open-minded.

• Control your negative self-talk or inner voice toward the other person(s) or situation.

• Determine whether your emotions are irrational.

Amity School of BusinessActivity

• Think of a situation you were in recently where you experienced a negative emotion such as anger, frustration, depression, insecurity, fear, etc. 1) Write out in detail what was going on in the situation and how you felt in the situation.2) Now try to figure out the thinking you were doing in the circumstance, which led to the negative feeling. Write out the thinking in detail.3) Then write how your thinking and feeling impacted your behavior.

bs ii module 1

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