3 Solve Address General Workplace Problems
3 Solve Address General Workplace Problems
SECTOR:
TOURISM SECTOR (HOTEL AND RESTAURANT)
QUALIFICATION TITLE:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII
COMPETENCY:
BASIC COMPETENCY
Unit of Competency:
SOLVE/ADDRESS GENERAL WORKPLACE PROBLEMS
Module Title:
SOLVING/ADDRESSING GENERAL WORKPLACE PROBLEMS
MODULE CONTENT
MODULES OF INSTRUCTIONS
INTRODUCTION : This unit covers the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to apply
problem-solving techniques to determine the origin of problems and
plan for their resolution. It also includes addressing procedural
problems through documentation, and referral.
METHODOLOGIES:
Group discussion
Interaction
Lecture
Report
ASSESSMENT METHODS
Written Test
Practical/Performance Test
Interview
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COMPETENCY SUMMARY
Learning outcome:
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LEARNING OUTCOME 1
IDENTIFY ROUTINE PROBLEMS
What is a Problem?
Thus, not all problems are social, unless the discontented persons come in contact, and vocalize
their discontentment and associate to do something for its solution. A problem becomes social when
it is communi-cated to others and the activity of one person leads to similar activity of other
persons.
Individual problem is one which is felt by only one person or a small group of people. It does not
affect the public at large. Its resolutions lie within the power and immediate milieu of the individual
or group. A public issue however requires a collective approach for its solutions. No one individual or
a few individuals are responsible for the appearance of a socially problematic situation and the
control of this situation is also beyond the ability of one person or a few persons.
“Social problem is a generic term applied to a range of conditions and aberrant behaviors which are
manifestations of social disorganization. It is a condition which most people in a society consider
undesirable and want to correct by changing through some means of social engineering or social
planning” (Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, 1994).
A perfectly integrated society has no social problem. But no society is perfect, and cannot be
perfect, so Utopian expectations are unwarranted. The existence of social problems indicates some
unsatisfactory and value-threatening aspects of an otherwise satisfactory society.
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Routine Problem
It involves using at least one of the four arithmetic operations and/or ratio to solve problems that
are practical in nature. Routine problem uses sets of prescribed or known procedures to solve
problems. A routine problem, the problem solver knows a solution method and only needs to carry it
out.
Non-routine Problem
Is any complex problem that requires some degree of creativity or originality to solve. Non-routine
problems typically do not have an immediately apparent strategy for solving them. Often times,
these problems can be solved in multiple ways.
1. Excluded Parties. Trust in the fairness of a dispute-resolution or decision-making process can quickly
be lost if interested parties believe that their concerns are being ignored, or they are being excluded
from the process.
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2. Strategic Delays. Often democratic decision making processes designed to resolve short-term
disputes can be deliberately delayed by parties wishing to avoid a potentially unfavorable decision.
The resulting delays can allow people who oppose change to win without ever having to demonstrate
the superiority of their position.
3. Rushed Decisions. Democratic decision making processes can be rushed by parties wishing to avoid
addressing the hard issues. When the process is rushed, decisions are often made before facts are
adequately considered or before all the parties have had an opportunity to present their case.
4. Lack of Clear Goals. Problems often develop when parties (either disputants or intermediaries) do
not have clear goals. This tends to make their actions less effective than they might otherwise be and
can lead to misunderstandings on the part of their opponents as well.
5. Meaningless Public Involvement. If the parties conclude that available opportunities for
participation in dispute resolution processes are meaningless, then they are likely to withdraw their
support for the overall process and pursue more confrontational strategies.
6. Complexity Muddle. Many conflicts involve so many overlapping issues that it is difficult to develop
a process which addresses all of the important issues and allows the parties to participate effectively.
The result is often a process which is so confused that it cannot make sensible decisions. This confusion
can also result in seemingly endless delays in the dispute resolution process.
7. Vested Interests. Decision-making and dispute-resolution processes often favor small groups of
individuals with an intense interest in the conflict over the much larger population of people with a
more limited interest. They can result in decisions which favor individual and small group interests
over the collective interests of the larger society.
8. Dictatorial Process. Especially troublesome are dictatorial processes in which an individual or small
group is able to routinely make decisions which favor their interests over the larger interests of society.
Often, this situation is perpetuated by the dictator’s willingness to use violent force against
opponents.
9. Timing Problems. If timed poorly, good processes will not work. This is especially true for
negotiation, mediation, and other consensus based processes which must be undertaken when the
parties are all ready to participate.
SELF CHECK 1.
1. What is a problem?
2. Differentiate routine and non-routine problems.
3. Give at least five procedural problems.
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LEARNING OUTCOME 1
IDENTIFY ROUTINE PROBLEMS
2. LACK OF TRAINING
Nothing has become more apparent in today’s workplace than the lack of employee training. Some
companies merely throw new employees onto the front line, forcing them to learn on their own
through trial and error. Others provide formal training, but in the wrong manner. Both are equally
detrimental to corporate performance.
Formal training is a must. Effective training must directly pertain to the employee’s job description.
It should address how an employee can best accomplish position objectives and complete
supporting activities. Additionally, training must include accountability. Every skill taught must be
paired with performance accountability, which requires management to measure each employee’s
progress. In many cases, training classes never receive another mention from management after
they’re completed, and, as a result, nothing ever changes. The final aspect of effective training is
using the right trainer. All too often, human resource people teach classes. These are individuals
who have read the books but don’t have practical experience on the subject they are to te ach. Great
teachers have walked their talk.
In an ineffective performance review, the boss often does all the talking, doesn’t know what they’re
talking about, or doesn’t have all the information. They are often only completing the review
because they have to.
To put performance reviews back on track, management must first recognize the stakes. The few
hours spent discussing an employee’s performance will affect what the employee thinks and does
for the next full six months to a year. A lot of homework and heart needs to be put into reviews.
Managers should make sure to use the employee’s job description and review their performance in
the context of a discussion. The manager should ask the employee to share their perspectives on
each subject first. And, the manager should first focus on performance strengths before addressing
areas that need improvement.
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A successful performance review ends with agreement between the employee and manager, and
with a jointly designed set of performance objectives going forward. This leaves the employee with a
sincere vote of confidence.
Great managers know how to do a great job and great leaders know how to get employees to do a
great job. Regular two-way communication lies at the very foundation of what great leaders deliver.
When employees know what a manager knows, it creates an attitude and behavior of company
ownership that leads to excellent performance. Management should make a regular concerted
effort in communicating with all employees through as many mediums as possible.
It’s nice to have awards and contests at work, but what counts most is the daily thank you. This turns
employee recognition from a project into a culture. This takes a concerted effort by management
and an understanding that there is always something positive that can be said to each employee
each day.
What irks great employees more than anything is witnessing poor performing employees being
allowed to continue on being poor performing employees. This can lead to corporate financial
failure, as good employees either leave or shrink down to being equally as poor as the rest. As
important as it is to recognize great employee performances, the job performance review process
provides the means to enforce accountabilities. Follow proper training and corrective action, and if
employees fail to measure up, terminate employment. Too many employers are being held hostage
by poor performing employees, when in fact they would be miles ahead if they were rid of them.
All companies must have policies that all employees follow. However, a company should strive to
have as few policies as possible. One of the most recent discoveries is that a business environment
that provides freedom and the invitation to be creative always leads to the highest performing
employees. Too many policies stifle employee performance.
Management must make sure to pay attention to the type and condition of equipment that is being
utilized by the employees. Capital expenditures on equipment and facilities are a very high
percentage of operation expenses. Know what is needed, furnish it and then maintain it. And, make
sure employees participate all the way. Safety goes up, right along with morale.
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A positive business environment includes the presence of managers who are good role models for
employees. It measure success in this area by seeking evaluations from employees. It is a key for
management to ask how they’re doing.
SELF CHECK 2.
LEARNING OUTCOME 2
LOOK SOLUTIONS TO ROUTINE PROBLEMS
INFORMATION SHEET 3.2-1
A problem-solving strategy is a plan used to find a solution or overcome a challenge. Each problem-
solving strategy includes multiple steps to provide you with helpful guidelines on how to resolve a
business problem or industry challenge. Effective problem-solving requires you to identify the
problem, select the right process to approach it and follow a plan tailored to the specific issue you
are trying to solve.
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For example, a company with a high employee turnover rate may focus on quickly hiring new
employees to solve the immediate problem of being understaffed. If the hiring manager took the
time to define the problem, they may realize that the ultimate reason they are understaffed is
because their onboarding system makes it challenging for new hires to acclimate to the company
culture. With this knowledge, the hiring manager may allocate additional resources to develop a
more effective and welcoming onboarding process to increase employee retention.
You might discover that your business wants to develop this product because there is high consumer
demand for it. Instead of focusing on how the business can create that specific product, you may
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determine that it is more viable to identify another product with high consumer demand that your
business has the resources to produce.
For example, if you want to predict the lifespan of a laptop that a company produces, you may
collect data from customers who have reported issues with their laptop over the past year. Then you
might use a chart to categorize the age of the laptops and how severe the issues the customers
reported were to help you pinpoint the average lifespan of a laptop.
7. Work backwards
Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to work backwards to solve it. This can be helpful if
you need to recreate specific events to locate the root cause of a problem. For example, a car
manufacturer may want to produce a vehicle that is better than their competitor's newest model. To
do this, they might reverse engineer their competitor's vehicle to determine how they developed it.
Then they can replicate the steps their competitor took to create a new vehicle that is even better.
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help your group stay on task, document the process and have a more meaningful conversation.
Consider inviting a facilitator to your next group meeting to help you generate better solutions.
Timeliness
Risk
Manageability
Expense
Practicality
Effectiveness
After you have decided which factors to include, use them to rank each potential solution by
assigning a weighted value of 0 to 10 in each of these areas. For example, one solution may receive a
score of 10 in the timeliness factor because it meets all the requirements, while another solution
may only receive a seven. Once you have ranked each of your potential solutions based on these
factors, add up the total number of points each solution received. The solution with the highest
number of points should meet the most important criteria.
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Allowing yourself time to rest, exercise and take care of your own well-being can make solving the
problem easier when you come back to it because you may feel energized and focused.
SELF CHECK 3.
1. Give at least five problem-solving strategies.
2. What is Kipling Method?
3. Give some factors you can analyze when ranking each potential solution.
LEARNING OUTCOME 3
RECOMMEND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS
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- Authenticity
- Balance
- Compassion
- Creativity
- Growth
- Honesty
- Justice
- Loyalty
- Responsibility
Before moving forward with the problem-identification process, make sure that your reasoning for
solving the problem matches your core values. The purpose of this step is to justify that the problem
is worth your energy and attention, and that solving it would fit your character.
Whether it’s your 1st, 4th or 400th time returning to the problem, ask yourself:
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This is a great time to loop family, friends or colleagues into your problem analysis. You can combine
your different thinking styles to create a list of details that could help shape a possible solution.
Remember: You don’t have to have an answer to your problem just yet! The goal with Step 3 is to
add context to the issue so you can construct a specific problem statement.
A problem statement is a short and sweet description of the issue that needs solving. Your
statement should clearly outline the gap between the current state of the problem and how you’d
ideally like the problem to be solved.
- Who
- What
- When
- Where
- Why
Ideally, your problem statement should tell you what the issue is, why it’s an issue and why it’s
necessary to solve it.
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Use all of the previous steps to construct your problem statement. For instance, the “who” in your
statement can be the person who will benefit from the solution. The “why” can be the basic need or
your core values that support the need.
In Step 5 of the problem identification process, you finally brainstorm the best solution for your
specific problem.
There is only one rule in brainstorming: Don’t dismiss any ideas! With your detailed problem
statement in mind, ask yourself what potential solutions would solve the issue. Then, write down
every possible solution that comes to mind, without judgment.
Next, clearly outline the requirements that your solution must meet. Think about all the details it
must solve for, and consider if there are any constraints on resources (time, money, people, etc.).
Once you have your criteria, identify any fellow problem-solvers or stakeholders you should involve
in the decision-making process.
Do they have any additional requirements the solution must meet? Can they think of any possible
solutions? Bring them in to get their point of view, and record all the potential solutions they
provide.
Now that you have a master list of possible solutions, it’s time to find the best one. Run each
possibility through your criteria. Then, run it through the previous steps: Does the solution match
the need? Does it align with your core values and what you stand for? Has anyone tried to
implement this solution and failed?
Once you have identified the most suitable solution, identify the necessary steps to implement it.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to take this step alone. Tap in any fellow problem-solvers or
stakeholders who can help put the plan in motion.
Roll out the solution after you've created an implementation strategy. Be sure to consider how you
will evaluate your solution. How will you measure success? If you’re unsure, go back through the
steps in the problem-identification process to remind yourself of what you’re trying to achieve.
Ask yourself questions like “What did I do that worked?” Whatever worked, do more of it. Then ask
yourself, “What did I do that didn’t work?” Change those things or throw them out entirely.
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Next, create a flowchart of your methodology for future reference. Start documenting what is
working and magnifies it. Realize what moves the needle and what makes an impact, and do more of
that.
SELF CHECK 3.
1. Give five examples of core values?
2. Identify and explain the 7-step problem solving process.
EVIDENCE PLAN
The evidence must show that the candidate…✓ Ways in which evidence will be
collected
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Candidate’s Name:
Assessor’s Name:
Qualification:
Date of Assessment:
Assessment Center:
B. Written Exam
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Recommendation
For re-assessment. _______________________________________________________
For submission of document. Pls. specify (Portfolio Document)
For issuance of NC _________________________________
Candidate’s signature:
Assessor’s signature:
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INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT
Identification.
Enumeration:
1. Differentiate routine and non-routine problem. Give at least two differences.
2. Give five most common problems in the workplace.
3. Enumerate five problem solving strategies.
Essay.
1. Identify and explain the 7-step problem solving process.
Answer Key:
1. Strategic Delays
2. Lack of Clear Goals
3. Problem
4. Rushed Decisions
5. Individual problem
6. Non-routine problem
7. Social problem
8. Routine problem
9. Complexity Muddle
10. Timing Problems
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REFERENCES:
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/social-problems-elements-sources-and-types-of-social-
problems/31413
https://www.glassmagazine.com/article/10-most-common-problems-workplace
https://www.deangraziosi.com/identify-problems/
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/problem-solving-strategies
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