BRIEFING ON PROBLEM- SOLVING, DECISION-MAKING, AND INTELLIGENCE
ABSTRACT
This paper is developed to create professional development for an interdisciplinary group of professionals in the workplace. This paper aims to identify theories, principles, and evidence-based best practices of cognitive and effective psychology and goes on to provide how they can be employed to give professional directions for the teams at the workplace. Therefore, for this paper to offer proper insight, it looks into three topics of human cognitive functions relevant to the professional development of employees at the workplace i.e., problem-solving and creativity, decision making, and reasoning and human and artificial intelligence.
The topics are divided into three parts and further broken down into three sub-topics for discussions and analysis. Firstly, the topics are introduced where the terms are defined and their correlations identified. The theories, principles, and practices are discussed, and finally, the application of the relevant theories, practices, and principles to the professional development at the workplace is established. The paper also outlines the ethical challenges that may surface during the choice of application of the theories on the workplace and how they can be addressed. The paper winds up by providing for the summaries and recommendations in the conclusion part.
PROBLEM-SOLVING AND CREATIVITY
Introduction
Problem- solving is the ability of individuals to identify a perceived difficulty in normal operations or a hindrance to progress and their ability to develop ways of terminating them. It involves the strategies that are employed in exposing the ways of dealing with problems. To find solutions to problems involves a cyclic process that includes problem identification, problem definition, strategy formulation, organization of information, resource allocation, monitoring, and evaluation (Sternberg &Sternberg, 2017).
Creativity is the process of producing something that is both original and worthwhile. The ability of an individual to create something new involves the use of acquired skills and imaginations. According to Sternberg & Sternberg [2017], when something produced is a new invention, insightful discovery, artistic work, revolutionary paradigm, or another product that is both original and worthwhile, it is considered a new contribution.
Creativity is important when finding solutions to problems through a process called creative thinking that tries to find new ways of thinking or by generating new ideas about the problem. To find solutions to problems, you need to think and act creatively [Mumford, D., 2010].
Theories, principles, and practices
- Psychoanalytical theory
This theory of cognitive psychology was developed by Freud, Jung, Kris, Rank, Adler, and Hammer. This theory explains that the reactions that individuals are forced to make at times of difficulties or during repressed emotions are the forces that lead to creativity and problem-solving. Creativity, according to Adler, is a motivation arising within an individual to try to compensate for a perceived physical or intellectual disability [Adler, N.J., 1991].
Cognitive psychology explains how individuals think about particular stimuli and determine how they will produce their responses in the best ways they can with the resources available at that particular time (Sternberg &Sternberg, 2017). The psychoanalytical theory, therefore, explains how, when individuals are subjected to difficult situations, they would respond differently. Creativity would arise in the process of trying to figure out solutions.
The limitation of this theory is the generalization of the process of a problem- solving to be involving creativity since other already documented ways do not require new ideas. There are also several ways of producing something of creativity without necessarily solving a problem like producing art, drawings, and music [Montouri, A. &Donnely, G., 2016].
- Mental illness theory
This theory was developed by Briggs, Eisenman, Goddwin, Jamison, Richards, and Martindale. This theory explains that for people to become creative, some form of mental illness needs to be present. The most common disorders associated with this theory are bipolar, schizophrenia, manic- depressive or mood swings, and levels of depression.
Depression and mood swings, which are the major mental illnesses associated with this theory, are, in many cases, caused due to negative perceptions towards difficult situations (Sternberg &Sternberg, 2017). According to this theory, creativity will arise from the individuals’ constant quest to be free within them by finding solutions to their problems.
This theory is limited in the fact that depression is a reaction by individuals towards difficult situations, while creativity will arise when the motivation to find solutions are needed. Therefore, one would not necessarily need to be mentally ill to find solutions.
- Psychoticism
This theory was developed by Eysenck, and it explains that all creative people have a disposition for psychotic tendencies. Psychoticism, according to Eysenck, should be seen as a midway area between a normal person and the state of psychosis, which is a severe mental illness [Ludwig, A.M., 1995]. These tendencies form the foundations for creative personalities.
Psychoticism is expressed as a mental state of not “normal” and not insane. This theory, therefore, limits creativity to a mental condition that is rare in the population, thereby limiting the scope of the definition of creativity.
- Addiction theory
This theory was developed by Lapp, Collins, Norlander, and Gust. It explains that addiction to substances such as alcohol and illicit drugs contribute to creativity and may even cause creativity in some people (Sternberg &Sternberg, 2017). This theory explains that certain people take drugs and alcohol in order to brainstorm over difficult situations to find solutions. Some people also use alcohol and drugs to boost their morale in order to solve problems.
The limitation of this theory is that its application is limited to a few people. The use of drugs and alcohol is considered a way of entertainment or leisure and is always viewed as resulting in distorted judgments and thus cannot be universally applied to enhance creativity.
- Humanistic theory
This theory was developed by Maslow, Rogers, and Fromm, and it explains that humans have six basic needs that need to be met before we can thrive. Once these needs are met, we can reach self- actualization and be free and comfortable enough to express ourselves in a creative manner. This theory is limited in the sense that it looks at creativity as a product of attaining self- actualization while it should be about solving the humanistic problems arising for individuals that are limiting them from achieving their best in life or just an expression of their ideas.
Applications
- Work autonomy
According to the psychoanalytical theory of creativity, individuals become creative as a result of difficult circumstances and emotions. In the workplace, employees will encounter challenges, and they will be required to find solutions to help the organization move forward. It is important, therefore, to provide workers with an environment that offers them the necessary autonomy on their jobs both in terms of conducting the jobs under the right supervision and through communication with relevant colleagues [Adler, N.J., 1991]. Job autonomy offers the workers the independence that motivates them to be part of the problem and to be in the front line to produce the solutions to the problem. Work autonomy, therefore, helps develop creativity amongst workers.
- Job design
Designing jobs for workers at the workplace involves looking at the individual worker’s skills, education, experiences, and talents [Adler, N.J., 1991]. To achieve the most input from a worker, each one must be placed in a job that its design suits their requirements and satisfaction. According to the psychoticism theory, it is important to make appropriate talent identification of the employees so that the jobs are designed and allocated appropriately.
- Reward and motivation
According to the Humanistic theory of creativity, people need to satisfy their basic needs in order to be creative. In the organization setting, employees work and expect a certain level of reward and motivation, monetary and non- monetary that is unique to their demands. Therefore, to improve creativity in the workplace, employees need to be rewarded and motivated well to be able to creatively solve new problems arising at the workplace [Goodwin, P., 1998].
- Cooperation and teamwork
It is essential to provide efficient communication across the departments of the organization for coordination and cooperation. Solutions to problems affecting the scope of work involving a group or the whole organization need to be discussed by all the affected employees [Adler, N.J., 1991]. Teamwork promotes group ownership of the problem and reduced the burden on a single employee for the solutions hence boosting mental relaxation necessary in identifying new ideas.
DECISION-MAKING AND REASONING
Introduction
Decision making is the process of making conclusions about an important issue involving the job of employees and management within the workplace. All employees are expected to make the best decisions on their jobs, thereby suggesting that helping employees make improvements on their decision-making abilities can improve on the organization’s output [Goodwin, P., 1998].
Reasoning is the process of listening to issues, problems, or solutions that are arising and logically thinking about them. Reasoning provides for logical analysis of possibilities arising that require decisions to be made. For decisions to be made, there must be some level of thinking to determine the right decision amongst the alternatives.
Theories, principles, and practices
- The economic man and woman
This classical model of decision-making was crafted in the 20th century, and it made three assumptions regarding individuals’ cognitive abilities to reason and make decisions (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2017). Decision-makers are fully informed regarding all possible options for their decisions and of all possible outcomes of their decision options. They are infinitely sensitive to the subtle distinctions among decision options, and they are entirely rational regarding their choice of options.
The assumption of infinite sensitivity that explains that people can evaluate the difference between two outcomes no matter how subtle the distinctions among options, maybe provides room for biasness and distortion of a proper decision-making process that limits this theory.
- Attribution theory
Developed by Fiske, McGuire, Kelley, Reder, Anderson, Schank, Walker, and Thorndyke, this theory identifies three attributes of an individual’s cognition to forge decisions that are; schemata, heuristic, and bias. Schemata are the working hypotheses about some aspect of the environment. They may be a concept of self [self-schema], other individuals [person schema], groups [role schema], or sequences of events in the environment [scripts]. Heuristics consists of rules people use to test their schemata and facilitate the processing of information. Heuristics are perceived in three ways; Availability- how people relate ambiguous information to their schemata, Representativeness- the process by which people tend to exaggerate similarities between one episode and prior events, and Anchoring- how people misestimate the magnitude of an incident when comparing it with the reference point (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2017).
The assertion of this theory is that individuals will make decisions by developing a hypothesis about the problem, application of rules that have been learned and developed to make analysis and to develop a decision based on the individual’s bias to the alternatives. However, this theory can be limited when the hypothesis developed by the individual is wrongly determined, and the rules for analysis subjected to biasness.
Applications
- Workgroups and teams
The Economic Man and Woman theory point out that an individual can come up with a decision no matter how small the difference between alternatives may be. For an organization to improve on decision making and reasoning amongst its employees, developments of workgroups and teams are important in order to promote the broader scope of hypotheses developments, to minimize biasness and errors that may arise due to multiple decisions generated by different employees and to determine conclusions that are both accepted and shared by the employees involved [MacLellan, J.C., 2012].
- Training and development
The ability of employees to make decisions and improve on their reasoning is a continuous process within the organization [Adler, N.J., 1991]. Each unique problem requires independent strategies to solve, thereby requiring different experiences, skills, and abilities according to the Attribution theory. Hypotheses development and formulation and application of rules to make decisions by employees, therefore, should be enhanced through improvements in the education, training, and development [Goodwin, P., 1998].
- Work autonomy
Providing employees with authority to conduct their jobs with reduced supervision gives them room to establish, analyze, and determine the decision of the problems by themselves. The Economic man and woman model assumes that individuals are fully rational in their choices of options, and therefore not able to make wrong decisions knowingly. It is, therefore, important that employees are allowed to make their own decisions before communicating them to other colleagues to promote originality and diversity of opinions [Goodwin, P., 1998].
HUMAN AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Introduction
Intelligence is the ability of humans to be good at learning, understanding, and thinking in a logical way to recognize problems and to solve them [Sternberg, R.J., 2003]. In modern days machines can be programmed with certain instructions to conduct specific functions in organizations. The use of artificial intelligence has become increasingly popular in minimizing the workload, maximizing output while providing accuracy and reliability. Human resources are equally important by improving on the machine’s capacities to conduct operations successfully [Sternberg, R.J., 1995].
Theories, principles, and practices
- General intelligence theory
This is a naturalistic theory that was developed by Charles Spearman, and it explains that intelligence is a general cognition ability that can be measured and numerically expressed. Intelligence quotient “I q” was formed by the application of this theory and showed variations from one person to the other.
The limitation of providing measurement to intelligence is the methods employed to reach those conclusions. There are no universally accepted ways of determining the general methods of measuring general intelligence in humans. A footballer is intelligent in playing football and may not be intelligent in medicine as a doctor and vice versa.
- Primary mental abilities theory
Louis L. Thurstone developed this theory, and it focuses on seven different abilities that he considered to bear the primary mental abilities necessary to acquire intelligence. They are; verbal- comprehension, reasoning, perceptual speed, numerical ability, word fluency, associative memory, and spatial visualization. These abilities vary from one person to the other and are subject to both natural attributes and early interactions with the environment.
This theory is limited in the sense that the abilities to learn, understand, and make logical decisions involve growth and experiences to perfect on them. Thus, the use of other mental abilities is also important.
- Multiple intelligences
This theory was put forth by Howard Gardner. It involved eight different intelligence-based skills and abilities valued in different cultures i.e., visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, intrapersonal, musical, interpersonal, and naturalistic intelligence [Montouri, A. &Donnelly, G., 2016]. According to Gardner, individuals possess many culturally valued skills and abilities that require different learning and understanding. Although this theory offers a broader scope at determining the intelligence of humans, it is difficult to quantify the summary of the results of the individuals’ intelligence expressively.
- Triarchic theory
Robert Sternberg established this theory, and it proposes for a “successful intelligence” that involves three different factors: Analytical Intelligence which involves abilities of problem-solving, Creative Intelligence which determines the capacity to deal with new situations using past experiences and current skills and Practical Intelligence which indicates the abilities to adapt to changing environment.
Applications
- Training and development
According to Sternberg’s “successful intelligence,” the capacity of employees to improve on their analytical, creative, and practical skills’ intelligence requires practice and training. Employees need to improve their education and knowledge to gain experiences on the job, skills, and abilities (Adler, N.J., 1991). Therefore the organization should organize training to different employees on the necessary skills and abilities that would help them develop their intelligence needed to improve on their output to the organization.
- Reward and motivation
General intelligence theory depicts intelligence as a measurable quality and varies from one person to another. Differences in the employees’ levels of skills and abilities, knowledge and education, and work experiences in most cases outline the remuneration determinants in an organization. To improve the intelligence of employees, the reward and motivational needs should be pegged on the remuneration determinants to improve the morale of the employees and be able to execute their duties efficiently and effectively [Adler, N.J., 1991].
- Job autonomy
According to the primary mental abilities theory, employees have natural mental abilities that they can identify and develop within themselves. It is, therefore, important to allow the employees enough authority over their jobs. Job enrichment also improves the job’s details, giving the employees more aspects of the job necessary for higher output. This will help them make learning and understanding of the role better, thereby boosting their confidence in their abilities to solve problems and improve their output [Adler, N.J., 1991].
CONCLUSION
The correlations between the theories, practices, and principles relating to the three cognitive functions discussed and their applications in helping teams in career development have been established in this paper. These applications are mainly made to improve the employees’ morale and boost their confidence in conducting their duties. To achieve the best results in the practical application of the theories, work autonomy, cooperation, and teamwork, reward, and motivation, and designing jobs to suit the employees are essential programs for each team to make improvements on.
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