Importance of Stating the Problem
A problem statement is a consistent, detailed, and complete description of the issues that require management intervention. In order to properly define a problem statement, there are five steps to take, including identifying what happened, where and when, the importance of the problem, and the facts (Schade, 00:00:50-00:01:40). It is essential to mention that these questions also allow the manager to assess the impact of the situation on the team and the scope of the problem. The main purpose of defining the issue is only to establish the facts accurately, and the search for causes, consequences, or solutions belongs to other stages of conflict resolution.
Moreover, it is essential for managers to establish a problem statement at an early stage of the conflict situation, which allows them enough time to study and understand the conflict situation (Schade, 00:02:50-00:04:00). As a result, further actions such as brainstorming and a solution plan will be specific and maximally close to the needed solution. Thus, defining a clear problem statement is one of the most critical stages in the problem-solving process.
Managerial Challenges of Stating the Problem
If a situation has been going on for a long time, it is difficult for managers to identify the central problem and formulate a problem statement. In order to deal with a complex and long-term situation, it is necessary to identify a number of problematic issues that may not be related to each other but have arisen at the same time. For instance, employees wanted to reduce their working hours because they felt unproductive at the end of the day; they informed their managers about it, but no action was taken for a long time (Schade, 00:03:40-00:03:50).
Nowadays, most employees need psychological help and leave to cope with burnout at work. Thus, I suggest that managers should make two main gap statements about reducing working hours and hiring an employee who will provide moral support to the company. As a result, this will prevent such challenges from arising and escalating in the future.
Reference
Schade, M. (2014). What is a problem statement? [Video]. YouTube. Web.