The Ideal Problem-Solving Method | Study Guide

University:
University of California, Berkeley
Course:
COMPSS | Computational Social Sciences
Academic year:

2023
Views:

86

Pages:

2
Author:

Carissa Thomas

The IDEAL Problem-Solving Method Scenario Two: Melissa Anderson, Connie Maddox, and the HR Executive Melissa Anderson is the new CEO, and she has met with her leadership team to highlight the importance of trust within job positions. She has been made aware that there is a lack of trust and support within her team. This has been made clear when Melissa met with Connie Maddox who is working under Rajantiben Patel. Melissa and Connie had a meeting regarding Connie moving into a new office with a window. However, this is a privilege for certain employees at the executive director level and above. After the meeting, Connie went to HR to tell them about her move to the new office and that they needed to oversee it. HR then went to Rajantiben to confirm the move. However, he had no prior knowledge of this move and mentioned that Melissa and Connie have been meeting alone frequently. When the HR executive went to talk to Melissa, she said the move was already authorized and no further discussion was necessary. The HR executive was also made aware that Connie was explaining how she was going to take advantage of the “dirt” she had on Melissa. The IDEAL problem-solving method can be applied to this scenario. This method is implemented by Identifying the problem, Defining the problem, Exploring strategies, Acting on ideas, and Learning from experience. In this scenario, the problem is Connie blackmailing Melissa into allowing her to move to offices that are meant for higher executives. A strategy would be to talk to Melissa in private and explain the information that has been brought up. The next step would be to act on it and talk to Melissa and explain the information and have her voice her point of view. After talking to Melissa, the decision could be made whether Connie should be allowed to move or not. In this case, she should not be allowed to move, and she has the potential to be let go from her position at the company. The behavior of Connie was unethical. However, this does occur frequently in many businesses. Melissa and Connie should not have met privately and talked about private and personal information that had no relation to their place of employment. This crosses many boundaries. The way in which Melissa answered the HR executive was also unethical and very unprofessional. Melissa should have not yelled. Rather she should have been calm and not disrespectful towards HR. This issue could be resolved using the IDEAL method. The problem is Connie using the personal information she has on Melissa in order to move offices. A possible strategy would be for HR to talk to Melissa privately before talking to Connie. The next step would be to recognize that Connie is in the wrong and does not deserve to move offices. After utilizing the IDEAL method, the issue could be resolved. After going through this whole process, hopefully, Melissa would realize to not share personal information with other colleagues. Sharing personal information especially, information that can be used as blackmail can be damaging.