1. Meditating on a Problem
Dr Luke Houghton
Management Problem Solving

2. Traditional idea about problem solving
Department of International Business and Asian Studies

3. Thinking things through
Meditating
– to chew on
– to think over
Department of International Business and Asian Studies

4. The steps of solving a problem
Needing to add ‘iteration’
Back and forth
Stop and slow down
Today we will explore two ways to meditate on a management problem through examples.

5. Steps What is the problem? What is the solution?
Identify cause = identify alternatives
How do you do that?
The ‘creative problem solving’ video
should help you!

6. 4 Ways to meditate on a problem
Hint: You need to go passed the obvious solution and toward the less obvious answer.
(Churchman, 1969)

7. References
Churchman, C. W. (1969). The Systems Approach, UK, Basic Books.
Department of International Business and Asian Studies