John Dewey Knew How to Solve Problems

John Dewey Knew How to Solve Problems
Kevin McClureGlobalEnglish Magazine

Every day we face small and large problems in our personal and professional lives. We think about these problems, discuss them with friends or colleagues, and, eventually, make a decision about whether or not to do something about them. The process of dealing with problems can be extremely time consuming, and a group process may result in a solution that satisfies no one. For an organized approach to problem solving, there are many step-by-step models. One of the most famous of these models is the process developed by the American educator and philosopher John Dewey (1859-1952).

Dewey believed that the best way to educate people was to present them with practical, everyday problems or situations and make them think their way through to a solution. In the process of learning to do something, they were forced to analyze the situation. At the University of Chicago Laboratory School, which Dewey founded and ran with his wife, Alice, children cooked their own breakfast, which taught them important basic facts about mathematics and science. In the process of cooking, the children learned how to analyze problems that arose, such as pancakes that were too flat. To help students become more efficient in analyzing and solving problems, Dewey developed a detailed process for dealing with problems. The Dewey Problem-Solving Sequence is a five-step process that remains particularly popular in a variety of forms for both education and business. The basic component of the process is a series of questions in each step that people ask themselves and others, often in a group. The questions may vary somewhat, depending on the problem.

Let's take a hypothetical group of executives from a computer-manufacturing company and see how they might apply Dewey's process to a specific problem facing one of their factories.

The first step is to define the problem. This involves answering basic questions about the problem such as the following:
What is the specific problem?
Where is the problem?
When did the problem start?
Who is involved in the problem?

The executives identify a problem in their Chicago factory, whose productivity is far below that of the other factories that the company owns. This factory has 200 employees. The factory's productivity has been dropping steadily for about ten years.

The second step in the process is to analyze the problem. Typical questions are:
What is the cause of the problem?
What is the result of the problem?
What methods are being used now to deal with the problem?

The computer executives agree that the basic cause of the factory's low productivity is outdated equipment. The other factories have high-tech assembly lines with robots helping the workers, while humans still do all of the work in the problem factory. One result of this problem is workers with low morale who are worried about being laid off. The factory has high employee turnover because many workers look for more secure employment. The factory managers are dealing with the problem by spending a lot of their time hiring and training new workers.

The third step in the problem-solving sequence is to propose solutions. This is generally a brainstorming session, where participants throw out ideas quickly without critiquing them.

The computer executives come up with a variety of solutions:
• Close the problem factory.
• Update the factory with state-of-the-art technology.
• Raise the salaries of the workers and have the company CEO guarantee their job security.

In the fourth step, group members evaluate the proposed solutions. They examine each of the proposed solutions in detail and list the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. They look at short-term and long-term effects of the solution.

For the three proposed solutions, the executives list the following:
• Closing the factory would save the company a lot of money, but the company's overall production capacity would drop.
• Updating the factory with new technology would be extremely expensive and the factory might have to close during the renovation, but the factory's productivity would rise dramatically after it was reopened.
• Increasing wages would be expensive for the factory, and the problem of the old equipment would still exist.

The final step in the process is to select one solution. If the group has done a thorough job in the previous steps, they should have enough information to make a final decision. They will have to compare the ease of implementation and overall effect of the various solutions.

The computer executives look at projections for the personal computer market for the next ten years. Demand for personal computers is expected to increase steadily, so they decide to renovate the factory with new technology to increase overall production. The other two solutions would not increase production capacity.

Going through this comprehensive process, the executives heard a variety of opinions and examined the situation at an almost microscopic level. They spent a great deal of time making the decision, but they can feel satisfied that they have done their best in this difficult situation. This is exactly how Dewey intended for people to approach their problems.

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Learn to Write Effective Emails - from GlobalEnglish

Learn to Write Effective Emails

Ruth Sasaki
GlobalEnglish Magazine

Email has become by far the most popular means of both internal and external communication in business. It's faster than writing and sending a business letter, and it's cheaper than a phone call. There are some similarities and differences between email messages and business letters. In both, the writing should be clear and concise. The spelling, grammar, and punctuation should be good enough so that the writing is understandable and professional. However, there are some key differences between emails and business letters. Keep in mind the following tips when writing email messages: Write an informative subject line. People may receive a hundred or more email messages every day. The subject line may be the most important factor in determining whether your email gets read right away or not. A brief subject line that specifically identifies the key topic is best, such as "Action Items from October 24 Sales Meeting." Avoid general or generic subject lines such as "Greetings" or "Meeting Summary." Keep it short. You should express only one main idea per message. State your purpose at the beginning of the message. Paragraphs should be no longer than two or three sentences. If possible, the recipient should be able to see the entire message in the view window. If you need to include detailed information, consider sending it as an attachment. Include sufficient context. Short messages are best, but if they are too short, the context may be unclear. Have you ever received an email reply that simply said "OK"--and you had forgotten what your question was? Include the original message at the bottom of your reply. Here is an example: From: Hiroshi Tanaka To: bjsmith@afs.com Sent: May 18, 2010 5:32 p.m. Cc: Joe Klein Subject: RE: Z56 Samples for JVS No problem. ----Original Message---- From: Bill Smith [mailto:bjsmith@afs.com] To: hiroshi_tanaka@afs.co.jp Sent: May 18, 2010 5:15 p.m. Cc: Joe Klein Subject: Z56 Samples for JVS Hiroshi, After talking with you on the phone yesterday, I talked with Joe. There's a slight change of plans. Can you include four samples in the shipment instead of the two that we discussed? Let me know if there's a problem. Thanks, Bill If the message thread (the group of related messages) becomes too long, however, it's a good idea to include contextual reminders in the current message. That way, the recipient does not have to read through the entire thread to remember the main topic of the email discussion. Be conversational but professional. Email is a fast communication medium. There is often a rapid, back-and-forth exchange of messages, almost like a conversation. The writing style tends to be more conversational than in business letters. For example, people often begin an original email by writing "Hiroshi," or "Hi, Hiroshi," rather than the more formal "Dear Hiroshi: ..." In subsequent replies, especially in internal email, the salutation may be omitted entirely. For external email messages, it's probably a good idea to include a brief salutation and signature even in subsequent replies. Reply promptly. Because email is so much faster than regular mail, people usually expect to receive an answer within 24 hours--even sooner in the case of internal emails. If someone has made a difficult request and it will take you some time to provide an answer, it's a good idea to send a short reply acknowledging that you received the message. Specify when you will respond to the request. This way, the other person won't wonder if the message got lost. The sender will also know that you are not ignoring the email. Don't write anything confidential in an email message. From the standpoint of technology, it's easy to forward an email to people for whom it was not intended. When you receive an email, you should not forward it without the author's permission. The reality, however, is that many people do. When writing email, you should always assume that people other than the original recipient might read your message. Check your message before sending it. It doesn't have to be perfect, but a message with too many spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors will be difficult to understand. Even if it is understandable, it will not project a professional image if it has mistakes. Although most people tend to write emails and send them off quickly, it will really be worth a few extra moments to read over your message before sending it. Copyright © 2008-2010 GlobalEnglish Magazine.

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