ANALYSIS OF BUSINESSS PROBLEMS (ABP)
Analysis of business problems (ABP) is not just a course to study but a real-life practice of everyday business. Consciously or not, as business leaders we are challenged by situations the needs us to make to best decision either for human or non-human capacity utilization, profit maximization, cost estimation, expense tracking, mergers if need be or a complete shutdown of business.
The truth is, most times, the human mind would not question occurrences or question the question to make informed decisions. That is why there has to be a conscious effort the apply a systemic process to solving a problem. Otherwise, we will be left in a state of confusion that might be difficult to come out of.
There are 6 stages in analyzing business problems.
- The Decision Problem
- The Decision Objective
- The Decision Criteria or criteria selection
- Decision Alternatives
- The Decision
- Action plan creation
Decision Problem: It is very important to ask questions deeply to determine the problem. The why, when, how, who, and where. Examining the symptoms, the dates, the stakeholders, the vision etc. By the time these questions are answered, you will be able to know the real problem. Sometimes the real problem can be masked up in pseudo challenges and if we do not question the questions, we would not get to the bottom of the matter.
Decision Objective: After the Problem is detected, further investigations as to what would success look like will provide you with an objective to run with.
Decision Criteria: For you to arrive at a decision, what are the criteria? What are the principles on which the decision must be made. Now the criteria are peculiar to every business case.
Decision Alternatives: After analyzing the criteria, ask yourself what are my alternatives given this criterion. By breaking down the alternatives you have under the selected criteria, your thoughts are now organized and you are able to see clearly what instruments are contributing more or less to the problem. Many a times, tabulating your thoughts helps to make things like the contributory factors very visible.
ACTION PLAN: As long as the systems are maintained in the first 4 stages, acting on the problem will be a walk in the park. The answers as to how to move forward or not is answered here. The route, what to forgo or not, who to consult or not, what to project or not.
The Decision. After all the analysis, an informed decision is made. Your decision should be as a result of the system approach applied.
In summary, if every business problem is tackled systemically, the world would be a better place, our minds are trained to work optimally. Analysis of Business problem as a course in a business school is introduced to provoke and sharpen your thought process for real challenges which can not be escaped from. Our ability to think deeply without bias will surely lead us to success in business.
From the faculty point of view in a business school, the answer is not the solution, but the process of thought is the yard stick of ensuring that business executives are built up for the challenges ahead.
