SOLUTIONS FOR ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES-CHP7

Issues for discussion and practice

1.
Barriers to problem-solving: functional fixedness (focusing on the traditional function
of an object) and mental set (focusing on the same solution previously used).
Factors facilitating problem-solving: using the problem-solving process, or the
creative problem-solving process, as well as problem-solving strategies such as
means-end-analysis and analogies.
In decision-making, heuristics can either assist or hinder problem-solving. Decision
frames and escalation of commitment also influence decision-making.
2.
Employees can be classified as blue collar or white collar, administrative or
operational, wage or salaried, permanent or contract, part-time or full-time
(categories).
People in a workgroup can also be classified as core and peripheral colleagues,
those you work with closely and those that you know less well (in other words,
according to relationships).
3.
Information first enters the sensory memory. The sensory memory picks up
information through the senses where it is kept for a few seconds only. The sensory
memory enables people to scan the environment in order to determine what is worth
focusing on. A student must scan books or notes and decide what parts need further
attention.
If information is rehearsed, it is passed on to the short-term memory. The short-term
memory can cope with seven chunks of information, which enables a person to
make a coherent whole of a situation (for example, talking to someone, hearing
music in the background, overhearing another conversation, looking at a picture on a
wall, and so on). It is also said that the short-term memory is the working memory,
as it helps people to store information and make connections between different
types of information that occur simultaneously.
Semantic coding is the most important form of encoding in the long-term memory.
Elaborative rehearsal is important in order to remember facts for a long time.
Various techniques to promote memory are discussed in section 7.4.2 on pages 119
and 120. A few examples are provided there.
Insight aids memory. Information is retained if a person understands what he/she is
learning rather than learning it off by heart (for example, when studying how the
digestive system works).
Mnemonics can be used to aid memory. This involves linking facts to visual objects.

4.
The structural approach identifies a single intelligence factor (general
intelligence) or a linked system (Thurstone) that determines whether a person is
intelligent or not, while the dynamic approach views intelligence as dependent on
learning and context. The structural approach therefore makes a judgment about
whether a person is intelligent or not while the dynamic approach postulates that
people can demonstrate high intelligence in one situation and low intelligence in
another, and that intelligence can be developed. The dynamic approach assumes
that people can be intelligent in certain spheres (for example, Gardners multiple
intelligences, emotional intelligence and Sternbergs manifestations of intelligence).
These theories can be used together, as one could first determine a persons
general intelligence and then determine in what areas a person is most talented or
has the most potential.
5.
Forms of productive thinking include concept formation, problem-solving, decisionmaking and creativity. Thinking is not necessarily always productive.
Daydreaming and fantasising are a form of thinking, but this can be unproductive if
unrelated to reality and if it leaves the person feeling unfulfilled. The use of heuristics
in decision-making makes an outcome very likely, but it also implies relying on past
events and a lack of creativity. Typical errors related to heuristics include overreliance on an anchor, overestimating the improbable, confirmation bias, framing,
and escalation of commitment. Mental set and functional fixedness are rigid and
inflexible ways of thinking.
Factors that impact negatively on communicative talking include quantity, quality,
manner and relation. Saying too little or not speaking the truth result in a lack of
understanding on the part of the receiver. People might also interpret words
(relation) and the way things are said (manner) differently.
Cognitive factors that impact negatively on memory include a lack of elaborative
rehearsal, proactive and retroactive inhibition, and the lack of proper strategies for
remembering.

CASE STUDIES
Case study 1
1a)
Management will rather accept the proposed recommendations if they are based on
the logical definition of problems and problem-solving.
Problem-solving implies finding effective solutions to problems. To solve the above
problem, the problem must first be well stated. The problem is to attract and retain
employees, especially those who are Black, and/or are graduated, and/or are
female.
The problem must be clarified and understood. I would identify the percentage of
people who leave the organisation, and whether they are Black, female or
graduates. I would also consider managements definition of the problem.
Management has suggested a new recruitment and selection process, and costs

have to be considered. Exit-interviews might be used as an additional source of

information about the problem.
Once a problem has been clarified properly, a solution might follow more easily.
Heuristics can be used to solve the problem. Heuristics are previously used
solutions to problems.
By using the means-end-analysis, the problem can be broken into smaller problems
and each can be solved separately.
An analogy can be drawn with situations from which similar lessons can be learned.

1b)
Heuristics are previously used solutions that are utilised to solve new problems.
Examples include the anchor and adjustment heuristic, the representative heuristic
and the availability heuristic. While heuristics save time and cognitive effort, they
might hinder creative thinking and new solutions. Management wants the
recruitment and selection process to be reconsidered. This might be an example of
the availability heuristic, as it is the first solution that they can think of, while the
problem might lie elsewhere, for example, with diversity management or
remuneration. Using brain-storming to generate a solution could be an example of a
representative heuristic if brain-storming was previously used with success in a
similar situation.
Sources of errors in reasoning:
o Overreliance on the anchor: Management could rely too much on how previous
decisions were made.
o Overestimating the improbable: Management could believe that no more
employees will leave the organisation, or, alternatively, believe that money is not
that important to employees.
o Confirmational bias: Management may tend to test conclusions by only using
evidence that supports its views. For example, management may believe that,
because some employees stay in the company, they are the right people and
that they are motivated by money. This could confirm the belief that the problem
lies with the type of people that are hired and not other factors, such as working
conditions.
o Oversight bias: Management could overlook the fact that the organisational
culture does not appreciate diversity, attributing problems to the selection
process only.
o Mental set: Management could believe that the problem of retaining people can
only be solved through the recruitment and selection process (using the same
solution as in previous situations), and with offering adequate remuneration,
without considering other strategies such as the redesign of their jobs. Also,
management could believe that if certain people are paid well, they will not leave
the company.
o Escalation of commitment: Management could have made bad decisions and is
now denying this.

1c)
In an analogy solutions to earlier problems are used to help reveal parallel
processes and meanings that are normally not visible.
Comparing this company with another and copying the other companys solutions is
not an analogy. It should rather be considered the use of a heuristic.
In analogies two different situations are compared, and lessons learned from the one
are applied to the others. By considering the underlying processes in which other
companies solve their problems, this company can learn from them, without using
the same solutions.
ADDITIONAL CASE STUDIES
Selecting new employees
1.
Testing the IQ of potential candidates might be culturally unfair if these tests are
presented in one language only, and also if only the general intelligence of
candidates is tested (quantity of intelligence). According to the dynamic approach,
intelligence is not static and can be developed through social intervention, so good
candidates might be excluded if a cut-off point is used. This approach also suggests
that people have multiple intelligences and that a person might be less intelligent in
one context, while more intelligent in a different context. The focus is more on how
people use their intelligence to adapt to a situation.
2.
They could use a learning-potential test. This is based on testing the candidate, then
subjecting the person to a learning situation, and then retesting the person. The
zone of proximal development (ZPD) gives an indication of whether and how the
candidates ability will change owing to the learning intervention. In the learningpotential test credit would be given to the initial learning level that had been
achieved before testing.
3.
Emotional intelligence: It refers to ones ability to manage ones emotions and
interpersonal relationships. Howard Gardner identified multiple intelligences. Of
these, interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence relate to emotional
intelligence.
Writers block
1.
Firstly, he has to involve himself in preparation. He must think about the mental
elements that are relevant to the problem. He could consider various writing styles
and symbols related to novels or poetry.
After doing initial preparation, he should put the problem aside, and do something
else, such as going for a walk. During this period of incubation, he will

subconsciously make associations, perhaps between the preparation and things he

has learned, read or experienced before.
When these ideas break into his consciousness as a coherent whole, he will
experience illumination or inspiration. He will be amazed at the material coming from
his subconscious.
He will then verify these ideas by scrutinising them and refining them into a final
product.
2.
He must set himself the goal of becoming more creative.
He must improve his mathematical, language and problem-solving skills.
He must constantly monitor and manage his own thinking (metacognitive skills). This
will help him realise whether he is using divergent or convergent thinking.
He must become curious and explore more, perhaps visiting a new place or taking
up a new hobby.
He must take more risks, perhaps mixing with people he would normally not
approach.
He can make use of artificial-intelligence programmes to improve his symbolic
knowledge, high-level reasoning and problem-solving skills.

QUICK SELF-ASSESSMENT
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metacognition
prototype
algorithm
the anchor and adjustment heuristic
the availability heuristic
confirmation bias
escalation of commitment
illumination or inspiration
lateral thinking
quantity, quality, manner, relation
short-term memory
short-term memory
episodic memory
elaborative rehearsal
proactive interference
It is based on a comparison to the general population.
The person has a high potential for learning.
analytical, creative and practical intelligence
bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence
the Learning Potential/Computerised Adaptive Test by Marie de Beer or the
Bar-On EQI by Jopie van Rooyen and partners