Prof. Assoc., PhD. Natasha Dubinko

The Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus

problem solving as an active method of leadership training

The article reviews current theoretical and methodological approach to the study of problem situations in management. Types of problem situations that managers often face in their work have been identified and analyzed. Ranking of problem situations shows the differences of their manifestations in leaders with different managerial experience. Gender differences in managers’ concepts of administrative problems have been revealed [1].

Managing a company, a leader often has to make decisions in risky and uncertain situations. One of the most important requirements to a modern leader is his ability to find an optimal decision in problem situations. The concept of "problematic" was used by various researchers in their studies of mental processes and decision making to identify psychological difficulties and complexity bounds in solving problems. There are basically two approaches to the idea of “a problem situation”: a problem situation is considered either an objective phenomenon, an external problem, an obstacle to goal achieving, or a mental phenomenon that arises from difficulties in the process of human activity [2]. The concepts of "problematic", "a problem situation" and "a problem" are used to characterize both the problem complexity, difficulties, uncertainties, obscurities and emotional states that people demonstrate when they solve them considering mental processes that help in problem solving. These theoretical approaches consider processes of reflection as mechanisms that help to overcome the contradictions between the situation and decision making, but they do not give the answer to the question: what the individual differences in the ability to solve practical problems are. Research objective: grouping and ranking of problem situations, identifying gender differences in managers’ concepts of administrative problems. The basic method is questioning. The study involved 196 participants - leaders with different managerial experience - 3 years (n = 76 subjects), with the experience in management under 5 years (n = 55), and over 10 years (n = 65).

Subjects were asked to answer the questionnaire, which included 17 questions on most frequent problem situations in business. Listeners were asked to identify problem situations that are associated with making important decisions, suggesting that these problem situations have subjective importance. The results of the questionnaire helped to identify the following groups of typical problem situations in management: A - Human Resource Management (25%), B – Anti-crisis activity (46%), C - interaction with the management and supervisory bodies (12%), D - lack of awareness (9%), E - interaction with partners (14%), F - making decisions in emergency situations (37%). As we see, the first place in the rank is taken by problem situations associated with anti-crisis activity. Subjects defined these problem situations as "fault" in managing, which is connected with the organizing and planning in the company. They note the violation of relationships between departments and performers, only specific tactic problems can be solved, while organizational and strategic objectives are not projected. The second rank - making decisions in emergency situations - is characterized by lack of experienced personnel and undeveloped psychological readiness when making efficient decisions to take leadership and responsibility. The third rank - human resource management, the complexity in solving these types of problems is connected with the lack of competence in the field of human motivation, knowledge of the individual-typological characteristics of subordinates [3].

The next stage of the study was a comparative analysis of problem situations in the work of managers with different managerial experience. To solve this problem all the managers were divided into two groups: with under 5 years and over 10 years experience in management. Inexperienced managers are more concerned about the problems connected with establishing and settling relationships, controversial issues with partners (clients), developing of contractual obligations, resolving external conflicts. Perhaps this is due to the desire to create a certain image of a business partner, to give a good account of themselves in the social environment. At the same time experienced managers focus more on settling relations and conflicts within the company. They are more concerned about the problems connected with dismissal and redundancy of employees. It’s evident that a manager’s attitude to staff, recognition of their value to the company come with experience [4].

It should also be mentioned that experienced managers much more often mention emergency situations connected with equipment failure or breakdown. It can be due to the fact that inexperienced managers haven’t often faced such serious problems in their work. But there can be another explanation of these differences: what is the problem for an inexperienced manager is not the problem for an experienced one when compared with seriousness and complexity of emergency cases. They are imprinted in the memory of experienced managers as most problematic.

In the next stage of the study we tried to identify gender differences in managers’ concepts of administrative problems. To solve this problem a comparative analysis of managerial problems male and female managers face was done.

Female managers are more concerned about problems that require their taking decisions on the penalties of subordinates who break labor discipline or do their work irresponsibly. In addition, female managers pay more attention to the normalization of relations, controversial issues, both in external interaction (business partners, customers), and in resolving conflicts among employees. Female managers are twice more concerned about the problem of finding and recruiting qualified staff, forming a coherent team than male managers [2].

For males more important problems are those connected with urgent raising money, reallocating resources, changing pricing policy, rates, terms, volumes. Since the duty of a manager is to maintain unity and integrity of the system they manage in the circumstances of their continuing change competent management is possible if the resolution of a problem situation will lead to a new, more advanced round in the development of the company.

Conclusions. The main result of this stage of the study is a detailed analysis of problem situations in management mentioned by managers, their similarity grouping, a description of typical problem situations and ranking them by frequency of mention in the respondents’ questionnaire. There have also been identified the differences in the subjects’ concepts of managerial problem situations, depending on gender and experience in management. The results of the administrative problems analysis lead us to the conclusion that most common problems are of psychosocial nature and connected with insufficient development of managing skills required in solving the problems of effective people interaction. Managerial situations are a function of the two interrelated factors: economic and psychosocial. Even in situations of emergency equipment failure, we should take into consideration the so-called "human factor", when taking managerial decisions.

This study will further examine the differences in decisions taken by managers when they face similar problem situations, the way they form the image-goal, develop solutions and identify the criteria for selecting the most appropriate, from their point of view, solution. The study helped to work out the bank of managerial situations that can be computerized and used for diagnostic and training purposes.

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2. Shkundina, R. A similarity measure for task contexts / R. Shkundina, S. Schwarz // Proc. of the Workshop Similarities - Processes - Workflows in conjunction with the 6th Int. Conf. on Case-Based Reasoning (ICCBR 2005), P. 261–270.

3. Hasbrook, A.Í . Inflight performance of civilian pilots using moving–aircraft and moving–horison attitude indicators / A.Í., Hasbrook, P.G. Rasmussen / Okla. City Federal Aviat. Admi–nistr. Offic. Av. Med. Civil. Aeromed. 2003, Rept. FAA–AM–73–9.

4. Williges, R.C. Aircraft simulator motion and the order of merit of flight attitude and steering guidance displays / R.C. Williges, S.N. Roscoe // Hum. Fact. 1975. Vol. 17, N 4. P. 388—400.