Custom essays: Problem Formulation and Identification

Today, the problem formulation and identification are extremely important, especially in the contemporary banking industry, where decisions have to be taken fast and problems identified and solved immediately. At the same time, it is possible to use different strategies of problem formulation and identification, including before the fact problem identification and after the fact problem identification. Both these styles have their advantages and drawbacks but they are widely-applied in the contemporary business industry.
The before the fact problem identification and formulation implies that the problem is identified before the existence of the problem becomes obvious and the negative effects of the problem influence the performance of the organization. Obviously, this style allows managers and policy makers to take decision effectively because they can prevent the appearance of the problem before its negative effects appear. On the other hand, the implementation of this style raises a number of problems. First, managers should be able to foresee the development of their organization, such as bank, and develop reliable forecasts to identify the problem before the fact. Second, situation in the business environment, especially in the banking industry, can change fast and the forecast of managers can be wrong and the problem may not appear or, in contrast, another problem may emerge being unnoticed by managers until its appearance.
In such a situation, the use of after the fact problem identification style seems to be more effective because this style implies that managers identify the problem when it has already manifests itself. To identify the problem, managers need to conduct detailed analysis and reveal the essence of the problem. Thus, managers can solve the problem which affects the organizational performance. On the other hand, this style does not allow preventing problems.
Nevertheless, both styles are applicable depending on the business environment and capabilities of decision makers.

References
Prince, George M. (1972). The Practice of Creativity: A Manual for Dynamic Group Problem-Solving. New York: Collier Books.
Spitzer, Quinn, and Ron Evans. (1997). Heads, You Win! New York: Simon & Schuster.