Problem solving and decision making : hard, soft and creative approaches / [printed text] / Michael J. Hicks  . -  2nd ed. . - London : Chapman & Hall, 2004 . - xiii, 427 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
ISBN : 978-1-86152-617-5

Class number:	658.403
Abstract:	Change and uncertainty have become an inevitable part of life, the world is more turbulent than it used to be, and is susceptible to rapid and often unpredictable change, creating the need for more creative problem solving than ever in order to survive in these conditions. In this new edition Mick Hicks addresses the need for a new range of problem solving and decision making strategies for dealing with the problems of the modern business environment. He identifies that there is no one problem solving process or technique that is universally applicable to all the types of problem situation, and presents the processes which have had the most impact on improving our problem solving abilities, provides detailed background information about them (including illustrative case studies) to give a practical guide for their use and shows how the different approaches complement each other, thus providing a complete problem solving system to tackle almost all types of problem situation.
Contents note:	Chapter 1: Problems, opportunities and decisions; Chapter 2: Approaches to problem solving; Chapter 3: Where has all our creativity gone?; Chapter 4: Before problem solving; Chapter 5: Data gathering; Chapter 6: Problem identification; Chapter 7: Ideation; Chapter 8: Problem resolution; Chapter 9: The next steps; Chapter 10: Synectics; Chapter 11: Soft systems methodology; Chapter 12: Really complicated problems – the issues of tackling large complex problems; Chapter 13: Group problem solving; Chapter 14: Creativity, EQ, SQ, NLP, metaphors, etc.; Chapter 15: Computer-aided problem solving; Chapter 16: Other sources of information of problem solving; Appendix 1: Kepner Tregoe; Appendix 2: A system by any other name; Appendix 3: The complete ‘original’ brainstorming CPS process; Appendix 4: Introduction to logical thinking; Appendix 5: Additional materials for examples; Appendix 6: Contradiction matrix – TRIZ; Appendix 7: Miscellany;