Construct a problem statement

The purpose of this assignment is to construct a problem statement from the organizational problem you have identified previously in your current workplace or industry.

Now that you have identified a potential problem, brainstormed the root causes, and determined how you might be able to influence change, you will construct a problem statement that can be used as the basis for an action research project. The problem statement must clearly articulate the single goal of the action research project and consider the influence of the organizational change that will occur.

Part of completing an action research project and enacting organizational change includes understanding how the problem is tied to the mission, vision, and values of all the involved stakeholders and how these will drive decision making. The change that is enacted should be done to enable positive progress for your fellow coworkers and the organization at large. When developing your problem statement, you will also be asked to address the organizational problem and the potential solutions through a Christian worldview perspective.

Use what you have learned in the study materials to construct a problem statement for your action research project. Read and complete the “Writing a Problem Statement” resource to construct your problem statement. For submission, be sure to delete the template and sample worksheets provided. Submit only the completed “Writing a Problem Statement Worksheet” to your instructor.

Your problem statement will become part of your final business proposal that will be submitted in Topic 8. Evidence of revision from instructor feedback will be assessed on the final business proposal.

APA style is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.

Writing a Problem Statement

When writing a problem statement, it is important to clearly identify and state the organizational problem that needs to be resolved.To articulate this information clearly, use the following steps as building blocks to complete the final problem statement.The final problem statement you create should be supported with factual data (e.g.,percentages, frequency, cost).Therefore, you are required to document sources at the end of the worksheet.

Template forWriting a Problem StatementWorksheet

Original problem or focus question	Restate the initial problem that launched the inquiry process or rewrite the focus question or one of the clarifying questions as a statement.
Stakeholders who are most affected by the problem	Identify who is most directly impacted by this problem. Alternately, who would benefit the most if this problem were resolved?
Type of problem	For example, is the problem based upon skills, attitudes, knowledge, resources, competition, defects, or something else?
Suspected cause(s) of the problem	Based on the data analysis or the root cause analysis, what does the team think is the most significant cause or causes contributing to this problem? What, if addressed, would make the greatest impact on resolving the problem? Include specific evidence.
Goal for improvement and long-term impact	Describe the target for impact. The goal should be measurable.
Impact to stakeholders	Describe the possible impacts to stakeholders if the problem is not addressed.
Proposal for addressing the problem and determining impact from Christian worldview perspective	The proposal is a high-level strategy that represents promising practices drawn from research, local knowledge, and local expertise. Note sources, if possible, when presenting this information. This proposal will become the basis for subsequent action planning. As an agent of change, describe the impact your solution will have on stakeholders in the company from the Christian worldview.
Final problem statement	Tie the above statements into three to five coherent sentences that could be easily understood by a wide range of stakeholders.
Documentation of sources	Use APA format to document the sources used to support the problem statement.

 

SampleWriting a Problem StatementWorksheet

Original problem or focus question	● Call center representatives are not meeting quality standards.
Stakeholders who are most affected by the problem	● External customers and call center representatives.
Impact to stakeholders	● Loss of customers and revenue. ● Lower performance evaluations for representatives. ● Higher call center attrition. ● Potential missed service level agreements (fines).
Type of problem	● Skills and resources: Without the appropriate skills training and tools to perform the job, the call center representatives are not prepared to succeed in their positions.
Suspected cause(s) of the problem	● Call center representatives do not receive adequate training. ● There are insufficient online resources for representatives to refer to in production. ● There are insufficient management resources for coaching and mentoring representatives.
Goal for improvement and long-term impact	● The call center will achieve a 99.8% quality rating with no more than 2% of the staff on quality action plans.
Proposal for addressing the problem and determining impact from Christian worldview perspective	● Increase training time to meet industry standards. ● Provide relevant, updated online tools for call center representatives.
Final problem statement	● Many call center representatives are not achieving quality standards, thereby contributing to the overall low-quality rating (92%) for the call center. Through data and process evaluation, it was determined that the training time for call center representatives is 30% less than other similar call centers, which may contribute to lack of skills training. In addition, the online tools available to the call center representatives are not updated frequently with procedural changes and do not contain all required information necessary for representatives to perform their job. The low quality over the past 6 months has resulted in a 2% decrease in customers and a $550,000 loss in annual revenue. Decreased employee satisfaction in the call center due to the issue has contributed to a 5% increase in voluntary attrition, which costs the business $80,000 annually.There is an opportunity to improve quality and reduce both customer and employee attrition by addressing the skills training and resource issue in the call center.Therefore, restoring employee satisfaction and promoting human flourishing in the workplace.
Documentation of sources	● Use APA format to document the sources used to support the problem statement.

 

Writing a Problem Statement Worksheet

Complete each section of the chart below. Refer to the guidelines presented in thetemplate and the completed sample worksheet above as needed.

When complete, delete the template and the sample table and submit only this completed worksheet to your instructor.

Original problem or focusing question	●
Stakeholders who are most affected by the problem	●
Impact to stakeholders	●
Type of problem	●
Suspected cause(s) of the problem	●
Goal for improvement and long-term impact	●
Proposal for addressing the problem and determining impactfrom Christian worldview perspective	●
Final problem statement with consideration for Christian worldview	●
Documentation of sources	●