Organizational management
Crowdsourcing strategy is a management skill that stipulates to have good ideas; one needs to have many purposes. Crowdsourcing mainly involves using an open call through the internet to transfer tasks to a large crowd. According to Nutt (2004), the strategy is useful because it arouses the interests of self-motivated individuals who come up with new ideas. The management skill has been put to practice by a Threadless company that deals with product design. The company has experienced tremendous growth in taking the product design process to the next level. Threadless uses crowdsourcing notion in its execution. Equivalent, the company makes free adverts to anyone interested in joining the company to send t-shirt designs via the internet. The t-shirt designs are publicized for voting while some are selected to be sold. The owner of the t-shirt that wins the award receives a token. The design process is cost-effective, thus enhance the selling of t-shirts; also, it provides a change in the models of product design hence represent the influence of crowdsourcing.
The ability to effectively solve problems is an important management skill in organizations. There is a vast difference between good outcomes and the right decisions (Baldwin, Bammer, & Rubin). Many humans fall for the concept of bounded rationality when it comes to making decisions. (Baldwin, Bammer & Rubin, 2012). Bounded rationality helps managers arrive at the most acceptable remedy to a crisis rather than the most optimal solution. Equally, following the concepts in the problem-solving model is seen to enhance the quality of decisions. The model consists of five steps which are, problem, alternative, decide, implement, and learn. Identifying the problem is the first and most crucial aspect of the process of solving a problem. Failure to analyze the right problem may result in working out the wrong question.
Additionally, it is essential to analyze anyone who will be affected by the solution or problem. For example, the Make A Wish Foundation ended up messing their reputation in the pursuit to help Erik attain his wish because of addressing the want in the wrong way. They did not review the critical stakeholders; therefore, they ended up giving the dream instead of giving him a platform for him to make the wish come true. In conclusion, managers can also use knowledge management by creating a database on the poor decision they have made. Taking accountability for poor choices help evade such an option in the future.
Besides, the use of 80/20 rule to isolate problems and show alternatives demonstrates management skills. The method can be used by the professor to identify the areas that students need to improve on. Issues that have more weight to direct problem-solving efforts to a more specified area. For instance, while applying the Pareto principle, professors can highlight the common problems encountered in the student’s assignments. In this case, a graphic display to chart the data will enable the professor to know which area he should channel his/her assistance. Consequently, improving general writing skills.