Housing

Some people view problem solving training as a commodity. They believe it doesn’t make much differ-ence which problem solving approach people are trained to use as long as it is systematic. This writer disagrees. The problem solving approach used, as is the case with any other tool, ought to be selected to match the requirements of the task at hand. This paper identifies three different problem-solving tasks: repair, improve, and engineer, and presents examples of each to illustrate their differences. No matter the approach, success hinges on examining the structure of the situation in which the problem is embedded. The article concludes that it does indeed make a difference which problem solving approach people are trained to use