Problem Statements

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Problem Statements

• State the ideal
• Refer to mission and stakeholder stakes in
  determining the ideal state
• What values are involved?
• State the reality
• Describe a condition that conflicts with the
  goal, values or ideal state
• Describe the consequences

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Examples

• Statement 1
• In order to provide excellent patient care at
  minimal cost, Middletown Hospital needs
  diagnostic procedures that are safe, efficient
  and accurate, and not overly painful for patients.

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• Statement 2
• Right now, Middletowns main diagnostic tools are
  CAT scans and spinal taps. The CAT scan fails to
  make clear diagnoses 60 of the time. When they
  fail, doctors must resort to the spinal tap,
  which is accurate, but very painful and often
  dangerous for the patient

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• Statement 3
• If Middletown Hospital continues to do the 2
  procedures, they will be wasting time and money
  which jeopardizes efficiency and earning
  potential, and they will subject patients to
  undue suffering, which may cause them to select
  another hospital with more advanced facilities

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Example 2

• Statement 1
• According to the Southern University mission
  statement, the university seeks to provide
  students with a safe, healthy learning
  environment.  Dormitories are one important of
  that learning environment, since 55 of SU
  students live in campus dorms and most of these
  students spend a significant amount of time
  working in their dorm rooms.
•  
• However,
•  

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• Statement 2
• B.     Students living in dorms W, X, Y, and Z
  currently do not have air conditioning units, and
  during the first month of the Fall semester, it
  is common for room temperatures to exceed 80
  degrees F.  Many students report that they are
  unable to do homework in their dorm rooms. 
  Others report problems sleeping because of the
  humidity and temperature.  The rooms are not only
  unhealthy, but they inhibit student productivity
  and academic achievement.
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• Statement 3
• If conditions continue to cause discomfort and
  difficulty for students, they will choose other
  living arrangements, including off campus
  housing, which will create financial problems for
  Southern University

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Example 3

• Statement 1
• According to the PSU police mission statement,
  the goal of the university is to assist students
  faculty and staff in maintaining a safe
  environment and to enhance the quality of life at
  Portland State. Consequently every weekend
  numerous students venture downtown to enjoy a
  good time filled with dancing partying and
  drinking.
• However,

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• Statement 2
• After a night filled with drinking many students
  well over the legal limit still climb into the
  driver seat of their cars to get home. Each
  weekend is full of Portland police and PSU police
  reports of students receiving DUI'S (driving
  under the influence). Not infrequently there are
  additional reports of accidents and injuries due
  to drinking and driving. This produces not only a
  campus problem but a community problem as well.

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• Statement 3
• If the situation doesnt change, some student or
  community member will undoubtedly be killed. DUIs
  and accidents cause severe legal and financial
  problems for students. In addition, tensions
  between the community and the University will
  increase.

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Terra Cog

• Terra Cog is a successful privately held high
  tech firm that develops GPS systems for consumer
  markets.
• Their success has been based on a core competence
  of converting consumer needs in products with
  exceptional design and function.
• The company is caught off guard by a competitors
  introduction of a GPS system using novel,
  Google-earth like imagery.
• When Terra Cog pursues development of a competing
  product, project costs are exceedingly high and
  the time frame lengthy.

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Problem statement?
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• Statement 1
• Terra Cogs mission is to offer the sportsman
  markets exceptionally well-designed, high
  functioning GPS products.

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• Statement 2
• A competitor has entered the market with an
  enhanced imagery GPS unit that consumers and
  retailers respond well to. Initial product
  development at Terra Cog indicates that the
  company cannot produce a competing product with
  advanced features at a comparable price point in
  a timely fashion.

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• Statement 3
• If Terra Cog cannot enter the market with a
  superior, well-priced product it will jeopardize
  its relationships with retailers and its
  reputation with consumers, leading to a market
  share decline.

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IKEA

• IKEA has an environmental and social welfare
  mission to create a better life for everyday
  people.
• The company has grown to a 4.5 billion company
  by offering well-designed, inexpensive home
  furniture and furnishings.
• Cost savings are achieved by using under-utilized
  manufacturing capacity in underdeveloped
  economies, including India, where its discovered
  that child labor is used to weave IKEA rugs.

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Problem statement?
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• Statement 1
• IKEAs mission is to create a better life for
  people, which extends into its policies of
  creating environmentally friendly products that
  do not use any virgin timber, formaldehyde or PVC.

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• Statement 2
• A documentary uncovers that child labor is being
  used in India run weaving operations that make
  IKEA rugs. While not directly in violation of
  Indian laws regarding child labor, outlaw of the
  practice had been ratified by 120 countries in
  the world and the International Labor
  Organization. India had not ratified.

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• Statement 3
• If IKEA continues to sell rugs made by Indian
  children, they will contribute to a system that
  abuses children and keeps them from adequate
  education. This will in turn lead to a decrease
  in reputation for IKEA and cause people to stop
  purchasing IKEA rugs.

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Examples

• This product demand lifecycle is normal for a
  business, and especially so for a technology
  based company such as Qwest. However, this
  technology change has created a glaring problem
  for Qwest. Customer demand for the Legacy
  Services that Qwest provides is decreasing on a
  sequential basis. Revenue for these services
  continues to fall, while costs to maintain the
  network that provides these services stay
  constant. Since Qwest is an ILEC as of the merger
  in 2000, they are unable to simply discontinue
  their Legacy services.
• Their root problem is that their Legacy Services
  continues to be a set of services that Qwest has
  to provide, but demand and revenue continue to
  decrease. This is an urgent problem that Qwest
  needs to address as soon as possible.

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Example

• In an ideal scenario, DIRECTV is a premiere
  provider of television entertainment whereby it
  builds upon its large satellite television
  subscriber base to provide original and relevant
  content to a growing online market.
• However, the current situation is such that
  DIRECTV provides limited on demand services to
  complement its vast array of satellite television
  programming.
• If the current market trends continue the
  consequences of no action will find DIRECTV
  playing catch-up to an emerging market dominated
  by online giants like Apple Google.
• The problem can be stated DIRECTVs traditional
  satellite distribution system faces stiff
  competition from an emerging market dominated by
  such giants and Apple and Google that, left
  unchecked, could undermine its subscriber base
  and negatively affect revenue.

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Example

• As is stated in Krogers mission statement, the
  company wants to be a leader in the distribution
  and merchandising of food, pharmacy health and
  personal care items, seasonal merchandise and
  related products and services.
• However, while Kroger is a leader is the grocery
  store segment, they train behind Wal-Mart in the
  general sales segment 1.6 to 3.2. Walmarts
  presence has caused a reduction in margins and
  reduced market share of Kroger.
• This expansion will continue unless Kroger can
  become more competitive

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Example

• The manufacture and trade of counterfeit Nike
  branded products results in damage to Nike and
  its consumers both financially due to higher
  costs, and perceptually due to inferior or faulty
  products being sold in the marketplace.