LDR-463
realteacher13
problem_solving_reflection_form.docxProblem Solving Reflection Form
Volunteer: Daniel Preston
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Professionals recognize that problem solving is integral to being human.The work environment is a center for problem-solving activities. The IDEAL problem-solving process developed by Bradford and Stein (1993) is implemented by: (I) Identifying the problem, (D) Defining the problem, (E) Exploring strategies, (A) Acting on ideas, and (L) Looking for effects. |
Instructions: Describe how you used problem-solving skills to resolve a problem you encountered during your volunteer experience.
Problem: During one of my several conversations with Arizona Career Institute staff members,a concern for how much they were paying for their printer ink was discussed. The school leases a large printer from a company, who supplies the ink and maintenance while the school is responsible for paying per print for black and white and more if its color. They stated that the only prints they are making are for textbooks and they are printing black and white. Based on their calculations the prints they are making sure be a third of what they are paying.
Activities or actions taken to solve the problem: I advised the school to contact the printer company and have them come out to perform a check of the machine to confirm it was calibrated correctly and not miscalculating the prints. The technicianconfirmed that the printer was working properly, and their inflated printing cost was not a manufacturing issue. I asked the school to email me the documents that they are printing, so I can review the content in hopes of figuring out what could be creating this problem. After reviewing the document, I noticed a colored line in the header of one of the textbooks. Although this colored line was less than a quarter inch in length, it was telling the printer it was a colored page. So, the school has been paying 3 times than normal amount per page because of this small colored line. I changed this to black and white, which ultimately solved the problem.
Who did this process affect?This process affected the school as a whole, as it created an expense that took money from other areas that could have benefited from more funding. However, the CEO Jayne Stephens was impacted the most, as she is still funding the majority of the schoolsexpenses, since the school is still new and they have not secured reliable consistent funding streams.
How were they affected?
Evaluate the effectiveness of this problem-solving activity:I tried to use a process of elimination model to narrow down the problem. My goal was to eliminate time and cost the school would have to use while analyzing the issue. I feel that having the printer company come out to perform the maintenance check was the most relevant option, as maintenance on the printer is free per the contract. My second option was to utilize my knowledge of computer technology to discover what could be causing these inflated prices. In the entirety of this analysis it took me only a couple of hours of my time.
