EVALUATING A PROBLEM STATEMENT
Evaluating a Problem Statement
Charles McCutchen
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI830 Case Study Research Methods and Consulting Techniques
Dr. Steve Liegl
7 November 2024
Author Note
By submitting this assignment, I attest this submission represents my own work, and not that of
another student, scholar, or internet source. I understand I am responsible for knowing and
correctly utilizing referencing and bibliographical guidelines. I have not submitted this work for
any other class.
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EVALUATING A PROBLEM STATEMENT
General Problem Addressing Errors
The problem statement blames IT leaders and their lack of know-how to increase
knowledge sharing with employees. The error in this sentence is that the statement is ambiguous
because we do not know what the leaders lack as a whole and how it relates to an increase in
voluntary termination. Vague problem statements do not allow for a clear picture to be painted to
get to the bottom line and this statement assumes that the IT leaders are to take on all the
responsibility for the lack of knowledge sharing (Schweinsberg et al., 2023). Without a well-
defined research problem, there can be no validity as to what is being proposed (Schweinsberg et
al., 2023).
Supporting Sentences
What we know to be true is the company is losing revenue, customers are leaving,
customers are receiving bad service, and the company is having problems sustaining the
business. Speaking on behalf of bank leaders and customer surveys, the errors do not have a clear
breakdown of how bank leaders are causing an increase in voluntary termination or how the
workplace outcomes are counterproductive. The error in this sentence about heavy workload
interfering with employee performance does not show how a heavy workload interfered with
employee performance and there should be proof that ties these two together. There needs to be
sources that validate why the company feels this problem statement is accurate.
Specific Problem-Addressing Errors
A bank is having issues with its IT leaders and their lack of understanding when working
with employees. Bringing up the computer shop is out of alignment with what the actual
problem statement is trying to break down. Knowledge transfer is one factor that can limit an
organization from improving due to technology and how fast information moves (Bosch-
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EVALUATING A PROBLEM STATEMENT
Sijtsema et al., 2009; Joshi et al., 2007; Oshri et al., 2008; Patel et al., 2021). Employees are
leaving and there is a loss of revenue due to having to train new employees.
Rewritten Problem Statement
Bad leadership is the main problem with IT leaders, and that leads to a decrease in
customers, a loss of revenue, and increased retention. Those firms in technology that ensure that
their employees have the required knowledge to do the job will have a competitive advantage
(Brymer et al., 2020). Mediation could be a way to have conflict resolution between IT leaders
and healthcare employees to come up with ideas that are mutually beneficial to both parties. If IT
leaders are the root cause of the company spiraling, it could threaten the company, and ethics
concerning their actions could be in question (Kelebek & Alniacik, 2022). Employees are
leaving the company because they are not satisfied with the current setup and Curtis and Wright
(2001) states that when there is no career advancement employees become dissatisfied. The
importance of addressing the problem will lead to a productive workplace and fewer employees
wanting to terminate their positions.
References
Brymer,?R. A.,?Boss,?D. S.,?Uhlenbruck,?K.?&?Bierman,?L.?(2020). “Internationalization's effect on
mobility and firms' employee-based resources”,?Academy of Management Perspectives, 34(1),
pp.?114-134. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2016.0179
Bosch-Sijtsema,?P.M.,?Ruohomaki,?V.?and?Vartiainen,?M.?(2009), “Knowledge work productivity in
distributed teams”,?Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol.?13?No.?6, pp.?533-546.
https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270910997178
Curtis,?S.?&?Wright,?D.?(2001). “Retaining employees–the fast track to commitment”,?Management
Research News, 24(8/9), pp.?59-64. https://doi.org/10.1108/01409170110782964
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EVALUATING A PROBLEM STATEMENT
Joshi, K., Sarker, S., & Sarker, S. (2007). Knowledge transfer within information systems development
teams: Examining the role of knowledge source attributes. Decision Support Systems, 43(2), 322-
335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2006.10.003
Kelebek, E. E., & Alniacik, E. (2022). Effects of leader-member exchange, organizational identification
and leadership communication on unethical pro-organizational behavior: A study on bank
employees in Turkey.?Sustainability,$14(3), 1055.?https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031055
Oshri, I., van Fenema, P. C., & Kotlarsky, J. (2008).?Knowledge transfer in Globally Distributed Teams:
The Role of Transactive Memory.?Information Systems Journal, 18(6), 593-
616. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2575.2007.00243.x
Patel, P., Rammal, H. G., Ferreira, J. J., & Prikshat, V. (2021). Knowledge management, sharing and
transfer in cross-national teams and the remote management of team members: The onsite-
offshore phenomenon of service EMNEs.?Journal of Global Mobility,?9(4), 574-
590. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-03-2021-0020
Schweinsberg, M., Thau, S., & Pillutla, M. (2023). Research-problem validity in primary research:
Precision and transparency in characterizing past knowledge.?Perspectives on Psychological
Science,?18(5), 1230-1243.?https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221144990
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