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Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in Operational Research: the Well-Structured Problem Case Study

The rapid development of the technology has continually increased the complexity of problems asthe industries and society progress. Moreover, many studies have indicated that Malaysian graduates do not possess the required problem solving skills to meet these industrial and societal demands.In fact...

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Main Authors: Cheng, Sheila, Siow, Heng Loke
Format: Journal
Language:English
Published: Billion Brains 2015
Subjects:
HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Online Access:http://ur.aeu.edu.my/32/1/Sheila.World%20Review.pdf
http://ur.aeu.edu.my/32/
http://wrbrpapers.com/
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spelling my-aeu-eprints.322017-08-15T02:39:39Z http://ur.aeu.edu.my/32/ Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in Operational Research: the Well-Structured Problem Case Study Cheng, Sheila Siow, Heng Loke HD28 Management. Industrial Management The rapid development of the technology has continually increased the complexity of problems asthe industries and society progress. Moreover, many studies have indicated that Malaysian graduates do not possess the required problem solving skills to meet these industrial and societal demands.In fact, the crux of Operations Research (OR) is to help people to make better and informed decision by providing a quantitative basis for decision. Furthermore, one of the significant OR characteristics is generally appliedto problems, specific and localisedin nature.Henceforth, the problem solving skills of Malaysian graduates could be enhanced if they learn how to solve OR problems effectively in their formal education. This paper explores the cognitive processes adopted by 42 Malaysian business degree undergraduates (BDU) in solving a well-structured (WS) OR problem. In-depth observations and interviews were conducted. The problem solving sessions using the ‘think aloud’ approach were audio- and video-recorded. The cognitive processes of the problem solvers were determined from their behavior and performance exhibited while they were delineating the concepts, proposition and strategies in their solution paths. The similarities and differences of solution paths adopted by the successful and unsuccessful problem solvers were also discussed. The findings from this study revealthat non-linear cognitive processes were adopted by the majority of the solvers. Successful solvers could recall, retrieve and relate the relevant concepts to the problem, while unsuccessful solvers were unable to comprehend the problem although they indicated that they had learnt the relevant concepts and knowledge.It is envisaged that due to the lack of acceptance in the past, these OR research findings could enlighten the academic community of the importance of equipping problem solving skills among Malaysian BDU students. Billion Brains 2015-09 Journal PeerReviewed text en http://ur.aeu.edu.my/32/1/Sheila.World%20Review.pdf Cheng, Sheila and Siow, Heng Loke (2015) Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in Operational Research: the Well-Structured Problem Case Study. World Review of Business Research, 5 (3). pp. 61-79. ISSN 1839-1176 http://wrbrpapers.com/
institution Asia e University
building AEU Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Asia e University
content_source AEU University Repository
url_provider http://ur.aeu.edu.my/
language English
topic HD28 Management. Industrial Management
spellingShingle HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Cheng, Sheila
Siow, Heng Loke
Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in Operational Research: the Well-Structured Problem Case Study
description The rapid development of the technology has continually increased the complexity of problems asthe industries and society progress. Moreover, many studies have indicated that Malaysian graduates do not possess the required problem solving skills to meet these industrial and societal demands.In fact, the crux of Operations Research (OR) is to help people to make better and informed decision by providing a quantitative basis for decision. Furthermore, one of the significant OR characteristics is generally appliedto problems, specific and localisedin nature.Henceforth, the problem solving skills of Malaysian graduates could be enhanced if they learn how to solve OR problems effectively in their formal education. This paper explores the cognitive processes adopted by 42 Malaysian business degree undergraduates (BDU) in solving a well-structured (WS) OR problem. In-depth observations and interviews were conducted. The problem solving sessions using the ‘think aloud’ approach were audio- and video-recorded. The cognitive processes of the problem solvers were determined from their behavior and performance exhibited while they were delineating the concepts, proposition and strategies in their solution paths. The similarities and differences of solution paths adopted by the successful and unsuccessful problem solvers were also discussed. The findings from this study revealthat non-linear cognitive processes were adopted by the majority of the solvers. Successful solvers could recall, retrieve and relate the relevant concepts to the problem, while unsuccessful solvers were unable to comprehend the problem although they indicated that they had learnt the relevant concepts and knowledge.It is envisaged that due to the lack of acceptance in the past, these OR research findings could enlighten the academic community of the importance of equipping problem solving skills among Malaysian BDU students.
format Journal
author Cheng, Sheila
Siow, Heng Loke
author_facet Cheng, Sheila
Siow, Heng Loke
author_sort Cheng, Sheila
title Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in Operational Research: the Well-Structured Problem Case Study
title_short Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in Operational Research: the Well-Structured Problem Case Study
title_full Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in Operational Research: the Well-Structured Problem Case Study
title_fullStr Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in Operational Research: the Well-Structured Problem Case Study
title_full_unstemmed Enhancing Problem Solving Skills in Operational Research: the Well-Structured Problem Case Study
title_sort enhancing problem solving skills in operational research: the well-structured problem case study
publisher Billion Brains
publishDate 2015
url http://ur.aeu.edu.my/32/1/Sheila.World%20Review.pdf
http://ur.aeu.edu.my/32/
http://wrbrpapers.com/
_version_ 1644539645238706176
score 13.211869

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