Course Title

1. Introduction to Creative Problem-Solving and Decision-Making

• The professional value of structured problem-solving and sound decision-making including (reducing rework and wasted effort, accelerating issue resolution, improving team confidence, and driving organizational performance)

• Overview of key methodologies and frameworks covered in the course including (Design Thinking, Lateral Thinking, Root Cause Analysis — RCA, the DECIDE Model, and the PDCA cycle)

• The relationship between creativity and analytical thinking in problem-solving including (divergent thinking for idea generation versus convergent thinking for evaluation and selection)

• Common organizational barriers to effective problem-solving including (groupthink, hierarchical pressure, time constraints, cognitive overload, and risk-averse decision cultures)

• Self-assessment of current problem-solving and decision-making tendencies including (preferred thinking styles, habitual approaches, and identification of individual development areas)

2. Problem Definition and Root Cause Analysis

• The importance of accurate problem definition before solution generation including (the cost of solving the wrong problem, reframing problem statements, and separating symptoms from root causes)

• Problem scoping techniques including (the 5W1H framework — Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How for structured problem description, and gap analysis between current and desired state)

• Application of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) methodologies including (the 5-Why technique for causal chain exploration, fishbone — Ishikawa diagrams for multi-category cause mapping, and fault tree analysis for complex failure scenarios)

• Differentiating direct causes, contributing factors, and systemic root causes including (avoiding premature solution jumping, validating cause-and-effect relationships, and prioritizing root causes by impact and addressability)

• Documenting problem analysis findings including (structured problem statements, cause-and-effect maps, and root cause summary reports for stakeholder communication)

3. Creative Thinking and Idea Generation

• Principles of Lateral Thinking as developed by Edward de Bono including (challenging assumptions, escaping dominant patterns, generating provocations, and using random entry techniques to stimulate novel thinking)

• The five stages of Design Thinking and their application to organizational problem-solving including (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test — with professional context examples)

• Structured ideation techniques for group and individual use including (brainstorming rules and facilitation, mind mapping, the SCAMPER method — Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, and Reverse, and brainwriting for introverted contributors)

• Techniques for breaking mental fixedness and generating unconventional solutions including (perspective shifting, worst possible idea reversal, analogical thinking, and constraint removal exercises)

• Idea evaluation and shortlisting criteria including (feasibility, impact potential, resource requirements, time to implement, and alignment with organizational objectives)

4. Cognitive Biases and Critical Thinking in Decision-Making

• Overview of cognitive biases that distort problem perception and decision quality including (confirmation bias, anchoring bias, availability heuristic, sunk cost fallacy, and groupthink dynamics)

• Recognizing bias in organizational decision-making contexts including (identifying bias in data interpretation, stakeholder input, option evaluation, and post-decision rationalization)

• Critical thinking techniques to counteract cognitive bias including (Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats method for structured perspective rotation, devil's advocate role assignment, and pre-mortem analysis)

• The role of emotional intelligence in decision-making including (recognizing emotional triggers that distort judgment, separating emotional response from rational analysis, and building psychological safety for honest team input)

• Evidence evaluation and information quality assessment including (distinguishing data from assumptions, identifying gaps in available evidence, and determining when sufficient information exists to decide)

5. Structured Decision-Making Frameworks

• Application of the DECIDE Model (Define the problem, Establish criteria, Consider alternatives, Identify the best alternative, Develop and implement a plan, and Evaluate the solution) to professional decision scenarios

• Multi-criteria decision analysis including (weighted scoring matrices, criteria prioritization, option ranking, and sensitivity analysis to test robustness of the preferred solution)

• Risk assessment in decision-making including (consequence and likelihood analysis, risk appetite consideration, contingency planning for high-risk choices, and escalation thresholds)

• Decision-making under uncertainty and time pressure including (satisficing versus optimizing strategies, bounded rationality principles, and structured rapid decision techniques for time-critical situations)

• Group decision-making dynamics and facilitation including (consensus-building techniques, managing dominant voices, Nominal Group Technique — NGT for equitable contribution, and decision accountability assignment)

6. Implementation, Evaluation, and Continuous Improvement

• Translating decisions into actionable implementation plans including (task breakdown, resource allocation, timeline setting, responsibility assignment, and stakeholder communication planning)

• Overcoming resistance to change during solution implementation including (stakeholder engagement strategies, change communication approaches, and managing implementation setbacks)

• Applying the PDCA cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) to monitor solution effectiveness and drive iterative improvement including (defining success metrics, collecting implementation data, evaluating outcomes against targets, and adjusting the approach based on findings)

• Learning from decisions including (post-implementation review methodology, lessons learned capture, and embedding improved practices into team and organizational processes)

• Building a culture of continuous improvement and creative problem-solving including (encouraging psychological safety for idea sharing, rewarding constructive challenge, and institutionalizing structured problem-solving practices)

7. Case Studies and Group Discussions

• Analysis of organizational problem-solving successes and failures in Middle East business and operational environments including (rapid decision-making during supply chain disruptions, innovation-driven cost reduction in competitive markets, and escalating problems resulting from inadequate root cause analysis) and the importance of proper problem-solving and decision-making training in building resilient, high-performing organizations

• Group discussion on barriers to creative thinking and sound decision-making in professional environments including (hierarchical decision cultures, fear of failure, cognitive bias blind spots, and the challenge of applying structured frameworks under real-world time pressure)

• Applied case study workshop including (teams receive a complex organizational problem scenario, apply RCA to define the root cause, use Design Thinking to generate solutions, apply the DECIDE Model to select the best option, and present their decision rationale to the group for peer critique)