Managing Rationally with Kepner‐Tregoe
| Date | 01 July 1981 |
| Pages | 28-29 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057203 |
| Published date | 01 July 1981 |
| Author | Mike McTague |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Managing Rationally with
Kepner-Tregoe
by Mike McTague
Since it began in 1958, Kepner-Tregoe has shown the
logical steps of problem solving and decision making to
1 million people in 1,500 organisations internationally.
Not only is Kepner-Tregoe used to solving problems
and making decisions, but it is improving communica-
tion and motivation at all levels of its client organisa-
tions.
A number of recent articles have compared Kepner-
Tregoe with Quality Control Circles and Zero Defects.
Indeed, there is ground for comparison, but Kepner-
Tregoe is more than a programme. The purpose of this
article is to present a fuller picture of Kepner-Tregoe.
By observing successful managers, Kepner and Tre-
goe discerned the logical steps in accomplishing the
three tasks of management:
• Solving problems
• Making decisions
• Planning
For each there is a process. Kepner and Tregoe
spelled out those processes. Kepner and Tregoe also
found that the word problem was used differently by
different people, so they established a definition of
problem which distinguishes it from a decision or a plan.
A problem exists when A was expected but B resulted.
In a nutshell, Problem Analysis allows people at all
levels of the organisation - machine operators, mana-
gers and chief executives - to find the cause of a
problem by using all available information and testing
logically. This prevents shooting from the hip. Another
thing Kepner and Tregoe found when they worked for
the Rand Corporation - where they first got the idea to
identify the steps in problem solving and decision mak-
ing - was that where there is a problem, inevitably
someone will jump to the cause.
The word problem is used
differently by different people
Kepner-Tregoe's reputation grew as it proved it could
resolve heated problems quickly and rationally. One
company was experiencing declining sales in several
regions. Customers were complaining, salesmen blamed
manufacturing, manufacturing blamed sales, the ware-
house blamed distributors and so on. By asking pointed
questions, Kepner and Tregoe described the problem
fully and discovered the cause: inadequate packaging for
rail shipments. The problem was solved, the heat was
turned off, and sales moved upward. Another company
was experiencing periodic quality problems of manufac-
tured metal parts. Inventory blamed production who
blamed suppliers. Again, a rational approach based on a
full description of the problem led to the cause - one of
a number of raw material suppliers was not matching
specifications.
"People used to hide problems.
Now they actually look for them"
Turnover of sales force, error rates on computer
inputs, recurring parts failures in nuclear submarines
and nuclear reactors, production line problems and
"gray beards," problems people gave up on long ago,
have all been resolved quickly and rationally by Prob-
lem Analysis. In one company, operators solved equip-
ment failures so quickly that other plants became jeal-
ous and instituted Kepner-Tregoe's Analytic Trouble
Shooting - a logical problem-solving approach for
plant-level employees - so as not to fall behind a sister
plant.
Organisations that have been using Kepner-Tregoe
for a few years invariably report other benefits: com-
munication improves and motivation rises. A military
officer, typical of hundreds, commented, "Before
Kepner-Tregoe, people used to hide problems. Now
they actually look for them and get a charge out of
solving them."
Kepner-Tregoe is often compared to Quality Control
Circles, currently in use at hundreds of companies,
some of which use Kepner-Tregoe, and some of which
do not. Kepner-Tregoe and Quality Control Circles are
similar in that the intent is to solve problems and raise
quality; users of each report that participants communi-
cate better and are motivated to solve problems better.
But Kepner-Tregoe is different. For one thing, the prob-
lem solving technique used in Quality Control Circles is
not always successful, relying on Pareto Analysis and
brainstorming. Obviously, a Circle of highly motivated
people who cannot solve their problems contribute
much less to an organisation than a Circle that does
solve its problems. Some organisations are using Qual-
ity Control Circles but find that using Kepner-Tregoe's
problem-solving methodology makes them more suc-
cessful. For example, a Fortune 500 company instituted
Kepner-Tregoe's Analytic Trouble Shooting at several
manufacturing plants and saw average defects reported
per hour fall from nine to zero.
Beyond this, Kepner-Tregoe is more than a prog-
ramme, it is a way of thinking. Management by Objec-
28 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT + DATA SYSTEMS
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