This course is part of the People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success Specialization

Skills Network

Offered By

People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success SpecializationIBM Skills Network

About this Course

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In order to find a solution, one needs to be able to analyze a problem. This short course is designed to teach you how to solve and analyze problems effectively with critical and creative thinking. 
Through the use of creative and critical thinking you will learn how to look at a problem and find the best solution by analyzing the different ways you can solve a problem. By taking this quick course you will gain the skills you need to find the root cause of a problem through the use of a five-step method. You will learn the process you must go through in order to find the problem, which leads to finding a solution.  

You will gain the necessary skills needed for critical and creative thinking which will be the foundation for successfully solving problems. This course provides fundamental skills that you will need to use in your day to day work.  

The course is suitable for anyone – students, career starters, experienced professionals and managers - wanting to develop problem solving skills regardless of your background. By taking this course you will be gaining some of the essential skills you need in order to be successful in your professional life.

This course is part of the People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success Specialization from IBM.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 4 of 6 in the

People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success Specialization

Beginner Level

No Previous Experience Required! This course can be taken by anyone regardless of professional experience.

Approx. 3 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

What you will learn

Utilize critical and creative thinking to solve issues.
Describe the 5-step process of effectively solving problems.
Analyze a problem and identify the root cause.
Explore possible solutions and employ the problem solving process.

Skills you will gain

Professional Development
Soft skills
Problem Solving
Creative Thinking
Critical Thinking

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 4 of 6 in the

People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success Specialization

Beginner Level

No Previous Experience Required! This course can be taken by anyone regardless of professional experience.

Approx. 3 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Instructor

Skills Network

19,298 Learners

15 Courses

Offered by

IBM Skills Network

IBM is the global leader in business transformation through an open hybrid cloud platform and AI, serving clients in more than 170 countries around the world. Today 47 of the Fortune 50 Companies rely on the IBM Cloud to run their business, and IBM Watson enterprise AI is hard at work in more than 30,000 engagements. IBM is also one of the world’s most vital corporate research organizations, with 28 consecutive years of patent leadership. Above all, guided by principles for trust and transparency and support for a more inclusive society, IBM is committed to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Solving Problems with Creative and Critical Thinking

This module will help you to develop skills and behaviors required to solve problems and implement solutions more efficiently in an agile manner by using a systematic five-step process that involves both creative and critical thinking.

3 hours to complete

31 videos (Total 30 min), 11 readings, 12 quizzes

31 videos

Why do you need to focus on solving problems?1m

The problem-solving process1m

How can you solve problems in an agile way?31s

Let’s begin with the first topic54s

The problem-solving process-Identify30s

Write a problem statement33s

How do you find out if a problem is worth solving?52s

Recap52s

Let’s move to the second topic1m

The problem-solving process: Analyze1m

How do you use “The 5 Whys”?1m

The root cause!40s

Many tools can help with root cause analysis25s

Let’s move to the third topic29s

The problem-solving process: Explore48s

Brainstorming rules1m

Brainstorm to solve Georgia’s problem29s

Recap53s

Let’s move to the fourth topic 54s

The problem-solving process: Select2m

Let’s find five solutions for one problem1m

Use these factors to identify who should choose a solution56s

Use the Ease and effectiveness matrix to select the best solution29s

Recap 1m

Let’s move to the fifth topic28s

What will success look like?18s

How will you measure a solution’s effectiveness?26s

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it51s

Build an implementation plan40s

Recap40s

Review the five-step problem-solving process2m

11 readings

Critical and creative thinking are required to solve problems5m

What will you learn from the course?2m

Let’s help Georgia!5m

Is Georgia’s problem worth solving?4m

Recap2m

Brainstorm to get plenty of ideas5m

Let’s find five solutions for one problem2m

Who should chose a solution in Georgia's problem?2m

How will you work out the best possible solution?4m

Plan to implement the solution for Georgia3m

Congratulations and Next Steps. 2m

12 practice exercises

Practice Quiz: What do you think?5m

Practice Quiz: What do you think?3m

Practice Quiz: The “5 Whys” for Georgia20m

Practice Quiz: Which type of solution will work for Georgia?3m

Practice Quiz: Who should choose the solution in each case?10m

Practice Quiz: Who should choose a solution to Georgia’s problem?10m

Practice Quiz: Using the Ease and Effectiveness Matrix10m

Practice Quiz: Let’s use the Ease and effectiveness matrix for Georgia’s problem10m

Practice Quiz: What do you think success will look like?5m

Practice Quiz: What do you think?10m

Practice Quiz: Solving Problems with Critical and Creative Thinking 10m

Graded Quiz: Solving Problems with Critical and Creative Thinking 20m

About the People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success Specialization

Knowledge of soft skills or people Skills are increasingly coming into focus and being recognized as critical for success - hence at IBM we call them "Success Skills", and categorize them as "Hot Skills".

A research by Harvard University, Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Center has concluded that 85% of job success comes from having well developed soft skills and people skills,and only 15% of job success comes from Technical skills and knowledge (hard skills). This specialization is aimed at helping you develop these powerful people and soft skills and behaviors that include: creating & delivering impactful presentations; working professionally to deliver quality work & experiences; collaborating effectively with teams; communicating productively and efficiently; dealing with challenges, solving problems & implementing solutions. The program is made up of 5 short courses that you can take in any order, followed by a final assessment course. Upon completing this specialization, you will have developed knowledge and demonstrated an understanding of these essential skills. This specialization can be taken by anyone no matter your age or work experience. And is especially beneficial for those entering the workforce or in early stages of their careers. There are no course pre-requisites and this course can be completed either using the Coursera mobile app or a web browser on a laptop/desktop/tablet/mobile device.

People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Solving Problems with Creative and Critical Thinking