3.2 Describe the possible effects of legal or regulatory requirements when solving business problems
When we look at a business or an organisation, there will be a lot of legal requirements and regulations that the organisation and its employees have to take into consideration. Since every aspect and process in a business, for example sales, profit, employee relations, manufacture or production, sales, etc., has legal requirements and is controlled by legislations, one needs to look at the possible effects these may have during the problem solving process.
It removes the flexibility of working and places constraints thereby making the problem solving tasks complex.
It places a barrier and hence stops employees from working to their full potential
It puts a barrier on the problem skills that the employees possess
It can sometimes make things frustrating and employees may lose their enthusiasm
Restricts employees from taking complete control of the problem and hence restricts them from developing and applying new and effective methods and concepts
Not much freedom to experiment and implement ideas
A few effects of legal and regulatory requirements that we can expect during a problem solving process are,
4.1 Describe ways of evaluating approaches to solving business problems
Now you know what the problem is, you have identified it, found the causes, analysed and arrived at a solution, implemented it and the result may have been positive or negative. One needs to consult with colleagues, managers and other higher management and get their feedback and evaluation or do a self-evaluation to see if the approaches to problem solving were appropriate and correct.
Not abiding by the laws and regulations can be disastrous and can lead to serious errors and outcomes. Also laws and regulations are updated frequently and an organisation has to update to the recent ones and take respective measures in order to avoid any problems.
Some negative ones:
Sales, profit, production, labour related issues. In these cases, employment laws and trade laws etc. need to be taken into account
A business needs to make sure that all agreements related to business transactions and processes are updated and filed for future reference and a copy of this available in hand with everyone involved.
Agreements, contracts and policies related to employment must be provided to all employees and a signed copy has to be with the employer and the employee
A business and its employees should by all means be bound by law and not ignore it, as ignoring legal issues can lead to complex problems and have serious effects.
When utilising resources from other departments or external sources, check that you follow the legal procedures and regulations to do so
Make sure you follow the legal procedures and regulations while communicating with restricted agencies and departments
Allow employees to implement their ideas and provide resources and inter departmental support.
Helps with working safely without worrying when one adheres to the business' policies and procedures
It provides the proper channels and systems and the employees can see the ideas from start to finish
Although there are some negative points about the policies and procedures, one needs to understand that these are devised for safer working of the employees and the business and anything not covered or restricted in the policies and procedures can be included if appropriate evidence of its importance and need is brought into attention to the relevant people.
Let us have a look at some of the effects these organisational policies and procedures have when solving business problems.
4. Understand how to evaluate approaches to solving business problems
In this section, we will look at ways to evaluate approaches in problem solving and ways to evaluate solutions to these problems effectively.
Business problems may be internal or external, and this will involve a proper procedure. For example if there are quality issues in a product that was sold to a customer, they will look at the specifications on the box and will expect the same to be inside the box, or for example if there was a problem in a building contract, legal issues like contracts, agreements and other issues will be taken into consideration. So care needs to be taken while specifying products or writing down contracts and agreements and any other records or documents related to legal requirements and regulations.
