Assignment:
Please provide an introduction and problem statement for the topic of childhood obesity in the United States.
Use the following guidelines when creating a problem statement:
- Define the problem in specific terms. Team members should present facts associated with the product as well as the error, shortcoming, issue, or opportunity.
- Identify where the problem or opportunity exists or will manifest as specifically as possible to help the team focus its improvement efforts. To do so you should try to exploit all possible stakeholders of the problem; observe, discuss, question them: they know the problem!
- Describe the size of the problem in measurable terms.
- Describe the impact the problem currently has or will have on the organization being as specific as possible since specificity will increase the odds of finding a workable solution.
Questions you should ask when developing a problem statement:
- Who - Who is affected by the problem in question? Specific groups, customers, etc.
- What - What are the boundaries of the problem, e.g., organizational, work flow, geographic, customer, etc. What is the issue? What is the impact of the issue? What will happen when it is fixed? What would happen if it weren't fixed?
- When - When does this issue occur? When does it need to be fixed?
- Where - Where is the issue occurring? Address issues of location, processes, products, etc.
- Why - Why is it important that we fix the problem? What impact does it have on the business or customer or employees or shareholders?
Avoid the following common pitfalls when creating a problem statement.
- Addressing only one problem
- Not assigning a cause
- Assigning blame
- Not offering a solution
Your answer must be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one-inch margins on all sides, APA format.