A Framework for Understanding the Definition and Formulation of Problems in Teams

This paper proposes that, in order to understand how teams work with issues, we need to consider less the question "How does this team deal with its problems?" and ask instead "How does this team come by the problems it works on?" A framework is offered which is intended to facilitate the understanding of, rather than to make "truthful" statements about, problem finding in teams. It considers the nature of problems in teams, the alternative approaches implicit in the terms problem diagnosis and problem finding, the organizational politics of problem finding in teams, and some of the implications these factors have for those who wish to make things happen differently. While the framework was developed through research on the definition and formulation of problems in some Health Care Planning Teams, it is argued that it is likely to have wide heuristic applicability.