Critical Thinking: A vital skill for leading in the new normal
 
In the field of leadership and business management, critical thinking is a critical skill to possess. Developing this skill involves asking and challenging assumptions. Critical thinking helps us to make good decisions, improves our overall performance and the business’s profitability. It is especially important in today's business environment, where people are constantly making decisions and are often under pressure to make them quickly.
 
Benefits of critical thinking in leadership and business management
 
Developing critical thinking skills helps leaders analyze their decision-making processes and adopt alternative approaches to address problems. These skills can help a company succeed in the "new normal" of business. While classic leadership strategies remain relevant, they will no longer be sufficient in the face of the challenges of a changing business environment. Instead, today's leaders must learn to think and act differently in order to stay competitive.

• Leading through the new normal.
• Transforming businesses in the new normal.

 
Critical thinking can also help employees improve their creative thinking skills. Getting creative often involves pushing conventions and taking risks. Applying a critical approach can help mitigate risks and make creative ideas more useful in the long run. Critical thinking can also help teams reinvent old processes. Moreover, it enhances teamwork and problem-solving skills. It also distinguishes valuable employees in a company.
 
Critical thinking can also improve emotional intelligence. It helps team members avoid making emotional decisions. It encourages team members to analyze the situation before making any decision. It also helps them weigh the ethical implications of a decision. As a result, they are more likely to come up with creative solutions and ask open-ended questions.
 
Critical thinking is crucial for effective leadership. It helps leaders identify the right decisions, while also understanding the impact of decisions on the overall organization. It also helps them to align themselves with organizational goals and be accountable for their actions.
 
Developing critical thinking skills
 
Questioning is an essential part of critical thinking, as it enables you to evaluate the information that you have. It requires that you continually assess what is relevant and give weight to the most relevant information. This skill can be learned through observation. For instance, you can observe your co-workers during a staff meeting.
 
When questioning, it is imperative to keep the questioning simple and direct. The question should not be too complicated, and it should focus on identifying relationships and principles. It should not be too general or ambiguous because it can lead to long discussions. It is also important to remember that answering a question in a critical way helps you get accurate answers. Remember that the main goal of critical thinking is to identify and evaluate existing knowledge, and to recognize where improvements can be made to a situation.
 
A critical thinker will be able to analyze information and make accurate decisions. By establishing significance, they will be able to weigh the validity of different data sources. This is important because not all information is equally relevant. Critical thinkers will often challenge assumptions and consider what the underlying motivation of a particular piece of information is.
 
The ability to question is an important trait for leaders and business managers. Good critical thinkers are able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of a situation and will ask themselves if their current beliefs will have a positive or negative effect. They will be able to motivate their team members and move them to take action through the use of solid arguments and reasons. As a result, critical thinkers are able to deliver a better performance and offer organizations a distinct advantage over their competition.
 
Lack of critical thinking in leadership and business management
 
A recent study identified the need for critical thinking in leaders, with three-quarters of executives predicting that this skill will increase in importance in the near future. Key reasons for this increase include the speed of change in the business landscape, globalization, and increased competitiveness. Leaders must be able to demonstrate that they are capable of using their critical thinking skills to solve complex business problems.
 
Lack of critical thinking can result in bad decisions, repeated mistakes, and bad assumptions. A leader without these skills can be an unproductive leader and a disaster for the business. A critical thinker is able to identify what the wrong decision is and how to correct it. They can also use a critical lens to identify opportunities that may be overlooked by other people.
 
The skills of critical thinking can help professionals improve their decision-making skills and make them more confident and efficient. In short, critical thinking helps to uncover alternatives and create new ways of approaching a problem based on accurate data. Without critical thinking, a person can't make effective decisions. Developing these skills is crucial to the success of a business.
 
Critical thinking requires the creation of a plan to implement a solution. This plan must identify who will implement the solution and how it will be executed. The plan must be flexible enough to adapt to new information. It should also be able to adapt to changes as needed, while keeping the ultimate goal in mind.

You may checkout more about critical thinking in my book Leading process improvements with critical thinking.

Related Reading:​

1. How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen
2. Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk.
3. Top Ten Strategic Decision-Making Tools for Operational Excellence

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The theory of constraints (TOC) is a management method that helps companies understand and improve their processes. This method is based on the concept that a system consists of a series of interdependent processes. This theory identifies the bottleneck or weak link in the system’s processes. In this way, it helps in process improvement, especially to reduce lead times.
 
Ultimately, using this method can help you improve your business processes and increase profits. I have a separate post on What is theory of constraints and what are its principles. You may check it out here.
 
The theory of constraints is a systematic approach to logistics analysis, and its strategies emphasize efficient decision-making. It has five steps that help you improve your processes. You must first agree on your problem and the constraints that are causing it. Once you have agreed on the constraints and what needs to be improved, you can then move on to the next step.
 
The five stages of theory of constraints make it a powerful tool for any business. The first step is identifying the bottleneck, but this can be a difficult task. It is important to realize that there are many variables in a system.
 
By following the 5 Steps, you can create a comprehensive plan for improving your business processes and achieving your goals. You'll find the steps to implement the theory much easier. You may not realize it, but you can take advantage of the five steps to improve productivity.
 
The first step is to identify your weak link and prioritize the activities that will help you improve your process. Your goal is to increase throughput by identifying the weak link and concentrating on resolving it. This process can improve your company's productivity by eliminating waste. In addition, it can reduce lead times and work-in-process.
 
The second step is to exploit the constraint. This step is essential for improving the efficiency of processes. It is important to realize that a constraint does not need to be a permanent one. You should find ways to exploit it so that your system can operate at its maximum capacity.
 
The third step involves eliminating the bottleneck. The bottleneck can be internal or external. It could be a competitor or an influential force in the market. In either case, you must identify and exploit the bottleneck. By implementing an improvement strategy, you will increase throughput.
 
At the same time, you will improve profitability and improve the performance of your company.
If you are experiencing a bottleneck, the theory of constraints is an excellent solution. It is a systematic approach for solving complex problems.
 
After you identify your constraint, the fourth step is that you need to improve the capacity of all other systems in the system. The rest of the system needs to support it and provide a buffer of safety stock to prevent it from being overloaded. The fifth step is to repeat the cycle.
 
You may also need to adjust established policies and habits so that you can improve your output. Moreover, you need to increase your capacity and invest in new equipment or people.
 
Related Reading:​

1. How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen
2. Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk.
3. Top Ten Strategic Decision-Making Tools for Operational Excellence

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Categories:  Continuous Improvement | Operations | Process Improvement

Keywords and Tags:
#operationalexcellence #reduceleadtime #constraint #theoryofconstraints #visualmanagement #kaizen #problemsolving #organizationaldevelopment #reducebottlnecks

Scrum is a software development method that focuses on delivering features and products in predictable increments, with consistent feedback. Also, it is a very competent process improvement tool

Scrum approach reduces non-productive work and spreads testing throughout the development process. It allows teams to experiment and fail quickly, which reduces costs and time to market. In addition, Scrum enables a team to respond quickly to changes in the business and avoid scope creep.
 
In Scrum, a Scrum team is composed of three key roles: a Scrum master, a Product Owner, and a Team. The Scrum master is responsible for facilitating meetings and ensuring that the development process proceeds efficiently. As the product owner, he/she defines the backlog. The Team consists of the Scrum Master and team members. The Product Owner is the most senior member of the team.
 
The goal of Scrum is to deliver value to the customer. This means that teams create a functional, user-friendly piece of software every few weeks, known as an increment. Feedback from each increment helps the team decide what to do next. By delivering value frequently, Scrum encourages transparency and collective responsibility.
 
Scrum differs from Agile in several ways. While Agile emphasizes daily interaction between developers and business users, Scrum emphasizes a collaborative approach to project development. I have a separate post citing differences between Scrum and Agile.

• Accelerate business growth with Agile- Part 1
• Accelerate business growth with Agile Part 2: Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions on Agile.

 
In Scrum, developers and business owners work together to deliver software at a rapid rate. This process consists of several phases: planning, daily standup meetings, spring demonstration of the work product, and retrospectives to understand what went well and what needs improvement.
 
In Scrum, the team works under the guidance of a Scrum master, a person who serves as a coach for the team. A Scrum Master facilitates collaboration and helps the team perform at its maximum level. The Scrum Master also protects the team from unnecessary distractions and allows the team to focus on the sprint goal. The Scrum Master differs from a traditional project manager, however, in that a Scrum Master does not assign tasks or provide day-to-day direction.
 
In Scrum, the product owner has responsibility for what the team builds. He/she keeps a backlog of work organized in priority order. A Scrum master serves as a cheerleader for the team and ensures that the Scrum process is followed. Scrum teams are characterized by high morale, and each sprint produces a product ready for market.
 
Although, Scrum process begun for software product development, it can be applied to development other product too. Scrum-driven projects bring-on faster operational excellence.
 
The Scrum framework is an iterative process that requires teams to constantly review their progress and identify obstacles to progress. The process involves a series of iterations, each cycle lasting no longer than a week. In each cycle, the team iterates in order to deliver a new feature. These cycles are timeboxed and are generally completed within a month.

Related Reading:​

1. How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen
2. Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk.
3. Top Ten Strategic Decision-Making Tools for Operational Excellence

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Categories:  Scrum | Operations | Process Improvement

Keywords and Tags:
#operationalexcellence #processimprovement #scrum #agile #productdevelopment #scrumprojectmanagement #scrummaster #scrumteam

​The Theory of Constraints is a philosophy and a practical guide to managing systems. It provides an integrated approach to management. This philosophy has been widely adopted by organizations across the world.
 
Theory of Constraints is one of the promising process improvement methodologies.
​ 

• Business Process Improvement for Manufacturing & Service Industry: ​18 proven methodologies to maximize organizational effectiveness, efficiency, and profitability.

 
It was developed to manage systems that have many interconnected parts. It implies that organizations are simpler to manage when they are able to focus on a single constraint. It also assumes that humans are inherently good and deserve to be respected even when they make mistakes. It's a systematic approach that involves six steps. First, a company must define its goal. This is often a measurable quantity, such as the throughput of products or services. This goal is typically related to the success of the company.
 
Once an organization has identified the constraint(s) that are holding it back, it can begin to eliminate those constraints and improve throughput. This is done by underlying process improvement. In some cases, this will require significant changes to the company's culture or business model. This process is cyclical and requires constant introspection. Ultimately, it helps organizations grow.
 
To know more about how to effectively manage organizational change, checkout this video-

Additionally, embedding a culture of Kaizen helps bigtime with increasing process improvement initiatives, more so under the backdrop of an organizational change. Read more about Kaizen and How to use Kaizen for Increased Profitability and Organizational Excellence.
 
The Theory of Constraints is a fundamental management philosophy aimed at helping organizations achieve their goals. It identifies the factors that prevent them from achieving their goals and continually strives to eliminate them. Identifying these factors, also known as bottlenecks, can help businesses become more efficient and profitable.
 
It includes a sophisticated problem solving approach that has been optimized for complex systems. The five-step theory of constraints thinking process is designed to help you organize your thinking when you are approaching a bottleneck or constraint. To apply the theory of constraints, it's important to understand the problem and agree on a solution.
 
Another key attribute of the Theory of Constraints is buffer management. There are many ways to manage buffers in the Theory of Constraints, but one of the most common is by using a three-color visual system to designate buffers. This allows the system to align itself with the constraint. I have a separate post on visual management, you may check it out here.

As with any other technique of process improvement, the first step is to determine what is the constraint. By identifying the constraint, you can begin to prioritize improvement projects, and then, find the weakest link. By improving the weakest link, you can improve the entire organization. This approach is more holistic and based on a holistic view to bring-in operational excellence.


​Related Reading:​

1. How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen
2. Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk.
3. Top Ten Strategic Decision-Making Tools for Operational Excellence

Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

Categories:  Continuous Improvement | Operations | Process Improvement

Keywords and Tags:
#operationalexcellence #buffermanagement #bottlenecks #constraint #theoryofconstraints #visualmanagement #kaizen #problemsolving #organizationaldevelopment

In a previous project, your team might have faced a resistance to change due to a few factors. These factors include communication, control of their own jobs, and the power of the force field. Here are some tips for managing your team's resistance to change. Read on to discover how to handle different kinds of resistance to change. This article will highlight three main strategies to get your team on board with your change initiative.
 
6 Strategies to overcome employee resistance to organizational change- 

Strategic communication plan 

Often, leaders respond to the symptoms of resistance to change. But this will not solve the problem. By understanding the underlying causes of employee resistance, you will be able to navigate it more smoothly. Firstly, explain the reasons why the changes are necessary.
 
Communicate the reasons for the changes. Let your team members know what they stand to gain by these changes. Let them know what they can do to help you implement the changes. You can do this by sharing your reservations, but you must emphasize that your team needs the change to succeed. They must be involved in the process, too, so they need to understand the positive benefits. If you don't, the changes you've proposed may backfire.
 
Follow a strategic communication plan to succeed with your change initiatives. I’ve a separate blogpost on communication plan, you may check it out here.
 
Employee engagement
 
Among the most common methods used to implement change in small and large organizations is employee participation. But this approach can be problematic. First, you must understand the true nature of employee resistance. Employees typically resist changes in social settings, which are often an accompaniment to the technical changes. The problem stems from the staff specialists' blind spots, which are caused by their preoccupation with the technical aspects of new ideas. The good news is that you can use employee involvement to counteract the problems associated with employee resistance.

• How To Increase Employee Engagement as a New Boss 

If the change you are proposing is a fundamentally different way of operating, then your employees will be much more likely to support it. In addition to making sure that employees are informed of the change, you should involve key employees in the process. They can help you build a bridge between your management team and your team. When communicating changes, however, be sure to share your reservations and ask for employees' involvement. In addition, make sure that employees understand what their roles are and how they will benefit from them.
 
Embedding a culture of Kaizen helps bigtime with increasing employee engagement, more so under the backdrop of an organizational change. Read more about Kaizen and How to use Kaizen for Increased Profitability and Organizational Excellence.
 
Also, check out this video to know more about how Kaizen can help your organization’s initiatives on increasing employee engagement.​

Control of own jobs
 
One of the key strategies for overcoming your team’s resistance to change is to communicate clearly and consistently. Identify your audiences and highlight the benefits of the change. Employees often resist changes due to fear of losing their jobs, or the change affecting their working life. Although employees may be well-informed about the benefits of change, the "WIIFM" (what’s in it for me) factor still plays an important role. If they do not believe the changes will benefit them, they will resist.
 
If you want to increase employee satisfaction, your team's resistance to change is often one of the top factors preventing them from being engaged. But if you want to minimize resistance to change, you must take the time to ensure that employees have control over their own jobs. Achieve this by being transparent and providing direction, goals, and parameters. Ensure that your team has the power to make changes - practice effective delegation and set critical path points for feedback.

• How To Overcome Challenges of Creating Effective Work Teams 

Force field analysis
 
The force field analysis is an effective tool for identifying the forces driving and restraining the adoption of change. It helps managers identify the levers that can strengthen driving forces and mitigate restraining forces to make changes stick. This approach involves the participation of all key stakeholders and requires some careful deliberation. However, it can be a great help to identify internal and external forces, which are often not visible.
 
To begin, write down what you wish to change in one sentence. Next, draw a force field diagram. Essentially, this consists of a sheet of paper with a line down the middle. On this sheet of paper, list both restraining and driving forces. Brainstorm for these forces and write down their strengths and weaknesses. Once you have identified these forces, you can begin to make a plan for how to implement the change.
 
Employee feedback
 
One of the best ways to overcome your team’s resistance to change is to identify the reasons behind their reluctance. While identifying the reasons can help you to overcome this obstacle, it's also important to realize that there are different reasons for people to be against a change. Then, you can tailor your approach to work through the problem. Using employee feedback to identify these reasons will allow you to overcome these obstacles.
 
The first key to breaking down the resistance to change is communication. Employees are happy to give you their opinion, and you can leverage that to your advantage. Identifying the root of resistance can help you steer the change project in the direction you want it to go.

Here's my blogpost citing the Best Practices of Giving Feedback to Your Subordinates and Peers and get their feedback; you might want to check it out.
 
 Transparency
 
The vital step in overcoming your team’s resistance to change, is to identify and address potential sources of resistance. Hold workshops or discussions to ensure you understand employee concerns and goals. Listen to their objections to ensure you address the source of their resistance in a productive and respectful manner.
 
Communicate the benefits of the organizational changes to your team. They may be unaware of the reasons for their resistance, or they may have been blindsided by a plan they aren't familiar with.
 
One of the first ways to overcome your team’s opposition to change is to communicate the benefits of the changes to your team and employees. Make sure to create a safe environment for employees to voice their concerns.
​

• How to Bring in Organizational Culture Change
• What Role Does Culture Play in Business Transformation?

 
Practice active listening skills and listen for any possible misunderstandings. Communicate clearly and thoroughly your objectives and why the changes are necessary. This will help reduce resistance to change and ensure everyone is on board with the changes.

Related Reading:​

1. How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen
2. Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk.
3. Top Ten Strategic Decision-Making Tools for Operational Excellence

Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

Categories:  Strategy | Operations | Leadership

Keywords and Tags:
#operationalexcellence #strategicdecisionmaking #strategymanagement #strategiccommunicationplan #transparency #employeeengagement #forcefieldanalysis #employeefeedback #controlofownjobs #sixstrategiesofovercomingemployeeresistance #organizationalchange #kaizen #kaizenfororganizationalexcellence

A strategic communication plan can help your organization navigate existing processes or create new ones. For example, if you're a new CEO, you'll need a roadmap to help you chart your course. According to media experts, the secret to effective communication is engaging your leadership team in a conversation and using simple messaging.
 
Understanding the link between message and organizational goals
Understanding the link between message and organizational goals is a key element of strategic communication for leaders. Unless the core message reflects the organization's vision, change efforts will be mediocre and ineffective. In addition, poorly framed and communicated messages can muddy the overall effectiveness of a company. In order to create a strategic communication plan (SCP), leaders should consider the following key components:
 
The first step is to evaluate the existing communication systems and channels. While some organizations may have an elaborate electronic database, others might prefer a more personal face-to-face channel. By examining communication issues, leaders can develop a more effective communication strategy and determine what types of messages should be sent to different segments of employees.
 
Once an organization has identified its key stakeholders, it must decide which messages are appropriate for each group, which mediums will be most effective, and what messages will achieve the most impact. A strategic communication plan can only be effective if it reaches its intended audience. For this, it must first identify the stakeholders that will be affected by the strategic communication goal, which can include employees, citizens, and lawmakers.
 
Creating a culture of straightforward communication
Creating a culture of straightforward communication for leadership is vital for the success of any organization. Employees of all levels perform better with a clear vision and an open culture of communication. Clearly communicating expectations for work quality and pay grade is an effective way for leaders to achieve this. People want to be honest and transparent with their employers.
 
One of the effective ways of doing this is to host multiple forums for employees to keep in touch. For instance, you (the leader) could conduct a "birthday chat" every other month, where you could speak to employees directly, without the usual senior management presence. Also, you could record a video blog once a month and share it with your workforce. Such communications give leaders a chance to speak directly to their employees, and it builds trust.
 
Another way to foster effective communication is to invite the team members to share their ideas and feedback with you. While you are the leader of the company, you are not the one who needs to tell everyone what to do. You need to listen to everyone. This will lead to better decisions.
 
Developing a communication plan
The first step in developing a communications plan for business leaders is to define the goal of your plan. Once you have this, you can decide which messages to communicate and how you'll get your message across. The next step is to outline a timeline, create a communications editorial calendar, and determine the channels and metrics you'll use to measure your communications strategy.
 
A communication plan should target key constituents, based on their needs and interests. It should not focus on what they don't need to know, but it should ensure that everyone receives the same big picture message. To ensure that everyone is getting the same information, you should periodically survey the key stakeholders to see if they have any questions.

• Best Practices of Giving Feedback to Your Subordinates and Peers
• Best Practices of Giving Feedback to Your Seniors and Top Management

 
Communication management is essential for the development of a strong organizational culture. It helps retain and promote top talent, boost employee engagement, and enhance innovation. In order to improve your company's culture, you should invest in an executive communications plan. The plan should be integrated into the overall communications strategy and work closely with the larger communications team, human resources and sales and marketing leaders.
 
In addition to the goal, your communication plan should outline how you'll communicate with your team. It's important to identify which channels are appropriate for different types of communications, such as email and video conference. It's important to note that some methods are more effective than others, and that you need to choose the right method for your needs.
 
Developing a communication plan is an ongoing process. As with any other strategy, you'll need to modify it from time to time as you learn more. Creating a plan will help you refine your message and make it more effective and efficient. It will also save you time later on.
 
Tools for evaluating effectiveness of communication
In evaluating the effectiveness of strategic communication, it is critical to identify and address the most significant issues. Often, internal communications teams face the challenge of proving their impact on business results. This challenge is compounded by the fact that communication does not happen in a vacuum, and its impact is difficult to isolate from other factors. However, with the use of communication analytics tools, it is possible to ensure that the communications being sent to employees are effective long term.
 
Measures like the engagement rate and open and click-through rates help measure the effectiveness of internal communications. These metrics give a clear understanding of how the communication campaign is impacting the target audience. The results of these measures can be used to adjust future communications, or to adjust the focus of current efforts.
 
Effective communication is a process of repeated messaging and requires a lot of effort. Organizations should communicate their strategic plans seven times across seven different mediums. These include brochures, speeches, newsletters, workshops, internal blog posts, and videos.
 
Strategic communications plans must be aligned with the overall goals of the organization. The purpose of communication is to influence the attitudes and behaviors of employees. To be effective, the communication program must be focused on achieving the key goals of the business. Benchmarking the current communications program and executing iterative process improvement regularly, is a good way to grow communication effectiveness over time.
 
Disclaimer- Suggestions given here are for educational purpose and not advice. Please follow applicable privacy laws and code of conduct best practices recommended by your workplace.

 
Related Reading:​

1. Up to speed with workflow- How to choose business process improvement methodology for your organization and measure the positive change. 
2. Kaizen for pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech industries
3. How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen
4. Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk.
5. Top Ten Strategic Decision-Making Tools for Operational Excellence

Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

Categories:  Strategy | Operations | Leadership

Keywords and Tags:
#operationalexcellence  #strategicplanning #strategymanagement #communicationplan #businesscomunication #managingchange  #employeeengagement #processimprovement #creatingacultureoftransparentcommunication

​What is machine learning and how does it work? The basic concept is to create algorithms that learn from data and then apply them to new situations. There are two types of machine learning: supervised and unsupervised. Unsupervised machine learning aims to find patterns in unlabeled data, while supervised machine learning looks for trends in labels.
 
In this post, I shall touch upon what is machine learning, where is machine learning used, benefits & challenges of machine learning and few examples of its industry applications. So, let’s get started…
 
Which industry uses machine learning the most?
Machine learning is an innovation and is used in Industry 4.0 or smart factories.

Application of machine learning concept to technical and business processes improves operational excellence and in turn, increases profitability. 
 
Machine learning is being used across most industry sectors such as- Finance, agriculture, retail, healthcare, education, transportation, IT, customer service, aviation.
 
Which industries will benefit most from machine learning?
Transportation industry for now. The transportation & logistics industry perhaps uses machine learning the most. Reinforcement machine learning trains models through trial and error and is often used to teach autonomous vehicles how to drive. It rewards the machine when it makes the right decisions.
 
Advantages and disadvantages of machine learning
Some of the advantages of machine learning include the ability to customize education, which allows students to work on materials that are most suitable for their learning style. This can save teachers time because they do not have to plan a lesson for every student. Another benefit is an automatic grading system, which saves teachers time and gives a realistic assessment of student performance.
 
However, this technique requires a large amount of data to function properly. This is not only a time-consuming task, but it also requires resources such as CPU and GPU power. Furthermore, it may use more storage space than expected. In addition, machine learning algorithms can only be used as much as they have historical data to work with.
 
Another advantage of machine learning is that it allows for fast and automatic adaptation, which eliminates the need for human intervention. This feature is also used in anti-virus software and security software, which can automatically adapt to any situation without human intervention. The downside of machine learning is that it can sometimes make mistakes, causing inaccurate predictions or inaccurate advertising.
 
Challenges of machine learning
Machine learning has a wide range of implications. Its use in making decisions can have a huge impact on the economy and our everyday lives. Research in this field is aimed at understanding the impacts and potential harms of machine-learning-based systems and developing tools and policies to avoid them. It also examines the optimal use of machine-learning systems to maximize aggregate social welfare.
 
Machine-learning specialists face many challenges in the deployment of their projects. Sometimes the algorithms they use are not accurate enough to solve a business problem. In this case, the project may fail. To avoid such scenarios, it is vital to have a team of experts with business qualifications working on the project. This will enable organizations to make the best use of this new technology and get faster ROL
 
In addition, organizations are under pressure to only develop machine-learning models that produce a positive ROI. The ROI of a model can depend on how users react, as well as how well it predicts the future. Moreover, it can be impacted by competition, public opinion, brand image, and algorithmic fairness.
 
Examples of machine learning in action
Predictive analytics is one of the most exciting examples of machine learning in action. It can be used to make predictions about a wide variety of things, from real estate prices to product development. Machine learning algorithms use big data to make these predictions. They do this by analyzing billions of data samples and automating the process of annotating them.
 
Another great example of machine learning in action is the social media news feed. The recommendation engine in the news feed uses machine learning to recommend articles based on the user's past browsing behavior. This kind of learning is possible because the algorithms are able to improve their accuracy over time as they are used more.

You may check out more about machine learning in my book Machine Learning.


Related Reading:​

1. Continuous improvement tools
2. How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen
3. Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk.
4. Top Ten Strategic Decision-Making Tools for Operational Excellence

​Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

Categories:  Innovation | Operational Excellence |  AI, ML, DL

Keywords and Tags:
​#operationalexcellence #AI #ML #artificalintelligence #innovation #machinelearning #whatismachinelearning #machinelearningintrasportationindustry #profitability