DescriptionResearchers Carolyn Maher and Liz Uptegrove conduct a group interview with Romina, Angela and Magda as young professionals who have been participants in a long-term study on development of mathematical thinking and reasoning in students. Interview questions include: What do you think are important skills for young adults just entering the job market to have? In your workplace, what’s the range you see of how people solve problems from best to worst? In this clip Romina, Angela, and Magda describe their current jobs in the context of problem solving. Working as a business analyst for a global consulting firm, Romina explains the recruiting aspect of her current job. She observes college students’ performances on “case competitions.” When asked about types of problem-solving, Romina distinguishes between those people who have and have not been to business school. She observes that the business school students usually begin a problem by looking for a relevant “framework” like Porter’s Five Forces or “SWOT” analysis. She then speaks of those people who “just think” and then “come up with a better solution” than the business students. Romina remarks that business students “force all this knowledge” and become “constrained by this business mentality.” After Angela mentions that her business friends would often use formulas to solve problems, Romina describes how she knows certain concepts “inside and out” and yet she struggles with procedural computation. At work she encounters people who apply formulas but “couldn’t understand the concept behind it.” She describes how she explains concepts to others using an example like the Towers problem.
RightsThe video is protected by copyright. It is available for reviewing and use within the Video Mosaic Collaborative (VMC) portal. Please contact the Robert B. Davis Institute for Learning (RBDIL) for further information about the use of this video.
Date Captured2006-05-12
Local IdentifierA61-GEN-INT-CLIP001
Related Publication Type: Related publication Label: Ed.D. dissertation references the video footage that includes Romina interview reflections (corporate consultant): Problem solving in business Date: 2010 Author: Steffero, Maria (Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey)