Imagine that you work for FutureSystems Inc., a company that designs, installs and maintains sophisticated electrical systems for industry. Over the past 18 months, the company's business has expanded, and your workforce has rapidly grown from 900 to just over 1,250 people. With this rapid expansion of the workforce, problems with that workforce have increased as well. There has been an increase in absenteeism, work-related stress, and family problems spilling over into the workplace. Your manager wants you to study Employee Assistance Programs, and recommend a program that will help FutureSystems. These programs typically are designed to offer services in substance abuse, marriage and family counseling, stress related problems, financial and legal difficulties, and psychological and workplace conflict.

The first step in answering future-looking questions is to develop a detailed specification of the concerns about the problem in question. By initially focusing on the concerns of the client or supervisor, you are able to get a sense of the "target" that that will be "hit" by the document, whether it is a proposal or recommendation report or something else. To define the problem in this step is to determine, at least provisionally, the scope of the solution.

Different people define a problem narrowly or broadly. It is crucial early on to determine what is and is not part of the problem. To focus too narrowly is to miss part of the problem; to focus too broadly, is to risk offering a solution that cannot be achieved.

To initially define the problem, you need to go through several steps:

1. Independently review the evidence about the nature and size of the problem. Look in house at memos, reports, and minutes of meetings; read a review of the literature in a relevant scholarly journal to get a sense of the research that has been done
2. Discuss with the client the nature and size of the problem
3. Identify the points that will require agreement and any future decisions that will require further discussion
4. Determine with the client, at least initially, the definition of the problem to be addressed

After discussing the task with your supervisor, you are told to recommend an Employee Assistance Program that will address the company's problems while being cost-effective.

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