Apply Simon’s four-phase model to the elevator application case (see Application Case 2.1).

Application Case 2.1

Making Elevators Go Faster!
This story has been reported in numerous places and has almost become a classic example to explain the need for problem identification. Ackoff (as cited in Larson, 1987) described the problem of managing complaints about slow elevators in a tall hotel tower. After trying many solutions for reducing the complaint: staggering elevators to go to different floors, adding operators, and so on, the management determined that the real problem was not about the actual waiting time but rather the perceived waiting time. 

So the solution was to install full-length mirrors on elevator doors on each floor. As Hesse and Woolsey (1975) put it, “the women would look at themselves in the mirrors and make adjustments, while the men would look at the women, and before they knew it, the elevator was there.” By reducing the perceived waiting time, the problem went away. Baker and Cameron (1996) give several other examples of distractions, including lighting, displays, and so on, that organizations use to reduce perceived waiting time.

If the real problem is identified as perceived waiting time, it can make a big difference in the proposed solutions and their costs. For example, full-length mirrors probably cost a whole lot less than adding an elevator!