who are always on time, and two teachers who are almost always late. This diverse group membership was selected to represent a variety of viewpoints. The principal selected the team members among those individuals who are known to be objective, task-oriented, and skilled in problem solving. One of the teachers has been thoroughly trained in the PIPS process and has demonstrated team skills in other professional areas. None of the teachers are politically "hot" in any type of school controversy. Although the principal has taken the initiative in starting the process, it is important to recognize that since the problem-solving team will work in a democratic setting, the principal can in no way be autocratic, or the team will be unlikely to generate creative solutions.
At the outset, each group member agrees to try the PIPS suggestions, to read the instructions carefully, and to put forth effort to learn to solve problems as part of a group. For each of the phases, and for each of the five process steps in each phase, one group member is designated as observer. This responsibility is rotated among group members from step to step so that each person has a chance to develop group observation skills. It is decided that the problem-solving team will be an on-going steering committee for school administration, as several members expressed concern about simply becoming an administrative arm to police the rest of the faculty. It is understood that the tardiness problem is one of several difficulties that may be addressed by the group.
The first step is the most difficult and is often simply skipped. However, in the absence of a thorough analysis of the problem, one can never be quite sure that the solution adopted is relevant to the problem at hand. It is recognized that most problems in education are people problems and that the questions of who, when, and where will generate information to illuminate the problem components.
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