Problem-solving and incompetence traps in service operations course

Problem-based learning through team projects and case analyses is as much an art as it is a science for business students. As novices, students frequently lack critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and consequently fall into incompetence traps that arise due to defective seeing (tunnel vision vs. blurred vision) and defective thinking (loose vs. oblivious thinking), resulting in fallacies of singularity, multiplicity, constraint neglect and context neglect. We argue that instructors, as experts, should help novice students escape from incompetence traps in a way adjusted to specific knowledge domains. We approach incompetence traps in areas of service operations as triggers of particular operational challenges and propose strategies that will help instructors teach students the art of problem solving and enhance their critical-thinking skills in business education.