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What is Creativity?
There are many definitions of creativity. A number of them suggest that creativity is
the generation of imaginative new ideas (Newell and Shaw 1972), involving a radical
newness innovation or solution to a problem, and a radical reformulation of
problems. Other definitions propose that a creative solution can simply integrate
existing knowledge in a different way. A third set of definitions proposes that a
creative solution, either new or recombined, must have value (Higgins 1999). A novel
idea is not a creative idea unless it is valuable or it implies positive evaluation. Also,
according to dt Ogilvie (1998), imagination, which involves the generation of ideas
not previously available as well as the generation of different ways of seeing events,
is important to achieve creative actions.
To combine this variety of definitions, creativity are involves the generation of new
ideas or the recombination of known elements into something new, providing
valuable solutions to a problem. It also involves motivation and emotion. Creativity is
a fundamental feature of human intelligence in general. It is grounded in everyday
capacities such as the association of ideas, reminding, perception, analogical
thinking, searching a structured problem-space, and reflecting self-criticism. It
involves not only a cognitive dimension (the generation of new ideas) but also
motivation and emotion, and is closely linked to cultural context and personality
factors. (Boden, 1998).
According to Boden (1998), there are three main types of creativity, involving
different ways of generating the novel ideas:
a) The combinational creativity that involves new combinations of familiar
ideas.
b) The exploratory creativity that involves the generation of new ideas by the
exploration of structured concepts.
c) The transformational creativity that involves the transformation of some
dimension of the structure, so that new structures can be generated.
Innovation results when creativity occurs within the right organizational culture. The
right organizational culture is one that provides through creativity processes, the
possibilities for the development of personal and group creativity skills.
Objectives of Creativity
The result of the creative thinking process is especially important for businesses.
Managers and managerial decisions and actions, confronted with fast-changing and
ambiguous environments in business, need to develop creative solutions and
creative action-based strategies to solve problems, as they allow to increase
understanding of problematic situations, to find multiple problems, to produce new
combinations, to generate multiple solutions that are different from the past, to
consider possible alternatives in various situations that could occur in the future and
to expand the opportunity horizon and competence base of firms (dt ogilvie 1998).
Expected Results
Creativity, through the generation of ideas with value, is needed in order to solve
concrete problems, ease the adaptation to change, optimise the performance of the
organization and best practice manufacturing, and change the attitude of the staff of
the organization. Creative thought processes are also important at all stages in the
R&D process.
1.0 Brainstorming
This is one of the best known and most used in the business world group based
creativity process for problem solving. It is a method of getting a large number of
ideas from a group of people in a short time. It can be used for generating a large
number of ideas or solutions for well-defined strategic or operational problems, such
as for engineering design processes. It forms also a basic framework or constitutes
the initial phase for the implementation of many other groups based on creative
techniques.
It can also help you get buy-in from team members for the solution chosen after all,
they're likely to be more committed to an approach if they were involved in
developing it. What's more, because brainstorming is fun, it helps team members
bond, as they solve problems in a positive, rewarding environment.
While brainstorming can be effective, it's important to approach it with an open mind
and a spirit of non-judgment. If you don't do this, people clam up, the number and
quality of ideas plummets, and morale can suffer.
While group brainstorming is often more effective at generating ideas than normal
group problem solving, several studies have shown that individual brainstorming
produces more and often better ideas than group brainstorming.
This can occur because groups aren't always strict in following the rules of
brainstorming, and bad behaviours creep in. Mostly, though, this happens because
people pay so much attention to other people that they don't generate ideas of their
own or they forget these ideas while they wait for their turn to speak. This is called
blocking.
When brainstorming by your own, don't have to worry about other people's egos or
opinions, and you can be freer and more creative. For example, you might find that
an idea you'd hesitate to bring up in a group develops into something special when
you explore it on your own.
However, it may not develop ideas as fully when you're on your own, because you
don't have the wider experience of other group members to draw on. Individual
brainstorming is most effective when you need to solve a simple problem, generate a
list of ideas, or focus on a broad issue. Group brainstorming is often more effective
for solving complex problems.
Here, you can take advantage of the full experience and creativity of all team
members. When one member gets stuck with an idea, another member's creativity
and experience can take the idea to the next stage. You can develop ideas in greater
depth with group brainstorming than you can with individual brainstorming.
Another advantage of group brainstorming is that it helps everyone feel that they've
contributed to the solution, and it reminds people that others have creative ideas to
offer. It's also fun, so it can be great for team building.
Group brainstorming can be risky for individuals. Unusual suggestions may appear
to lack value at first sight this is where you need to chair sessions tightly, so that
the group doesn't crush these ideas and stifle creativity.
Where possible, participants should come from a wide range of disciplines. This
cross-section of experience can make the session more creative. However, don't
make the group too big: as with other types of teamwork, groups of five to seven
people are usually most effective.
To get the best results by combining individual and group brainstorming, and by
managing the process according to the rules. By doing this, you can get people to
focus on the issue without interruption, you maximize the number of ideas that you
can generate, and you get that great feeling of team bonding that comes with a well-
run brainstorming session.
First, set up a comfortable meeting environment for the session. Make sure that the
room is well-lit and that you have the tools, resources, and refreshments that you
need.
How much information or preparation does your team need in order to brainstorm
solutions to your problem? Remember that prep is important, but too much can limit
or even destroy the freewheeling nature of a brainstorming session.
Consider who will attend the meeting. A room full of like-minded people won't
generate as many creative ideas as a diverse group, so try to include people from a
wide range of disciplines, and include people who have a variety of different thinking
styles.
When everyone is gathered, appoint one person to record the ideas that come from
the session. This person shouldn't necessarily be the team manager because it's
hard to record and contribute at the same time. Post notes where everyone can see
them, such as on flip charts or whiteboards; or use a computer with a data projector.
If people aren't used to working together, consider using an appropriate warm-up
exercise, or an icebreaker.
Clearly define the problem that you want to solve, and lay out any criteria that you
must meet. Make it clear that that the meeting's objective is to generate as many
ideas as possible.
Give people plenty of quiet time at the start of the session to write down as many of
their own ideas as they can. Then, ask them to share their ideas, while giving
everyone a fair opportunity to contribute.
Once everyone has shared their ideas, start a group discussion to develop other
people's ideas, and use them to create new ideas. Building on others' ideas is one of
the most valuable aspects of group brainstorming.
As the group facilitator, you should share ideas if you have them, but spend your
time and energy supporting your team and guiding the discussion. Stick to one
conversation at a time, and refocus the group if people become sidetracked.
Although you're guiding the discussion, remember to let everyone have fun while
brainstorming. Welcome creativity, and encourage your team to come up with as
many ideas as possible, regardless of whether they're practical or impractical. Use
thought experiments such as Provocation or Random Input to generate some
unexpected ideas.
Don't follow one train of thought for too long. Make sure that you generate a good
number of different ideas, and explore individual ideas in detail. If a team member
needs to tune out to explore an idea alone, allow them the freedom to do this.
Also, if the brainstorming session is lengthy, take plenty of breaks so that people can
continue to concentrate.
In the 2nd phase of the process, which serves to expose the individual participants
perspective both to themselves and to the other members of the group, the
participants discuss the values that they associate with a very large range of objects
and images. A number of these images are then selected that are considered to
metaphorically represent potential aspects of the product strategy.
In the 3rd phase, these images and appropriate annotations are arranged in a two
dimensional space, positioning the images depending upon how the values of these
objects relate to one another. In doing this, the group is mapping out a terrain
constituted by the differences between the images, expressing the range of different
product strategies open to the group.
C. C. Crawford originated the Crawford slip method in 1925. Over the next fifty
years, he applied the method in hundreds of situations to resolve problems and
improve productivity in both the public and private sectors.
By using it properly, it can provide deep penetration into problem areas, creative
ideas for problem resolution, high-quality data for decision making, and ideas for
productivity enhancement and organizational improvement.
Crawford describes the essence of Crawford Slip Method as assemble the relevant
people; define the target subjects; get everyone to write their ideas-one idea at a
time, in a single sentence, on individual slips of paper; collect and classify all slips;
edit the results into final form. Stated thusly, Crawford Slip Method can look
deceptively simple.
The basic stages in applying Crawford Slip Method will now be reviewed using the
general framework of Nadler's (1980) data collection feedback model.
The answers will also aid decisions about administration and analysis, for example,
should Crawford Slip Method be done by in-house personnel or is an outside
consultant needed? Who will conduct the data collection sessions? Who will analyze
the results? Many factors can affect these decisions such as scope of the study,
availability of training resources, and sensitivity of the information.
Finally, planning is not complete unless thought is given to the receipt and
distribution of CSM-generated products. What type of product is expected such as
written report, oral presentation, all the results, synopsis of the results? For whom is
the product intended (the person who requested the study, key personnel, and
employees)? In organizational productivity, enhancement applications of Crawford
Slip Method, feedback to employees can be a key ingredient. The promise of
feedback can facilitate the quality of slip writing. Actual feedback can be
instrumental, directly and indirectly, in productivity improvement.
The slip writing occurs in group sessions or workshops. The Crawford Slip Method
literature describes workshops with as few as four to ten people and with as many as
a hundred. Workshop composition, availability of people, and space requirements
may be constraining factors. Similarly, the abilities or preferences of the facilitator
who leads the workshop will be a factor. Some people can motivate an audience of
hundreds with ease, while others work best in small groups.
The workshop begins with an orientation to Crawford Slip Method, partly descriptive
and partly motivational. The intent is to create an atmosphere in which people realize
that this is their opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas, independently and
anonymously, without recrimination. A good example of an orientation to as follows:
After the descriptive-motivational phase of the orientation, the facilitator provides the
guidelines for slip writing. Small slip which can easily be prepared from 8"xll"
sheets of paper. Each participant will have a stack of these slips, and ample slips
should be available should more be needed. Participants are instructed to write only
one thought, idea, or response for each slip and to write it across the top of a slip.
Each participant writes as many slips as he or she desires to each question. It is also
important that participants be freed from any concern that someone will try to identify
them through their handwriting. One means of ensuring this is through use of an
outside consultant. Other means found in the Crawford Slip Method literature include
participant groups to analyze slips and report results to management and
transcription of slips.
The actual collection of data occurs by individuals writing their ideas, suggestions,
and thoughts on slips of paper in response to a target question. The question should
be made visible so participants can read it and think about it. Creating good target
questions is one key to effective Crawford Slip Method.
The most difficult phase of Crawford Slip Method now begins. Crawford Slip Method
data analysis is categorization. Workshop sessions can produce large numbers of
slips. The analyst must read each slip and assign it to some category. This process
will generate many categories and result in many small stacks of slips.
Once the initial sort is completed, the analyst must look across categories and
organize the data further. Some categories may be subdivided. Typically, though,
larger categories will be created with former categories as subdivisions. The end
result of this process is that the data is organized into a logical, coherent data base.
The initial planning for Crawford Slip Method should have determined the products to
be generated. The organized data base provides the content for these products.
Specific contents of a product will depend on for whom the product is prepared. The
same study might also generate an abbreviated report to feed back major findings to
employees.
The Crawford Slip Method literature addresses this stage only indirectly. It is
apparent across writings that Crawford Slip Method is viewed as a system that can
be repeatedly applied to an organization to continue organizational improvement. For
example, a problem diagnostic workshop may produce problem identifications or
even tentative solutions that could be addressed by subsequent Crawford Slip
Method workshops targeted specifically to given problems. Crawford and his
associates suggest that subsequent workshops can increase specificity and
usefulness of data if the original workshops were effectively conducted. This
procedure more efficiently uses participant's time. Whether there are significant
quantitative or qualitative differences in the results from rotation workshops and the
standard Crawford Slip Method workshops is not apparent from the Crawford Slip
Method literature.
Six Thinking Hats is a system designed by Edward de Bono which describes a tool
for group discussion and individual thinking involving six colour hats. "Six Thinking
Hats" and the associated idea parallel thinking provide a means for groups to plan
thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive way, and in doing so to think together
more effectively.
It helps people step outside the confines of fixed positions and one way of thinking.
Western thinking style is based on adversarial debate: people thinking and
interacting from differing perspectives and positions. This tool enables us to look at
things in a collaborative way, beyond our normal perspective to see new
opportunities.
To achieve the service improvements, you will have to change the way you do
things. This means thinking up and considering new ideas. If you evaluate the
change from a number of perspectives, you and your team will have a more rounded
outlook on the ideas. This tool helps you do this.
Someone in the group puts on' the blue hat as the session leader. The blue hat will
then agree with other group members on the most useful order of hats to use, and
will coordinate their subsequent use, keeping a check on time.
The hats have natural pairings: yellow is positive whilst black is more negative; red is
emotion driven whilst white is data driven. In general, if you use one hat, you should
also use its partner for balance.
A useful sequence of hats for initial harvesting of ideas could be: green, yellow,
black, white, leading to a final red hat assessment of whether the idea should go
forward.
Since the hats do not represent natural modes of thinking, each hat must be used for
a limited time only. Also, many will feel that using the hats is unnatural,
uncomfortable or even counterproductive and against their better judgement.
Six distinct directions are identified and assigned a colour. The six directions are:
Managing Blue
Information White
Emotions Red
Creativity Green
Coloured hats are used as metaphors for each direction. Switching to a direction is
symbolized by the act of putting on a coloured hat, either literally or metaphorically.
These metaphors allow for a more complete and elaborate segregation of the
thinking directions. The six thinking hats indicate problems and solutions about an
idea the thinker may come up with.
Having identified the six modes of thinking that can be accessed, distinct programs
can be created. These are sequences of hats which encompass and structure the
thinking process toward a distinct goal. A number of these are included in the
materials provided to support the franchised training of the six hats method; however
it is often necessary to adapt them to suit an individual purpose. Also, programs are
often emergent, which is to say that the group might plan the first few hats then the
facilitator will see what seems to be the right way to go.
Sequences always begin and end with a blue hat, the group agrees together how
they will think, then they do the thinking, then they evaluate the outcomes of that
thinking and what they should do next. Sequences may be used by individuals
working alone or in groups.
These techniques can help to increase the quantity as well as the quality of ideas.
Most of these techniques involve a group that produces in most cases more valuable
results than an individual.
2. http://www.institute.nhs.uk/quality_and_service_improvement_tools/quality_and_servi
ce_improvement_tools/creativity_tools_-_an_overview.html
3. http://creatingminds.org/tools/brainstorming.htm
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map
5. http://www.tonybuzan.com/about/mind-mapping/
6. http://lifehacker.com/how-to-use-mind-maps-to-unleash-your-brains-creativity-
1348869811
7. John A. Ballard and Debra M. Tent, (July, 2010), Idea Generation and Productivity:
The Promise of CSM
8. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_95.htm
9. http://icreate-project.eu/index.php?t=336
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Thinking_Hats
11. http://www.institute.nhs.uk/quality_and_service_improvement_tools/quality_and_servi
ce_improvement_tools/creativity_tools_-_6_thinking_hats.html