CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

• How innovative are you?

M.Elangovan

Solve the problem

• Remove three sticks to leave four

See this figure?

• Divide the figure below into as many pieces as you can by making four straight cuts with a long knife

2 Dimensions=11

• Cuts and pieces

3 dimensions=14

• imagine it’s a cake

Another Perspective

• Fold it after each cut=16

Lateral Thinking

 One of the classic lateral thinking puzzles involves nine dots, as in the example above. The challenge is to connect them all in four straight lines, without lifting the pen or pencil from the page.

Divide the box into ___equal parts

Divide the box into four equal parts

Divide the coloured area into 4 equal parts

New Challenge

• A company manufactures glassware. The last step of the process is to wrap glasses individually in used newspapers and then place them in a specially designed box. The box is then sealed. Management notices low productivity with this last step, observing that workers occasionally stop to read the newspapers? What can management do to increase productivity?

Steps to Personal Creativity

• 1. Accept that you can be creative• 2. Question traditional assumptions• 3. Expand your problem-solving styles• 4. Employ creativity techniques• 5. Practice thinking in new ways• 6. Learn when your creative thinking is best

• Adapted in part from Higgins, James M. 1997. Escape From The Maze. New York: New Management Publishing.

Relevance to Globalization

• In a rapidly changing global world, managers must use all their abilities to anticipate opportunities and threats

Future Visions of the Auto Industry

• Fuel injections will require much less gas• Need for lean production• There will be need for small autos to serve utilitarian mass

markets• There will be more women drivers in Europe and Asia• Emotions will be used to promote products• Increased speed limits• More roads will be needed

Future Visions of the Food Industry

• This is a recession-proof industry with very slim profit margins• We see segmentation of markets and niche development• Many consumers/nations leapfrog to the latest trends rather

than following a particular development process• The natural environment is increasingly important• Computer technology linking suppliers gets food to market at

a lower price• In Western countries there is a trend toward less cooking in

the home

Envisioning Techniques

• Linear– step-by-step; scenario planning, etc.

• Intuitive– imagery; brainstorming; analogy

Stimulants to Work Creativity* • 1) FREEDOM in deciding work to do or how to do it• 2) CHALLENGE to work hard on important projects• 3) RESOURCES needed to do the work• 4) ENCOURAGEMENT from a supervisor who is a good work model, sets

appropriate goals, supports and has confidence in the work group• 5) WORK GROUP SUPPORTS such as diverse skills, people who

communicate well, are open to new ideas, constructively challenge one another’s work, trust and help each other, and feel committed to their work

• 6) ORGANIZATIONAL ENCOURAGEMENT in a culture that supports creativity and communicates a shared vision of organization

Obstacles to Work Creativity

• 1) ORGANIZATIONAL IMPEDIMENTS such as internal political problems, harsh criticism of new ideas, destructive internal competition, avoidance of risk and overemphasis on the status quo

• 2) WORKLOAD PRESSURES such as extreme time pressure, unrealistic expectations, or distractions

Weigh the Odds

• You have 50 coins of which one is slightly heavier than all others. This weight difference can be detected on a balance scale

• What is the least number of weighings required to find the heaviest coin?

New Challenge

• A

B

A

A

B

CC