What is creativity?
the ability to form new and useful ideas from existing knowledge
State 4 facts re creativity
Better in groups
Opens opportunities for growth
Some companies do not encourage it
It is not just some flash- the ideas need to be fleshed out and fully expressed
Essential aspects 5 for creative process to be done properly
- Get the right people
- Identify the issue
- Brainstorming/Divergent thinking
- Incubate to all for evaluation
- Implement
Innovation
ability to realize (bring to life/relatity) useful ideas in the form of products and services
Structural connectedness
the level at which an idea works with existing goods and services
Realistic vs idealistic ideas
Realistic ideas: ideas connected to current knowledge
Idealistic ideas: ideas disconnected from current knowledge
Finke’s Model of Creativity : classifes ideas
into four general, conceptual domains
- Creative realism
- Conservative realism
- Conservative idealism
- Creative idealism
One common way of evaluating the creativity of a person’s (or team’s) ideas is via three indices :
Fluency
Flexibility
Originality
Two key skills involved in creative thinking:
Convergent Thinking
Divergent Thinking
Two types of idea processes that
companies pursue:
Exploration
Exploitation
Qualities of creative people 3
Passionate about specific
things
- Motivated to understand the world
and are high in epistemic motivation- (desire to thoroughly understand world/situations) - Hard working (at least 10 years spent developing expertise in the domain of interest)
Who developed the idea of brainstorming and when
Alex Osborn, 1950
Why did he make it
maximize the quality and quantity of ideas and defer idea judgment
What is cognitive stimulation?
Another name for brainstorming..
Essentially, Osborn thought that ideas generated by one person could stimulate the ideas in another
hence the name
and why brainstorming would be good- get more, and more likely to get good ideas(because of the multiple ideas)
What are the 4 rules of brainstorming?
- Expression: Participants should express any idea that comes to mind
- Non-evaluation: Criticism is ruled out
- Quantity: Participants should strive to generate a high quantity of ideas
- Building: Participants should try to modify and extend the ideas suggested by other members whenever possible (since all ideas belong to the group)
Issues with barinstorming
- Osborn claimed brainstorming groups could generate twice as many ideas as individual brainstorming- but researchers said that it is false
*- Issue of persons having the illusion that they were more creative when they were not
- Then is it effective? Well yes, research supports that Brainstorming instructions enhance the generation of ideas within a team in comparison to teams working without those
instructions.
Four major problems stifle the
effectiveness of team
brainstorming :
Social loafing
* Conformity
* Production blocking
* Performance matching
Four threats to team creativity
contribute to :
decreased production
Conforming in terms of ideas
setting low performance standards
Cognitive goals and actions that team leaders can take to ward off problems inherent to the brainstorming process
Feedback- studies shouw that feedback seekers are more proactive- and ultimately more creative. Observe and ask
Episodic memory- being able to recall recent events or future events makes you more creative
- Explicit set of rules- follow brainstorming rules- not just Osborn’s but what ever rules are there for team creativity
Leader and organizational methods
- Diversify the team
complex but- teams with heterogenuity are more argumentative, strategic and develop more novel solutions - Organizational networking- being able to work with other teams
- Fluid membership- teams with more member changes have higher creative fluency and flexibility
- Empowered teams- Teams that are empowered—particularly by their leaders—are more
intrinsically motivated and more creatively engaged
Facilitator led methods
Brief breaks- Teams that take a short break (2 to 5 minutes in length) halfway through
a 20- or 30-minute brainstorming session increase their productivity following the break compared to teams that brainstorm continuously without a break
Background noise- Background noise prompts people to focus. People who are
exposed to moderate levels of noise need to work harder to process their thoughts, which increases focus and persistence
Nominal group technique- involves an initial session of brainwriting prior to interactive teamwork
What is Electrinic Brainstorming EBS?
uses information technology to allow members to interact and exchange ideas
Advantages of EBS
Size: EBS can handle large teams
Proximity: distance-challenged groups can
meet synchronously
Equality: nobody can dominate a meeting
Disadvantages of EBS
Loss of Social Interaction: EBS may
promote antisocial behavior
Lack of Recognition: EBS members
who generate ideas don’t receive credit
