MGT 3080 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Synectics
Managerial Skill Development
Creative Problem Solving
STAGES IN CREATIVE THOUGHT
1. Preparation for problem solving, including information gathering, problem exploration,
identification of alternatives
-This stage the most amenable to training to improve creativity
-Other stages thought to be largely subconscious
-Experts, like most of us, quick to make decisions and too slow to change them
-Good forecasters tried to separate facts from assumptions and inferences in
considering each problem
-They sought-out information to disprove assumptions
-Determine what the historical base rate was for the subject
-They tried to get the most diverse points of view on a subject
-Changed their predictions on the basis of new information
-Used feedback on the success/failure of predictions to figure out improvement
2. Incubation where thoughts are combined in pursuit of a solution.
3. Illumination where a novel solution emerges in awareness.
4. Verification where this novel solution is evaluated.
IMROVING PROBLEM DEFINITION
Synectics
Takig soethig you do’t kow ad thikig of it i ters of soethig you do kow
For example, our manufacturing facility is the worst-performing plant for our company
in terms of costs and the President has suggested that this issue will be dealt with in the
future
What is your definition of the problem?
Try making it similar to something else that you know
What situation does this remind me of?
What analogy comes to mind?
Use analogies: personal, direct, symbolic, and fantasy
Elaborating on the definition
Is this a single problem or multiple problems?
Is the immediate problem a symptom of more basic underlying problems?
Is this an opportunity rather than a problem?
Reversing the definition of a problem
Ask yourself if the opposite could be true
Janusian thinking—holding seemingly contradictory ideas in mind at the same time
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Stages in creative thought: preparation for problem solving, including information gathering, problem exploration, identification of alternatives. This stage the most amenable to training to improve creativity. Experts, like most of us, quick to make decisions and too slow to change them. Good forecasters tried to separate facts from assumptions and inferences in considering each problem. Determine what the historical base rate was for the subject. They tried to get the most diverse points of view on a subject. Changed their predictions on the basis of new information. Used feedback on the success/failure of predictions to figure out improvement: incubation where thoughts are combined in pursuit of a solution, illumination where a novel solution emerges in awareness, verification where this novel solution is evaluated. Taki(cid:374)g so(cid:373)ethi(cid:374)g you do(cid:374)"t k(cid:374)ow a(cid:374)d thi(cid:374)ki(cid:374)g of it i(cid:374) ter(cid:373)s of so(cid:373)ethi(cid:374)g you do k(cid:374)ow.
