Exam 3: Solving Problems Analytically and Creatively

When relevant information is available,when a clear standard exists to assess the correctness of a solution,and the problem is straightforward,which decision model should be used?

The rule breaker is an important role for a manager to assign to foster creativity.

Amber had been struggling to come up with a creative idea for her marketing proposal for weeks.Frustrated,she decided to leave her office and go for a hike in the mountains to clear her mind.She enjoyed taking in her natural surroundings and thought little about her work.When she arrived back at the office,she suddenly had a promising new idea occur to her.In what phase of creative decision making was Amber during her hike in the mountains?

Which type of creativity focuses on fast,competitive responses to problems?

Which is the most appropriate approach to creativity when incremental changes and tightening up processes are necessary?

Mini-Case: The Minivan Story. In the May 30, 1994, edition of Fortune magazine, the story of the minivan was told. In the earlier years of the passenger vans, only hippies seemed to appreciate the attributes of the van. However, in the 1970s, all three U.S. automakers began to study ways to modernize and broaden the appeal of their vans. Listening to customers helped Chrysler avoid two crucial design errors: (1) it rejected the long, wedge-shaped nose design and (2) it rejected the design that placed the engine under a hump in the floor (blocking passage from front to back seats). Also, while Chrysler continued to push for front-wheel drive, both Ford and GM handed responsibility of the minivan to the truck divisions, which continued to focus on rear-wheel drive. GM's problems were compounded by the fact that in 1985 station wagons were a significant part of its sales. In the 1990s, both GM and Ford developed front-wheel drive minivans and neither were housed in the truck division. Learning from their mistakes, both GM and Ford devised a new-product development process. -If you had to define the problem that caused Pearl Harbor to be unprepared for attack,how would you define the problem? What characteristics do you want in your problem definition?

"Incubation," according to the DeGraff model cited in the text,would be the pursuit of rapid goal achievement and achieving results faster than others.

What is the natural tendency of people in resolving problems?

Mini-Case: The Minivan Story. In the May 30, 1994, edition of Fortune magazine, the story of the minivan was told. In the earlier years of the passenger vans, only hippies seemed to appreciate the attributes of the van. However, in the 1970s, all three U.S. automakers began to study ways to modernize and broaden the appeal of their vans. Listening to customers helped Chrysler avoid two crucial design errors: (1) it rejected the long, wedge-shaped nose design and (2) it rejected the design that placed the engine under a hump in the floor (blocking passage from front to back seats). Also, while Chrysler continued to push for front-wheel drive, both Ford and GM handed responsibility of the minivan to the truck divisions, which continued to focus on rear-wheel drive. GM's problems were compounded by the fact that in 1985 station wagons were a significant part of its sales. In the 1990s, both GM and Ford developed front-wheel drive minivans and neither were housed in the truck division. Learning from their mistakes, both GM and Ford devised a new-product development process. -Explain specific techniques related to defining problems and generating alternatives that can enhance the creative problem-solving process.

Your group has a presentation to the class in two weeks.Moe believes that the presentation should be similar to a presentation he gave in his Marketing class last semester.Curly wants it to be similar to his Finance presentation that his group gave earlier this month.Larry believes that the presentation should be like the first group,after all they received an A.You think,what a bunch of stooges.Which guideline did your group violate in regard to the analytical problem-solving model?

You discover that there is an error in your Excel spreadsheet,but you don't know the source of the problem.In sorting out the problem,which problem style would be most appropriate?

Mini-Case: The Minivan Story. In the May 30, 1994, edition of Fortune magazine, the story of the minivan was told. In the earlier years of the passenger vans, only hippies seemed to appreciate the attributes of the van. However, in the 1970s, all three U.S. automakers began to study ways to modernize and broaden the appeal of their vans. Listening to customers helped Chrysler avoid two crucial design errors: (1) it rejected the long, wedge-shaped nose design and (2) it rejected the design that placed the engine under a hump in the floor (blocking passage from front to back seats). Also, while Chrysler continued to push for front-wheel drive, both Ford and GM handed responsibility of the minivan to the truck divisions, which continued to focus on rear-wheel drive. GM's problems were compounded by the fact that in 1985 station wagons were a significant part of its sales. In the 1990s, both GM and Ford developed front-wheel drive minivans and neither were housed in the truck division. Learning from their mistakes, both GM and Ford devised a new-product development process. -How could Kimmel and his advisors better evaluate and select alternative solutions to the problem of uncertainty about possible attack?

The stage of creative problem solving that is defined by mostly unconscious mental activity in which the mind combines unrelated thoughts in pursuit of a solution is the illumination stage.

Involving others in implementing the solution to a problem will increase support of and decrease resistance to the solution.

A manager of a shipping department was concerned about an order that a customer reported as several weeks late.To define the problem,the manager asked an employee in the shipping department why the order had not arrived.The employee said,"Someone probably made a mistake on the address.That would be my guess." Thus,the manager asked the employee to reship the order.What characteristic of good problem definition is most violated by this manager?

Breakthroughs,out-of-the-box thinking,and radical thinking would be a type of creative problem solving that can be called "Imagination."

What should you do if you want to be more creative in your problem solving?

Mini-Case: The Minivan Story. In the May 30, 1994, edition of Fortune magazine, the story of the minivan was told. In the earlier years of the passenger vans, only hippies seemed to appreciate the attributes of the van. However, in the 1970s, all three U.S. automakers began to study ways to modernize and broaden the appeal of their vans. Listening to customers helped Chrysler avoid two crucial design errors: (1) it rejected the long, wedge-shaped nose design and (2) it rejected the design that placed the engine under a hump in the floor (blocking passage from front to back seats). Also, while Chrysler continued to push for front-wheel drive, both Ford and GM handed responsibility of the minivan to the truck divisions, which continued to focus on rear-wheel drive. GM's problems were compounded by the fact that in 1985 station wagons were a significant part of its sales. In the 1990s, both GM and Ford developed front-wheel drive minivans and neither were housed in the truck division. Learning from their mistakes, both GM and Ford devised a new-product development process. -Outline the problem-solving steps followed by Kimmel and his advisors.What steps in analytical problem solving were skipped or short-circuited?

Which should you do when evaluating alternatives?

Your team has experienced an increase in absenteeism in the past six weeks.In the meeting to define the problem,George recommends that personal leave days be abolished.The group ignores that suggestion but instead decides to fire all employees who are absent starting Monday.What went wrong in the decision-making process?