Critical and Creative Thinking for Improving Enterprise Productivity

Critical and creative thinking for improving Enterprise productivity. Experiences of students in

business firms in the South East of Mexico

Dr. Francisco G. Barroso TanoiraBusiness Division

Critical and creative thinking for improving Enterprise productivity. Experiences of students in business firms in the South East of

Mexico

This presentation refers to cases in which students design and implement creativity activities with workers from companies, for helping them become more sensitive to problems and business opportunities, as well as for generating feasible options for solving those problems and increasing productivity.

Critical and creative thinking for improving Enterprise productivity. Experiences of students in

business firms in the South East of Mexico

Students from the “Creativity and Innovation” course, for a whole semester, work in teams and go to partner business firms linked to the university through projects, consulting or research.

The objective is verifying if, through creative and critical thinking developing, it is possible to help workers improve productivity and profitability.

Critical and creative thinking for improving Enterprise productivity. Experiences of students in business firms

in the South East of Mexico

Students, organized in teams, design activities to develop critical thinking and creative thinking for workers, increasing their labor competencies and being more motivated for detecting problems and solving them.

In those courses managers and supervisors are present, and the workers are twenty as maximum.

The results are monitored and correlated with labor development for each worker and his/her productivity.

Critical and creative thinking for improving Enterprise productivity. Experiences of students in

business firms in the South East of Mexico

• This way the student explores, discovers and assimilates the best practices for increasing productivity through creative and critical thinking, which also relates to an appropriate leadership style.

• The firm, the university and the students win.

Critical and creative thinking for improving Enterprise productivity. Experiences of students in

business firms in the South East of Mexico

Business firms dedicate many resources for training their workers but such training, in many cases, is ineffective because it is only based in the technical aspects, but not in transverse competencies such as teamwork, communication or leadership, and much less regarding critical and creative thinking (Barroso, 2006).

Critical and creative thinking for improving Enterprise productivity. Experiences of students in

business firms in the South East of Mexico

Workers are trained as executors and not as problem solvers.

It is necessary to teach them to think, to be managers of their own learning and become engaged with their own learning.

It has happened (many times) that students are hired by the firms.

Teaching from our dear Mafalda: investing for having intelligent people

Enhancing the Triple Helix concept(Prof. Henry Etzkowitz.

President of the Triple Helix Association)

Course objectivesThe student:

• Develops new creative and original concepts, products or services, attractive and based on identified opportunity niches and the characteristics of the people they are directed to.

• Solves problems in different areas of the enterprise using creative thinking strategies, which allow them implementing improvements using other methods and mechanisms not previously identified, breaking paradigms, but supported by other alternatives.

• Assesses innovation and creativity in projects generated by others, with objective statements about the judgment he/she presents.

The course program:Contents

• Creativity• The need of being creative• Creativity concepts and definitions• Myths and theories of creativity• Abilities of a creative person• Creativity applied to the design of new

products and services.• Creativity and technology.

• Creativity profile• Tests for identifying a creative profile• Different profiles analysis• Exercises for increasing creativity

• Creative problem solving (CPS)• Methodology for creative problem solving• Divergent thinking• Convergent thinking• Idea analysis.• Variables• Positive and negative aspects• Objective and goals• Feasibility analysis.

• Individual creativity• Methods for enhancing individual creativity:• Random words• Complaint list• Check list• Metaphor analysis• Attribute analysis

The course program:Contents

• Group creativity• Teamwork• Techniques for enhancing creativity in groups• Brainstorming • Written notes• Creativity board• Problem definition• Exercises for applying the ideas from

brainstorming• Ishikawa´s fish bone diagram

• Innovation• From creativity to innovation• Entrepreneurial innovation models• Entrepreneurial innovation strategies• Business model innovation• Building of an innovative organizational

architecture

• Using new product and service design methodology

• The target• Data • Ideas• Solutions• Action plan development

• Assessing

HomeworkAssignmentsCase solvingClass creativity and innovation projects

Two partial exams

Final project

Concepts used about creativity

• It consists in generating new ideas and communicating them. It´s a capability and an attitude for generating new ideas and communicating them (De la Torre, 1997)

• It´s the capability for producing, forming, giving birth, representing for the first time (Gámez, 1998).

• It´s the capability for combining new and useful ideas, different to what has been done before, but appropriate to the problem or opportunity presented (Robbins & Judge, 2014)

Creativity

• Less creative persons follow a strict plan, but more creative ones can change everything once and again and again, planning problems from different points of view until they reach what they´re looking for or want.

Components of creativity

• Competency: knowledge + abilities + attitudes in their work field

• Abilities of creative and critical thinking: intelligence, independence, risk taking, control locus, tolerance to ambiguity, avoiding frustration.

• Intrinsic motivation in tasks. Interesting work, intensive and emoting.

Originality, innovation and creativity(Gámez, 1998)

• Originality

• Fluency

• Flexibility

• Attention to detail

A person could be tremendously creative without being original.

Features of a creative person(De la Torre, 1997)

• Sensitivity to problems, deficiencies, failure, gaps and improvements

• Autonomy and criterion independence

• Good self image

• High level of expectations

• Engagement and consistency at work

Myths of creativity (Gámez, 1998)

1. To be creative, you have to be totally original.

2. Artists and scientists are the only creative people

3. A high intellectual coefficient is necessary for being creative

4. Creativity means producing something tangible

5. Originality is brought since we are born.

6. Creativity is easy

7. Creativity is only for young people

8. Creativity is “good”

9. Creative persons are neurotic or crazy

10. All geniuses are experts in all topics

Fostering and enhancing creativity(Fobler & LeBlanc, 1995)

a) Motivating reverse thinking and enhancing discussion

b) Building an environment for enhancing creativity

c) Build emotions in the system

d) Confidence over responsibility

e) Have ordinary people achieve their goals and become extraordinary.

Innovation

• Innovation. It must be creating something unique, enjoyed by customers, with great benefits…something they wish to pay for.

• It is to develop relevant solutions offering the highest value to customers, also making the business grow and create competitive advantages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Uh1KxcpWz0

Besides tangible creativity…(Robbins & Judge,2014; Florida & Goodnight, 2005)

a) Creativity in ideas

b) Creativity in relations

c) Spontaneous creativity and improvisation

d) Creativity in the organization

e) Interior creativity

Results from a research work

Creativity is related to problem solution in a different way.

It is something we have (phylogenetic), a potential for action, and that it is the result of an action, but not as a process.

It is only awarded in creative firms, and frequently with economic incentives.

It is frequently limited using power, rules or fear to change.

Even though it is accepted that creativity helps enterprises be more successful, in them there´s routine, following rules and with a labor environment which does not frequently favors them, such as power relations.

Those who are original are not always rewarded, even if they are talented.

Everybody seems to know what creativity is. However, the concept of creativity is handled in an incomplete way, thinking creativity is only something tangible.

Activities performed

Instructions

Video including:a) activitiesb) resultsc) testimonies

Learning sharing

There were two groups: one in Spanish and another in English. The interventions in firms or with employees was in Spanish.

Suggestions for firms

Hiring professional consultants for help

Foster creativity with everybody´s participation, integrating efforts and increasing organizational commitment.

Eliminate perception blockings

Constant training, but not only in the rational aspect.

That the business owner, as the team head, decides himself to be creative

Thank you!

Reference

• Barroso, F. (2006). La creatividad en las empresas. Sugerencias para su aprovechamiento. (Creativity in enterprises. Suggestions for its use). Proceedings from the X Congreso Anual de la Academia de Ciencias Administrativas, A. C. (ACACIA). Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, México.

• De la Torre, S. (1997). Creatividad y formación: identificación, diseño y evaluación (Creativity and formation: identification, design and evaluation). México: Trillas.

• Florida, R. y Goodnight, J. (2005, julio). Gestionar para la creatividad (Managing for creativity). Harvard Business Review, pp. 93 a 99.

• Fobler, H. S. y LeBlanc, S. (1995). Strategies for creative problem solving. U.S.A.: Prentice-Hall PTR

• Gamez, G. (1998). Todos somos creativos (We all are creative). Barcelona: Ediciones Urano.

• Robbins, S. & Judge. T. (2014). Comportamiento Organizacional (Organizational behavior) (15ª. ed.). México: Pearson-Prentice Hall.