Creative Problem Solving - Essay Example

Creative Problem Solving Introduction Entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development are the three major aspects of business undertaking. Entrepreneurship is the process in which individuals pursue opportunities regardless of the resources they currently control (Carsrud & Brannback 2007, p. 3). Innovation on the other hand is the generation of new ideas and their implementation into product process or service, leading to an economic development (Urabe et al. 1988). Economic development is the change in the economy brought about by economic growth (Grabowski, Self & Shields 2007). These three aspects of a business undertaking are related to each other in various ways. This paper discusses their relationship and explains the role of ingenuity model for creative problem-solving play in the relationship. In addition, it brings in theory and examples from the world business to clarify the relationship. Identification of new and existing opportunities is what enables a business establishment and sustainment. To identify these opportunities, it really calls for creativity. According to Frigard (2008), creativity is a kind of imagination that fosters originality. For creativity to be achieved, ingenuity has to be incorporated. Ingenuity is the incorporation of bodily kinesthetic, logical mathematical capacity and spatial capacity in creativity process (Petrina 2007). The ingenuity model for creative problem solving is what is used to incorporate ingenuity in the process of creativity. This technique is identified as the most appropriate problem solving technique when there is a need to achieve new solutions to business problems. New opportunities identified in entrepreneurship enable a business to increase its productivity. They also enable the business to have a competitive advantage over other businesses in the industry. However, the identification and exploitation of these opportunities cannot happen without innovation. Therefore, entrepreneurship is directly related to innovation. Moreover, economic development results in the emergence of new opportunities that require both identification and exploitation. The identification and exploitation are done by entrepreneurship and thus entrepreneurship and economic development are related. Generation and implementation of new ideas and solutions require creative problem solving. The ingenuity model for problem solving enables an entrepreneur to achieve solutions and ideas that are different from those of others. This is what makes a particular firm different from the rest in the industry thus making it more competitive. Therefore, we can say that creative problem solving is a key aspect of entrepreneurship. Suppose an entrepreneur wants to expand his financial services business. One thing he would need to do is to identify other available opportunities. In identifying the opportunities, he will need to think outside the box. According to Brann (1993), creative problem solving is what would enable the entrepreneur to think outside the box and come up with new ideas that could help him identify new and better opportunities for his business. Entrepreneurs always have limited resources. Such limitation raises a complex problem for the entrepreneur when implementing new ideas and utilizing opportunities (Russ 1999). This calls on the entrepreneur to apply creative problem solving. Creative problem solving, in particular the ingenuity creative problem-solving model, would assist him in solving this problem thus enables him to achieve the expansion of his business. In innovation, new concepts and ideas are created. For an innovation to be beneficial to a business, it should be in-line with the opportunities available for the business. The opportunities are identified through entrepreneurship. According to Brown & Ulijn (2004), new ideas and concepts generated in a business are not directly applicable. Innovation also involves the generation of the most appropriate ways of applying the ideas and concepts in real business undertaking. This innovation also depends on the opportunities identified through entrepreneurship, which is an indication that innovation and entrepreneurship are related. Relationship between economic development and innovation is revealed by the impact of one of them on the other. Economic development acts as a catalyst to business expansion. The expanding process requires generation of new ideas and concepts. This is done through innovation and thus economic development and entrepreneurship are related. Moreover, economic development leads to challenges like increase in tax, raising minimum wage and strict business regulations (Fischer 2005). This limits the ability of the firm to implement innovations, which is an indication that innovation is related to economic development. Creativity is the key to generation of new ideas and concepts. Such ideas and concepts assist a business in several ways like making it competitive enough to be able to remain in operation (Abou-Zeid 2008). New ideas and concepts created in the process of innovation are for solving the problems of the business. Therefore, the process of solving them is a form of creative problem solving. Ingenuity model for creative problem solving is very applicable in such a process because of its ability to generate new solutions. This makes the ingenuity model for creative problem solving a crucial part of the process of innovation. A good example of how creative problem solving assists innovation management is in the innovation of iPhone. iPhone was an innovation made by a company in its attempt to grow and gain competitive advantage over other mobile phone producers. The innovation required good management to be beneficial to the inventors and to prevent it from being stolen by other entrepreneurs. This process of managing such an innovation requires high degree of creativity which cannot be achieved unless through creative problem solving. Therefore, creative problem solving is a vital tool in innovation and innovation management. Economic development is brought about by economic growth. Economic growth is the increase in real domestic product and income of an economy over time (Aghion & Durlauf 2005). This is triggered by increase in the economic activities in an economy, in which business is one of the major factors. Therefore, growth or expansion in a business leads to economic growth resulting in economic development. Since both innovation and entrepreneurship result in growth and expansion of businesses, then they would result in economic growth and thus economic development. This is an indication that economic development is related to both innovation and entrepreneurship. According to Nafziger (2012), for an economy to develop, the poverty levels must be reduced and income of the citizens increased. Thus, economic development involves an aspect of problem solving. Since most of the problems solved in this case are new, they require creative solutions. Moreover, economic development involves creation of policies. Policies are aimed to be solution or to suggest solutions to existing problems. Creative problem solving and in particular ingenuity model for creative problem solving becomes very essential in policy creation. Therefore, this problem solving technique is paramount in economic development. Like other problem solving techniques, the ingenuity creative problem-solving technique involves several procedures. It involves problem identification, identification of causes of the problem and identification of the effects of the problem. This means that apart from it requiring creativity, it also requires knowledge and tactics in order to implement it. In addition, like other problem-solving technique, this one involves notice of relevant information (Tan 2007). This information assists in clarifying the problem before a creative solution can be identified. Moreover, like other techniques, the ingenuity technique involves thorough analysis of the problem (Lipman 2003). When this technique is used in searching for a solution to a business problem, a thorough analysis of the problem has to be done in order to obtain required results. However, this approach of problem solving is very different from other problem solving techniques in several ways. The technique can start by identifying a solution, then walk back to identifying the problem that can be solved by that solution. The other techniques always start with identification of a problem and then work their way to the solution of the problem. Another difference is that this technique is always aimed at identifying a new solution to a problem. The other techniques only identify the best solution among several possible solutions and thus they can be inappropriate where possible solutions do not exist. Ingenuity displays new designs, templates and fixtures (Smith 1998). This is very different from what the other problem solving techniques do. Therefore, ingenuity model for creative problem solving is very different from other problem solving techniques. The differences and similarities of the ingenuity creative problem-solving model with other problem-solving models make it applicable in entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development. The similarities enable it to encompass the advantages of the other problem-solving tools while the differences enable it to avoid the disadvantages of the other problem solving techniques. Therefore, this technique would lead to appropriate new solutions no matter how complex a business problem might be. Entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development involve creative problem solving in various stages of their undertaking. This is because of the new solutions, concepts and ideas they involve. Therefore, the ingenuity problem-solving model plays a very significant role in the relationship between these three aspects of business undertaking. If we would remove the ingenuity creative problem solving from the three, then the relationship between them would be greatly reduced. Conclusion There exists a direct relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development. One of the facets of the relationship is exhibited by their interconnectivity. When one of them occurs, it causes the another to occur. The relationship can also be revealed by the various actions they involve as well as the decisions that require to be undertaken in each of them. All the three of them involve the ingenuity model for problem solving. This model plays a very significant role in strengthening their relationship. Therefore, the ingenuity model for creative problem solving is fundamental in entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development. References Abou-Zeid E. 2008. Knowledge Management and Business Strategies: Theoretical Framework and Empirical Research, Information Science Publishers, Hershey. Aghion P. & Durlauf S.N. 2005. Handbook of Economic Growth: Volume 1, Part 1, North-Holland Publishers, Amsterdam. Brann E.V.H. 1993. The World of Imagination: Sum and Substance, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham. Brown T.E. & Ulijn J.M. 2004. Innovation, Entrepreneurship and culture: The Interaction between Technology, Progress and Economic Growth, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, Cheltenham. Carsrud A.L. & Brannback M.E. 2007. Entrepreneurship, Greenwood Publishing Group, New York. Fischer A.M. 2005. State Growth and Social Exclusion in Tibet: Challenges of Recent Economic Growth, NIAS Press, Copenhagen. Frigard R.C. 2008. Fun Think: 12 Tools for Creative Problem Solving, Treebones Company, Mound. Grabowski R., Self S. & Shields M.P. 2007. Economic Development: A Regional, Institutional and Historical Approach, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk. Lipman M. 2003. Thinking in Education, Cambridge University Press, New York. Nafziger W.E. 2012. Economic Development, 5th edn. Cambridge University Press, New York. Petrina S. 2007. Advanced Teaching Methods for the Technology Classroom, Information Science Publishers, Hershey. Russ S.W. 1999. Affect, Creative Experience and Psychological Adjustment, Taylor & Francis Group, Philadelphia. Smith G.F. 1998. Quality Problem Solving, ASQ Quality Press, Milwaukee. Tan A. 2007. Creativity: A Handbook for Teachers, World Scientific Publishing Company, London. Urabe K. et al. 1998. Innovation and Management: International Comparisons, Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin. Read More