Different Theoretical Approaches to Creative Problem Solving in Entrepreneurship

This article discusses different theoretical approaches to creative problem solving in entrepreneurship, including brainstorming and Walla's creative thinking process. It evaluates their effectiveness in workplace settings and highlights the importance of team participation and facilitation. The article also explores the challenges associated with implementing these approaches and the need for a supportive environment.

Running head: ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurship
Name of the student
University name
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Different theoretical approaches to creative problem solving...................................................2
Comparison of different theoretical approaches in workplace setting.......................................4
Figure: Walla’s creative thinking process..................................................................................6
Evaluation of different problem solving process of creativity...................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The current assignment focuses on the different aspects of entrepreneurship and the
application of the same within an organizational setup. Entrepreneurship covers the different
tactics and skills which are applied in order to solve the different business dilemmas. There
are different approaches to entrepreneurship some of which have been discussed over here.
The creativity approach to entrepreneurship has recently been gaining importance as it helps
in the development of novel ideas which can help the organization gain a competitive
advantage over its similar market players. Creation and creativity lies at the center of
organizational success. The creative approach is not authoritative in nature rather it follows a
facilitative environment. Therefore, the views and the opinions of the employees working
within the organization finds a center place in the implementation of creative thinking skills
and problem shooting approaches.
However, there are a number of factors which hinders practicing of creative thinking
skills within an organization. For example, the fear of social failure also prevents the
individuals working within an organization to share their ideas. Therefore, at the center of
applying the creative thinking skills lay factors such as social anxiety and fear regarding
approval. For facilitating creativity an environment needs to be developed which is free of
judgments and criticisms.
Different theoretical approaches to creative problem solving
There are different problem solving process of creativity within an organization.
Some of which have been discussed with regards to different theories and models such as the
brainstorming approach of problem solving and Walla’s model of the creative process. In
this respect, brainstorming can help in generating a number of ideas on a specific issue. As

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commented by Brenkert (2017), the ideas generated through brain storming can be reviewed
in order to analyse which amongst them is the best fit approach. The brainstorming activities
are performed within a small group of people of 8-12 and within a relaxed environment. It is
based upon the concepts of applied imagination. The implementation of the brainstorming
sessions are associated with a huge number of benefits such as boosting morale, enhancing
work enjoyment and improving overall team productivity. For effective brainstorming
sessions a facilitator is required along with a suitable and relaxing environment (Kirzner
2015). The classic brainstorming sessions are held for a maximum of 90 minutes time. From
the bucket list of ideas generated five best possible ideas are selected and are rated on a scale
of 1-5. As mentioned by Savery (2015), the best idea is the one with highest score. As
mentioned by Edwards-Schachter et al. (2015), a number of minds thinking over the same
topic could result in dead ends and confusions. One of the biggest challenges associated with
brainstorming is that most of the times the participants in a team are afraid to provide risky
solutions, which stems from a fear of group criticisms.
Additionally, a model was proposed for creative problem solving by the researcher
Graham Wallas. There are four different stages of the model which could be describes as
follows such as the preparation stage, the incubation stage, the illumination stage and the
verification stage. In the preparation stage, the problem is defined and a criterion is set up for
verifying the acceptability of the solution. In the incubation the solution to the specific
problem is contemplated and can last to minute, weeks or even years. As commented by
Anderson et al. (2014), in the incubation stage the unconscious thought process is at work.
During the incubation stage, the conscious mind takes a backstage and the sub-conscious
mind does the mental processing (Edwards-Schachter et al. 2015). The illumination stage is
the moment when the thought actually comes to the mind. In the verification stage the
activities are carried out to ascertain whether all the ideas, which emerged through the

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incubation and the illumination process actually satisfies the need. Therefore, depending
upon the organizational situations the creative thought processes are applied. For example,
the business organization is going through a number of different turmoil; the combinatorial
thought process can help in resolving the issue. The implementation of the brainstorming
activities and sessions helps in the collaboration of different minds which could help in the
generation of a creative and new idea (Chuang et al. 2015). However, the role of the
facilitator is of immense importance in ruling out the biases during the brainstorming
sessions. In this respect, the decision making skills and expertise of the facilitator plays the
central role in removing the different biases.
Comparison of different theoretical approaches in workplace setting
The different theoretical approaches could be compared with respect to a business
organization. The affectivity of the theories applied within an actual workplace could be
further discussed over here with respect to brainstorming and Walla’s model. The
brainstorming session and activities have been particularly helpful in generating new and
innovative ideas, which can help the organization come out with better products and services.
Additionally, the thinking of like minds together can help in promoting effective team
binding which can further enhance the productivity and the creativity of an organization.
Since more than one person is involved in thinking and the trouble shooting a huge number of
ideas are generated. Therefore, from many of these ideas one is selected which is justified as
the most novel idea. However, the bunch of ideas generated in the thought process helps in
the development of preferences (Csikszentmihalyi and Sawyer 2014).As supported by
Goetsch and Davis (2014), some of the ideas generated could be involved in advanced
contingency planning. Additionally, the brainstorming sessions can enrich the thought
process of the employees. This further helps in enhancing the interpersonal skills of the

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employees. However as supported by Janssen et al. (2015), there are a number of limitations
of brainstorming as too much of speculation on a single topic or issue can even make a small
problem look big. The influence from peers acts as a major drawback in implementing and
conducting effective brainstorming sessions (Edwards-Schachter et al. 2015). This is because
the opinions of an individual can hugely influence the perspective of a different individual.
As argued by Brenkert (2017), most of the times individuals are afraid to share or confront
their original idea within a group.
On the other hand the Walla’s model of the creativity process centers around an
individual self and progresses though a number of slow gradual steps. As commented by
Goetsch and Davis (2014), the level of creativity is low over here due to limited think tanks.
However, the model mainly places importance upon the power of sub-conscious mind to
come out with a best fit solution. In this process, the individuals are contributing at their own
level without much interference or suppression from the group. As mentioned by AlMutairi
(2015), the implementation of the Walla’s creative thinking cycle is associated with
generating high quality and at length thought about ideas. The entire model had been divided
into a number of stages which provides the problem solver with sufficient time to think more
constructively. Additionally, the incubation phase shifts the focus to the sub-conscious mind
where all the activity begins (Gilhooly et al. 2015). However, there are limitations as the
entire process is centered on one person. Therefore, there is much pressure on the problem
solver to come up with a widely accepted idea. Additionally, the entire process is executed in
a delayed manner whereas in the brainstorming sessions there are stricter time limits.
However, within an organizational setup brainstorming activities have been seen to
produce better results. As mentioned by Montag-Smit and Maertz (2017), the brainstorming
activities could be conducted in some simple easy sessions such as – knowing the user,
detailed thinking and prototype formation. This kind of an approach has been picked up by

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Google for bringing forth more creativity to the table. At Google freestyle brainstorming is
the process of innovation rather than throwing around simple random ideas. It has adopted a
linear process for brainstorming which starts with knowing the customer better. For example,
Google uses the stories, emotions and ideas of people for building and development of a
process or solution (Janssen et al. 2015). In this respect, the aspect of effective
communication may vary across different countries, as some countries may like the certain
features of digital communication more than others. For example, in Brazil people spend a
lot of time in commuting. Hence, they emphasized more upon the provision of great interface
and voice control. On the other hand, accessing connectivity is still an issue in certain parts
of India. Therefore, the customers have placed more emphasis upon some of the offline
features.
Figure: Walla’s creative thinking process
(Source: Montag-Smit and Maertz 2017)

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Evaluation of different problem solving process of creativity
The different problem solving processes can be further evaluated depending upon the
current organizational situation. In this respect, the practice of brainstorming has been seen to
be more productive compared to the Walla’s creative thinking process. However, the success
of the process depends much upon its mode of dissemination. For example, at Google the
brainstorming activities are supported by 10X thinking process. It is implemented in order to
improve the process gaps by 10 times rather than 10% (Burke 2017). As argued by Montag-
Smit and Maertz (2017), most of the times the brainstorming sessions end on a note of
meeting up next time. However, instead a prototype development can help in dealing with the
problem more effectively. Here, much of the thought process is transformed into physical
manifestations. As argued by Mann et al. (2017), in the brainstorming sessions participation
from each and every member in the think tank committee is an absolute necessity. In the lack
of effective support and participation the organization fails to arrive at an approvable
decision. Brainstorming supports frees speech and creativity within the employees which
helps in the generation of new ideas (Sadler-Smith 2015). One of the most positive attributes
of brainstorming is that it calls for equal participation from each and every employee.
Therefore, it helps in furnishing a positive and effective work environment within the
organization.
On the other hand, the Walla’s creative thinking process is a stepwise and gradual
process which focuses upon idea generation through gradual steps. However, undertaking the
Walla’s creative thinking process could be beneficial as it helps in arriving at detailed
concepts through analysis of facts and numbers. Therefore, the processing is much more
detailed over here through application of effectively worked out logic, whereas in

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brainstorming randomly thought ideas are put forward. However as argued by Runco (2014),
in the brainstorming sessions there are constant arguments and critics of the theories and
ideas proposed by individuals, which can lead to removal of the gaps in the individual
thought processes.
Conclusion
The current assignment focuses on the aspect of different problem solving approaches
within organization and the manner of generation of new and innovative ideas. Therefore,
creativity has been placed at the centre of the organizational processes. The organization in
order to gain a competitive advantage over others needs to come out with innovative products
and services. However, the thinking and the decision making skills forms an integral part of
the problem solving approaches of an organization. A number of different theories and
models have been discussed over here such as the process of brainstorming and Walla’s
creative thinking process. The wallas’ creative thinking process is divided into a number of
different steps and takes a huge amount of time where the thinking and the problem solving
happens at an individual level rather than in groups. On the other hand the brainstorming
process involves effort from each and every team member. Therefore, the innovation status
quo is high over here. However, there are a number of limitations of implementing the
brainstorming process such as the willingness of each and every team member to support as
well as promote the idea of each other. In the lack of support and encouragement from the
peers within a group often the most innovative ideas are suppressed. Additionally, the success
of the brainstorming activities lies effectively on the shoulders of the facilitators as the
biasness of opinion can hamper the quality of the results. However, implementing such
activities can promote team bonding within an organization along with removing the burden
on individual self to come up with innovative ideas.

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