Project: Analyzing Creativity, Innovation, and Design Thinking Skills

This project delves into the core concepts of creativity, innovation, and design thinking, presenting a comprehensive analysis of their application in various business scenarios. The project addresses real-world problems, such as team stress, and offers practical strategies for fostering a creative and innovative work environment. It explores tactics for achieving business goals, including strategies for creating low-cost supermarket chains, building a diverse workforce, and providing superior customer service. The project also examines the impact of cultural and multicultural influences on creativity and innovation, using the case of an Australian manager in a Singaporean company to illustrate the importance of cultural sensitivity and adaptation. Furthermore, it provides a detailed discussion on the role of team leadership and team building in a creative environment. The project concludes with a reflection on the importance of design thinking in problem-solving and the influence of cultural values on workplace dynamics.

Introduction
Creativity and Skill Development Program is by far the best and the most efficient
processes of preparing future business leaders to think out of the box and
strategize work flow so that the best outcome is obtained. It is basically meant to
make one’s business function in an innovative and creative way. Since creativity is
central to achieve any goal or solve any complex problem, enrolling into the
course creative problem solving has opened up various creative paths for me to
function smoothly in a complex work situation and help my team overcome
barriers. Design thinking is another revolutionary process to find solution to
complex problems. The three way process of create, innovate and design thinking
is helping business individual like me to overcome complex situation and
obtaining practical measures and tactful strategies to make the business run
successfully.
Week 3
Problem: Team member’s high work stress is resulting in low motivation and
greater absenteeism.
A team can only function well when every individual of the team is highly
motivated and energized to achieve a set goal. Higher motivation level is also the
key element for smooth workflow and to overcome difficult hurdles. High work
stress often leads to low motivation of team members. Team’s members’
motivation can be boosted through playful stress busters. Stress busters can be by
means of short break, games of chess or scrabbles or quizzes. In situation where
my team members are in a low motivation phase I will device a session of
discussion where I will set up a task for my team members to list down as many
uses of a brick as they can think of. I would ask them to list down the uses
individually land then set up the group discussion. This way I would be able to
maintain a balance between divergent thinking and convergent thinking so that
the best innovative uses of bricks can be listed down at the end of the session. An
idea of an individual member when passed to another member, he or she can
work on that initial idea and build up a better solution. This is the main objective
behind initially asking team members to work on something alone and then sit for

a discussion. I would also take part in the session as this would break the
hierarchy and let the members be free of the stress of being supervised by their
boss. This will also encourage team bond and be a relaxing yet brainstorming
session for my team.
Week 4
Scenario 1: Strategies and tactics to achieve the goal of being low cost super
market chains in Singapore
The first way to achieve the said goal is through EDLP or everyday low price, the
tactic being cutting down price of goods temporarily. Second strategy is of
promotional pricing and the tactic is to give innumerable special deals and offers.
The third strategy is called hybrid EDLP. The tactic behind hybrid EDLP is
combining price cut and special deals.
Scenario 2: Strategies and tactics to create a diverse workforce by 2020
The first step we will take to create a diverse workforce is to device a long-term
plan for inclusion of diversity at every level of a business or organization. Then we
will invest in strategies of diversity which include learning, talent development,
performance management and retention of best talents. We will train our team
to acquire the skill of cultural sensitivity to promote mutual respect and
acceptance of different cultures that will in turn increase productivity and
strengthen team relationship.
Scenario 3: Strategies and tactics to offer superior customer service in the
market
To deliver customer service of superior quality we will first study and know every
minute details of the product our company is selling or the service it is providing.
Secondly we will promote the habit of listening patiently and carefully to the
customer needs, complaints and enquiries so that not a single detailing is missed.
Building up communication with the clients through feedbacks is the next step as
it will help us to understand where we are lacking behind and what we have focus
more to get more customer support.

Problem: How might we redesign fast food restaurants to teach children about
healthy eating?
We would organize a discussion panel to list down pessimistic view points and
optimistic view points to find the solution to ideally redesign fast restaurants to
create awareness among children about healthy eating. This will give us insight to
the negative and positive ends of the problem. The discussion will open up
multiple strategies as a pessimistic view point will be countered by optimistic view
points and this will help us understand the loop holes and the solutions to fill up
the loop holes.
Week 5
Problem: An Australian manager is finding it difficult to adjust to the work ethics
of her Singaporean company
Sally is an Australian, who hails from a country which has lesser rate of power
distance and higher rate of individualism and masculinity. Singapore is a country
that has cultural values that of collectivism, higher rates of hierarchy and long
term orientation. To make Sally adjust to her workplace I would first make Sally
analyze the differences that is stopping her from functioning better and how she
can manipulate herself and others to overcome those differences. Since
masculinity rate is higher in her country she being in the superior position of
senior manager is a positive side of the cultural value of Singapore, which Sally
has to take note of. I would explain her social norms of Singapore and its cultural
heritage to make her understand why Singapore has collectivism, long term
orientation and hierarchy. I will also explain how being in the post of senior
manger needs the hierarchy to let her team work efficiently. I would also chalk
out common grounds so that she and the other employees can work on them. I
would try to illustrate to Sally and every other employee to acknowledge their
differences and creatively co-exist in the company to achieve innovation and
success.

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