CQUniversity: MGMT20140 Design Thinking for Managers Report

This report, prepared by a student, examines the application of design thinking principles within a managerial context. The student reflects on their learning from a design thinking workshop, particularly emphasizing the importance of open-mindedness. The report details the student's choice of a poster as a visualization tool to represent the skill of open-mindedness and justifies this choice by referencing drawing skills, creative mind, ICT skills and the effectiveness of posters for conveying information concisely. The report further explores the role of design thinking in fostering open-mindedness, highlighting its benefits in problem-solving and innovation. The report includes a reflective component, discussing the student's personal development and the impact of design thinking on their cognitive abilities. References to academic literature support the student's analysis of design thinking concepts and their practical application. The report concludes by summarizing the key insights and the value of open-minded thinking in the design process.

Running Head: Design Thinking and Managers 0
Design Thinking and Managers
Report
Student name
7/24/2019

Design Thinking and Managers 1
Table of Contents
Being Open-minded.....................................................................................................................................2
Why I choose a poster.............................................................................................................................2
Role of design thinking in being open-minded........................................................................................3
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................3
References...................................................................................................................................................4

Design Thinking and Managers 2
Being Open-minded
From the definition perspective, open-mindedness is a willingness to find activities for evidence
against an individual’s favored plans, goals, and beliefs as well as to weigh that evidence fairly whenever
they are available (Mead, 2019). Within DT workshop, my learning suggests that being open-minded
never imply that a person is ineffective, indecisive, or incapable of thinking for their self. In this way,
post considering many other options, I realized that being an open-minded person I could take an
organization stand over a good position and thereby act accordingly. An open-minded person can
implement their new ideas in practical work (Williams, 2013).
From a manager’s perspective, I learned the skills of being open-minded while having an open
mind-set. To me, an open mindset is all about embracing wild ideas while not jumping directly to the
conclusions. I also learned how to adopt an experimental approach while thinking about any problem or a
new technique to be implemented. Besides, my evolved thinking about an open mind-set is suggesting
that wild ideas or innovative ideas are not taboo within DT; rather they are motivated within ideation
sessions. Being a manager, I learned that DT is all about exploring the seemingly obvious things. I
worked for the insights, which are buried as well as trying out ideas to check if they will work or not.
A person should be open-minded in their personal and professional career to develop new skills
in them. It is the key to problem solving (Kokemuller, 2019). In addition, innovation is a part of the
design thinking process (Tidd & Bessant, 2018). Design thinking is the best way for open-minded
thinking and the creation of a new prototype. It provides various ways of finding a solution to the
problem. In addition, social innovations are based on the design thinking process most of the time
(Lattimer, 2019).
Why I choose a poster
I learned about the poster during my design-thinking workshop. It is a good way of visualization
of an idea. I chose a poster for visualization innovation because of various reasons behind it, such as
drawing skills, creative mind, ICT skills, and many others. Design thinking provides better social
innovation and poster is making help to understand all those things in an easy way. There are various
advantages of the poster that can be used for describing an innovation, which are Attention grabbing,
Strategic placement, Low cost, creative flexibility, Full-time audience. Moreover, Design thinking (DT) is
huge processes, which have many applications for creation and understanding innovation and problem-
solving (Dorst, 2011). Therefore, innovators always adopt such types of processes that provide a feasible
solution. I have chosen a poster for visualization because it is easy to understand and there is a various

Design Thinking and Managers 3
method of poster making, such as offline, online, and others. In addition, online tools are generally
available without any cost. There are various templates available for different themes. The poster can
provide various information in chunks, and templates are helpful for the creation of new ideas and
thoughts in a platform. Therefore, companies create a poster for their new products and services to
provide knowledge in short. Therefore, I chose the poster for this event. Most of the events are required
poster to describe the whole process in that event.
Role of design thinking in being open-minded
I realized that there are so many benefits of open-mindedness skills in design thinking. My
learning throughout the workshop suggests that open-minded and cognitive complex persons are
comparatively less swayed by single events and hence more resistant to manipulation and suggestions. I
also learned that open-minded persons or managers are capable to predict how other people will behave at
managerial positions. Being a learner in DT workshop, I learned that open-minded people or managers
are less prone to projection. In whole, I can now reflect that being an open-minded manager I will score
better on tests of cognitive capability like IQ or SAT tests. Being open-minded, a person can provide
better thoughts to solve a problem (Christens, 2017).
Design thinking is a process that can provide various methods to understand a problem (Kimbell,
2011). In addition, the manager always uses innovation processes to make changes in their processes. The
design thinking process is an important process for an organization and a personal life. It provides a
feasible solution using various approaches. I learned about innovation during my DT workshop and its
advantages. I also learned about various other things for visualization such as storyline and many others. I
used the poster for an open-minded feature in a person. However, I chose an open-minded because a
person can do more creative work using this approach.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the poster is the best way to describe an idea in front of an audience with the help
of different types of tools and techniques. It will make a huge impact on the mind of audiences within a
few seconds. Innovation can be used for multiple purposes and multiple time as well, which is cost-
effective and environmentally friendly.
Finally, I chose open-minded thinking skill from all those skills to implement my ideas and other
thoughts in practical.

Design Thinking and Managers 4
References
Christens. (2017, September 22). Developing Skills for Life through Design Thinking. Retrieved from
https://www.magellanschool.org: https://www.magellanschool.org/developing-skills-life-design-
thinking/
Dorst, K. (2011). The core of ‘design thinking’ and its application. Design studies, 32(6), 521-532.
Kimbell, L. (2011). Rethinking design thinking: Part I. Design and Culture, 3(3), 285-306.
Kokemuller, N. (2019). Is it Important to Be Open Minded in the Workplace? Retrieved from
https://work.chron.com: https://work.chron.com/important-open-minded-workplace-6124.html
Lattimer, C. (2019). The Golden Triangle Of Open Mindedness. Retrieved from
https://peopledevelopmentmagazine.com:
https://peopledevelopmentmagazine.com/2019/01/11/open-mindedness/
Mead, S. (2019). Broadening Your Horizons: Developing Open-Mindedness as a Leader. Retrieved from
https://cmoe.com: https://cmoe.com/blog/developing-open-mindedness-as-leader/
Tidd, J., & Bessant, J. R. (2018). Managing innovation: integrating technological, market and
organizational change (1st ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Williams, D. K. (2013, January 7). The 5 Secret Strategies Of Great People: How To Become Open
Minded In 2013. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2013/01/07/the-5-secret-tricks-of-great-people-
how-to-become-open-minded-in-2013/#640cd63f73d4