Transcript for:
Creative Thinking and Problem Solving

hi there my name is teacher Lona Smith today we're diving into another business studies topic creative thinking and problem solving for grade 11 another important topic grade 11 cuz this one is getting dived into once again in grade 12 so pay attention because again we did it in grade 10 we do it in grade 11 and we're building that foundation for grade 12 I hope you enjoy the video [Music] all right let's dive in creative thinking and problem solving here is the textbook that I've made use of to make the video and the slides for today's video I have used the textbook as is I haven't changed it one single bit which means I do not take credit for the information and I do not take credit for the creation of the information I'm using it as is as the learners for business studies need to study it word for word write it word for word and therefore changing the wording is potentially disadvantaging the Learners and this YouTube channel is just meant to help Learners with revision and help them with their studies so I've used it as is all right so we did this in grade 10 where we learned about different problem solving techniques and we used them to generate solutions for business problems in grade 11 we are going to focus on the application of force field analysis and the dely technique K creative thinking to address business problems the meaning of creative thinking creative thinking is when people are able to think of new and original approaches and ideas to find solutions to challenges creative thinking is about being resourceful by applying autistic and clever ideas to create something original or new then we have routine thinking versus is creative thinking a very nice one to use in a table now just important if they say to you distinguish or give the differences the side by side don't need to link but if they use the words compare then they have to link so for example routine thinking we're using the left side brain function creative thinking we're using the right side brain function so they have to be side by side and they have to link for a compare type of question but if it says give the differences or dis distinguish between the two then they don't have to link up okay routine thinking we're looking at the left side brain function where it focuses on logical thought and methodical way of doing things it is consistent it's a normal way of thinking that is applied to a specific situation doing things in the same way will lead to the same results because past decisions are used to solve current problems okay just as an example routine thinking it's the way I look at is your everyday thinking you wake up you brush your teeth you shower you have breakfast you might have a cup of coffee there nothing really creative or different about that it's just your normal everyday things so going to a workplace you are a salesperson you're answering the phone you're answering emails you're doing everything there's the word methodical you have a method and it is the same way of doing things let's say the sales are decreasing in the business we normally if the sales decrease we have 20% off sale got a promotion you know we do those type of things but we've always done those type of things so it's nothing new and creative and Innovative because it's everything we've been doing in the past there's no new ideas that are generated or thought patterns that are generated everything is the way that it used to be then creative thinking is quite the opposite so here we're using our right brain function when new ideas are created and generated the focus is on being creative using one someone's imagination Insight art music awareness to find solutions to Unique challenges the process is used to come up with new ideas to solve problems in a way that is unusual and different from how things were done before results in exploring innovative ideas and different ways of doing things in order to obtain better results then we have have conventional Solutions versus non-conventional Solutions again similar like to ask it in a table okay conventional these are solutions that are believed and followed by everyone these Solutions is what most people expect and they appear to be normal they focus on being relevant to a situation usually there is one solution to each problem or to a challenge okay I use this as an example for my Learners so in your class your teacher needs to administer mini tests so typically after every chapter they will give you a mini test then I asked my Learners and I kind of quizzed them and said to them okay what is believed by most teachers appears to be normal and is a solution to a problem so if I want to do a mini test what is the now I'm trying to use keywords the normal thing that's followed by everyone teachers will set it up on their laptop get it printed and hand it out correct that's a mini test what are ways that we could do it differently let's dive into the information and then I'll give the examples non-conventional Solutions are solutions that are created as not part of the norm so they are not part of the normal way of doing things which are not followed what is generally done or believed these Solutions are creative and unique and they usually are a result of creative thinking they are often interrupted or they bring about a change for better ideas there's a diverse amount of solutions so there's many solutions which may be applied to problems or challenges okay so how could a teacher thinking where is it results of creative thinking it's Unique it's not part of the norm and it's not generally followed by others a teacher could administer a mini test by setting it up on a website such as Google forms you can have many quizzes there a lot of trainings I go for we actually do um tests and quizzes there there's one I think it's called Quizlet you could do it there as well so the thing is it's not part of the norm it's not the way we normally do things but you are a assisting Learners and encouraging them to use technology they can do it at home they can do it within the classroom and a nice thing is you have record cuz perhaps the way you set it up is that they have to give their name their surname their class and their learn number and then you have their results you can capture it you can print that out and put it in your file for when you get uh School visits so there's a nice example are we testing and administering a mini test yes are we doing it the way it's normally done no but are we receiving the same results possibly maybe even better so that's conventional is like an old way of thinking it's followed by everyone everyone believes it to be normal but non-conventional is the way I remember it is non-conventional is not normal so it's not the normal way of doing things ways in which a business can create an environment that's stimulate creative thinking in the workplace this one they love to ask typically as part of an but just be warned this one is asked a lot businesses must emphasize the importance of creative thinking to ensure that all their staff know that their ideas will be heard they need to inspire staff to come up with new ideas plan regular workshops so that brainstorming sessions can be held to generate new ideas ensure the communication channels remain open by placing suggestion boxes around the workplace train staff members to to think creatively to solve problems use mind maps and lateral thinking encourage job exchanges within the organization and other businesses to improve creativity in the workplace encourage alternative ways of doing things and working accommodate employees ideas and try not to let anyone feel less important in the workplace all right so the advantages of creative thinking in the workplace creative thinking will lead to improved participation of Staff members which will ensure the generation of new ideas the business will have a competitive advantage over other businesses because they have unique strategies that are introduced one of my ultimate examples if you've watched my previous videos you would notice I mention this one often so ni1 for regionality for your essay because it is relevant it's in the last two years is Checker 6060 with their bikes and their onesies for the kids and the helmets that's a competitive Advantage because you are now tapping into the emotions of kids you're getting them excited you're getting them hyped up so if there's a mother that needs to choose whether going to Checkers or another competitor because that Hypes up the kid by ordering by Checker 6060 because they get excited they get to like have a little experience with their bike and their onesie and their helmet and all of that would probably prefer to go to check a 6060 because it is making their child happy and their child is having a nice experience from it so do you see just a small act like that is actually giving them a competitive advantage and it it keeps customers coming back to them businesses will be able to solve complex problems as management and employees introduce and create many ideas saving time and money for the business productivity will increase managers and employees will demonstrate more confidence as they perform their duties managers will be inspired to lead their teams more efficiently managers and employees will apply their knowledge in a collaborative manner when performing their duties the morale among staff members will be improved this leads to a more positive attitude as managers and employees feel that they've contributed towards problem solving creative thinking will ensure that managers and employees stay breast of the latest development in technology managers and employees will be more creative as they are challenged to work outside of their comfort zone creativity may lead to new inventions which will improve the standard of living managers and employees will feel that they have contributed towards problem solving so if we're looking at that robotic um vacuum mop that's definitely increased the standard of living I mean I wouldn't I don't know entirely but now instead of someone spending 30 minutes to an hour cleaning their entire house they just click a button and this does it for them which gives them more time to focus on their work gives them more time as teachers to Mark papers to do YouTube videos for Learners it gives you more flexibility which could make you happier and this all comes from creative thinking all right problem solving techniques businesses use problem solving as an instrument to determine if there is aspects within the business environment that need changing this is done so that there is better control over the business environment and to ensure that if there is anything that needs to be corrected the solutions are found and implemented as quickly as possible the dely technique and force field analysis are two techniques that can be used by businesses to solve complex problems we're going to look at them in detail in a second so the meaning of problem solving problem solving is a process of studying a situation and finding ways to bring about change it involves collecting facts that include problem finding and problem shaping creative and logical skills need to be applied to find solutions to the identify problems alternative Solutions should be generated and evaluated in response to problems problems can be solved by an individual a group or a team member all right so we have dely technique the meaning this is used to solve new and complex problems a panel of experts who have never met each other face to face come up with Creative Solutions to problems without having to sit through long drawn out group meetings force field analysis force field analysis is used for decision making especially when implementing change the analysis involves identifying the Advan advantages and disadvantages of a decision for change okay very important these get done in grade 12 as well so it's important to learn keywords okay and grouping these words together so dely Technique we are talking about panel of experts and they don't have to meet face to face those are your keywords then when we looking at force field analysis we are looking at most importantly change management and we're looking at the advantages and and disadvantages all right so we've got the application of delie technique so how this could be asked in an exam is how can a business apply the dely technique for problem solving we're going to look at force field as well businesses should invite a panel of experts to study the complaints from customers experts do you see how it's repeating do not have to be in the same place and they will be contacted individually a questionnaire consisting of questions on how to improve the quality of products and services must be designed and distributed to the panel of members and experts the panel should respond to the questionnaire individually to suggest improvements to the product then return it to the business the responses from the experts must be summarized in a feedback report the feedback report and and a second set of questions or questionnaires based on the feedback report must be sent to the panel members the panel members are requested to provide further input or ideas on how to improve the quality of products or Services after they have studied the results and documentation then a third questionnaire based on the previous feedback from the second round is distributed to panel members and experts once that's done we will have a final summary and a feedback Report with the methods to improve quality of product or services that is prepared after the consensus has been reached then the best solution will be chosen all right so important we're going to invite the panel of Judges but we're going to invite them individually we can either send them an email or we can phone them depending all right then we need to come up with a questionnaire that's going to have questions that they need to answer so let's say most of our clients have complained that the water we are selling is too salty okay for example but we don't know how to improve it and they don't like the color of the bottle so then we come up with a list of questions um when drinking our water did you find it to be salty yes or no um did you like the color of our product yes or no if you had to change the color what color would you make it are you with me first set of questionnaires that gets returned we look at the questions and then we send a second questionnaire the second questionnaire might have more indepth so let's say we said did you find the water salty yes or no then they said yes then the second question here we can say um how would you suggest we improve this because the water shouldn't be salty or we say What colors would you suggest would align with our business strategy that we could use for the bottle of water continuing and continuing then when to receive the feedback from the second questionnaire we're going to get a more detailed third questionnaire that we're going to send out now obviously we've done feedback after each phase after the third and final phase we're going to do a final report and then decide what is the best solution we're going to take for our products the nice um the nice thing about using this type of technique is that because they are all individually you know doing this questionnaire they won't influence one another because they probably don't even know who each other is the second thing is they are experts so they know how to improve products they are experts in their field they have the knowledge skills and expertise to help and assist and then thirdly with all of the feedback and the questionnaires coming back we can build so much um such a big report on this that can definitely help us in how to fix our problem that we are problem solving all right here's just a little diagram um of all of the steps that we've gone through you can pause the video at this stage and just look through the diagram but we've explained each and every step then the application of force field analysis the current situation and problem and the desired solution is described okay so remember force field analysis we want to bring about change so perhaps we have it that I know the example that I used um in the school is that and I'm sure most schools have this is that the Learners come late for class and it does disrupt the lesson and I just find that it also Cuts back on teaching time so I said to the learner so what you remember about forcefield is that we have a problem we want to bring about change so no way is this brainstorming so let's say we say for example the problem is late coming okay if it's a very big score and there's only a 5 minute bow between periods perhaps we can suggest that we extend that bow to 8 minutes all right now that is the what do you call it desired situation or solution to the problem okay so we're going to going to use that as an example throughout so we going to identify what happens if no action is taken the Learners keep coming late they're going to keep disrupting the lesson keep disrupting the Learners they robbing teaching time from the teacher and from their peers okay so it's not really helping if we are not trying to find a solution to this problem within business situations it actually could be worse if we don't actually bring about change to the um problem then we are going to list the driving forces and restraining forces to either support or resist the change so we are going to say that we want to extend the Bow by 3 minutes to make it 8 minutes then we can mention what are the driving forces well the things that could support the changes Learners will come on time the Learners will actually get the desired amount of Education that they actually want to receive or they want to get the restraining forces is now the question might be asked if during every period I'm making the um time between walking to classes 3 minutes longer where am I taking the time away from teaching time or am I going to say because in every after every period I'm extending it by 3 minutes if I add up all those three minutes I need to extend the school day so instead of maybe coming out at4 3 we now come out sorry instead of coming out in quarter P two that was my bad we now come at at Hof P two that could be a restraining Force cuz that could hinder on the Learners um maybe transport is an issue there's there's maybe issues so you get my point we're trying to mention the driving forces so driving we're pushing it Forward we're happing with it and restraining is we're kind of pulling back and we're not very happy with it remember for the change so we have the proposed change extending the 5 minute bow to 8 minutes that's the change we are not brainstorming and coming up four five six different solutions okay there's one solution and we mentioned all those all right so then we have the key restraining forces and we need to mention all of their strength so the good things about them all of the driving forces and their strengths as well the good things about them now we need to allocate a score okay on a numerical scale so one is weak and five is strong so perhaps if we say um one of the restraining forces is that perhaps Learners will still come on still come late because by making the time longer they're still just going to mess around and hang out with friends instead of walking to class so we could say that five as strong as yes we strongly agree that that is going to happen but perhaps we say that um one of the driving forces is that [Music] perhaps Learners will arrive on time when we give that one of five but then we say Learners will be upset because obviously the school days is extended we give that one as a week cuz we're like no we don't feel like that one impacted as strongly okay now we need to look at all the positives and all the negatives that we evaluating according to the scores and we need to decide is this project viable can we change the school bar from 5 minutes to 8 minutes will it be viable after everything we've come up with then we need to choose the force with the highest score as the solution to the problem the restraining forces should be ad uh should be analyzed to determine the best way of moving forward with them and then we need to identify your priorities and develop an action plan I just want to State before we move on this is purely an example I don't want Learners running to their principles and saying that teacher Alona has said that we need to extend the Bell it's just a nice example cuz I feel it's applicable to most teachers watching my channel and to most Learners watching my channel it's a nice example because we all experience it and it's very applicable to business studies and to schooling and it's something that your learners will probably remember when doing force field analysis all right there's a little diagram you can see the forces for Change and the resisting forces okay solutions to a business problem in the business environment employees need to work together collaboratively to be successful in finding solutions to business problems employees working with one another to solve business problems build positive morale which will lead to buy in when implementing Solutions so the advantages of working with others to solve problems there will be different perspectives to be considered because it could be difficult to be creative and Innovative on your own you have access to a broader base of skills knowledge and expertise which helps you to get the opinion of others on the matter think about a workplace okay you learn as at school most of you are all around the same age I know you may feel that the grade eights are much younger than you but let's be really honest they're only a few years younger than you when you're in a workplace you got people 10 years older than you 20 years 30 years even 40 years older than you so the nice thing about working together is yes the newer Generations are more techn technologically advanced but there's a lot that we can learn from the old Generations so a good example that I always think of is an accounting system okay took Accounting in college I know and it frustrated me why we had to learn how to do accounting paper based and in schools you guys do it too why we have to take paper and fill in their accounts it just didn't make sense to me because nowadays we've got pastel and we've got Sage the system does it for you as you type the one in it's going to link your bank to telephone to expenses to all these things but the important is when there is load shading and these things need to be done you can still do on paper you can still work which is where the older Generations come in and will help and assist with something like that silly example but example it is more ideas can be triggered from other employees ideas which can help with problem solving it facilitates learning from one another when colleagues are able to teach and explain things to one another especially when working in groups working together is encouraged to produce greater results the workload is decreased because everyone shares the problem and their expertise my mom always had a saying as is more applicable to when like your upset or something is a problem a problem hared a problem shared is a problem hared and that's kind of with this one too like because we are sharing the problem and we are both helping each other we are essentially Haring the work because we're working together with it all right mind map recap time so here's the Mind map for today's video it's a bit more of a condensed mind map it doesn't have all the nuty gritties and in inner information but you're more than welcome to pause the video and drop it down here are the resources I've made use of for today's video as I mentioned in the beginning of my video I just want to say thank you for watching today's video again grade 11 you do this in grade 12 and it's building the foundation for grade 12 and I hope you enjoyed this video I hope you learned something please give it a thumbs up if you did and please consider subscribing to my Channel all the best of luck with the June exams and I really hope it's going well I hope to see you in my next video bye for now [Music]