Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Appropriate Technique
ELSPETH MCFADZEAN Henley Management College
Greenlands
Henley-on-Thames
Oxfordshire, RG9 3AU, England
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2 I A T < X $ "n' -
rich pictures, reversals, and object stimula- may make some participants feel
tion [Couger 1995; McFadzean 1998a; uncomfortable.
VanGundy 1988,1992]. (3) Paradigm-breaking techniques can be
Garfield et al. [1997] and McFadzean very powerful and can encourage partici-
[1996] have found that some creative pants to develop very novel ideas. The
problem-solving techniques can encourage participants produce creative ideas by
more novel ideas than others. Conse- bringing new elements into the problem
quently, McFadzean [1998c, 1998d] has situation and by developing new relation-
classified these techniques into the follow- ships between existing elements. By using
ing categories: paradigm-preserving, this technique, the facilitator encourages
paradigm-stretching, and paradigm- the participants to break down their per-
breaking (Figure 1). ceptions and to completely smash the
(1) Paradigm-preserving techniques do problem's boundaries. Paradigm-breaking
not force the participants to venture out- techniques, like paradigm-stretching tech-
side their own perspectives in exploring niques, use unrelated stimuli and forced
the situation. In other words, the bound- association. In addition, these techniques
aries around the problem remain un- also tend to call for modes of expression
changed. Paradigm-preserving techriiques other than verbal or written, such as
include such methods as brainstorming, drawing, dreaming, and role playing. This
force field analysis, and brainwriting can make participants feel very uncom-
[McFadzean 1998a]. In brainstorming, for fortable, and therefore these techniques
example, the facilitator encourages partici- should be used only by groups of people
pants to build on other people's ideas. who have a high degree of cohesion and
Consequently, they develop existing ideas trust.
but do not change them significantly.
These techniques, however, can be very Visioning focuses on the
useful because they are easy to use and do future.
not require participants to move outside
their comfort zones. According to McFadzean [1996] and
(2) Paradigm-stretching techniques en- Nagasundaram and Bostrom [1993],
courage the participants to stretch their ex- paradigm-preserving techniques do not
isting paradigms. The facilitator encour- tend to break or stretch the boundaries of
ages this by utilizing unrelated stimuli the problem. These include brainstorming,
and forced association. For example, the brainwriting, and force field analysis
participants can force two unrelated [McFadzean 1998a].
words or concepts together to develop Brainstorming
new ideas. The Internet, for instance, was Brainstorming was first devised by Alex
developed by using two unrelated con- F. Osborn in the late 1930s to stimulate
cepts, the telephone and the computer. It small groups of individuals to come up
requires imagination to use these tech- with ideas on new product development,
niques effectively, and as a result, they new methods of positioning existing prod-
1 1 1
Problem Boundaries Unchanged Stretched Broken
ucts, and new uses for old products. Later, brainstorming, and, if necessary, conduct a
however, brainstorming was used for dif- warm-up exercise.
ferent applications in a variety of settings, (3) Ask the participants to generate possi-
such as education, health, manufacturing, ble solutions, without criticism, for about
and government circles. 30 to 45 minutes. The ideas should be re-
Osborn [1957] describes his philosophy corded on a flip chart. Encourage the
and approach in his two essential guiding group members to continue generating
principles: ideas.
(1) The idea-generation phase must take (4) Lead the participants back through the
place without any analysis or evaluation, list of ideas and encourage them to com-
which should be done only after the idea- bine statements and identify valuable
generation phase has concluded; and ideas.
(2) The quantity of ideas will ultimately (5) Designate one person to receive and
yield quality. In other words, the more record any additional ideas that may oc-
ideas generated, the more likely it is that cur to members after the meeting.
the group will produce some good quality To use brainstorming effectively, the par-
ideas. ticipants must develop a focused problem
A facilitator can support a group of par- statement [Evans 1996]. A statement that
ticipants undertaking brainstorming using is too broad will only encourage partici-
the following instructions: pants to develop solutions that are also
(1) Develop a problem statement and too broad to be effective. LeBoeuf [1980]
write it on a flip chart. presents a number of examples of
(2) Reiterate the problem statement to the brainstorming:
group, set out the ground rules, instruct —The Advertising Club in Cleveland car-
the group on the purpose and process of ried out a brainstorming exercise to de-
velop effective methods to publicize Opera erates the alternatives, discusses the op-
Week and to encourage as many people as tions and makes the decision by using ver-
possible to buy tickets. The club members bal interaction from the outset of the
generated 124 ideas, of which they imple- process.
mented 29. Their solutions were effective In addition, Hitchings and Cox [1992]
because the seats at the opera were suggest that there are aspects of brain-
filled. storming that can be greatly improved.
—A management executive team devel- They found, for example, that one or two
oped ideas through brainstorming for a members of any group tended to be domi-
nant, which reduced the free flow of ideas;
problem about engineering shortages. In
many group members felt inhibited even
25 minutes, it produced 110 ideas, of
though they were in an evaluation-free en-
which six were good enough to adopt.
vironment; and the sessions tended to be-
—Argus Camera used brainstorming to come unstructured and informal unless a
develop methods of economizing on pur- strong group leader was appointed.
chasing. The managers conducted three
To combat these weaknesses, research-
idea-generation sessions and produced a
ers have developed other techniques based
number of practical ideas that could yield
on the idea of brainstorming. These tech-
savings of $46,000 per year.
niques include brainwriting, SIL (Succes-
There has been extensive research on
sive Integration of Problem Elements)
brainstorming over the past few years
method, and the stepladder technique
[Bouchard, Barsaloux, and Drauden 1974; [Rogelberg, Barnes-Farrell, and Lowe 1992;
Diehl and Stroebe 1987; Gallupe and VanGundy 1992].
Cooper 1993; Gallupe et al. 1992; Hill 1982; Brainwriting
Madsen and Finger 1978]. This has re-
Brainwriting does not require a lot of
sulted in some criticism regarding Os-
imagination and can therefore be used by
born's ideas. For example, nominal groups
groups that are newly formed or inexperi-
have consistently been shown to outper-
enced. Moreover, the facilitator does not
form interacting brainstorming groups in
need much skill because it is very easy to
both the quantity and the quality of ideas
set up and implement. The instructions for
produced [Diehl and Stroebe 1987; Hill
brainwriting are as foUows:
1982; Madsen and Finger 1978]. A nominal
(1) Write the problem statement on a flip
group consists of members who privately
chart.
write down their ideas pertaining to the (2) Ask the group members to write their
problem statement before presenting them ideas about the statement on separate
to the group. Next, the ideas are discussed sheets of paper (one statement per sheet)
and then ranked independently by each and put them in a pile on the center of the
group member. Finally, the group decision table (the pool).
is made using a pooled ranking system (3) Instruct individuals who need stimula-
[Stumpf, Zand, and Freedman 1979]. An tion or want to piggyback ideas to ex-
interactive group, on the other hand, gen- change their sheets of paper with others
it does not require a highly skilled is enhanced when people mix experience,
facilitator. ideas, and diverse elements together and
Paradigm-Transformation Methods then transform them by using new combi-
De Bono [1992, p. 53] suggests that nations. This is known as association, and
changing a paradigm requires lateral it is the basis of many creative problem-
thinking. He describes lateral thinking as solving techniques, such as the heuristic
moving "sideways" in order to try differ- ideation technique, analogies, rolestorm-
ent concepts and perceptions. Evans ing, and object stimulation [Couger 1995;
[1993], Keeney [1993], and Solomon [1990] McFadzean 1998a; McFadzean, Somersall,
suggest that people can enhance their cre- and Coker 1998; VanGundy 1988]. In the
ativity by looking at a problem from a va- heuristic ideation technique, for example,
riety of perspectives and by breaking old the problem-solving group develops a list
mind patterns and forming new connec- of words that are completely unrelated to
tions and perceptions. Several methods the problem. The group chooses two
can encourage a change of perspective. words and forces them together to stimu-
These include using unrelated stimuli and late ideas pertaining to the problem or sit-
using different modes of expression. These uation. For instance, by forcing together
modes may include drawing, role playing, the words fan and skirt, a number of prac-
fantasizing, and visioning. tical ideas can be developed, such as a
craft that can run across water (the hover-
Group members must trust craft) or a piece of clothing that is cool
their fellow participants and during the summer months. VanGundy
their facilitator. [1992] suggests that the purpose of such
stimuli is to present a completely different
Visioning is unlike traditional problem problem perspective. In fact, McFadzean
solving because it focuses on the future, [1998d] and Nagasundaram and Bostrom
that is, the goals and purposes of the orga- [1993] claim that this type of problem-
nization or department rather than what is solving technique encourages paradigm
going wrong. This allows the decision transformation. In other words, the
makers to view the situation from a differ- boundaries of the problem are either
ent perspective and encourages the use of stretched or broken. Using paradigm-
more creative problem-solving techniques, stretching and paradigm-breaking tech-
such as picture stimulation. In using pic- niques encourages creativity because they
ture stimulation, participants look at color- may incorporate
ful photographs or graphic words and try
—the presence of unrelated stimuli,
to link the images to a future scenario
[Johnson 1991; McFadzean 1998a]. This in —the forced association of stimuli,
turn may spark further creative ideas, —the use of multiple stimuli, and
which can ultimately be linked back to the —the presence of an unusual mode of ex-
present problem. pression, for example, role playing, fanta-
According to Glassman [1989], creativity sizing, or drawing.
pie, the journey metaphor. within the department. The group ex-
(3) Invite each individual to describe the plored each of the resulting issues and de-
situation using the metaphor category. veloped solutions to counteract them. For
Stipulate whether the description should example, to emphasize other pleasurable
cover the present situation or the ideal activities by pointing out that using CASE
situation. tools will speed up the process, giving
(4) Ask participants to use the descrip- users more time for other activities, such
tions developed by each team member to as designing the system. Members of the
generate new ideas. group were impressed with this technique,
(5) Ask the group to relate these ideas stating that it gave them an approach to
back to the problem statement. identifying and resolving the problem that
Couger [1995] used metaphors as a tool was both complete and comprehensive.
for developing novel ideas in a petroleum A number of different types of meta-
company: An information-systems depart- phors can be useful for solving problems
ment in a petroleum company needed to and finding opportunities. These include
motivate employees to adopt computer- nature metaphors, vehicle metaphors,
aided software engineering (CASE) tools creational metaphors, and journey meta-
that simplify the development of new soft- phors. Again, this method requires some
ware applications. Members of the imagination by the group. Developing
technology-assessment group were given metaphors may be difficult for some peo-
the responsibility for solving this problem. ple and requires practice. Nevertheless,
Under the instructions of a facilitator, the once they master it, they can produce very
group used metaphors to solve the prob- creative results.
lem. The metaphor it used was: "Dislike of Paradigm-Breaking Techniques
canned spinach." The group identified fac- Problems that are ill structured and
tors relating to the dislike of spinach that open ended may require more creative
included taste (for example, subdued com- thinking than problems that are well struc-
pared to beans), appearance (for example, tured and clearly defined. VanGundy
dull compared to carrots), contribution to [1988, p. 127] suggests that, "When a prob-
health (for example, more iron provided lem is open-ended, some degree of fantasy
by breakfast cereal), and so on. The group can provide the degree of loosening
then transferred the items listed to the needed to produce many unique ideas."
problem statement. For instance, for taste, Paradigm-breaking techniques can help
some of the pleasurable activities of CASE participants to develop fantasies that may
tools are subdued and less enjoyable than help them to generate novel ideas.
those of the existing methodology; for ap- Wishful Thinking
pearance, the thought of using CASE tools Wishful thinking forces participants to
is not as attractive as using their favorite look at a perfect future. By using this
approach; for health, converting to using method, group members can develop a
CASE tools is not necessarily seen as im- goal that they can attain. Moreover, wish-
proving their health, that is, their security ful thinking can increase their motivation
and change their perspectives. The instruc- company decided to use wishful thinking
tions for wishful thinking are as follows: to develop both an enterprise model and a
(1) Develop a problem statement and new business-planning technique. The
write it on a flip chart. group members developed a model of
(2) Inform the group to assume that ev- their ideal organization and a wish list
erything is possible. Ask each individual that included the opportunity to reengi-
to develop some fantasy statements about neer the company's process flows. They
the future using such terms as. In the fu- generated a series of what-if questions that
ture, it would be nice if the organization related to the wishes. They then converted
did... .What really needs to happen for the wish list into practical solutions, which
the company to be great is If I were in included Hoshin planning, enterprise
charge of this situation, I would d o . . . . modeling, and reengineering processes.
(3) Ask the group members to examine Rich Pictures
each fantasy statement and develop ideas Rich pictures is another technique that
on how to achieve these outcomes. can help participants look at problems
(4) Help participants to explore the new from a totally different perspective. It can
ideas that have been developed and link change the patterns of thinking within the
them back to the present problem situa- group. Rich pictures can be used as
tion. Ask them to use such statements as. follows:
Although this is difficult to achieve, we (1) Develop a problem statement and
can... .It might be possible to do that if write it on a flip chart.
we.... (2) Ask each individual to draw two pic-
This technique can be difficult to facili- tures. The pictures may be metaphors for
tate because some of the fantasies can be the situation, for example, vehicles or ani-
difficult to develop into practical solu- mals. The first drawing should be a pic-
tions. Group members must be very pa- ture of how the participant would like to
tient and enthusiastic about the process. see the situation in the future. The second
Again, to use this technique effectively, picture should be a drawing of how the
the participants and the facilitator should participant sees the present situation.
be experienced at using this type of CPS (3) Ask each participant to first describe
method. Moreover, the participants and the picture of the present. Not only should
the facilitator should have worked to- he or she describe the picture but also the
gether before and have developed a high properties of the objects drawn and why
degree of trust [McFadzean 1998b]. If they they were drawn that way. Next, the indi-
use the technique properly, a group can vidual should describe the picture of the
produce a number of different perspec- future, again including the properties and
tives that they would not have developed the relationships of the objects.
using paradigm-preserving techniques. (4) Ask the participants to generate new
Couger [1995] presents the following ex- ideas based on the descriptions.
ample of wishful thinking: The manager of Rich pictures is a useful technique be-
the systems department of an electronics cause the group can very quickly see what
each member's perception of the problem ideal situation, however, showed cars that
is and what he or she would like in the fu- were sleek, fast, had chauffeurs and a
ture. Moreover, a picture can very effec- number of occupants (representing cus-
tively show a vast amount of information, tomers). There were also signs on the
such as patterns, relationships, and prop- roadway pointing the car in an appropri-
erties. It can easily be shared with the ate direction. The exercise took 15 minutes
other group members, and they can all see and showed the managers what every-
the problem in its entirety in a single body thought of the department and how
glance. This method can also be used as a they would like it to change. In other
quick icebreaker at the beginning of a ses- words, the draw^ings showed the extent of
sion. The group, however, needs to be per- the problem to everybody present very
suaded of the technique's effectiveness be- quickly.
fore participating because many people Discussion
feel inhibited and embarrassed about their According to Nagasundaram and
poor drawing skills. The facilitator needs Bostrom [1993] and McFadzean [1996,
to convince the group that pictures do not 1998d], classical brainstorming, brainwrit-
have to be works of art as long as they ing, and force field analysis do not pro-
make sense to their creators and can easily duce very many ideas that challenge or
be described to the group. The facilitator break away from a prevailing paradigm,
needs to be skilled at teasing information that is, these techniques produce more
out of the participants as they describe paradigm-preserving ideas than
their pictures. There are times when par- paradigm-transforming ideas. Paradigm-
ticipants leave out information because the preserving techniques generally use re-
facilitator has failed to ask the correct lated stimuli and free association (Figure
questions. 2). In addition, participants express their
The following is an example of the use ideas using verbal or written communica-
of rich pictures: An accounting depart- tion. This is comfortable for participants
ment in a British Health Trust hospital and reduces the likelihood that they will
wanted to develop a new strategic plan. A feel apprehensive or confrontational about
facilitator asked seven people from the de- using the technique [McFadzean 1998b].
partment to draw cars that depicted what Moreover, the use of free association en-
they thought of the present situation courages participants to build on other
within the department. The facilitator then people's ideas, thus reducing the possibil-
asked them to draw cars depicting what ity of group-process losses, such as cogni-
they would see as the ideal department. tive inertia, groupthink, and incomplete
The first pictures showed small, dilapi- task analysis. Nunamaker et al. [1991] and
dated vehicles that lacked drivers and had Janis [1972] define these three process
very few occupants. These pictures repre- losses as follows:
sented a department that lacked leader- —With cognitive inertia, the discussion
ship and focus. The pictures depicting the moves along one train of thought without
1 1 1
Problem Boundaries Unchanged Stretched Broken
Reduction in
Low Medium High
Cognitive Inertia
VerbalAVritten/Role playing/
Expression VerbalAVritten VerbalAVritten
Drawing/Visioning
Stimuli Related stimuli Unrelated stimuli Fantasy and unrelated stimuli
Association of
Free association Forced association Forced association
Information
Can be used by experienced Groups require some Should only be used by
Group Experience
and inexperienced groups experience experienced groups
Figure 2: Each type of technique in the creativity continuum has different characteristics, rang-
ing from the less inspiring, but generally comfortable, techniques of the paradigm-preserving
category to the highly creative, but potentially uncomfortable, techniques of the paradigm-
breaking category.
deviating because group members refrain Nagasundaram and Bostrom 1993]. To use
from contributing comments that are not these techniques successfully, however,
directly related to the current theme. the group members must be enthusiastic,
—Groupthink occurs when the group par- trusting, and committed to each other and
ticipants become extremely close and con- have confidence that the CPS method will
sensus seeking becomes the dominant encourage them to generate novel and
force. valuable ideas. Moreover, the facilitator
—Incomplete task analysis occurs when the should be experienced at using these tech-
group fails to understand and examine the niques and be capable of developing a
task completely. This results in superficial trusting rapport within the group.
and disjointed discussions. Paradigm-stretching and paradigm-
Although paradigm-preserving tech- breaking methods help groups to change
niques can be creative, paradigm- their patterns of thinking and to view situ-
stretching and paradigm-breaking tech- ations from different perspectives. Conse-
niques can produce more imaginative and quently, they can produce more novel and
original ideas [McFadzean 1996; creative ideas using these techniques if