The Individual and Group - Promoting Critical Thinking and Nurturing Teamwork

Question 1

What does studies show about individuals high on general cognitive ability?

Answer 1

• tend to achieve better results on measures of the job knowledge, skills and techniques required
• better at processing information (Ree and Earles, 1996)

Question 2

What is mental flexibility according to Majaro 1992, and costa & McCrae, 1992?

Answer 2

• a creative mind must be able to break from habitual constraints if s/he is to stay open and unblocked.
• people who are more open to experience tend to be more imaginative and open to varied perspectives.

Question 3

What does the ability to link remote associations signify?

Answer 3

• employees try to recognise similarities and connections as well as modify or combine existing ideas into novel solutions relevant to their respective industries
• main problem faced is the natural tendency to see what we are taught to see (James, 1983)

Question 4

What is the cognitive process, suspense of judgement?

Answer 4

The rational state of mind in which one withholds judgments, particularly on the drawing of moral or ethical conclusions.

• creative individuals can tolerate uncertainty and hold back from accepting the first possible solution that comes to mind (major, 1992)
• the more individuals become aware of these barriers, the ore likely they are to move forward in their creative thinking

Question 5

What are the typical personality traits of creative individuals?

Answer 5

• sensitive
• independent
• unconcerned with social
• norms and social acceptance
• risk takers
• self-confidence
• tolerance of ambiguity
• need for achievement
• autonomy and non-conformity

Question 6

What does Taggar (2002) argue about knowledge as a key stone in creativity?

Answer 6

He argues that one cannot be really creative unless one possesses an adequate amount of knowledge in the particular area

Question 7

Define Knowledge according to Davenport and Prusak, 1998?

Answer 7

A fluid mix of framed experiences, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information.

Question 8

Distinguish between informal and formal knowledge?

Answer 8

formal knowledge: based on factual information, such as theories, articles and frameworks.

informal knowledge: derives from the subconsciousness and is therefore harder to share and is rarely taught and often not documented (Polanyi 1958)

Question 9

What is Hargadon and Sutton (2000) knowledge brokering cycle?

Answer 9

• old ideas can be central to new ones
• through the collection of non-physical and physical knowledge and ideas. can be reused as inspiration in the future to spark creativity and innovation.

Question 10

demonstrate an example of how knowledge can be useful for creativity?

Answer 10

• bill gates
• 1970s
• launched first product at company traf-o-data, software that analysed traffic data
• when launched software did not function properly - disaster
• learnt from mistakes, years later has through new ideas rebuilt software by being creative and innovative in his thinking
• product: microsoft, huge success

Question 11

is knowledge also conducive to creativity and innovation?

Answer 11

• according to Andriopoulos (2003) knowledge can be a double edged sword
• hidden danger of conditioning. previous patterns of thought o knowledge providing the individual or team with an easy solution to current problems

Question 12

demonstrate an example of where knowledge has acted as an inhibitor to creativity?

Answer 12

• Blackberry leader in 2000, with its BBM communications and business like phones
• 2007 apple launched iPhone with one the features being touch screen.
• instead of adapting to new change, blackberry looked back to old ideas and previous success to create something better.
  led to great failure
• today hold 0.8% of market share

Question 13

Define motivation according to Amiable, 1990

Answer 13

Motivation is the distinguishing factor between what a creative individual can do and what they actually do (Amabile, 1990)

Question 14

what are the motives which mobilise individual creativity according to Ford, 1995?

Answer 14

1. Achieving personal goals
2. expectations regarding personal capabilities
3. emotions that directly influence motivation

Question 15

What are the two types of motivation according to Amiable, 1997?

Answer 15

1. Extrinsic motivation: comes from outside a person, it is tangible (such as receiving monetary rewards or punishments)
2. Intrinsic motivation refers to ones internal desire to do something, driven by deep interest and enjoyment

Question 16

what does Hackman et al 1975 and amiable 1996 argue about motivation in promoting creativity?

Answer 16

• employees who have more complex jobs tend to be more motivated, satisfied and productive than those engaged in simple routine tasks.
• creativity is fostered when individuals and teams have relatively high autonomy in the day-to-day conduct of their work and a sense of ownership and control over their own ideas.

Question 17

Why is collaboration important?

Answer 17

• our society is complex and technologically sophisticated

- timely information is the most important commodity

Question 18

What is a group?

Answer 18

A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who work together to achieve particular objectives

Question 19

What is a team according to Katzenbach and Smith (1999)?

Answer 19

a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

Question 20

Why do people Join teams?

Answer 20

• security
• self-esteem
• power
• goal achievement

Question 21

what is the team development process according to Tuckman and Jense, 1977?

Answer 21

forming
storming
norming
performing
adjourning

Question 22

Why do teams fail?

Answer 22

Hidden Agendas 
Lack of understanding 
Lack of leadership 
Wrong mix of team members 
Unhealthy team environment 
Treat a team like a group

Question 23

What is Blind Conformity?

Answer 23

People tend to even engage in illogical or bizarre behaviour in order to guarantee acceptance by a group.

Question 24

What is Groupthink according to Janis (1972)? and how do you prevent it?

Answer 24

‘the psychological drive for consensus at any cost that suppresses dissent and appraisal of alternatives in cohesive decision-making groups’.

Voice their opinions or express their concerns
Prepare and anticipate criticism
Get recommendations from different groups
Periodically divide the group
Invite outsiders.
Play the ‘devil’s advocate’ role.
Reconsider the action plan.

Question 25

What is social loafing according to Thompson (2003)? causes?

Answer 25

the tendency for people in a group to slack off

Equity of effort

Loss of personal accountability

Motivational loss due to the sharing of rewards

Co-ordination loss as more people perform the task

Question 26

What are the effects of teams on creativity?

Answer 26

Team size:
- as the size of team increases the level of creative ideas decreases.
Team longevity:
- The longer groups have been in existence, the less innovative they become, tends to be staffed by older employees and members interact less amongst themselves.

Question 27

how does task and resources affect creativity?

Answer 27

Creative work can occur at any occupation, where the task at hand involves complex, ill-defined problems, where the result requires the generation of novel and useful ideas

• requires teamwork and integration of special capabilities
• individuals must possess the necessary KSA’s (without input no ouput)
• The lack of project resources can constrain employees’ creativity

Question 28

What is the problem of team composition for creativity? what are two types of diversity?

Answer 28

Most teams struggle to pull together the right skills, attitudes, behaviours, and problem-solving styles to achieve adequate team diversity and cohesiveness

Milliken and Martins (1996) distinguish between two types of diversity:

1) observable or readily detectable attributes
2) Less visible or underlying attributes

Question 29

what is the problem with team composition for creativity?

Answer 29

Diversity can either enhance or hinder creativity

Homogeneity among group members is not particularly facilitative for creative group outcomes

Question 30

what are some different techniques that can trigger creativity?

Answer 30

problem solving in the group

brainstorming (abolish criticism, welcome free-wheeling, large quantities of ideas and combine)

Question 31

what are some advantages and disadvantages of brainstorming?

Answer 31

advantages: 
The generation of hundreds of ideas
Supports the organizational memory
Improved morale
Gain better understanding of each other
Personal growth
Relatively inexpensive
Impressing clients.

disadvantages:
The generation of ideas without screening them

It may not always be the answer to problems

Question 32

what is electronic brain storming?

Answer 32

A new form of computer technology called a Group Support System (GSS) has emerged in the 1990s

The principle behind it is that participants contribute their ideas anonymously to a general pool.

Generating ideas.
Editing ideas.
Evaluating ideas.
Implementing ideas.
Action

Question 33

Advantages and disadvantages of electronic brainstorming?

Answer 33

Advantages:
Simultaneous entry of ideas, Anonymity, Better ideas are generated, It can be effective to large teams, It records the ideas for future sessions.

Disadvantages:
It is not a panacea for all problems, Communication speed, Overload of ideas, It is relatively expensive

Question 34

What is nominal group techniques?

Answer 34

Participants within this type of team never interact

Process:
It starts with a session of brainwriting where team members write down their ideas.
Individuals’ written lists are then shared by the team and are recorded somewhere where all participants can view them.
The team discusses the generated set of ideas for clarification and evaluation.
Finally, each person is asked to vote in order to identify the highest priority ideas or concepts

Question 35

what are the advantages and disadvantages of NGT?

Answer 35

Advantages:

It addresses some of the deficiencies of brainstorming (e.g. evaluation apprehension)

It may also be a time-saving technique

NGT is also very effective in situations when judgement is important

Disadvantages:

It focuses on one issue at a time

NGT is a structured team problem solving technique

NGT is not a spontaneous process