Problem Solving/Creativity

Defining Problem Solving, Creativity, and Critical Thinking... 

This book is unique because it considers issues not usually considered in books about rules of thumb. Most books and articles about rules of thumb focus on processing equipment but effective engineers also need to communicate, work effectively in teams, solve problems and lead. Rules of thumb are summarized for systems thinking and for career skills such as problem solving, creativity, leadership, entrepreneurship and e-business. 

Johnstone, A. H. (1993). Introduction. In C. Wood R. Sleet (Eds.), Creative problem solving in chemistry (pp. iv-vi). London The Royal Society of Chemistry. 

I can avoid the next crash. I look beyond the problems to see the challenges or benefits or a door that I can open. I have to be a little bit creative in problem solving. There are alternatives for everything. You don t have to do things in the same way that you ve always done them. For example, people say, I have to use pesticides, I live in Louisiana and we have flying roaches Well, I lived in Louisiana for twelve years before we moved, and I have not used pesticides since 1985, and I don t have pests in my house. 

Fogler, H.S. and LeBlanc, S.E., Strategies for Creative Problem Solving, Prentice Hall PTR, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey (1995)... 

Johnstone, A. H. In Creative Problem Solving in Chemistry Wood., C. Sleet, R., Eds. The Royal Society of Chemistry London, 1993 pp iv-vi. 

Rationale Behind the Creative Problem-Solving Study... 

For several reasons we chose to focus our efforts on creative problem solving. One was its obvious utility, an important consideration at that juncture because of the increasing pressure for stricter regulation of the psychedelics by those who doubted that they were good for anything at all. Another... 

Fadiman, J., Harman, W. W., McKim, R. H., Mogar, R. E., and Stolaroff, M. J. Psychedelic Agents in Creative Problem Solving. San Francisco Institute for Psychedelic Research of San Francisco State College, 1965. 

Why is it so difficult to tap into the full creativity of an organization In the quest for efficient processes, many jobs are increasingly specialized. This high level of specialization can stifle breakthrough creativity many researchers feel uncomfortable about discussing questions outside their immediate area of expertise. Accordingly, scientific problem-solving takes place inside a function, rarely between different scientific disciplines, where many new ideas are born. 

Several companies have introduced cross-functional task teams to circumvent the specialization problem. Unfortunately, mixed composition alone does not change much, as many project teams know. We believe there are two success factors in creative interdisciplinary problem solving 1) a dear task must be set that can only be completed if the team really works together, and 2) a long-term time scale needs to be provided, to give the team the chance to build mutual trust. Only these considerations make cross-functional teams really distinctive. 

Creativity takes place at the intersections between fields of knowledge. Cross-functional teams with a clear task and a long-term time scale are generally the option of choice for creative interdisciplinary problem-solving. 

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