Basadur Et Al - Creative Prob Solving Styles

Creative Problem-Solving Process Styles, Cognitive Work Demands, and Organizational Adaptability Min Basadur, Garry Gelade and Tim Basadur Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 2014 50: 80 originally published online 3 December 2013

CPSP -- Creative Problem Solving Profile
Article describes how these styles match up with the creative problem-solving process

In a changing world, organizations need adaptability (mastering the process of deliberately changing routine), not just efficiency (mastering routine). Adaptability is proactive and entails deliberate discontent, looking for new problems, finding new things to do, adopting new technologies and methods ahead of the competition.

Four-Stage Model of Creative Problem Solving Maps to four overall styles in their questionnaire/model.

1. Generating -- creating options via new possibilities. New problems, new opportunities.
2. Conceptualizing -- Creating options via new understandings/definitions of the problem/opportunity. Good ideas to help solve it.
3. Optimizing -- creating options in the form of ways to get an idea to work in practice and uncovering factors for successful implementation.
4. Implementing -- creating options in the form of actions that get results and gaining acceptance for implementing a change or a new idea.

Creative Problem Solving Profile

1. Measure the problem solving styles
2. map the profile to the creative problem-solving process
3. increase understanding of different process demands in different roles
4. provide a blueprint to follow in order to
   1. initiate and sustain permanent adaptability performance
   2. simplify and facilitate change management
   3. address long-standing organizational effectiveness problems and challenges

Different occupations require different cognitive activities, different styles are needed at different levels.

This model approaches creativity as a process occurring in a context, pertaining to solving problems, and having a product or plan as the final result.

The CPSP Instrument

Two axes -- Apprehension as Experiencing vs Thinking.
Experiencing: open, nonrational, experiential, divergent. Learning by doing, physical processing.
Thinking: closed, rational, theoretical, convergent. Gaining knowledge through detached, abstract thinking (pondering) or by "mental processing".

Utilization as Knowledge Evaluation vs. Knowledge Ideation
Ideation: Nonjudgmentally creating new information to increase the variety of options
Evaluation: Judgmentally reaching decisions about new information to reduce the variety of options.

Basadur method uses a cycle of ideation/evaluation in each of the four steps of creative problem solving.

Applying the CPSP

• clarify breakdowns in creative processes -- ex: great ideas, no implementation
• identify weaknesses in team composition or organizational composition

Field Research

Occupations and the CPSP
Why identify trends in CPSP relative to occupation?

• increase team effectiveness
• identify where individuals will find success
• correlation to hierarchical level - skills needed for leadership

"The occupation that a person will find most satisfactory, and the one in which they will be most successful, is the one that maximizes the congruence between the demands of the work environment and their vocational personality."

"If organizational success depends so critically on innovative change, and if Holland’s theory of vocational choice is correct, why are employees with Generator characteristics apparently underrepresented in business organizations? Perhaps many companies have yet to learn how to retain and motivate individuals who prefer the Generator style. Generators are the farthest away from work that is visibly measurable. However, one could argue that it may be overly simplistic to speculate that the dif- ficulty with innovating in organizations is the lack of employees who prefer the gen- erator style of thinking. For example, a single Generator might initiate enough work for 10 Implementers. A more productive approach might be to raise broader questions and hypotheses about the appropriate mixes or ratios of the four quadrant preferences within various organizational departments and functions, or within an organization as a whole."