Creative Problem Solving for Marketing Decisions

Venkata Aswini Koyya

DBU ID #740048

Facilitation Assignment

Creative Problem Solving For Marketing Decisions

Professor: Dr. Toni Mcnutt

Summary about the organization and selected group members:

I work as a project lead assistant (Intern) in MoneyGram International Company (MGI). My role is to lead lots of workshops and project meetings. To make our employees actively participate and generate ideas, every week we are given a task to deal with. This week we were supposed to think of a ‘pen’ produced by MGI only. So I used this as an opportunity to do the facilitation amongst the group. The participants were Dana Loyd, Alex Fields and Amy Halbrook, they are my team members too.  These three people are the first ones every time to respond actively and to offer good suggestions usually in the team. I thought it would be great as a facilitator to know and see how they participate in these types of experiments.

Selected Tools and WHY:

The tools selected were SCAMPER and Brainstorming with post-its. To start with, we considered to take an existing product. This was a product which we wish to enhance, which we thought would be a favorable starting point for later development. We pose questions pertaining to the product we identified, utilizing the mnemonic for guidance.

1. Substitute- Replace nib with knife, ink with iron?

2. Combine- Holding with opening, writing with cutting.

3. Adapt- Use the pen top as a container.

4. Modify/Distort- Body can be made flexible.

5. Put to another use- Utilize for writing on wood.

6. Eliminate- Clip utilizing Velcro.

7. Rearrange/Reverse- Make the nib flow outwards.

Brainstorming with post-its:

This brainstorming approach enables participants to retain some anonymity as they share ideas. We started with everyone silently writing down ideas, one per Post-It Note. The team posted up their ideas on the wall. A good way of doing this is to have each person take turns to post one idea. The person posting up the idea reads it out and everyone else listens. When all ideas were posted, the team ranked accordingly. This works in several ways. First, it allows people to work in parallel, thus speeding the session and getting everyone engaged at once. It also gets people emotionally engaged as they are writing their own ideas rather than have other people write or interpret them.

Physical setting of the room and participants:

• Agenda planned
• Ground rules & procedures
• Room access confirmed
• Number of chairs, appropriately arranged
• Wall space for post-its
• Markers/chalk
• Office supplies (paper, post-it notes, scissors, pens, pencils)
• Clock
• Nametags
• Food & drink
• Assistance for set-up and clean-up

Experience as a facilitator:

Though it was a simple task, while conducting this as a group facilitator, I felt the team was very excited to share ideas and prove that everyone can let something be successful by generating ideas. Their contributions are considered and included in the ideas, solutions or decisions that emerge. It was an easy and great opportunity for me getting to meet these many people whom I had talked with many times virtually. This is a chance to share my experience of working as a lead. We all achieved a mutual understanding. The team shared responsibility for the outcome.