Introduction:

For this subject I will describe why Creative techniques and models are being
used on everyday basis by the organisations.
This technique has been used for a very long period of time. This piece of
work will be focus on how our business team applied some of these
techniques to arrive at the businesses, which have some sustainable
competitive advantages. An explanation of how we choose our
entrepreneurial ideas and the methods used to set up the business plan.

A. The creative techniques and models used and the value of the two
services:

This part will explain how the group used and apply creative techniques and
models to arrive at the business and the value of our service products.

i. The creative techniques and models used to arrive at the business:

we have used a range of creative techniques and models to set up our
businesses.

De Bono’s - Six Thinking Hats

Introduction

Dr Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats® is globally renowned tool that did
change the way our team thinks and communicates - with real effect and
impact. With the Six Thinking Hats. Shift our thinking (and others) from
negative to positive

Shift your thinking from emotional reactions to facts within seconds

The Six Hats approach reduces adversarial thinking and encourages clearer,
more effective thinking and idea development

The Challenge

We had come across that the group has a 'meetings, meetings and more
meetings culture'? Hours upon hours spent debating issues, with very few
positive outcomes and new ideas achieved? Most often, in this environment,
creativity and innovation is stifled and people fear speaking out.

The Six Thinking Hats approach totally eradicates situations like this, leading
the group to more effective idea generation and decision making.

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Benefits

Dr Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats system is a simple and powerful tool.
It will change the way of our team thinks by applying creative problem solving
skills. And our team did learn how to:

Lead shorter, more productive meetings

Look at decisions and problems systematically
Generate more and better ideas
Improve team results
Reduce conflict

Objectives

• Learn to use different approaches to business problems,

• Explore all aspects of each situation and generate alternatives that go
far beyond obvious solutions.
• separate fact from opinion
• Look fully at both positive and negative options and expose hidden
agendas that can sabotage any meeting.
• learn how to stimulate innate creativity
• Learn how to turn seemingly insoluble problems into real opportunities.
• Leave the workshop with skills that they have practiced and can apply
immediately on return to the workplace.

Understand and learned:

The nature of thinking

Why we need to change our behavior
Why argument is inadequate
Introducing the Six Thinking Hats
Why very little new thinking is accomplished at meetings
Tools and techniques focusing on each hat

Using the Six Hats:

Single use of the Six Hats

Systematic use of the Six Hats
Frameworks for structuring meetings and focusing thinking
How to turn disagreements into positive contributions
Techniques for opportunity thinking
Programming meetings for a successful outcome
Creating the action plan

The Six Thinking Hats:

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 The White Hat available and The Red Hat, feelings, and
needed hunches

The Black HatCautions and The Yellow HatValues and

difficultiesWhere things might benefitsWhy something might
go wrong work

The Green HatAlternatives and The Blue HatManaging the

creative ideas thinking process

http://www.indigobusiness.co.uk/workshops/workshop.php?wid=5

Morphological analysis and attribute listing

Attribute listing is a good technique ensuring that all possible aspects of the
problem have been examined. It involves breaking down the problem into
smaller parts and seeing what can be discovered. It is very useful for quality
improvement and an excellent technique to use in conjunction with
brainstorming. With the help of Morphological Analysis we created new

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services by mixing components in a new way and then we used attribute
listing technique to list attributes of both services and see how they can be
improved. In this case we were thinking with the upper left side of the brain

i. Value of the two services:

The creative techniques and models enabled us to come up with ideas of
services that add value in many ways.

Zero H2O:

Zero H2O is a dry car wash service which does not require any water. Using
the latest cleaning products, we can offer our clients the most value for money
service. The features that add value to our service are as follows:

 As ‘Zero H20’ does not require water at all to clean the car, we can save
millions of gallons of water. It is estimated that water price will be
increasingly high in future. As a result the standard car wash company
have to raise their prices to cope with the increased water bill. Therefore
we can offer the car valet service much cheaper than those companies.
Also, saving water means we are environmentally friendly. This is
another competitive advantage where our clients will view us as
environmentally friendly and buy into us. By offering a unique waterless
service, we can help our clients too to help the environment and show a
greater level of corporate social responsibility.

 Standard car wash companies use high pressured jet washer which
slowly strip back the light weight advanced paint. Automatic car washes
leave scratches on windows and body of the car. ‘Zero H2O’ protect the
paint from damaging and do not leave any scratch at all.

 ‘Zero H2o’ is portable. We can offer much more customize service than
others in terms of time flexibility and place. We can carry out our work at
most restricted places such as underground, multi-storey car parks, drive
ways etc.

 Recycling the water after standard car wash is expensive. Some

companies have their own recycling system to save water bill. But that
recycled water is constantly being used and road salts get mixed with it
which damages the paint. ‘Zero H2O’ needs very less amount of
recycling (only the used clothes, gloves and empty spray container).

 In Britain there are very few companies who offer this service. But we are
approaching our clients in a unique way than those companies. Our
objective is to build a loyal customer base by providing services at local
employer’s car parks. We also looking to provide the service at every

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 possible location such as supermarkets, golf clubs, car sale site, and
gymnasium.

Little learners:

This service is focus in offer different language learning facilities to kids from
age 2 to 5. The added values of this service can be:

 In Britain there are no companies who offer this service. We are

completely new in the market and our business is going to face very little
competition. The potential market for this service product is huge and our
business could grow rapidly.

 Globalisation will require individuals specialising in different languages.

The career opportunities will largely depend on the different language
skills. For example free labour movement within Europe, huge
employment opportunities in India, China, UAE, France, Spain etc require
an individual to have the different language skills to develop own career.

 England has some major cosmopolitan cities and multicultural

communities in the world. ‘Little learners’ will provide an opportunity to
those communities to exchange their culture and values among them and
with English society.

A. Business team structure and the methods used to arrive at our

business set up:

Team is a collection of individuals who work together for the

accomplishment of the task at hand. Working in a team facilitates in
continuous skill development for each team member. Besides this, they
inculcate a sense of responsibility and commitment towards work. Team
building is a critical process. The four stages of team development process
are forming, storming, forming, and performing.

➢ Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human

motivation and personality, concerning people’s inherent growth
tendencies and their innate psychological needs. It is concerned with
the motivation behind the choices that people make without any
external influence and interference. SDT focuses on the degree to
which an individual’s behavior is self-motivated and self-determined
(Deci & Ryan, 2002).
Each one acquired the basic knowledge of developing and running the
business from different modules of this course. Most of the team
members are doing this course to build the career in the business

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 sector and eventually set up their own business. So this impression led
everyone stick into one group and work through to develop business
ideas and plans.

➢ Locus of control: Internal locus of control is the typical entrepreneurial

attribute. Locus of control is a term in psychology that refers to a
person's belief about what causes the good or bad results in his life,
either in general or in a specific area such as health or academics.
Understanding of the concept was developed by Julian B. Rotter in
1954, and has since become an important aspect of personality studies.
Locus of control refers to the extent to which individuals believe that
they can control events that affect them. Individuals with a high internal
locus of control believe that events result primarily from their own
behavior and actions. Those with a high external locus of control
believe that powerful others, fate, or chance primarily determine events.
Those with a high internal locus of control have better control of their
behavior, tend to exhibit more political behaviors, and are more likely to
attempt to influence other people than those with a high external locus
of control; they are more likely to assume that their efforts will be
successful. They are more active in seeking information and knowledge
concerning their situation.
http://wilderdom.com/psychology/loc/LocusOfControlWhatIs.html
Not all of us have this personality attribute, but some members possess
this and they have put themselves in controlling and leading position.
The members with external locus of control made it possible to create a
perfect business team as they were happy enough to progress in
accordance with leaders’ directions.

➢ Self efficacy: creative thinking and creative problem solving processes

helped team members to develop the self efficacy attribute.
Self-efficacy has been described as the belief that one is capable of
performing in a certain manner to attain certain goals. It is a belief that
one has the capabilities to execute the courses of actions required to
manage prospective situations. There were several problems when
individuals found the solutions by applying the informal (in the other
word creative) thinking. There were solution or idea which was quite
controversy but it helped to develop business ideas.

Methods: to meet the objectives of our entrepreneurial team we used some

specific methods and carried out several activities during the time line
provided. The whole process has been described under particular topics
below.

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  The tests: after a few weeks the group realised that the team wasn’t
progressing effectively. So we carried out couple of tests so that each
team members can be identified in terms of their personal attributes.

A locus of control testing helped us to decide who could lead our

business team and who can be leaded. The personality test was carried
out latter and this test provided the basis of allocating certain task
appropriate to each person’s personal traits and behaviour. Also
personality test helped us to decide how each member should approach
one another.

Business plan:

A business plan is a formal statement, which we set our business goals. The
reasons why they are believed and the plan for reaching those goals. Our
plan contains background information about the organization or team
attempting to reach those goals.
The business goals were defined as profitable business. For-profit business
plans we focus our self on financial goals, such as profit. Our Business plans
also set targets, competitor analilys, financial projections, marketing analysis
etc. and to calculate how much money is needed.

To outline the business plan, we considered following three stages;

1. Where are we now?
2. Where do we intend going?
3. How do we get there?

Car wash people

Care person
Dry car wash The business identity
Child care

Where are we now?

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The Business Plan

How do we go there?
 Money: such as budgeting

Strategic decision making, competitive marketplace.

HRM, Tangible &intanbible resourse managem

Business objectives, targets, goals etc.

Advertising, leafleting, communicating with customers, Customer ser

Figure 1: the format of a business plan. (Adopted from- Stokes D & Wilson N 2006,
small business management & entrepreneurship

 Entrepreneurial traits
Every person is different in their own way. If we were all the same and
thought in the same way, the world would be identical and boring. Different
people have different views, different ideas therefore we have so many
great inventions delivered by different people. In Entrepreneurship it is
always helpful to know what kind of group of people you are working with,
their personality type and the areas they are more likely to succeed in.

Conclusion:
The creative techniques help individual and team to develop the creative
thinking strategy. Like other skills this techniques can be learnt and through
practice it is possible to solve many complex problems. Even though some of
the techniques are complex and time consuming, these can be some great
tools to make a business survive.

Appendix 1:
Herman (1990) in his Whole Brain Model said that the brain can be divided into four
sections and each of them presents distinct thinking style. The upper left is analytic,
mathematical, technical and problem solving. The lower left is controlled,
conservative, planned, organised and administrative in nature. The lower right is
interpersonal, emotional, musical and spiritual. Upper right is imaginative,
synthesising, artistic, holistic and conceptual modes. The team has used various
styles of problem solving techniques to develop the ideas like: team work, brain
writing, attribute listing, the six hat model and visual thinking. When we were doing

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different CPS models, we were thinking with different parts of the brain which I will
mention later on.

References:

http://www.progressbusiness.com.au/

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_CT.htm

http://www.increasebrainpower.com/problemsolvingtechniques.html

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http://www.squidoo.com/braintest?utm_campaign=lensmaster-
discovery&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_source=zerounu

http://www.indigobusiness.co.uk/workshops/workshop.php?wid=5

http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/enterprise-solutions/testing-test-plan-development-step-9-
3110

http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/enterprise-solutions/testing-test-plan-development-step-9-
3110

http://wilderdom.com/psychology/loc/LocusOfControlWhatIs.html

http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?docid=82631

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?
imgurl=http://www.teachingmadeeasy.com.au/store/images/thumbs/medium/six-
thinking-hats-class-
display.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.teachingmadeeasy.com.au/store/thinking_skills/six
_thinking_hats_-
_class_display/&usg=__xrRccFSWvFbT6z8EpDmOPivWfM0=&h=432&w=578&sz=4
8&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=QWoLup6Zahe_XM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=134&prev=/i
mages%3Fq%3D6%2Bthinking%2Bhats%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

http://www.indigobusiness.co.uk/workshops/workshop.php?wid=5

Stokes, D., and Wilson, N., Small business management and entrepreneurship, 5th
ed., 2006, Thomson learning.

Proctor, T.`(2005) Creative Problem solving for Managers, 2nd ed., Routledge.

Bibliography:

Zimmer, W., T., Scarborough M. N., Essentials of entrepreneurship and small

business management. 4th ed., 2005, Pearsons education limited

Stokes, D., and Wilson, N., Small business management and entrepreneurship, 5th
ed., 2006, Thomson learning.

Proctor, T.`(2005) Creative Problem solving for Managers, 2nd ed., Routledge.

Websites

Mind tools (2010) [Online] Available:

http://www.mindtools.com/

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Appendix 1:

To keep the cost down for our new ventures we adopted the “asset
parsimony” strategy which is;
• Never buy new what can be bought second-hand
• Never buy what can be rented
• Never buy what can be borrowed
• Never borrow what can be begged
• Never beg what can be salvaged.

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 (Ref: Stokes D & Wilson N 2006, small
business management & entrepreneurship, p-210)

appendix 2:

For each service products we analysed the current situation of market place,
the competition, the business concept and the people involved in it. The tasks
were allocated to individual members and feedback was given by each other
on particular topic. After completion of the first stage we concentrated on
defining business objectives, its target market and businesses’ opportunities
ant threats. To meet the business objectives successfully we outlined the
promotional plan, business strategy, financial analysis and projection.

 The weekly activities: each week we allocated the tasks between us.
Through the week, team members worked on it and meet up next week
with the result. We selected one team member to keep all the work
documents so that we do not lose any of the work documents. A proper
communication maintained between us. We saved each others’ phone
number and email address. Email was used for sharing ideas, giving
feedback, informing each other about team meetings and cancellations.
We meet up during the term time and on vacation to make considerable
progress. Teams’ main priority was to meet the targets. There were lots
of conflicts between team members. The common issues were the
problem solutions, strategic decisions, and target setup etc. However a
mutual understanding helped us to overcome this problem. We also
evaluated each ones ideas or decisions and accepted the one which had
most advantageous features.

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