Creative Problem Solving Techniques
Introduction
Organizational creativity is a concept that has long been used to solve employment challenges and problems. There are many patterns and paradigms of organizational creativity and problem-solving. According to sheila, lack of creativity in an organization promotes incorrect perceptions to the specification of problem space among employees and the management.
Various factors can hinder creativity among employees and leaders. They include; strategic factors, values which cause rigidity, perceptions since narrow-minded people rarely have optimistic thought for their possible achievements. The last hindering factor is the self-image, an employee or leader who has a negative self-image will always fear losing, which makes them highly insecure about their abilities. Creativity leads to innovation which is an essential factor in business as it helps creates a competitive advantage for the organization. Creative and innovative ideas change over time due to the changing times and the shifting paradigms of doing business in various industries across the globe. There are two different types of innovation, product innovation and process innovation. An organization has to choose the type of innovation suitable for the company based on the company’s challenges.
Background
Alex was born in Brazil to a family of Irish and middle eastern parents; this alienated him from other indigenous Brazilians who are darker with black hair. He adjusted due to the many trips he took with his father to the forest to hunt and fish. The population of Brazil is one of the most diverse in the world, due to its rich historical background. This has led to the diversification of other cultural factors of the country like the food and lifestyle. The country is also filled with a lot of biological, environmental, and geographical diversity as it has the most extensive forest cover of the amazon forest, the largest forest in the world. Brazil’s diversity is encompassed in its multicultural society; this has helped the country grow its economy, reducing the level of poverty in the country. The diversity, however, hurts the hospitality industry in the county since competition among restaurants and hotels is high.
Sheila indicates that most Brazilian restaurants do not stay on for long and end up closing due to completion or sudden market shift. Alex has had a life for cooking from a young age and joined the industry early enough to understand the different undertakings of owning a restaurant in brazil.
Problem Statement
Due to the success of Namesa restaurant, Alex wanted to open a more classic and expensive restaurant. The main challenges of opening such a restaurant were the considerable capital required. Acquiring a loan from a bank was not an option since the interest rates in the country were high. Alex was able to open the high-end restaurant and which became one of the most successful restaurants in the world. In the quest to open a second successful restaurant, he faced a lot of challenges that threatened the existence of his business.
The challenges began with a bad review from a famous media outlet affecting the restaurant’s image and brand. The restaurant began operating under its operational budget, leaving the institution in a lot of debt. Alex and other investors were not getting along, prompting some of them to quit the establishment.
Alex decided to engage in ad campaigns for other companies to try and improve his presence in the market. This raised a lot of criticism to his practice in the industry and why he did not engage in his own company’s ads. Alex’s leadership style was also an issue as he admitted to being highly temperamental and stereotypical towards his employees. This might have led to the development of a negative attitude towards the possible success of his restaurant.
Creative Problem Solving Choices
Alex was not very creative with his choice of problem-solving techniques. Although he altered his leadership style, his past experiences with employees must have left some ill feelings among employees. A creative solution for bad leadership is adopting highly engaging leadership styles. The company’s management team should have been trained on the use of more engaging leadership styles. The lousy review issue was the leading cause of all other impending problems.
The restaurant’s leadership should have countered the review by upgrading the quality of its services. There are many high-class hotels and restaurants in brazil that charge high prices for their services. Alex should have benchmarked some of these restaurants and learn how they avoid bad reviews and keep their customers loyal to them. Innovation can also be an excellent solution for some of the challenges Alex is facing.
Instead of operating above the operational capacity of the restaurant, Alex should have come up with ways of reducing the expenses of the restaurant to match the income. This would help the company save a lot of financial resources preventing it from sinking in outstanding debt. Such solutions help shape the learning process of the company, as many employees and leaders learn to face various business challenges more creatively.
Purpose Statement
The Alex Atala “Bringing Brazil to the World” looks at the ease of doing business in Brazil. The case study looks at the business journey of Alex within the hospitality industry. The case study focusses on some significant challenges that Alex had to go through in the creation of is a successful business in brazil. The data presented in this study analyses different ways in which restaurant owners or enterprises in Brazil can manoeuvre a highly competitive market structure.
The study greatly applies to the hospitality industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the country has grown over the years, attracting a lot of international and local investments to the country. The hospitality industry has grown tremendously. Dubai holds some of the largest and best hotels across the globe. The increasing level of competition makes it harder for new entrants to survive in the industry. This case study provides excellent insight into some of the challenges that entrepreneurs might encounter and some of the ways they can deal with them.
Paradigm-Breaking Creative Problem-Solving Techniques
Paradigm-breaking creative problem-solving techniques provide changing recommendations. Many entrepreneurs have abandoned the concept of traditional problem-solving in companies. Alex lost great opportunities to revive the success of his second restaurant. The management team of the company did not work together to come up with solutions for the challenges the company was facing. They instead choose to walk away from the business.
Alex had a chance of convincing them to stay put, but he chooses to buy off their shares. Brainstorming is a highly relevant paradigm preserving technique that could have helped the restaurant deal with its issues. Paradigm stretching techniques use unrelated stimuli to encourage participants to come up with creative ideas. Alex needs to create an excellent competitive advantage for his company. Applying the paradigm technique of problem-solving will help as it supports the process of innovation.
Conclusion
Creative problem-solving in organizations is reliant on various essential factors. Leadership, resources, employee treatment, and the environment of business operation are just a few. The process of innovation in modern industries has made it easier for companies to detect problems and changes facing their company. It is essential to apply the same innovation in the search for a solution for the company’s issues.
The hospitality industry in the UAE has dramatically over the years, increasing the challenges faced by individual players in the industry. Based on Alex’s journey in the industry from a different cultural and regional perspective. Entrepreneurs and business owners in the country need to practice diverse problem-solving techniques. The technique has to be guided by the ethical and moral standards of the company to make it more effective.
References
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