1.Organizational learning and creativity play an important role in helping managers improve their decisions. Managers must take steps to promote organizational learning and creativity at individual as well as group levels to improve the quality of decision making. Managers can encourage and promote entrepreneurship that mobilizes resources to take advantage of an opportunity to provide customers with new or improved goods and services.

The quality of managerial decision making ultimately depends on innovative responses to opportunities and threats. How can managers increase their ability to make nonprogrammed decisions that will allow them to adapt to, modify, and even drastically alter their task environments so they can continually increase organizational performance? The answer is by encouraging organizational learning. This exercise will help you understand the relationship between organizational learning, creativity, and effective decision making.

Instructions: Match each concept to the descriptor that correctly relates to organizational learning and creativity.

1. Skunk Works
2. Production Blocking
3. Product Champion
4. Learning Organization
5. Delphi Technique
6. Social Entrepreneur
7. Creativity
8. Intrapreneur

Match each of the options above to the items below.

• Jason - Jasons career has been meteoric because he is constantly able to come up with new, original, novel ideas. Top managers wish they had many more employees with this ability.

  Jason - Jasons career has been meteoric because he is constantly able to come up with new, original, novel ideas. Top managers wish they had many more employees with this ability. Open choices for matching

• Yang - Yang chose his first job very carefully. He knew he wanted to work for a company that would appreciate his creativity and help him and other managers to continue to maximize their creative potential.

  Yang - Yang chose his first job very carefully. He knew he wanted to work for a company that would appreciate his creativity and help him and other managers to continue to maximize their creative potential. Open choices for matching

• Adeline - Over the last three years, Adeline spearheaded movements to save a local endangered species, enroll homeless children in school, and discourage drug dealing in her neighborhood.

  Adeline - Over the last three years, Adeline spearheaded movements to save a local endangered species, enroll homeless children in school, and discourage drug dealing in her neighborhood. Open choices for matching

• Sundeep - Sundeep is on the third round of questionnaires responding to ideas and questions about potential alternative solutions. He is working on this with several colleagues in six different countries.

  Sundeep - Sundeep is on the third round of questionnaires responding to ideas and questions about potential alternative solutions. He is working on this with several colleagues in six different countries. Open choices for matching

• Sara - Sara came up with the idea for the companys new premium product. She sponsored its adoption with top management, oversaw production, and spearheaded the marketing plan and initial rollout of the product.

  Sara - Sara came up with the idea for the companys new premium product. She sponsored its adoption with top management, oversaw production, and spearheaded the marketing plan and initial rollout of the product. Open choices for matching

• Jazmine - Jazmine is working with six others at a remote site without traditional managerial oversight while attempting to develop a potentially revolutionary new technology.

  Jazmine - Jazmine is working with six others at a remote site without traditional managerial oversight while attempting to develop a potentially revolutionary new technology. Open choices for matching

• Joanna - At her company, Joanna has led six new product design teams. She is most fulfilled when she is working to develop new products or services.

  Joanna - At her company, Joanna has led six new product design teams. She is most fulfilled when she is working to develop new products or services. Open choices for matching

• Gerard - His brainstorming session was nonproductive chaos. Everyone lost track of the ideas being thrown around, many seemed to be going around in circles, and others got so confused that they lost track of what they were thinking.