CASE STUDY: CREATIVITY TRAINING AT INGERSOLL-RAND

Today it is widely reconized in business that the only sustainable sompetitive advantage comes from being more innovative nthan the competition. This requires imagination , creativity, and thinking outside the box. Executives at Ingersoll-Rand, aworld leader in manufacturing tools, machinery, locks, and bearings, are keenly aware of this and have developed a series of creativity training programs with the help of their partner, creativity guru Michael T.Bagley. 

In the late 1980s, Bagley helped company executives introduce a program called Innovative Thinking, a two-day skills workshop aimed primarily at engineers. The objectives of the training are to introduce a model for better understanding of the creative process and to demonstrate several creative thinking tools and methodologies to be used in designing new products. Workshops are held, training manuals are given out, specific exercises are demonstrated, and follow ups are done to reinforce the learnings. 

Creativity training methods are admittedly unconventional  but extremely powerful. For example, in his training workshop, Bagley commonly asks engineers design groups to pretend they are molecules of air that go on imaginary journeys through existing products and the through idealized innovative products. Other techniques such as creative imagery and image repetition require that participants visualize perfect or near perfect solutions and products. By having participants get outside their common ways of approaching problems, Bagley help Ingersoll-Rand employees generate new and different perspectives that had to very creative ideas. 

Managers at Ingersoll-Rand believe there are four major ingredients to a successful creativity program. First, participants must have the right focus  all the players must know both problem and the goal of training beforehand. Second, the right group of people, oftentimes an intact team, must be put together. Third, it is very important to conduct the session in the right setting. It doesnt always have to be off-side, but it must be in a relaxed setting where concentration and motivation are increased. Finally, successful creativity training depends on having the right facilitator, someone who can help make participants comfortable and allow them to pursue nontraditional thinking. 

From initial success of the Innovative Thinking workshops, Ingersoll-Rand has incorporated creativity into many of its training courses such as Process Breakthrough, a two-day program focused on process design, and Design Concept Development, a three-day program focused a new products design. Most recently, Ingersoll-Rand executives made creativity training methods the foundation of its Quality of Leadership program. Ultimately, the companys goal is to have all its managers and supervisors go through training that will allow them to tap their creative potential and that of their employees. The company has launched a major effort to use imagination as a competitive weapon and has established creativity as an integral part of its corporate culture. 

Source:Bolander, Snell & Sherman. (2010). Managing Human Resource South-Western Publishing. 

QUESTION:

Is creativity an individual or group phenomenon? Justify with at least FIVE (5) relevant points and example. (600 words)