Deck 3: Fostering Creativity and Innovation

Question 1

The word "synectics" means ______.

A) exploring synergy across cross functional teams in a public organization
B) providing synergistic co-dependent support structure
C) joining together different and apparently unconnected or irrelevant elements
D) joining together similar ideas and connecting the dots to find a useful solution

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The motivation to be creative within people is influenced by a ______.

A) social environment
B) cultural environment
C) structural environment
D) economic environment

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following is an accurate statement?

A) Skills can be learned, whereas characteristics cannot.
B) Skills can be learned, whereas characteristics develop over time.
C) Skills develop over time automatically, while characteristics need effort.
D) Skills and characteristics are both pre-set intrinsic qualities, which may develop over time with concentrated effort.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The biggest challenge facing public and private enterprises in the future will be the ______.

A) neutral pace and the separation of global society into individual systems
B) accelerating pace and complexity of global society operating as a massively interconnected system
C) decline of global society to operate as an interconnected system
D) decline of global society to operate as an individual system

Question 5

Which of the following is considered to be the best set of adjectives that may be negatively associated with creativity?

A) eccentric, commonplace, resourceful
B) overconfident, judgmental, humorous
C) conventional, submissive, affected
D) reflective, commonplace, persistent

Question 6

All of the following were identified as steps to generate an idea box EXCEPT for ______.

A) specify the purpose
B) list variations
C) try combinations
D) implement solutions

Question 7

Creativity is directly and positively linked to organizational effectiveness and to ______.

A) increased manpower inefficiencies
B) reduced need for team dependence
C) increased profitability at the bottom line
D) improvements in quality and productivity

Question 8

Which of the following sets forms a part of the key elements of a creative organizational climate?

A) communication, competition, and change
B) change, reward, and orientation
C) trust, diversity, and rewards
D) competition, diversity, and rewards

Question 9

The effect of workload pressure on creativity is ______.

A) positively correlated
B) negatively correlated
C) difficult to gauge
D) minimal; these are two different concepts

Question 10

All of the following contribute to or influence a person's intrinsic motivation EXCEPT for ______.

A) interests
B) culture
C) values
D) attributes

Question 11

In synectics, which type of metaphor uses an image to represent the problem?

A) fantasy analogy
B) personal analogy
C) physical analogy
D) symbolic analogy

Question 12

To create a culture of innovation, organizations often have to ______.

A) hire consultants
B) modify or create new myths, stories, language, and metaphors
C) establish success parameters
D) modify employee expectations

Question 13

In the creative process, "verification" refers to the ______.

A) final step involving testing
B) penultimate testing step before actual "implementation" stage
C) step following "implementation" to measure results
D) process of verifying that everybody understands the problem

Question 14

Creativity allows public organizations to be ______.

A) adequately funded for future operations
B) responsive and to develop new and better ways of serving citizens
C) more process oriented
D) efficient at reducing overheads

Question 15

In terms of roles people can play, the four types of creativity types are ______.

A) innovation, sublimation, extension, and duplication
B) innovation, synthesis, extension, and duplication
C) invention, sublimation, synthesis, and implementation
D) incubation, idealization, synthesis, and verification

Question 16

In the creative process, "preparation" is ______.

A) about conscious mental activity, but it is a matter of choice
B) identification of issues to be dealt with at the concentration stage
C) the largely unconscious phase
D) about gathering ideas for addressing the problem

Question 17

Creativity can be defined as the entire process by which ideas are ______.

A) generated, developed, and transformed into value
B) generated, but are not developed or transformed into value
C) generated, but only if there is an end value determined beforehand
D) generated, with or without a goal in sight

Question 18

All of the following are characteristics of the creative process EXCEPT for ______.

A) long, rather than short in duration
B) ambiguous, rather than certain and concrete
C) oriented toward defining problems rather than finding short-term fixes
D) involving simple mental models to solve bigger problems

Question 19

Which of the following is true in terms of social and structural connections, under some circumstances?

A) Weak ties can actually facilitate creativity more than strong ties.
B) Strong ties promote creativity more than weak ties.
C) Strong ties discourage creativity more than weak ties.
D) Weak ties discourage creativity due to lack of social strength and support structure.

Question 20

The five steps of the creative process are ______.

A) preparation, incubation, illumination, verification, and implementation
B) verification, incubation, concentration, idealization, and preparation
C) incubation, discussion, illumination, verification, and implementation
D) preparation, concentration, incubation, illumination, and verification

Question 21

Creative people probably will be creative wherever they are situated.

Question 22

Which of the following is a way to enhance positive emotions at work?

A) Providing background music
B) Humor
C) Meditation
D) All of these

Question 23

It is relatively easy to kill creativity in an organization.

Question 24

______ thinking occurs when a problem is defined in a single way and there are no alternatives considered until the solution is reached.

A) Horizontal
B) Unitary
C) Vertical
D) None of these

Question 25

Describe the five steps or stages of the creativity process.

Question 26

Creativity involves the generation of new and novel ideas, and innovation is the implementation of those ideas.

Question 27

Taken together, job design, supervision, organizational climate, and the allocation of adequate time, and resources can have a potent and synergistic effect on individual and organizational creativity.

Question 28

Creativity and innovation are considered to be the same phenomenon.

Question 29

When creativity is defined as a process, it is a highly complex phenomenon involving multiple phases and stages.

Question 30

To be creative, it is often necessary to have an understanding of the current situation.

Question 31

Which of the following is considered to be the best set of adjectives that may be positively associated with creativity?

A) self-confident, commonplace, resourceful
B) overconfident, suspicious, humorous
C) original, clever, reflective
D) affected, commonplace, capable

Question 32

Weak relationships may foster creativity up to a point beyond which the number of ties may even constrain creativity at work.

Question 33

Illustrate with examples how an individual with advanced cognitive skills and abilities can be as creative as an individual with creative traits.

Question 34

People are not likely to be creative when they love what they do as it removes the motivation to do anything else.

Question 35

In matrix analysis, a three-dimensional "idea box" is used to explore new ideas or alternatives.

Question 36

Which of the following is a method used in organizations to kill creativity?

A) postponing action
B) establishing clear and reliable cost estimates
C) enlisting troublemakers
D) being open about change

Question 37

Enumerate and explain key impediments to creativity in an organizational setting, using examples where appropriate.

Question 38

According to the behavioral view of creativity, creativity is what the person is rather than something a person does.

Question 39

A person who is good at producing new ideas can generally be expected to put those ideas into practice.

Question 40

Creativity has been directly and positively linked to organizational effectiveness and to improvements in growth, quality, competitiveness, and productivity.

Question 41

Pick an organization you are familiar with. What are some of the ways in which the organization promotes or inhibits innovation? What might be done to promote innovation?

Question 42

Why do we need creativity in public organizations?