Management Planning and Control

Question: Discuss about the Management Planning and Control. Answer: Introduction: Innovation and creative thinking can be identified as one of the major guides in the management process for solving related issues. A number of problem solving procedures can be addressed in this regard. As opined by Proctor (2014) the creative problem solving methods involve application of logic and skills to find the probable solution of the problem. An organization has a number of options to apply in this context. Those can be: Abstraction, analogy, brainstorming, fractionalization and many more. The process need to be chosen according to the nature of the problem to obtain the best result. In the provided case, applying the brainstorming process will be the best approach. It involves a large number of people or organizational members to suggest the possible solutions of the problem. The process is all about gathering a number of suggestions from a team and developing them until an optimum solution is found. As opined by Gallagher (2013), to harness an effective brainstorming method, it is important to follow some certain steps. These steps are the typical requirement of the brainstorming method. Organizing a team with skilled and creative members is the first step of the process. The team needs to involve the participants with varied point of views. Not more than 4 to 6 members will be there in the team. Then it is needed to set the goals and defining the objectives to the members. A strong, direct and motivating leader is needed to control the session. As opined by Robinsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Morral et al. (2013) the participants must have the required data and background information. The session has to be arranged in the stimulation environment. The leader has to motivate the members to provide their suggestion or creative ideas to solve the problem. Those ideas will be jotted down and developed and the best possible solution/ solutions will be used. Figure 1: visualization of the brainstorming map (Source: Wilson 2013) A number of literacy sources are available which suggest the possible creative problem solving processes. The author has found this particular idea of brainstorming to solve the issues face by the University of Southern California (US) by consulting such literary sources. Moreover, conducting web based research on the creative problem solving method use by the popular companies; the author has concluded that this particular method will be the best possible solution for solving the issues that the university is facing. With the aim of solving the issue of making academics more innovative, obtaining a number of processes will be the best step forward. It can easily be understood that to make the academic process innovative opting for any single idea will not be enough. Hence, the author has selected this particular method. A control problem can be described as issue, which needs a collective initiative to solve. The issues on which, the organization had a control previously; but now, the issue is being emerging as an uncontrollable one. In the context of the given case, the control problem is the lack of innovative processes in the academics. The university is following the traditional process of academics. It is hurting the potentiality of the organization in student attraction. Moreover, lack of innovative academic processes (self-learning modes, Peer Assisted Learningetc.) is reducing the capacity of the university in dissemination of education and making it encouraging. As discussed by Wilson (2013) brainstorming involves a number of people and helps to collect a number of suggestions. The particular issue that the university is facing needs to incorporate a number of varied ides. Brainstorming will encourage the participants to provide varied ideas to make the academic process more innovative. As, the team will be composed of the members with varied point of views; it can be expected, that radical ideas can be gathered in this session. Moreover, a university is not an autocratic organization. It involves a number of groups and bodies to implement certain decisions. Hence, organizing a brainstorming process with the members of different bodies will suit the structural governance of the university. A number of popular companies have used the strategy of brainstorming for solving their issues. The name of Georgia-Pacific Corp. can be cited in this regard. With their software Imaginatic, they have followed collaborative brainstorming process and developed their product, service, and introduced process improvement (www.gp.com. 2016). On the other hand, as mentioned by Hicks (2013) Companies like BMW, Kraft, PG, Airbnb, and Novartis often use this particular technique to develop new ideas. Figure 1: visualization of the barnstorming process (Source: Wilson 2013) As suggested in the provided visualization, the brainstorming process will involve the members of various groups or boards of the university. They will generate possible ideas and the ideas will be gathered and compiled by the session leader. Lately, the solutions will be examined and reviewed in the context of the available resources. Lastly, the best-suited solutions will be implemented by the university. Conclusion: Brainstorming has a democratic approach within itself. The process can be identified as one of the most popular creative problem solving approaches in the organizational management scenario. The university needs some innovative options those can be incorporated in the academic process. Now, while thinking about the innovative processes, it is hard to determine which will be the best suited for the current circumstances. Hence, to gather some suggestions, brainstorming will be an effective process. This method will provide the university a number of creative solutions to introduce in the academic process. References: Gallagher, S., 2013.Brainstorming: Views and interviews on the mind. Andrews UK Limited. Hicks, M.J., 2013.Problem solving in business and management: hard, soft and creative approaches. Springer. Proctor, T., 2014.Creative problem solving for managers: developing skills for decision making and innovation. Routledge. Robinsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Morral, E.J., Reiterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Palmon, R. and Kaufman, J.C., 2013. The interactive effects of selfà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ perceptions and job requirements on creative problem solving.The Journal of Creative Behavior,47(3), pp.200-214. Wilson, C., 2013.Brainstorming and beyond: a user-centered design method. Newnes. www.gp.com. 2016. [online] Available at: https://www.gp.com/ [Accessed 10 Aug. 2016].