Creativity in MS/OR: Choosing the Appropriate Technique

There is a great need for creativity within the MS/OR environment. Managers must be capable of defining problems, developing novel solutions, and implementing them effectively. A lot of research has focused on creativity. Researchers, for example, discussed methods of improving creative thinking in people, presented techniques that can encourage participants to develop more novel ideas, described the creative problem-solving process.

I focus on creative problem-solving (CPS) techniques and how best to choose the most appropriate for a given situation. To this end, therefore, I have categorized the techniques and placed them in a continuum ranging from paradigm-preserving techniques to paradigm-breaking techniques.