Creativity Management – Measurement, benchmarking and ImprovementWritten by Kal Bishop
Contrary to common perception, creativity can be made tangible, measurable and useable. In terms of measurement, benchmarking and improvement, first step is to decide on definitions, second is to decide on methods of measurement and finally, to monitor each measurement for improvement.Definitions of creativity are not elusive. In fact, number of definitions helps analyst better define creativity and refine its management: a)Coming up with original ideas. Misleading. It can be compellingly argued that all new ideas are actually evolutions of previous ideas. Implies a break from past. b)Recombination. The recombination of existing elements to form something new. Thus creativity is not something completely new but relatively new. Offers a practical method. For example, Synectics – practice of taking two elements and consciously creating new links and elements from them. c)Novel and useful solutions. Does not imply a complete break with past and introduces concept of applicability. Can be extrapolated to arrive at creative and critical thinking. Where creative thinking is used generate a large idea pool and critical thinking is used to reduce that pool to feasible ideas. Implies that creativity can be measured according to degrees of novelty. Someone who expands on Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is not as creative as Einstein was as ideas are not as novel.
| | Number of Parts Defines Small vs. Very Small ManufacturersWritten by Rocky Smolin
E-Z-MRP, leading manufacturing software system for small manufacturers, announced effective April 15th, there will be a new pricing and product structure. According to Rocky Smolin, founder of Beach Access Software, makers of E-Z-MRP, “We see a distinction between those small manufacturers with less than five hundred parts in material resource planning, and those with a need for unlimited part numbers.”Smolin noted that some manufacturers will start with under 500 parts version of E-Z-MRP, priced at $2995, and grow into new unlimited version, priced at $9800. Beach Access Software credits $2995 for customers who later choose to upgrade. Other small manufacturers who presently have more than five hundred part will start right away with E-Z-MRP Unlimited version. Small manufacturers with more than one hundred parts can no longer manage manufacturing process on an Excel spreadsheet. Since more than 84% of all manufacturers have less than fifty employees, there is a remarkable opportunity for cost-effective manufacturing systems like E-Z-MRP. Despite extensive media coverage regarding ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), in most cases these small manufacturers do not require all functionality offered, nor can many afford price point.
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