Case Study – Creative Problem

Solving (CPS)
Mention all the 6 steps of CPS explaining how using each step the Japanese
businessman arrived at his course of action.

Steps of Creative Problem Solving-

1. OBJECTIVE FINDING-
The first step in taking action is to identify a situation which presents a
challenge and needs a solution. In this case the businessman wants a safe
parking space for his Luxurious Mercedes for a long period of time while
spending as little money as possible.
2. FACT FINDING-
This refers to listing all the key facts associated with the situation or your
desired objective as you perceive them. In order to proceed with the
process, examine first those things you are already aware of that may play
significant impact in the present problem being handled. Then, advance
further by gathering essential information and data relevant to the problem
at hand.
In this case the businessman must have found out that:
 Parking spot availability is rare in Tokyo.
 The parking spots are not very secure for a luxurious car.
 He needed a car spot for nearly an entire year.
 The parking fee is very expensive.
 Banks also have a car parking lot for keeping cars that are kept as
collateral.
 Interest on the loan is far less as compared to the parking fee.

3. PROBLEM FINDING-
Considering the data gathered regarding the situation during the Fact
Finding, determine what is that we really want to accomplish in more
specific terms by asking questions that encourages ideas and solutions.
Example:
 What is my objective?
-To find a parking spot.
 What are my concerns?
-Security and affordability of the parking spot.
 What are my challenges?
-Unsecured parking spots and expensive fees.
 What do I want to accomplish?
-To find a cheap and secure parking spot.

4. IDEA FINDING-
In this step we try to answer the problem statement with many ideas in as
many different ways as possible. Divergent thinking, combined with
deferred judgment, is critical in this step. The goal is to generate lots of
ideas.
Here the business man came up with the creative idea of giving his car as
collateral for a loan of $100 at a 10 percent interest rate at the bank. This
meant he had safety for his car and also had to just pay $10 as a parking
fee.
5. SOLUTION FINDING-
In this step we must now evaluate and decide what criteria or standards
should be applied to weigh the worth of the selected ideas. These criteria
will be used to determine the best solution to the problem. Evaluating can
be done based on affinity diagrams and is based in criteria which include
the idea being cost effective, realistic, workable and acceptable by people.
The idea found out by the businessman was realistic and effective as it was
very inexpensive, the bank was a very safe place for his car, a luxurious car
as collateral was happily accepted by the bank.
6. ACCEPTANCE FINDING-
In this step we determine the need, obstacles or difficulties, and specific
short-term and long-term strategies. After all the choices have been
evaluated carefully, then next and last stage for this model is to accept that
course of action and execute it to solve the identified problem efficiently.
Here the business man gave his Mercedes as collateral for a loan for one
year. Since a luxurious car serves as a great collateral for giving a loan to
someone, hence it was accepted by the bank and it turned out to be
favourable for the businessman as he left his car with the bank with high
security and cheap cost.