Question:
Discuss about the Design Thinking And Entrepreneurial Activity.
The report is required to look into the concept of design thinking and entrepreneurship topics. Design thinking is a method framed by designers to solve complex issues and find worthwhile solutions for clients. The design basically assists in solving problems as they are action oriented towards a preferred future. The design principles when applied through a particular strategy and innovation, the success rate for innovation improves dramatically. Design thinking helps in the core effective strategy development and organizational change. Firms which involve themselves in design thinking stay ahead in their willingness to engage in the task of continuously redesigning and reforming their business, proceed in the field of innovation and efficiency, the combination which gives rise to a greater competitive edge (Amit & Zott, 2012). Design thinking is drawn upon logic, imagination, intuition and systematic reasoning to explore possibilities of what could be and create desired outcomes that benefit the customer and also help achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. The important thing which design thinking brings in is an aspect of creativity on the minds of the designers (Audretsch, 2012). Creativity helps to make the business get moulded in the appropriate direction as per the needs and demands of different situations, which ultimately assists an organization to tackle unforeseen circumstances and walk towards the path of growth and development. Design thinking is essential to get people to work on the need to cultivate new ideas and adopt new approaches in order to be successful in a highly competitive work environment.
The design thinking is a way through which complex problems are solved. The mindset adopted is not focused on problems but are concerned about possible ways to provide the solutions by taking action oriented approach towards creating a better future. Design thinking is based upon intuition, imagination, logic and systematic reasoning to ascertain possibilities of what could be and create appropriate outcomes that benefit the end user. This requires an approach to look ahead into the future, identify areas where one could cash on and thus develop a mindset to explore possibilities (Bocken, Rana & Short, 2015). This helps in finding ways out on how to seek for constant upgradation and betterment along with delivering of services as per the needs and requirements of the customers. Entrepreneurship deals with the plans associated in setting up a business and design thinking plays a very important part in the activity (Carland, Carland & Stewart, 2015). A business requires constant upgradation of plans as per the needs and requirements of the situations and thus thinking ways out to formulate certain strategies to enable the organization to keep up with the pace is a challenge, which can be achieved through implementing innovative thoughts and ideas.
Now a critical self analysis and reflection is presented through the blogs which I have maintained on a weekly basis to develop an understanding of design thinking and entrepreneurial activity.
Week 1 Activity:
In the week 1 blog, I have mentioned that the teacher had given us certain questions to ask one another about the previous studies and experience. This was done in order to find out if similarities could be found on subjects studied and prior work experience gathered. Initially my comfort level was not high as I was not used to doing tasks related to design or critical thinking but gradually I could understand that one should always ask questions even when there is a feeling that a group of people is known for a long time. Interactions with people always helps in knowing them better (Glen, R., Suciu, C., & Baughn, C. (2014). This blog mentions that only after interacting with other international students like me, I had understood about their thought processes on these activities. This proves that one should never underestimate anyone and try to have clarity while interacting, as interactions would help erase doubts and lead to removal of barriers, which is essential for any business to succeed
Week 2 Activity:
In this week, the teacher had provided articles with respect to reflective thinking, which I had made note of in piece of paper and the students were asked for their responses in those sentences. Reflective thinking is nothing but how to relate the new knowledge gathered on the prior understanding (Koellinger & Roy Thurik, 2012). So I made sure to relate the concept of reflective thinking on a daily basis in everyday activities. In business, reflective thinking is a necessity as evolution happens from time to time and there is always a requirement that fresh knowledge should be harnessed on the understanding one has already developed over a period of time. In practical life even, I had tried to implement those concepts to seek for the desired results. Relating the new knowledge in the business with the prior understanding is very crucial for the growth and development as an individual, which in turn would help the business expand and touch upon new avenues.
Week 3 Activity:
Week 3 dealt with ways to understand the core values of design and develop the idea of mindset. Mindset is required for instigating ways for the right thinking pattern of people and how a person would be able to think innovatively for bringing in necessary developments and activities which are feasible. I had seen a major change in the level of thinking over this period and got surprised by the way, the level of creativity within myself was developed and along with the observation skills (Massa & Tucci, 2013). Creativity is a must for survival of any business over a length of time and similarly observation skills is equally important, as one needs to be always aware of possibilities for expansion and other challenges which the business might confront in near future. A creative mindset helps to make sure that the businesses are always tuned as per the expectations of the customers and needs of the industry, thereby reducing any threat from the competitors.
Week 4 Activity:
This week’s activity dealt with the ways to understand the difference between problem solving and problem finding and also develop ways to detect complicated problems. A brainstorming activity was involved with 30 circles in a white paper, through which an idea developed where all 30 circles had to be put inside a bigger circle (Naudé, 2013), so that each and every circle was made a part of the bigger one. This activity made me realize the concepts of understanding the importance of right attitude towards the customers with right mindset, right empathy, right kind of stimulus, right kind of facilitation and right inspiration, (Goldschmidt & Rodgers, 2013). All these characteristics are required for the development of healthy relationships among peers. These are essential elements which can be used in business, to create a rapport with the customers, create an urge to improve every single time, provide inspiration by understanding where we come from and facilitate on giving suggestions to where we must go.
Week 5 Activity:
This 5th week revolved around understanding of the concept of mind mapping which help in bringing ideas together and organize them accordingly to fetch the desired results. The need for finding ways out to add value to an organization is of utmost importance as value creation helps develop confidence and understanding between the customers and business and mutual trust is built (Nicholls & Murdock, 2012). Creating a value chain in a business perspective is a necessity to attain excellence and stand out from the crowd in a highly competitive work environment and survive in the long run. The more value an organization provides through their products and services, they would be able to seek customers on a regular basis and become more and more profitable. Value Chain refers to a series of activities linked together for the attainment of the desired goals and objectives. In business perspective, creating value and delivering valuable service to the customers is important to create a major impact and look to enhance customer base and thereby provide satisfaction and earn profit
Week 6 Activity:
This week dealt with the concept of Ethics, which is one of the most important things to be maintained by any organization. Ethics refer to the values and principles which need to be maintained by conforming to the rules and regulations (Plattner, Meinel & Leifer, 2012). The activity involved providing lines to form a square and there was confusion regarding whether the lines must be continuous ones and the teacher had argued that a child would be able to draw in a much easier manner as adults have a sense of prejudgement. Child’s thoughts are free by nature and not preoccupied by other thoughts. The concept of ethics in oil company like any other organization is of paramount importance (Trimi & Berbegal-Mirabent, 2012).
Week 7 Activity:
The activity in this week which I have mentioned in the blog is about analyzing a large amount of qualitative data related to creating an original dessert in order to test our creativity on different food items. The fact that our teacher had showed us the preparation of a new kind of dessert based on chicken, the recipe had come as a surprise because chicken has always been thought of as a starter or a main dish. This is where mind mapping comes into play, which is a graphical representation of ideas and concepts (Shepherd, Williams & Patzelt, 2015). The ability of mind mapping is important because, the ideas and concepts generated in the world of business has to be thought as something which could always be applicable and meaningful. Otherwise those ideas do not hold any meaning. One should be able to correlate any idea, which is thought of, with the practical scenario.
Week 8 Activity:
This week’s activity dealt with an app, known as spoilers app whose primary aim was to prevent unwanted content in the newsfeed on the phone or tablet. Different pictures were provided with team members numbered from 1 to 6. Initially there was some confusion as I had never used such app before but gradually through the passage of, developed an understanding which made me apply on my own smartphone (Shepherd, Williams & Patzelt, 2015). This allowed to look into the aspect of working effectively in a team and the find possible ways to understand an unfamiliar concept or idea. In business world, unforeseen circumstances would always come up in some form or the other and in those situations, working as a team would help in getting through the phase.
Week 9 Activity:
The next activity dealt with getting ahead and understand the importance of marketing strategies in an organization’s attempt to target the desired customers. The importance of target market can be clearly understood from the fact that the basic of any marketing strategy is to segment the customers from a wide base, then target the customers who fit the needs of the organization by meeting all the demands and then position those targets accordingly to specifically address their issues (Trimi & Berbegal-Mirabent, 2012). Targetting those customers as per their purchase history is important as time and money would be used in a judicious manner and avoid wastage. In business perspective, utilizing resources effectively for targetting the right kind of customers is important. Identifying the appropriate customer base to target with the right the kinds of products is very much essential.
Week 10 Activity:
This activity was about adopting the principle to know the details about how to fund a business. Business funding requires looking into the type of business one is in, the products one are dealing with, whether the business is a partnership firm, joint venture or sole proprietorship. Accordingly the funding would vary. The art of finding a proper sponsor ahead of launching a business plan is a tough ask but an important one (Urbano & Alvarez, 2014). This requires proper connection and the task needs to be carried out for proper execution of plan. The importance of understanding the requirements of funding a business is essential to have clarity over the products, the expansion plans so that wastage of resources is avoided.
Week 11 Activity:
The activity in this week was of a presentation, where I had talked about mind mapping and self confidence played a very important role because nervousness was there as I had never ever given any presentation before in my lifetime. Self-Confidence plays a significant role in the success of any individual and this can be seen even in influential persons, who have had success due to the self-confidence portrayed by them in the course of their career (Zahra & Nambisan, 2012). For any business to flourish and excel in the highly competitive work environment, self-confidence is crucial because they help in giving customers the assurance that they would be able to cope up with the rising challenges.
Week 12 Activity:
This activity was related to how design thinking, which is used for confronting complex problems and align them with mind mapping and daily routine. Design thinking is basically a way through which any type of problem can be dealt with and solved in due time without much difficulty. In business world, I feel that this design thinking concept is crucial and should be implemented to the best of the abilities for finding ways to innovate, attract customers, implement strategies to go ahead and let the business flourish (Nicholls & Murdock, 2012).
Conclusion: Action Plan
I would like to conclude by saying that the universities across the world should look to adopt tasks which I have gone through over this period and really helped to understand business situations and ways to tackle unforeseen circumstances. The concept of design thinking has been understood with great clarity and satisfaction. The action plan is to carry on implanting the learnings which I have gathered through these tasks to my everyday life. As far as the self development is concerned, the activities which I have gone through have certainly helped me develop the mentality to think rationally and also create an image on the mind about what to expect in a business environment. The essentials for succeeding in business have also been understood in a practical manner through those tasks as on most occasions, the tasks were related to the situations which I am supposed to face in the world of business. I have understood the importance of implementing strategies required for achieving success and hold on to the position in a highly competitive work environment. I genuinely feel that these tasks should be carried out by one and all at least once in their lifetime to garner the essential learning required for understanding the necessities of business and life in general.
References
Amit, R., & Zott, C. (2012). Creating value through business model innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(3), 41.
Audretsch, D. (2012). Entrepreneurship research. Management Decision, 50(5), 755-764.
Bocken, N. M. P., Rana, P., & Short, S. W. (2015). Value mapping for sustainable business thinking. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 32(1), 67-81.
Carland, J. C., Carland, J. W., & Stewart, W. H. (2015). Seeing what’s not there: The enigma of entrepreneurship. Journal of small business strategy, 7(1), 1-20.
Glen, R., Suciu, C., & Baughn, C. (2014). The need for design thinking in business schools. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13(4), 653-667.
Goldschmidt, G., & Rodgers, P. A. (2013). The design thinking approaches of three different groups of designers based on self-reports. Design Studies, 34(4), 454-471.
Grassl, W. (2012). Business models of social enterprise: A design approach to hybridity. ACRN Journal of entrepreneurship Perspectives, 1(1), 37-60.
Hobday, M., Boddington, A., & Grantham, A. (2012). An innovation perspective on design: Part 2. Design Issues, 28(1), 18-29.
Koellinger, P. D., & Roy Thurik, A. (2012). Entrepreneurship and the business cycle. Review of Economics and Statistics, 94(4), 1143-1156.
Massa, L., & Tucci, C. L. (2013). Business model innovation. The Oxford handbook of innovation management, 20, 18.
Naudé, W. (2013). Entrepreneurship and economic development: Theory, evidence and policy. Browser Download This Paper.
Nicholls, A., & Murdock, A. (2012). The nature of social innovation. In Social innovation (pp. 1-30). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Plattner, H., Meinel, C., & Leifer, L. (2012). Design thinking research. Springer.
Shepherd, D. A., Williams, T. A., & Patzelt, H. (2015). Thinking about entrepreneurial decision making: Review and research agenda. Journal of management, 41(1), 11-46.
Shepherd, D. A., Williams, T. A., & Patzelt, H. (2015). Thinking about entrepreneurial decision making: Review and research agenda. Journal of management, 41(1), 11-46.
Trimi, S., & Berbegal-Mirabent, J. (2012). Business model innovation in entrepreneurship. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 8(4), 449-465.
Urbano, D., & Alvarez, C. (2014). Institutional dimensions and entrepreneurial activity: An international study. Small Business Economics, 42(4), 703-716.
Zahra, S. A., & Nambisan, S. (2012). Entrepreneurship and strategic thinking in business ecosystems. Business horizons, 55(3), 219-229.
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