CHAPTER NO:19GROUP DECISION MAKING AND CREATIVITYIntroHave you ever wondered about the crucial role of creativity in decision making and innovation? Today, we delve into the fascinating world of creativity and innovation, exploring the differences between the two and their significance in organizational success.Main ContentCreativity is the ability to combine ideas uniquely, while innovation involves turning creative ideas into tangible products or services.Creativity requires both convergent and divergent thinking, with necessary ingredients including domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant skills, and task motivation.The individual's creative process involves stages like preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification.Group creativity can be enhanced through techniques like brainstorming and the Nominal Group Technique.Lateral thinking, unlike vertical thinking, involves rotating a problem to find alternative solutions, crucial for effective decision-making.Lateral Thinking Vs Vertical ThinkingVertical thinking is logical but only in one direction. You ignore the possibilities and alternatives around youor various other ways of doing same thing. Vertical way of thinking is the problem solving way the waycomputers do.Rotating a problem from different angles to try and locate alternative points of entry involves Lateralthinking. This is a creative processing that the human mind can do, but computers are generally unable todo. It is useful when one channel of thought reaches a dead end and another approach is needed. It can bedifficult but satisfying to solve and will encourage you to examine lots of different clues and informationwithout any prejudice. Thinking laterally and avoiding the obvious is a great tool in life of a manager. Thisthinking asks you generate 3-4 alternatives to a given problem and then try one option at a time to put intoaction and see the results for bestOther decision-making methods include the Delphi Method for expert judgments and Scenario Analysis for evaluating possible futures.Deming's PDCA or PDSA model focuses on Planning, Doing, Checking/Studying, and Acting for continuous improvement and innovation.OutroWith a deeper understanding of creativity and innovation, we are better equipped to navigate the complexities of decision-making in various settings. Remember to embrace creativity, explore innovative solutions, and harness the power of lateral thinking for impactful outcomes