Marketing Communications Assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Communications Assignment - Case Study Example It is the message that the company is indirectly conveying to the audience. Explicit Communication is in form of text which is the direct message of the company to the audience. The first advertisement that I have chosen is of Burberry. It was printed on the 4th page, top right hand side of Gulf News, an English Language, glossy paper newspaper published in the Middle East. Gulf news is one of the leading newspapers of Middle East. The advertisement was a 27 centimeters length and 16.8 centimeters standard quarter page colour ad. Advertisement Objective: From the general outlook of the ad, it can be safely concluded that the objective of this ad is to remind people. There is hardly any text on the ad because the target market is already aware of the brand. The only text on the ad is "Burberry established since 1856" which emphasizes on the significance of the brand and adds value due to its presence in the market as a market leader for over a century. This ad primarily uses covert communication to appeal to its customers. The ad emphasizes the "attitude" and the "slight arrogance" elements which signify the quality of the brand as being up-class and expensive. 2. The high-class bold, outgoing business woman, portrayed by the model in the middle. ... Posture of the Models: The models are clad in Burberry apparel and wearing the same brand of shoes. This ad in particular focuses on the three types of clientele: 1. The working woman portrayed by the model on the immediate left, affluent and can afford to spend on clothing that is upbeat, smart yet comfortable. 2. The high-class bold, outgoing business woman, portrayed by the model in the middle. These are woman who have inherited, earned through business or acquired through wedlock a fortune which they can afford to spend on high quality clothing that they can carry in their day to day routine of attending functions, and parties and other such activities. 3. The dandy men who are conscious of what they wear. All the models are wearing the same facial expressions that the brand signifies i.e. "attitude" and "slight Arrogance" Explicit Communication: This ad relies heavily on implicit communication rather than explicit. The only text on the ad is "Burberry-established since 1856".This stresses on the historical value of the brand and stresses on the prestige value of the products. In all it can be said that it is an effective ad, if not an exceptional one. It could have benefited from headlines and better placement of ad. But the real effectiveness of this ad can only be measured by the increase in sales after publishing of this ad or through a consumer survey of awareness levels. NISAN TIIDA This is a half page ad published on the inside back page of Khaleej Times. It is a 27 centimeters length and 33 centimeters width standard half page colour ad. This ad follows the same placement as is followed by everyone in

NEW_Proposal Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NEW_Proposal - Case Study Example Their application of modern trends of business is cost effective without any compromise on the customer service. Their understanding of customer's requirement and ability to meet the demands of customer at reasonable cost in lesser time assists them in taking competitive advantage over the rival companies. The challenge QLG is facing that if they fail to act immediately, further reductions to market share and profitability are bound to happen. There will be higher attrition of skilled resources and deterioration in overall performance and profitability in the current business. The proposal to improve the system includes 5 key changes to address the objectives as identified by Queensland Leisure Group executives during the consultation process. These five stages will create positive change in a number of critical areas: Corporate Hierarchy Modification: QLG needs a horizontal and functional business structure that will reduce labour costs and increase flexibility to assist them in responding more quickly to the rapidly changing factors in the environment scan. Modification in Operational Procedure: Modern technology and processes should be used to increase productivity and efficiency in the production department through automating manual operations and applying cost optimization for different processes. Following the analysis that NAHN Cons

Evaluation of Games Workshop and Hornby Businesses

Evaluation of Games Workshop and Hornby Businesses In a company or a business, the owner would want to evaluate his business i.e. whether the business is making a profit or loss and would want to compare it with other companies or its competitors in the same industry. To know the performance of a company, you need to look at more than just easily attainable numbers like sales, profits and total assets. To know the real picture of a company, we must be able to read between the lines of the financial statement. Hence there are many comparative ratios to identify the strengths and weakness of the company. These ratios will help the public (outsiders) to make decisions while investing in companies at the stock market. Ratio analysis helps us to understand the risk we must be taking. The basic source of these ratios is the companys profit and loss account and balance sheet as it contains all important information about the company. Financial ratios are useful indicators of a firm or companys performance and financial situation. The two company ratios we are going to compare are Hornby and Games PLC. Both the companies belong to the same industry. GAMES WORKSHOP Europes foremost professional P.C. and video game retailer is Games group. It is the only company in the gaming sector to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. Outstanding customer service and a specialist offer are at the heart of GAMES Group growth. HORNBY PLC HORNBY PLC is UKs Model Railway manufacturer. Frank Hornby founded the company in 1901 and launched trains until it was bought by his competitor Tri-Ang in 1964. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornby_Railways. It is recognised for the construction of its model train sets, hobby (radio controlled cars) and toy production. It is an incorporated limited company, operating in the UK. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE). Return on Capital Employed (ROCE). ROCE = ____PBIT ___(Operating Profit)___ x 100 Capital Employed (FA + CA CL) Ratio on capital employed indicated the productivity and success of a companys capital investment. According to the formula we take operating profit or PBIT and divide it by the capital employed in the business i.e. fixed asset and working capital. In the two companies, the ROCE for Games workshop in the year 2008 was 5.48%, 2009 was 17.26% which was lower compared to 27.98% in the year 2010. This indicates that Games workshops ROCE has increased which is a positive sign as the more the returns of the capital employed, its better for the firm. Whereas Hornby Plc.s ROCE in the year 2010 has decreased from17.67% which was in 2009 and 29.47% in 2008 to 12.65% which is a negative sign as the return on capital employed is lesser than the rate at which the company borrows. Return on Sales (ROS) ROS = _PBIT_ x 100 Sales ROS also known as operating profit margin tell us about the companys operational proficiency. According to the formula, we consider operating profit or PBIT and divide it by the sales in the organisation. In the above two companies Games workshops ROS was 2.31% in 2008, 7.17% in 2009 and has increased to 12.68% in 2010. This indicates that games workshop is growing more efficiently and is more profitability. Whereas in Hornby the ROS for the year2008 was 16.85%, in 2009 was 11.20% and it decreased in 2010 to 9.27%. A decreasing ROS indicates financial trouble for the company. When we compare Hornby and Games workshop together, we get to know that Games workshop has a higher ROS which indicates a profitable organisation compared to Hornby. Asset turnover Asset turnover = ___Revenue____ Capital Employed Asset turnover is the amount of sales generated for every pound that is worth the asset. We consider the revenue of the company and divide it by the capital employed. In the above companies, the asset turnover for both the companies are low but Hornby has a lower asset turnover of 1.36% in 2010 compared to Games workshop thats asset turnover is of 2.20%. This indicates that games workshop has a higher asset turnover which is better. This also indicates pricing strategies which the company undertakes as companies with a low price margin who have a higher asset turnover and vice versa. Current Ratio Current Ratio = _Current Assets_ Current Liabilities Current Ratio comes under the heading of Liquidity ratio. Liquidity means cash a business holds during the financial year. Current Ratio is a liquidity ratio which tells us the ability of the company to pay its short term obligations. Short term obligations are obligations which are under 12 months. The formula tells us that the ability to pay back short term borrowings with its short term assets. In the above case Games workshop has a higher current ratio compared to Hornby, though the difference is not that large, but still Games workshops current ratio in 2010 is 2.03% while Hornby in 2010 is 2.10%. This indicated that Games workshop is capable to pay their obligations and vice versa. If the ratio was under 1 it would indicate that the company cannot pay its obligations. Liquidity Ratio (Acid Test Ratio) Liquidity Ratio = Current Assets Stock Current Liabilities Acid test ratio is a severe or a tough ratio which indicates whether the firm has enough short term assets to cover its immediate liability without selling out stock. The acid test ratio for Games workshop in 2008 was 0.9, in 2009 was1.14 whereas it increased in 2010 to 1.48. Hornby has a low acid test ratio in 2009 which was 0.72 but it increased to 1.37 in 2010. This indicates that Games as well as Hornby, both companies can pay off their liabilities as if the acid test ratio was less than 1 then the company has to be warned. Even if the acid test ratio is lower than the working capital ratio, it shows that the company is highly dependent on inventory. Cash Ratio Cash Ratio = Cash_____ Current Liabilities Cash ratio is the companys total cash balance and the cash equivalents to its current liabilities. Cash ratio is helpful to measure the liquidity of a company. In the above case, Games workshop has a much higher cash ratio in both the years i.e. in 2009 0.57 and in 2010 it was 0.92, whereas Hornby has a very low cash ratio from 2008 which was 0.07, in 2009 it decreased to 0.02 but it increased to 0.53 in 2010. This indicates how quickly the company can pay of its creditors. Hence creditors will decide seeing the cash ratio of the company. Stock turnover Stock turnover = _COGS_ Stock Stock turnover ratio shows how many times over the business has sold the value of its stocks during the year. In the above case, Games workshop has a higher stock turnover than Hornby. This is because in the year 2008, Games workshop had 3.24 as its stock turnover, in 2009 it was 3.36 and it decreased I 2010 to 3.02 which is a negative point. Whereas Hornby has a lower stock turnover compared to Games workshop. This indicates higher the stock turnover, the better it is for the company as then money is held up for a lesser time in stocks. Stock Period Stock Period = 365____ Stock turnover Stock period is the number of days where the average money is held up in stocks. It is calculated by dividing stock turnover by 365 days. This gives the actual picture of how many days the stock is in the warehouse. In the above diagram, it shows that in the year 2008 and 2009 Games had a stock period of 113 and 109 days while Hornby had a stock period of 166 and 164 days respectively. In the year 2010 Games workshop had a stock in warehouse for 121 days while Hornby had it for 138 days. This indicates the longer the stock is in warehouse, it is bad for the business as the money is not available to be used elsewhere. Hence Hornbys stock is available for a longer period than Games workshop. Debtor Period Debtor Period = Debtors x 365 Sales Debtor period is the average number of days credit given to customers i.e. how long does it takes the company to get its money. In the above case, the debtor period for Games workshop has decreased from 33 days in 2008 to 29 in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Whereas in Hornby the debtor period has increased compared to 2008 but has decreased to 75 days compared to 2009. This indicates that a lesser number of days are good as the debtors could trust the company. But if the company takes a long time to repay, it is bad, Hence Games workshop is better than Hornby as Games workshop has lesser number of days compared to Hornby. Gearing Ratio Industry Analysis Hornby PLC The toys and games industry has survived in the UK for 70 years but in 2009, model vehicles and outdoor games had a negative growth due to the economic recession. Customers preferred indoor games and activity construction toys since it did not require them to leave their houses, during this period. The economic downturn also caused some companies in the industry to stop business and others were bought by larger companies. There has also been an increase in demand for movie based toys and video games, which are easier to produce than other toys. As such, Hasbro, Mattel and Lego are favoured for this reason. The retail outlets prefer to stock video games as a result of its increase in demand and also because it takes less shelf space. The UK market is dominated presently by Husbro, which has the largest market share, Mattel and Lego. Passport GMID Traditional Toys and Games United Kingdom http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/ResultsList.aspx HORNBY PLC is UKs Model Railway manufacturer. Frank Hornby founded the company in 1901 and launched trains until it was bought by his competitor Tri-Ang in 1964. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornby_Railways. It is recognised for the construction of its model train sets, hobby (radio controlled cars) and toy production. It is an incorporated limited company, operating in the UK. The company has created a niche market (train sets) and deals with suppliers all over the world for different railway products. Property owners, worldwide, want to engage with Hornby, in awarding license for Hornby products because of its specialisation and popularity . The key focus of the company is to ensure that the model railway business succeeds, by continually dealing with supply chain issues. Research and Development is also an important factor to its success. The following companies are subsidiaries to the group; Hornby Hobbies Ltd UK Hornby America Inc USA Hornby Espana S.A Spain Hornby Italia s.r.l Italy Hornby France S.A.S France Hornby Deutschland GmbH Germany There are individual targets for each subsidiary as regards growth and profit. It is monitored from time to time and based on current circumstances, future adjustments are made. http://www.hornby.com/investor-relations/ Horbys Competitors Tri-Ang Model railway producer Bachmann Europe Plc Model railway producer GraFar Model railway producer Model rail UK Model railway parts builder New railway Modellers Model railway builder Heywood Model Railway Group Model railway producer Hasbro Board (monopoly, scrabble etc), Star Wars movie franchise Mattel Superman, Batman, Harry Potter movie franchise Lego Activity and construction games Fun Collectibles Latest kidscrazes toys and games Wind Designs Flying toys, yo-yos, juggling equipments and kites Map Toys Toys and games Richard Edwards Card based products Revell Model kit toys Cartamundi Card games Ravensburger Puzzles and 3D Action games Cambridge Brainbox Educational Electronic kits Games Workshop Tabletop fantasy and futuristic battle games Thumbs Up Helicopters and AK 47 Guns Rainbow Productions Costume character production http://www.toynews-online.biz/marketplace http://www.holtmodelrailways.com/ http://www.modelrailuk.co.uk/ Home http://www.mcvuk.com/search/news/hornby+plc Customers Games retail stores Children Wholesalers Market Contribution and Share In 2008, there was a fall in interim pre-tax profits from  £2.7m to  £1.8m and this reduced the expected profit by December that year. Suppliers in China were challenged with the increase in labour and raw materials, therefore Hornby increased price by 10% to support China. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/65fd8c42-ec57-11dd-a534-0000779fd2ac.html Although sales in Europe fell by 15%, the Chief Executive was confident that Hornby would excel because of its quality hobby brand. On November 7th 2008, Hornbys shares dropped to 118.5p from the initial 300p which it maintained from the beginning of 2007. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f57bef7e-ad34-11dd-971e-000077b07658.html#axzz14clXbHtA Hornby Plc contributes to charity every year. It donated  £15,354 in 2008 and  £21,635 in 2009 Hornbys % Breakdown of Company shares for Toys and Games in the UK COMPANY 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Hornby Plc 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 Passport GMID Country Report Country Market Insights http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/Statistics.aspx Future Forecast In order to make profit, since the demand for video games and movie based toys have increased in the UK market, Hornby Plc should study the demand of the customers and work around producing what the customers need. There may be a problem in the future to fund research and development. Hornby Plc should be prepared for economic crisis. In 2010, the group is financially strong after a difficult trading period and there is a continuous increase in the demand for its products. Passport GMID Toys and Games United Kingdom http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/ResultsList.aspx Hornbys China engine unstuck on dollar strength By David Blackwell and Maggie Urry Published: January 27 2009 10:22 | Last updated: January 27 2009 16:56 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/65fd8c42-ec57-11dd-a534-0000779fd2ac.html Hornby sees fall in outsourcing benefits By David Blackwell Published: November 8 2008 02:00 | Last updated: November 8 2008 02:00. Page 26 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f57bef7e-ad34-11dd-971e-000077b07658.html#axzz14clXbHtA http://www.toynews-online.biz/marketplace Games Workshop The Toys and Games industry in the UK is a gradually growing market, mostly due to their largest group of customers, children around 2-10 years of age. Children often want and need toys to entertain and occupy themselves with (Competitive Context-Figure 9). Even with recession, most parents do not necessarily cut down on spending on toys for their child as they are willing to spend what little disposable income they have on their kids and buying toys that they wanted for them (MINTEL-Internal Market Environment-Figure 1). In 2007, the toys and games sector in the UK was valued at around  £2.2 billion, a significant rise of 22% than when in 2003 (MINTEL- Toys and Games-UK-Nov 2008-Market in Brief: A strong market in tougher times). Christmas is usually the cause of the highest booster for sales of toys and games, bringing in half the total number sales in a year (MINTEL-Internal Market Environment-Key Points). Games Workshop PLC In 1975, Games Workshop PLC, was established in London by John Peake, Ian Livingstone, and Steve Jackson. It was listed in the London Stock Exchange in 1994. The company has since moved its headquarters to Nottingham. Games Workshop is mainly involved in producing and retailing games and toys (miniatures). The company started off with producing board games made of wood (eg. Backgammon), moved on to importing role-playing games (RPGs) from the United States and finally to where it is today, a toy and games producer, publisher and retailer. Games Workshop is well-known in the market for its collectible miniatures (toy soldiers) used in its role-playing and table-top wargames (WIKIPEDIA). Its specialty and focus is on collectible toy models targeting toy collectors and hobbyist whose favourite pastime is collecting toy models. Games Workshop has several subsidiaries, they include: BL Publishing Publishes literature and gaming materials Citadel Miniatures Produces toy miniatures collections for collectors and hobbyist Forge World Produces higher quality models for their role-playing and table-top wargames Sabertooth Games Produces card games related to their role-playing and table-top wargames produced (Wiki: Games Workshop http://warhammeronline.wikia.com/wiki/Games_Workshop#Subsidiaries) Competitors Hasbro U.K. Limited Vivid Toy Group Limited Vivid Imaginations Limited Games Workshop Limited Hornby PLC Flair Leisure Products PLC Hornby Hobbies Limited Datel Electronics Limited Rockstar North Limited Hardy Greys Limited From FAME (https://fame.bvdep.com/version-2010823/cgi/template.dll?checkathens=1kick=1 product=1user=lingd%40coventry.ac.ukpw=D341XryjGFEL77TgmOwhnA%3d%3d) Customers Collectors Hobbyist of their miniature games collection Teenagers Young Adults Global customers Market Contribution Share In 2009, Games Workshop wanted to cut cost and initiated a move to use plastic instead of metal for the production of their toy and games miniatures. It was an apparently well-accepted change by their customers as sales rose from  £110.3m to  £113.9m in 2009. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/719b6d28-7bbb-11de-9772-00144feabdc0.html In 2009, Games Workshop opened 10 new stores in the UK which are run by a single staff, making it easier for them to expand to smaller towns and hence more accessible to their teenage fans. These additional stores will boost Games Workshops market presence. As at January 2010, Games Workshop has expanded operations overseas to Europe, North America, Japan and Australia. However, market analysts believe that the company has potential to expand to other untapped markets. In January 2010, when Games Workshop revealed that its profit before tax achieved would surpass expectations by at least 50 percent, shares increased by 30 per cent to 333.85p. Profit before tax was initially estimated to be around  £9m as at 30 May 2010 but in January 2010, it was expected to grow by another  £5m or more by May 2010. Games Workshops gross margins have increased as a result of their cost cutting measures undertaken in 2009. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/afb932a0-fade-11de-94d8-00144feab49a,s01=1.html Future Forecast Games Workshop PLC should try to be more creative and innovative, launching new products constantly over the year, in order to increase sales and spread sales more evenly over the year than garnering the majority of sales only during the Christmas season. As mentioned earlier, market analyst believe that Games Workshop has the potential and capability required to further expand overseas, probably to untapped markets, such as Asia (with the exception of Japan where they already have expanded to). Furthermore, the market for toys and games are continuously increasing and expected to carry on growing in the future (internal market environment-is childhood getting shorter?). Sales recorded for toys and games have also been rising over the years and expected to continue doing so. (Market Re-forecasts-Household-UK-March 2009-Toys and Games). In the case of Games Workshop, although there was a slight drop in sales for the company in 2007, it has since been steadily increasing over the last couple of years. This could be due to the fact that Games Workshop builds up customer loyalty by offering collectibles that interested customers can only buy from the company if they want the complete collection. The excellent after-sales service provided by the company could be another factor that enabled them to earn loyalty from their customers. This is an invaluable asset to the Games Workshop as no matter what new products they offer, most of their loyal customers will support them by purcha sing their products. As long as the company continues to successfully retain its customer loyalty, it will go a long way. It is crucial for Games Workshop to constantly update themselves on the current trends and threats faced by the toys and games industry, and act accordingly by coming up with suitable strategies to ensure that the business stays profitable and hopefully gain a larger market share. Conclusion and Recommendations:

Fitzgeralds Satirical Portrait of Modern Society :: essays research papers fc

Fitzgerald’s Satirical Portrait of Modern Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Great Gatsby,† a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, depicts life in the 1920’s. â€Å"The Roaring Twenties,† a nickname given to the decade laden with flippancy, is a time where the rich people in society have little to do, and a lot of money to spend in many ways. Jay Gatsby, one of the â€Å"newly† rich people, chooses to spend his money throwing wild parties every weekend in the summer. Fitzgerald paints a picture of modern society by writing about the lavish parties thrown by Gatsby and the behavior of the guests who attend them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Nick Carraway describes the scene at Gatsby’s mansion while preparing for a party, â€Å"At least once a fortnight a corps of caterers came down....On the buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’ oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs...In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail....By seven o’clock the orchestra has arrived† (44), he tells of the luxuries provided by Gatsby in order to impress his guests. Fitzgerald is mocking the way people in society try, at great extents, to impress each other. Gatsby’s careless spending of his money parallels the decadent spending of people in modern society. One of the â€Å"twins† tells Nick about how Gatsby bought her an expensive gown, â€Å"When I was here last I tore my gown on a chair, and he asked me for my name and address- inside a week I got a package from Croirier’s with a new evening gown in it,† (47). This shows that Gatsby spends his money in an exorbitant manner, much like the way modern society spends money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people at Gatsby’s parties often stay for days and are uninvited. Most of the guests don’t know Gatsby, let alone care about him. The loss of manners and self-centeredness of modern society are exemplified by the way the guests treat Gatsby, and how they gossip about their host. They impose upon his hospitality and outstay their welcome, â€Å"A man named Klipspringer was there so often and so long that he became known as the boarder- I doubt if he had any other home,† (67). When Gatsby is not around, the guests often fabricate stories about his life. â€Å"He’s a bootlegger. One time he killed a man who had found out that he was nephew to von Hindenburg and second cousin to the devil,† (65). Rumors of his personal life circulate his parties and grow as his guests embellish on them.

American Dream in Great Gatsby

The American Dream was an important theme in the book, The Great Gatsby. Every single character was somewhat involved or motivated by the American Dream vision. In the Great Gatsby, American Dream symbolized the â€Å"freedom and opportunity to better yourself and your situation. Characters had different ideas of going through the American Dream. Gatsby loved money, reinvention, and the American Dream.He planned to reinvent himself for a woman that was put on such a igh pedestal, that when brought down, his world had become something of an illusion. Daisy became a sort of goal, a symbol for wealth, that he basically makes her lose her humanity in his eyes. A sort of paradigm in which she was an object, when he won her it meant he was what he always wanted to be. By the end, the real shocker that brought him back to earth, that made him realize Daisy was an actual human, was seeing Patricia, Daisy's daughter. Another character that symbolized the American Dream was Myrtle.Her only go al was to better her situation, such as being very materialistic and greedy. She decided to have an affair with one of the most unavailable and wealthiest men in the city. She was in the â€Å"relationship† not because of love or lust, but because of money. Someone that symbolized the American Dream in a positive way was Nick. He was from a family of old money yet he was willing to give up his family money and work hard. Nick wanted to build up his old name. Money was never very important to him as it was for the others.He actually understands how the American Dream corrupts the minds of all trying to achieve it. Nick was disillusioned with the American Dream by seeing how it immorally unethical it was. Yellow (such as silver and gold) that means corruption wealth and dishonest and white that means fapde and pure are colors that represent an egg which is a major symbol in the Great Gatsby. A theme of Self-Discovery and Intolerance was directly directed to Nick. He knew he wan ted to find himself and create his name not live off of what his family has.The theme of the green light represented Gatsbys hope, renewal and rebirth of this new relationship with Daisy. Gatsbys motivation to move forward and better his situation Just to be with Daisy starts with that green light. It basically Just means plain wealth to him. Red was a symbol connected to Nick because he is the only one that does not think corruptly. Red symbolizes death in which Nick has seen people's true self die out because of the American Dream.

Castle in Air Essay

Are messages like these popping up more and more in your workplace? Faced with complex, open-ended, ever-changing challenges, organizations realize that constant, ongoing innovation is critical to stay ahead of the competition. This is why we need to be on the lookout for new ideas that can drive innovation, and it’s why the ability to think differently, generate new ideas, and spark creativity within a team becomes an important skill. You need to work actively on building and cultivating this skill, and it can be done! Often, though, we make the mistake of assuming that good ideas just happen. Or worse still, we get caught in the mind trap that creativity is an aptitude; some people have it, others don’t. Then there is the other self-defeating belief – â€Å"I am not intelligent enough to come up with good ideas. † These assumptions are rarely true. Everyone can come up with fresh, radical ideas – you just need to learn to open your mind and think differently. This article shows you how to do so. How to Generate New Ideas Standard idea-generation techniques concentrate on combining or adapting existing ideas. This can certainly generate results. But here, our focus is on equipping you with tools that help you leap onto a totally different plane. These approaches push your mind to forge new connections, think differently and consider new perspectives. A word of caution – while these techniques are extremely effective, they will only succeed if they are backed by rich knowledge of the area you’re working on. This means that if you are not prepared with adequate information about the issue, you are unlikely to come up with a great idea even by using the techniques listed here. Incidentally, these techniques can be applied to spark creativity in group settings and brainstorming sessions as well. Breaking Thought Patterns All of us can tend to get stuck in certain thinking patterns. Breaking these thought patterns can help you get your mind unstuck and generate new ideas. There are several techniques you can use to break established thought patterns: * Challenge assumptions: For every situation, you have a set of key assumptions. Challenging these assumptions gives you a whole new spin on possibilities. * You want to buy a house but can’t since you assume you don’t have the money to make a down payment on the loan. Challenge the assumption. Sure, you don’t have cash in the bank but couldn’t you sell some of your other assets to raise the money? Could you dip into your retirement fund? Could you work overtime and build up the kitty in six months? Suddenly the picture starts looking brighter. * Reword the problem: Stating the problem differently often leads to different ideas. To reword the problem look at the issue from different angles. â€Å"Why do we need to solve the problem? â€Å", â€Å"What’s the roadblock here? â€Å", â€Å"What will happen if we don’t solve the problem? † These questions will give you new insights. You might come up with new ideas to solve your new problem. * In the mid 1950s, shipping companies were losing money on freighters. They decided they needed to focus on building faster and more efficient ships. However, the problem persisted. Then one consultant defined the problem differently. He said the problem the industry should consider was â€Å"how can we reduce cost? † The new problem statement generated new ideas. All aspects of shipping, including storage of cargo and loading time, were considered. The outcome of this shift in focus resulted in the container ship and the roll-on/roll-off freighter. Think in reverse: If you feel you cannot think of anything new, try turning things upside-down. Instead of focusing on how you could solve a problem/improve operations/enhance a product, consider how could you create the problem/worsen operations/downgrade the product. The reverse ideas will come flowing in. Consider these ideas – once you’ve reversed them again – as possible solutions for the original challenge. * Express yourself through different media: We have multiple intelligences but somehow, when faced with workplace challenges we just tend to use our verbal reasoning ability. How about expressing the challenge through different media? Clay, music, word association games, paint, there are several ways you can express the challenge. Don’t bother about solving the challenge at this point. Just express it. Different expression might spark off different thought patterns. And these new thought patterns may yield new ideas. Connect the Unconnected Some of the best ideas seem to occur just by chance. You see something or you hear someone, often totally unconnected to the situation you are trying to resolve, and the penny drops in place. Newton and the apple, Archimedes in the bath tub; examples abound. Why does this happen? The random element provides a new stimulus and gets our brain cells ticking. You can capitalize on this knowledge by consciously trying to connect the unconnected. Actively seek stimuli from unexpected places and then see if you can use these stimuli to build a connection with your situation. Some techniques you could use are: * Use random input: Choose a word from the dictionary and look for novel connections between the word and your problem. * Mind map possible ideas: Put a key word or phrase in the middle of the page. Write whatever else comes in your mind on the same page. See if you can make any connections. Pick up a picture. Consider how you can relate it to your situation. * Take an item. Ask yourself questions such as â€Å"How could this item help in addressing the challenge? â€Å", or â€Å"What attributes of this item could help us solve our challenge? † Shift Perspective Over the years we all build a certain type of perspective and this perspective yields a certain type of idea. If you want different ideas, you will have to shift your perspective. To do so: * Get someone else’s perspective: Ask different people what they would do if faced with your challenge. You could approach friends engaged in different kind of work, our spouse, a nine-year old child, customers, suppliers, senior citizens, someone from a different culture; in essence anyone who might see things differently. * Play the â€Å"If I were† game: Ask yourself â€Å"If I were †¦ † how would I address this challenge? You could be anyone: a millionaire, Tiger Woods, anyone. * The idea is the person you decide to be has certain identifiable traits. And you have to use these traits to address the challenge. For instance, if you decide to play the millionaire, you might want to bring traits such as flamboyance, big thinking and risk-taking when formulating an idea. If you are Tiger Woods you would focus on things such as perfection, persistence and execution detail. Employ Enablers Enablers are activities and actions that assist with, rather than directly provoke, idea generation. They create a positive atmosphere. Some of the enablers that can help you get your creative juices flowing are: * Belief in yourself: Believe that you are creative, believe that ideas will come to you; positive reinforcement helps you perform better. * Creative loafing time: Nap, go for a walk, listen to music, play with your child, take a break from formal idea-generating. Your mind needs the rest, and will often come up with connections precisely when it isn’t trying to make them. * Change of environment: Sometimes changing the setting changes your thought process. Go to a nearby coffee shop instead of the conference room in your office, or hold your discussion while walking together round a local park. * Shutting out distractions: Keep your thinking space both literally and mentally clutter-free. Shut off the Blackberry, close the door, divert your phone calls and then think. * Fun and humor: These are essential ingredients, especially in team settings.