Organizational Behavior

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a popular method for encouraging creative thinking in groups of about eight people. It yields around four basic guidelines of participants.

  1. Generate as many ideas as pure, simple
  2. Be creative, freewheeling, and imaginative
  3. Build upon (piggyback0, extending, or combine earlier ideas.
  4. Withhold criticism of others’ ideas.

Principles: Two main principles underlie brainstorming. One is deferred judgments and a second principle is that quantity breeds quality.

Advantages: Brainstorming has many advantages-

  1. Scissions group member is enthusiastic, participation broader than normal.
  2. Group maintains strong task orientations.
  3. Ideas are built upon extended.
  4. Members typically feel that the strong task orientation.

Disadvantages: some disadvantages are-

  1. Some members creative thoughts will be looked down upon
  2. The independent thoughts and later criticism of one’s ideas do not contribute to group cohesion.
  3. Only one person can speak at a time.