Design Thinking and How It Will Change Management Education: An Interview and Discussion

Comparing Buchanan’s view with nowadays IDEO’s CEO Tim Brown, for example we see a core difference. Brown states that “design thinking is a lineal descendant of [ Thomas Edison’s research and development] tradition. Put simply, it is a discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity” Design Thinking Brown, T. (2008).

After examining the Understanding by Design framework by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, I have learned how to develop a unit by working backwards. The development of a unit is multi-layered in its focus on curriculum, instruction, and assessment. In planning I need to first assess what the big ideas are that I want my students to learn and why they are so important. In our study of Mesopotamia, we look at how our world began with the first civilization and the achievements that led to advances throughout history. The big ideas framed as understandings that I want my students to know are that the locations of civilizations and city-states in relation to specific landforms affects development and technology achievements can benefit society in a variety of areas. Then I look at what essential questions are raised and what I want students to know and be able to do. The framework looks to deepen student understanding and transfer that understanding of knowledge and skill into a performance task and other evidence of formative and summative assessments.

But in contemporary society, there is no single definition that covers design completely, or even fields of professional practice as graphic or industrial design that adequetly cover the diversity of ideas and practices as once existed. (pg3 wicked problems in Design thinking book THE IDEA OF DESIGN)

Our beliefs, time, money, and actions are all being fought over with design as the arsenal. The graphic designer learns how to participate in this fight through education, intuition, creativity, and technical skills. Though helpful, a formal education in design is not what is meant here. The education needed is more about understanding the previously mentioned rules we are working with. Intuition is required in order to know when it is appropriate to adjust or disregard these rules. Creativity is needed because redundancy will not break through the wall into the internal world. Technical skills are essential because poor craft reduces credibility. This idea of the world as an arena is a reoccurring theme in The Cheese Monkeys, and the importance of education, intuition, creativity, and technical skills have been further reinforced to us through the grading process and classroom discussions in Graphic Design

For example, the design of the office building by an engineer; if the engineer does not adequately design the office building for the various types of occupants, it could prove catastrophic. In a sense, the management model can perhaps offer a similar view or perspective in much the same way; in its design to fit the overall purpose of the organization. The lack of design will have disastrous consequences (Koontz & Weihrich, 1990).

The core concept behind ‘Design Thinking’ revolves around attaining a goal rather than simply fixing a problem at hand. Since focusing on an objective already helps address any unmet needs, goal-oriented solutions lay the groundwork for other improvements including future ‘Design Thinking’ solutions. As such, solutions of this nature need to be socially fluid, tangible in nature, and broadminded in approach.

In this document, George has begun building his credibility by clearly describing his experience in the industry, and convincing to his audience by citing the facts from his own experience. For instance, he is by emphasizing the difficulties and struggles in the real design industry. Therefore, at the end of the document, he is given a message to his audience that it is important to understand that there are things they should remember in order to search for succeed. One of the examples he is making a statement to the present and future designers/ design students, “you have to ask yourself one question”, which he wants them to understand that it is important to ask themselves a question when they are about to give up and put themselves in a positive mindset for reaching their goals.

In the past, there has been a disagreement as what management is claimed to be. According to (Whatishumanresource.com, (No date)) Management is a distinct process which involves a series interconnected activities and is followed by achieving the best possible performance. If particular actions for example – planning, leading, and motivating the resources of a business are used sufficiently by an intelligent group then the targets aimed for will be achieved (Rawlins, 1995). Oxford English dictionary (1982) defines art as the human process of creative thinking and imagination which results in a dominant hold. Management can be called an art as it involves utilising hidden talents and using the correct principles in order to gain your preferred results. On the contrary, from the Oxford English Dictionary (1982) science is defined as the logical and realistic activity containing the model and knowledge of the world through experiment and facts. Management can be known as being a science, it is recognized to be the way people work together to achieve common goals and to comprehend the information which can be applied to each certain situation (Gulick, 1965). This essay will focus on the aspect of management as an art and science as well as discussing strategy throughout this essay.

“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But, of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. – Steve Jobs, 1996

During the Turning Tartan overnight weekend, I had an opportunity to listen to Stephen Pajewski of the Tepper School of Business and Melissa Cicozi of the School of Design describe their respective programs. What enticed me most about Tepper was that while the school has a rigorous scientific approach to business, it also values the need to communicate ideas effectively. Consequently, the

Design and its teaching are no exception. It can be said that most of the global discussions on Education establishes a common diagnosis: the failure of educational models based on formal learning, pre-programmed and pre-formatted approaches, disconnected from “doing", off of digital technologies and new paradigms that these imply.

Not only that his career in the design field was becoming greater and greater every day, but also his job as a writer. He was only thirty-three when he sat down and thought of writing his classic book, Thoughts on Design, which turned out to be one of his best ones yet. Even though he was young at the moment and he had not achieved all the great successes that he had later on in his life, he was ready to write the book. Rand admitted, however, that he was insecure as a writer but that his passion for the subject was the only thing that was keeping him going. At the same time, he was learning so much from his day job on Madison Avenue that it is important to say more with fewer words, which he successfully incorporated in his Thoughts on Design

Design is what I called the spreading of my mind. It is the act that I use in my day to day

He used the tangled weird rope example to demonstrate his argument about CEOs becoming great designers and how people are connected /tied together by human experiences. He also defined the term “design” as something that does not yet exist, but will eventually exist when a leader arranges his/her elements to become a reality.

“Yale is the place that endowed me with the confidence and the grand scope of the world that a young designer needed to excel and make a difference in the real world.” – Yansong Ma. Yale University (M.Arch ’02).