Abstract
Design thinking is a methodology for proposing creative and innovative solutions for problems that use the mindset of the designers. The Bootcamp Bootleg suggests the following steps for design thinking: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Corporate training usually aims to develop key analytical skills and competencies such as: analytical thinking, decision making, problem solving, leadership, and strategic thinking. However, 21st century holistic and intuitive skills are also required in management today, such as communication, creativity, innovation, and empathy. Design Thinking roots are business and design, and its application to the area of education is more recent. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss how design thinking, combined with information and communication technologies (ICT), can be used to promote 21st century skills and competencies in the corporate environment.
TopBackground
After the 1990s, the world entered a new phase of globalization. For Grundke, Jamet, Kalamova, Keslair and Squicciarini (2017), information and communication technologies, trade liberalization, and lower transportation costs have enabled companies and countries to segment the production process into global value chains (GVCs). Various products are designed in one country, but assembled in another country, from parts manufactured in several countries. Thus, 30% of the value of OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) exports comes from abroad.
According to Ismail (2014), the average life of an S&P company fell from 67 years a century ago to only 15 years in 2014, and 40% of Fortune 500 companies would cease to exist in 10 years. Competition from many of the US Fortune 500 companies is not coming from China and India but a new generation of organizations leveraging exponentially growing technologies. Moore’s Law and Kurzweil’s Law of Accelerated Returns can explain the constant and extraordinary pace of change that organizations are facing today (Ismail, 2014). These changes lead to the challenge of dealing with ill-structured problems (Simon, 1973).
Innovation considered a source of differentiation and competitive advantage in the increasingly complex and rapidly changing business environment of the 21st-century can determine the survival of a project or business (Lee & Benza, 2015). Companies increasingly believe in innovation for their success in the ever-changing business environment.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Moore’s Law: The price/performance ratio of computing would double every 18 months in the case of semiconductor circuits.
Comparative Advantages: The concept of comparative advantages explains why trade between two countries, regions or people can be beneficial, even when one of them is more productive in the manufacture of all goods. What matters is the productivity ratio that each country has. Even if a country does not have an absolute advantage, it can specialize in those sectors where it has a comparative advantage.
ISK (Inventar Sozialer Kompetenzer): Is a comprehensive, multidimensional self-assessment tool that maps basic social skills ( https://www.testzentrale.de/shop/test-komplett-bestehend-aus-manual-20-fragebogen-isk-20-fragebogen-isk-k-20-auswertungsbogen-isk-20-auswertungsbogen-isk-k-20-profilblatt-isk-20-profilblatt-isk-kup-kanning-diagnostik-sozialer-kompetenzen-und-box.html ).
Integrative Thinking: It is a type of thinking that gets involved with the problem differently from the conventional one. Integrative thinkers strive to keep the whole problem in mind as they work on individual parts, unlike the conventional ones that try to deal with the elements individually or sequentially.
Co-Regulated Learning (CRL): Co-regulated learning (CoRL) refers to the coordination of the process of self-regulation through self-interactions.
Law of Accelerated Returns: For Kurzweil, through the Law of Accelerated Returns, the pattern of duplication expressed in Moore’s Law would apply to any information technology, being the propellant of this phenomenon, the information.
Self-Regulated Learning (SRL): Involves the effort of a student to manage and evaluate their learning processes. It is also considered one of the most important skills needed for lifelong learning.