Courses included in this Suite
Creativity in Teams and Organizations
This course looks at spurring creativity and innovation in teams and organizations. Drawing on the latest academic thinking, it outlines the key factors for creative teams.
Further, the course focuses on tools and techniques designed to yield more productive thinking in collective settings. Participants learn about a number of targeted tools (including brainstorming, Discussion 66, Provocation, and others) to generate fresh thinking in smaller group settings and in their organizations.
After completing this course, the student should be able to:
- Explain the connection between creativity and innovation
- Outline the five factors for creative teams
- Use team creative tools such as brainstorming, Discussion 66, anonymous idea generation, and visioning
- Explain the importance of diversity in team creativity
- Describe techniques for prototyping new ideas
- Explain how to overcome creative barriers for teams and organizations
- Describe ways to make teams and organizations more open to creativity and innovation
Innovation in Teams and Organizations
This course looks at innovation in corporations and the public sector. It reviews the latest academic thinking on innovation, including Clay Christensen's seminal thinking on disruptive technology and the proper response.
Further, it explores some of the internal responses to the need for creativity, including idea champions, idea incubators, new venture teams and skunk works, and the process of moving from innovation to commercialization.
Finally, the course focuses on some of the more successful corporate innovators as a way of illustrating the principles of effective innovation in large organizations, and also explores the role of innovation in the public sector.
After completing this course, the student should be able to:
- Outline the key factors for an innovative organization
- Discuss the barriers to innovation
- Explain the differences between incremental, semi-radical, and radical innovation
- Describe internal innovation tools such as idea champions, idea incubators, new venture teams and skunk works
- Explain the process of moving from idea to commercialization
- Discuss the issues surrounding innovation in the public sector
Introduction to Critical Thinking
This course is an introduction to the importance of critical thinking in the business world. Critical thinking is an intellectual model for reasoning through issues to reach well-founded conclusions about them. Asking questions is at the heart of critical thinking.
This program is designed to help learners define and identify critical thinking and reasoning skills and develop those skills.
After completing this course, the student should be able to:
- Define critical thinking, reasoning, and logic
- Ask appropriate questions for critical thinking
- Understand the process of systemic problem-solving
- Identify and overcome barriers to critical thinking
- Articulate common reasoning fallacies
- Understand critical thinking as it pertains to the workplace
Personal Creativity
This course addresses Personal Creativity. Through tools and exercises drawn from Adrian Brown's book, Creativity & Innovation, it seeks to help unlock the creativity within individuals.
By stimulating creativity through various techniques (mind-mapping, DO-IT, SCAMPER, right and left brain thinking) participants learn to tap into their personal creativity and apply it to organizational challenges.
After completing this course, the student should be able to:
- Describe the basis of personal creativity
- Explain the uses of creative tools
- Distinguish between vertical and lateral thinking
- Employ creative tools like SCAMPER, random input, mind mapping, and DO IT
- Describe the key characteristics of personal creativity
- Assess the issues surrounding measuring creativity
Time Value of Money and Risk
This course covers time value of money (TVM) principles and risk and return. You will review the basic TVM techniques used in evaluating all financial decisions and their cash flow implications. For Risk and Return, you will learn how risk influences investment decisions, and how to calculate risk and rates of return. Further, you will explore the benefits of diversification and the use of the portfolio concept in investing.
After completing this course, the student should be able to:
- Distinguish between points in time and periods of time as shown by a time line
- Define compounding and discounting
- Compute future value or present value for single payment amounts
- Distinguish between single payments and streams of payments and between uneven streams and annuities
- Solve for the interest rate or time period for simple present value and future value problems
- Define risk
- Describe how risk influences investment decisions
- Calculate risk and rates of return
- Describe how diversification can limit risk
- Explain how diversifiable risk can be lowered using a portfolio approach
Length
- On-Demand. Learn on your schedule. On-demand training is for professionals who prefer to develop the skills they need on their time and at their pace. Learners can start, stop and rewind the lessons at your convenience.
System Requirements
Operating System:
- Windows Vista SP2 or newer
- Mac OS 10.5 or higher
- Linux/Unix (any recent version)
Hardware:
- Video Card
- Sound card and headphones or speakers (some assignments have audio components)
Software:
Web Browser:
- The last three versions of the major browsers: Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer
- Other web browsers may work, but may not render all features of the courses
- Cookies must be enabled
- JavaScript must be enabled
Internet:
- Reliable internet connection. Broadband cable or highspeed DSL is recommended for optimal experience.
- E-mail account (to be able to register and to receive e-mail from the course system regarding registration, course status, etc.)
- Linux/Unix (any recent version)
Payment Information
- Register online with credit card
- Register online and upload a Purchase Order
- Register by fax and download the print & fax form
*FORM OF PAYMENT MUST ACCOMPANY REGISTRATION FORM FOR ORDER TO BE PROCESSED
Methods of Payment Accepted: Check (make checks payable to NIGP), Purchase Orders (via print and fax form or online), and Credit Cards (Master Card, Visa, and American Express).
If paying by check, please make check payable to NIGP and send payment to:
NIGP, Attn: Seminar Registration
2411 Dulles Corner Park, Suite 350
Herndon, VA 20171
