March 3, 2009

Purdue students learning how creativity is used in the workplace

Jody Pierce, assistant professor of organizational leadership and supervision, is teaching the OLS 350: Creativity in Business course this semester to 15 students. She said it is the first time it has been offered at the Anderson location.

"The goal of the class is to discover ways that employees can become more creative and foster an environment where creativity is encouraged," Pierce said. "Through a combination of lectures, discussions and field trips, students are seeing how creativity can lead to new products, create new opportunities or simply solve everyday problems in a workplace."

A main component of the class is traveling to a variety of businesses in the area, where students are able to talk with decision-makers to see how creativity is put into action. So far, the class has visited Red Robin, the Flagship Enterprise Center and St. Vincent Medical Center. Today (March 3), the class will visit Borders bookstore. Next up are the Smith Family Farms on April 7 and Hoosier Park on April 21.

The class meets every Tuesday from 4:15-6:45 p.m.

Pierce said that the course is proving successful, mainly because students are making the connection to what they are learning in class and what business professionals practice daily.

"During our visit to St. Vincent, for instance, the leaders were using terms like 'working in teams,' 'throughput,' and 'Six Sigma,'" she said. "Students are understanding that what we are studying can be directly applied to the workplace."

Pierce said there are plans to offer the Creativity in Business course at Anderson again next spring.

The College of Technology's Anderson location, located at the Anderson University Flagship Center, offers bachelor's degrees in industrial technology and organizational leadership and supervision, associate degrees in computer and information technology and organizational leadership and supervision, and courses in electrical engineering technology.

Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu

Source: Jody Pierce,  (765) 648-2907, pierceja@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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