UCLA Management Personalized Shopping Experience Questions

Exercise / Activity

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” – Albert Einstein

The goal of this exercise is to help you practice thinking more creatively when solving problems.  Read the problem statement below and brainstorm three to five creative options to solve the problem.

OPTION 1 (grocery stores): Major grocery store chains like Kroger typically operate at very thin profit margins, making on average only 2 to 3% profit. Some smaller grocery chains like Trader Joe’s or Aldi tend to operate at higher profit margins. Provide 3 to 5 creative innovations that could help major grocery store chains increase their profit.

OPTION 2 (airlines): Several major US airlines like American and United consistently have low profit margins, whereas other large organizations like Delta and Southwest have a profit margin that is twice as high. Provide 3 to 5 creative innovations that could help a major airline increase their profit. 

OPTION 3 (cell phones): Apple and Google were once companies that provided innovative new features on music devices, smart phones, and tablets. However, customers now complain that new products do not offer as many few features with each new version. Pick one of these types of devices and provide 3 to 5 creative innovations that could help this product.