UTILIZING THE COSMOPOLITAN/LOCAL AND MARGINAL MAN CONSTRUCTS TO MEASURE STUDENTS’ PROPENSITY FOR CREATIVITY Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22,1995 232 UTILIZING THE COSMOPOLITAN/LOCAL AND MARGINAL MAN CONSTRUCTS TO MEASURE STUDENTS’ PROPENSITY FOR CREATIVITY Walter J. Wheatley, University of West Florida Richard G. Platt, University of West Florida E. Brian Peach, University of West Florida ABSTRACT Creativity has been found to be an important skill as managers increasingly deal with the challenges of a rapidly changing environment. Two measures for measuring creativity are the Raelin cosmopolitan-local scale and the Ziller marginal man scale. This research reports the results of empirical tests of these two instruments when used with student populations. INTRODUCTION Increasing levels of turbulence in the global environment demand creative, imaginative solutions. Typically however, managers are promoted based on operational skills, and may be deficient in the creative powers required by their new positions. Today’s managers must respond to discontinuous, partially predictable changes. This requires an ability to think creatively about possible futures, and respond proactively (Ansoff, 1984). The need for proactive responses to threats and opportunities dictates that managers be trained with greater emphasis on creative abilities (Wheatley, Anthony & Maddox, 1991). Business educators have recognized that existing pedagogy often fails to prepare managers for these new demands for creativity. Adding creativity to business pedagogy requires measurement devices for pre and post assessment. LITERATURE REVIEW Humans have been shown to be quite limited in their ability to understand, represent, and create novel solutions to common problems, especially in complex and abstract management settings (Schwenk, 1984). For example, Matlin (1989) reports that a person in a “thinking’ situation often calls on a standardized “problem solving set’ for help. Many people have an inability to go outside this problem solving set, and much of their knowledge goes unused. Their representation and understanding is limited in the sense that they base thoughts and actions on a restricted set of rules and well-rehearsed repertoires. Two models have been proposed that describe how people set artificial rules and boundary sets. The first is the degree of integration into an organizations structure (Raelin, 1986). Higher levels of organizational socialization are perceived as being in conflict with the level of commitment to specialized role skills (Gouldner, 1957). Loyalty to the organization is termed ‘local’ and loyalty to an external group, such as a professional organization, is termed ‘cosmopolitan’. The second model is that of the marginal man’ (Ziller, 1973). In this model, individuals see themselves as between two groups rather than as a member of either of the groups. The Cosmopolitan/Local Concept Cosmopolitans and locals are the extreme ends of a continuum based on factors such as organizational loyalty and reference group orientation. Gouldner provided the following definitions (p290, 1957): Cosmopolitan - low on loyalty to the employing organization; high commitment to specialized skills; likely to use an outer reference group orientation. Local - high on loyalty to the employing organization; low commitment to specialized skills; likely to use an inner reference group orientation. Raelin (1986) equated managers with the term local, where a local is characterized as being oriented toward competition and efficiency, with formalized roles, relationships and procedures. Raelin equated professionals with the term cosmopolitan, where the cosmopolitan is more individualistic and willing to question authority and organizational values. Raelin developed an instrument to assess the degree of cosmopolitan or local predisposition (p16, 1986). Because cosmopolitans are less bureaucratically restrained, it is likely that they are more creative and a high cosmopolitan score indicates creativity potential The Marginality Concept Stonequist (1937) described the marginal man as one who lives in two different, conflicting cultures, confronted by forces from two opposing groups representing incompatible expectations. The marginal man perceives himself as outside the boundaries of Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22,1995 233 both groups. As an occupant of a boundary role, the marginal man perceives more options and alternatives and is not constricted to a specific organization’s perceptual boundaries, but is more creative and original in the vision of any situation. To assess the degree of marginality, Ziller (1973) developed a scale derived from the theory of self- orientation. Higher scores on the Ziller instrument indicate individuals who are less bound to organizations, and thus are likely to be more creative. METHODOLOGY The purpose of this research was to administer two distinctly differently instruments designed to measure creativity. The sample consisted of 170 undergraduate students at a medium-sized university. The majority of the students were either junior or senior business majors. The following hypotheses were established: H1: The Ziller instrument will identify those students who have marginal tendencies and those who have non- marginal tendencies. H2: The Raelin Instrument will identify those students who have cosmopolitan tendencies and those that have local tendencies. The first creativity instrument was the Self-Other Orientation Measure of Marginality developed by Robert C. Ziller, et. al. (1968). The instrument consists of eleven geometric exercises; six exercises are fillers and five are tabulated. The second instrument was a modified version of the Cosmopolitan Checklist developed by Joseph A. Raelin (1986). The Raelin questionnaire consists of 8 questions designed to determine cosmopolitan or local tendencies. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results from analyzing the marginality data are quite conclusive. Responses to the Ziller instrument will identify students who have marginal tendencies and those who have non-marginal tendencies. The Cronbach Alpha was .8445 and the average correlation of the items was .6650. Thus, hypothesis one is supported. The results from analyzing the cosmopolitan/local data collected using the Raelin instrument were far from conclusive. The Cronbach Alpha was only .4015 and the average correlation of the items was a low .1727 which is unacceptable for this type of research (Nunnally, 1967). Thus, hypothesis is two is not supported. Responses to the Raelin Instrument did not identify those students who have cosmopolitan tendencies and those that have local tendencies. Both the Raelin and Ziller instruments have been used previously to measure creativity in samples of college students. However, this research shows that the Raelin instrument is not valid for a sample population of college students. One possible interpretation is that most students have insufficient experiential bases for making the types of subjective determinations required for the Raelin instrument to generate valid results. On the other hand, the Ziller marginal man instrument showed high internal consistency and reliability for the sample population of students. The use of figures in the Ziller instrument avoided the conceptual difficulties found in the Raelin instrument. It is suggested that future instruction and research using student populations avoid the Raelin instrument. Instead, use the Ziller instrument as a measure of student creativity. REFERENCES Ansoff, H. I. 1984 Implanting strategic management Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Gouldner, A. W. 1957 Cosmopolitans and locals: toward an analysis of latent social roles-I. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2, 281 –306 Matlin, M. 1989 Cognition, 2nd ed., New York: Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston. Nunnally, J. 1967 Psychometric theory New York: McGraw- Hill Raelin, J. A. 1986 The clash of cultures: managers managing professionals. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Schwenk, C. 1984 Cognitive simplification process in strategic decision-making. Strategic Management Journal, 5, 111-128 Stonequist, E. V. 1937. Marginal man: a study in personality and culture conflict. New York: Russell and Russell. Wheatley, W. J., Anthony, W. P., & Maddox, E. N. (1991) Selecting and training strategic planners with imagination and creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 25(1), 52-60 Ziller, R. C. 1973 The social self New York: Pergamon Press. Ziller, R. C., Stark, B. J., Pruden, H. 0. 1969. Marginality and integrative management positions. Academy of Management Journal, 487-495 All statistical values available from the authors. Table of Contents Volume 22, 1995 Simulation Performance, Learning and Struggle Are Good Simulation Performers Consistently Good? Cognitive and Behavioral Consistency in a Computer-Based Marketing-Simulation-Game Environment: An Empirical Investigation of the Decision-Making Process Chalk & Cheese: Executive Short-Course vs. Academic Simulations Revisiting Personality Bias in Total Enterprise Simulations Are Good Strategies Consistently Good? Investigating the Use of a Computer Simulation as an Effective Pedagogical Tool for the Application of a Strategic Model The Problem of determining an Individualized Simulation's Validity as an Assessment Tool A Simulation Based Analysis of the Value of Information in the Hrebiniak Joyce Typology of Adaptation Relative to Porter's Generic Strategies The Impact of Sales and Income Growth on Profitability and Market Measures in Actual and Simulated Industries A Comparison of a Stand Alone Version of a Simulation with the Traditional Competitive Version Computer-Assisted Gaming of International Business Analyzing Simulations with Computer-Based Programs and Applying the Experience to a Real-World Business A Preliminary Investigation of the Use of a Bankruptcy Indicator in a Simulation Environment Graduates' Views on the Use of Computer Simulation Games Versus Cases as Pedagogical Tools An Analytical Advertising Model Approach to the Determination of Market Demand Dealing with the Complexity Paradox in Business Simulation Games A Prototyping Approach for Incorporating Large Data Bases into Media Planning Simulations: An Example Using Magazine Media Through the Looking Glass, Inc: Superior-Subordinate Personality Type and the Leniency effect Evaluating the Effectiveness of Role Playing Simulation and Other Methods in Teaching Managerial Skills Student and Teacher Perceptions of a Management Simulation Course Performance Evaluation: The Effect on the Propensity to Create Budgetary Slack Management Team Formation for Large Scale Simulations Comparative Static Analysis with the Complete PPA Package: A Strategic Market Planning Tool Consistency in Intent: Learning Objectives at the 1994 Intercollegiate Business Policy Competition A New Twist on an Old Game: The Business Strategy Game: A Global Industry Simulation 3ed Evaluation of Performance in Management Simulation: A Management Coefficients Model Building SimuWorlds: Strategic Management Games of the Future Bulls and Bears: A Stock Market Simulation A Systems Thinking Paradigm and Think Computer Simulation Model of Broadcast and Cable Television Industry Competition Jacket Factory The Sales Management Simulation The Marketing Management Simulation A Demonstration of Promodel Demonstrating A New, Cross-Functional Business Simulation: Vision+ A Cost Chain For The Business Strategy Game Simulation Special Session On Experiential Teaching Compensation Dilemmas: An Exercise In Ethical Decision-Making Organizational Storytelling: Telling Tales In The Business Classroom Evaluating Experiential Training: Case Study And Recommendations The Internship Portfolio: An Innovative Tool For Experiential Learning, Critical Thinking, And Communication An Ethnographic Analysis Of The Pedagogical Impact Of Cooperative Communicating Consumer Behavior: A Long-Term Integrated Exercise Using Personal Consumption Journals And Consumer Analysis Papers An Experiential Paradigm For Teaching Business Problem Solving Developing Leadership Skills The Spss® Student Assistant: The Integration of A Statistical Analysis Program Into A Marketing Research Textbook Negotiating With Your Students Using TQM Principles To Transform Accounting Systems Into An Experiential Exercise Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Outdoor-Based Experiential Training Using Virtual Reality Concepts Case Writing In A Developing Country: An Indonesian Example Experiential Learning Using Focus Groups How Real Should Experiential Pedagogy Be? A Viewpoint From Our Students Reengineering The Internship: A New Approach To Experiential Learning Utilizing The Cosmopolitan/Local And Marginal Man Constructs To Measure Students' Propensity For Creativity Developing Experiential Processes For Teaching Quantitative Techniques For Business Team Learning Roles: A Cooperative Learning Technique Creating the Ultimate Small Business Student Experience: Melding Score/Ace with SBI The Development of Trust in Work Teams: The Impact of Touch Some Outcomes of Experiential Learning: How the Cultural Dynamics of Different Countries are reflected in Workplace Norms & Values Incorporation of Job Analysis Results in Various Forms of Selection Interviews Chudesno, Inc.: An Evaluation of an Experiential Training and Development Simulation An Exercise for Exploring the Relationship between Jungian Psychological Types and Organizational Dynamics Partnership: A Radical Approach to Experiential Learning Partnership: A Nice Idea, But How Do I Get Started? Recognizing Discrimination at Work Using Critical Incident Skills Questions to Help Students Become More Successful at Job Interviewing The Video Project Introduction to Psychological Type Theory Come On Down Understanding Facilitation for Development and Continuous Learning: A Micro-Workshop Leadership and Empowerment: An Experiential Exercise in Decision Making Experiential Exercises and Pedagogy Track Workshop: Selecting a Manager for Maquiladora, Inc. Experiential Training In Multi-Cultural Corporate Settings The Role of Facilitation as an Aid to Complete Learning An Experiential Exercise to Illustrate Difference in Information Processing Behaviors and Styles How to Deliver Accessible Survey Results Age Diversity in the Workplace- Family Feud Style Nafta Standoff: A Cross-Cultural negotiating Role-Play Three Strikes and You're Out!: A Downsizing Experiential Exercise