Chain Alike Handout
Assume you are the manager of a department store. Your assistant has informed you that
the store’s losses due to shoplifting are greater than ever. To help resolve this problem,
you decide to try the Chain Alike activity.- Customers
- Merchandise
- Money
- Security
- Observing customers
Next, list subattributes:- Name:Shoplifting
- Customers:Children, elderly, middle-aged, rich, poor, educated, uneducated
- Merchandise:Electronics in display cases, clothing on shelves and racks
- Money:Dollar bills, coins, credit cards, debt, charging, exchange rates
- Security:Guards, cameras, alarms, lighting, electronic sensors
- Observing Customers:Watching, unobtrusive, disguises, equipment
Next, look at the subattributes and develop analogies for each one. For instance, some
sample word analogies might include the following:- Name:Disappearing merchandise
- Customers:Small people, money collectors, enhanced brains
- Merchandise:Electronic organizers, viewing boxes, stacking levels
- Money:Circular disks, plastic debits, substituting values
- Security:Caretakers, visual image capturing devices, illumination projection
- Observing Customers:Hidden recesses, cover-ups, electronic information processors
Finally, generate ideas using these word analogies:- Lock all merchandise in display cases (from “disappearing merchandise”).
- Install a system so that people must pay for merchandise on their way out to unlock
an exit door. People who don’t buy anything subject themselves to personal inspec-
tions (from “money collectors”). - Place video cameras on merchandise counters (from “viewing boxes”).
- Provide educational seminars in schools on the pitfalls of shoplifting (from “substitut-
ing values”).
236 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving
101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving.Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley &
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