Using the Six Thinking Hats Technique for Property Development Decision-making

Case Scenario

In your group, you are the directors of a property development company (a company that buys sells and rents properties) and you are considering whether you should invest in and construct a new office building in the centre of London. The economy seems to be doing well (post-pandemic and Brexit!) and the amount of vacant office space is reducing sharply. Collectively, you must decide as to whether or not you will invest the £140 million it will take to buy and renovate an old 6 storey office block in the heart of London with spectacular views of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. You will need to consider a variety of factors such as the current state of the economy, how you plan on using the space (office, hotel, shopping mall) what profits you feel you can obtain; will you renovate and sell? Or rent? How will it impact the community? Create jobs etc. and do you have a contingency plan should something not go as expected! As part of the decision-making process, you decide to use the 6 Thinking Hats technique during a planning meeting.  The chairperson will direct the meeting and using each hat systematically one by one you will all comment and contribute equally to the meeting, at the end of which you will arrive at a unanimous decision.

As part of the English for Academic Purposes, Research and Study Skills course you are required to deliver a group presentation and you will also need to respond to questions to at least the standard required at academic level. The presentation will last 7-10 minutes, and the Q&A should last between 3-5 minutes. As a follow on from the Presentation students will also individually write a short Report outlining the process of applying a theory to creatively come to a resolution on a given case scenario. The report should be between 500-700 words.

Aims:

• T o plan and deliver a group presentation outlining an agreed decision and the processes involved in applying Edward De Bono’s ‘six thinking hats’ technique to a given case scenario.
• Respond appropriately to questions in the question- and- answer session of an oral presentation.
• To write an Individual report outlining the methods used at arriving a final decision by applying a creative problem-solving technique to a given situation.

As part of the module, you are required to deliver a live Presentation to an audience by 31st October and submit the PowerPoint slides and Individual Report by 8th November 2021.

Presentation Format:

You will need to create visual aids using a slide show presentation programme such as PowerPoint, Prezi, or Keynote, that are legible, visually appealing and aid the audience’s understanding of the spoken message. There should be at least 10 slides in your presentation. The font size (usually 20-22) and style (optional) should be visible and clear to all members in the audience. The Presentation counts as 30% towards your final grade.

Aims

Final hand in:

• a digital copy of your Presentation submitted to Turnitin via Canvas

Report Format:

The report should be written using Microsoft Office Word or Pages and the font style should be either Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman with a font size of 12. The report word count is between 500-700 words. The Report counts as 20% towards your final grade.

Final hand in:

• a digital copy of your Report submitted to Turnitin via Canvas

Learning Outcomes:

LO1 Select and utilise a range of creative research and theoretical approaches to develop ideas and creative solutions.

LO2 Identify, explore primary and secondary research from a range of contemporary and historical sources.

LO3 to demonstrate skill and confidence in writing in academic contexts with emphasis on the essay and report to at least the standard required at their course level.

LO4 to demonstrate skills and confidence in delivering a short oral presentation and responding to questions.

LO5 Use appropriate English language skills and study skills to and study skills to inform and communicate ideas development, creative solutions and problem solving.

Assignment Task

You will need to then create a PowerPoint Presentation and present it explaining the scenario and the discussion that took place using the 6 hats technique, the decision that was made, as well as the benefits and potential drawbacks you experienced whilst using the technique. The group presentation needs to be between 7-10 minutes and should have at least 10 slides. Each member of the team must contribute equally to the task.

Below is an outline of how previous company directors used each hat in their discussions that can be used as a guide for your own meeting:

Looking at the problem with the White Hat, they analyse the data they have. They examine the trend in vacant office space, which shows a sharp reduction.

They anticipate that by the time the office block would be completed, that there will be a severe shortage of office space. Current government projections show steady economic growth for at least the construction period.

With Red Hat thinking, some of the directors think the proposed building looks quite ugly. While it would be highly cost-effective, they worry that people would not like to work in it.

When they think with the Black Hat, they worry that government projections may be wrong. The economy may be about to enter a 'cyclical downturn', in which case the office building may be empty for a long time. If the building is not attractive, then companies will choose to work in another better-looking building at the same rent.

With the Yellow Hat, however, if the economy holds up and their projections are correct, the company stands to make a great deal of money. If they are lucky, maybe they could sell the building before the next downturn or rent to tenants on long-term leases that will last through any recession.

With Green Hat thinking they consider whether they should change the design to make the building more pleasant. Perhaps they could build prestige offices that people would want to rent in any economic climate. Alternatively, maybe they should invest the money in the short term to buy up property at a low cost when a recession comes.

The Blue Hat has been used by the meeting's Chair to move among the different thinking styles. He or she may have needed to keep other members of the team from switching styles, or from criticizing other peoples' points.