Flexible & Creative Workspaces

Your work environment has a large impact on how you create and produce ideas. 
What are three things you'd like to have in your future creative workspace?

1.
2.
3.

Now, watch this video and share your opinions. Would you change anything to your initial answers? Why or why not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqG0O6debQM 

NOTES:   

1.  Maimie Rheingold:  In THE GARAGE at Google = their HACKER/MAKER/DESIGN space.  It's a 'commons' where employees come together to learn, create and make.
          -When they were designing THE GARAGE, it was important for them that it be MULTIUSER & MULTIUSE, so they built flexibility into the space. (Video images show a sofa, tables, and whiteboards all on wheels.)

2.  Nadya Direkova, Design Evangelist for Google:  She describes THE GARAGE by saying it's like a PLAYGROUND because you can:
       -write on the tables
      -write on the walls
      -reconfigure the tables to be be in any position you want because everything's on wheels.
So, it has a more playful atmosphere than compared to typical conference rooms.

3. (Back to Maimie): Maimie points out that ehternet and power outlets used to confine people to a particular space in a room - they didn't want that for THE GARAGE. So, they designed it so power grids would drop down from the ceiling at many points in order for them to always be in reach.

4.  Alex Cuthbert (Senior User Experience Designer)  He thinks Google is a fun place, a mix between kindergarten and a classy law firm.  PRODUCTIVITY, for him, means people work toghether better by   having a sense of FUN, NON-COMPETITIVENESS, NO HIERARCHY.

5.  (back to Nadya):  Nadya ends by saying that she thinks a workspace doesn't need to be fancy in order to be creative, but that it should be, above all, FLEXIBLE.

-Create hashtag words to promote your creative workspace. Make a list of 3 to 5 keywords.
 
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Read this artcile from the Harvard Business Review about the importance of rearranging and roating seating in officies:

https://hbr.org/2018/03/why-you-should-rotate-office-seating-assignments

Take notes on the main ideas, examples, and come to the next class ready to discuss the article.

Vocabulary: Choose the best synonym.

Paragraph 1:  Nuisance = a) annoyance   b) new
                       to tout/touted = a) promote positively    b) criticize
                      to spark innovation = a) to restrain innovation   b) to inspire innovation
                     to back up contentions = a) to regress, not progress   b) to support, give evidence 

Paragraph 2:     happened upon = a) discover by looking for someone/something b) discover unexpectedly
                           sourcing deals = a) selling       b) looking for and finding

Paragraph 3:  deals executed = a) offers that have expired   b) offers that have sold successfully

Paragraph 4:  the shift to expolratory ideas=  a) the rapid increase of    b) the change to...
                        newly met peers = a) colleagues you've already met  b) colleagues you've just met

Paragraph 5:  a training potty = a) an object used to teach young children about using bathrooms       b) an object used to help with teamwork
                       overheard dialogue = a) conversations that last too long  b) conversations where you listen in but participants don't realize you're listening

Paragraph 6:   to boost performance = a) to loose performance   b) to increase performance

Paragraph 7:  R & D =  a) research and development    b) review and draw

Paragraph 8:  to wear off = a) to loose the effect of something    b)  to loose one's position
                        broadly = a) in a specific way   b) in a general way

Paragraph 9:   reconfigurations = a) different employee groups   b) different workspace arrangements
                        provided = a) in the case that    b) before

Paragraph 10: to ditch something/someone= a) to throw something/someone  b) to get rid of someone/ something; no longer use it
                        to shake up = a) to  move something around   b) to jump up and down a lot

Paragraph 11:  to boost revenue = a) to decrease sales    b) to increase sales


COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS: 

1)  According to the article, why should companies rotate office seating assignments? What benefits can be gained by doing this? (general, main ideas)

2) What did Professor Lee discover about the South Korean e-commerce company and its new office space arrangement?  (pararaph 3)

3.  In paragraph 4, which important detail is explained about how employees became more creative?  Which social factor was important?

4.  Does paragraph 5 explain that formal or informal conversations are more important to new ideas?

5.  Paragraph 7 describes an important study conducted in the 1970s by MIT professor Thomas Allen. What did Allen disover about dialogue between colleagues based on proximity?

6.  Paragraph 9 points out some important factors depending on the type of organization. What are they?  Which type of company would benefit most from office reconfigurations?

7. Provide some examples of companies that use frequent office reconfigurations, as they are listed in paragraph 10. 

8.  Paragraph 11 concludes by quoting professor Lee. Paraphrase what he said:

YOUR OPINION:

1. What do you think about shifting workspaces, given your future profession. Would you like to be part of an organization that does that? Why or why not?